Danton (1983)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Andrzej Wajda

Writers:

Jean-Claude Carrière (writer)
Jacek Gasiorowski (writer)

Release Date:

12 January 1983 (France)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

Action opens in November of 1793, with Danton returning to Paris from his country retreat upon learning that the Committee for Public Safety...

Plot Keywords:

Guillotine | Execution | Paris | Bathing | Infant Nudity

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 6 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Gérard Depardieu	...	Danton
Wojciech Pszoniak	...	Robespierre
Anne Alvaro	...	Eleonore
Roland Blanche	...	Lacroix
Patrice Chéreau	...	Camille Desmoulins (as Patrice Chereau)
Emmanuelle Debever	...	Louison Danton
Krzysztof Globisz	...	Amar
Ronald Guttman	...	Herman
Gérard Hardy	...	Tallien
Tadeusz Huk	...	Couthon
Stéphane Jobert	...	Panis
Marian Kociniak	...	Lindet
Marek Kondrat	...	Barere de Vieuzac
Boguslaw Linda	...	Saint Just
Alain Macé	...	Héron (as Alain Mace)

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

France | Poland | West Germany

Language:

French | Polish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:T | UK:12 (DVD rating) | UK:PG (original rating) (1983-2006) | Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (f) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Château de Guermantes, Seine-et-Marne, France

Company:

Les Films du Losange

Trivia:

The part of famous painter Jacques-Louis David is played by a real painter, Franciszek Starowieyski.

Movie Connections:

Version of Les amours sous la révolution: La passion de Camille et Lucile Desmoulins (1978) (TV)

aside from a less than perfect ending, it's an excellent film

Danton was a hero and one of the founders of the French Revolution of 1789. This movie is set five years later and the revolution has morphed into something ugly. While initially the revolution promised freedom, at this point the small committee running the country is extremely repressive and is a dictatorship. Danton and his friends were angry at how the country wasn't better off in 1794 than it was BEFORE they got rid of their king, so they begin criticizing the government. The movie begins as the printer who makes critical pamphlets concerning the government is beaten and his business is destroyed. So much for "liberty, equality and fraternity"! So, as a result of being silenced this way, Danton et al begin publicly criticizing the government. Eventually, Robespierre (the leader of the committee) and his cronies trump up charges, have a show trial and get rid of the dissent. Some have mentioned that the Polish director, Wajda, also intended this to be a criticism of his own nation--which, at the time, was Soviet-dominated and very repressive as well. This makes sense as you see the movie unfold--especially when the government destroys all dissent "in the name of the people".

The acting is fine, the story compelling and I have no major criticism of the film. However, I really wish the ending had been handled differently. Especially because other than history lovers and French people, most probably have no idea that this execution helped to end the government. AFTER this purge of Danton in April 1794, Robespierre himself was executed in July 1794 because the country had just had enough--plus, those surviving Frenchmen knew that they, too, would face the guillotine sooner or later if this sick system remained in place. Some sort of an epilogue would have been nice--such as showing the soldiers coming for Robespierre. He responded by trying to kill himself first, but he only succeeded in blowing off part of his face--still alive, he was guillotined shortly afterward. This would have been a dandy little epilogue and could have been done in about five minutes. However, not showing a connection between Danton's death and the fall of the government is an odd thing to omit.