This visually breathtaking film from New Wave director Eric Rohmer uses hand-painted sets that depict 18th-century Paris, the English lady's home, and the surrounding countryside with a vivid effect that looks like a realist oil painting brought to life. Set in the mid-1700s during the French Revolution, THE LADY AND THE DUKE .. Read more
| Starring | Lucy Russell, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Charlotte Very, Alain Libolt |
|---|---|
| Director | Eric Rohmer |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
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This visually breathtaking film from New Wave director Eric Rohmer uses hand-painted sets that depict 18th-century Paris, the English lady's home, and the surrounding countryside with a vivid effect that looks like a realist oil painting brought to life. Set in the mid-1700s during the French Revolution, THE LADY AND THE DUKE tracks the profound friendship between Grace Elliot (Lucy Russell), an English woman who lives in Paris and insists on staying there throughout the war, and the Duke of Orleans (Jean-Claude Dreyfus), the cousin of Louis XVI and Grace's former lover. Russell (FOLLOWING) gives a superb performance as the headstrong, political, beautiful, and daring Grace Elliot, whose real-life memoirs inspired Rohmer to make the film. Dreyfus (DELICATESSEN) plays her perfect counterpart--powerful and unwavering, yet charming, caring, and honest. As each scene of the film magically bleeds into the next, the painterly backdrops make it difficult to discern 3-D objects such as chairs from the trompe l'oiel flat painted sets. Characters enter or exit with shocking life as the camera matches them to the color and texture of the painting. Majestic black horses that pull carriages over the "cobblestone" streets shimmer with velveteen realness. Meanwhile, tension brought on by the war adds strain to the friendship between the lady and the duke, and as the audience endures the fall of the Bastille, the September Massacres, and the finally, the king's execution, they are captivated, entertained, and historically nourished.
| Starring | Lucy Russell, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Charlotte Very, Alain Libolt, Francois Marthouret |
|---|---|
| Director | Eric Rohmer |
| Studio | PATHE DISTRIBUTION |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 3 mins |
| Certificate |  |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: French |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | Production year: 2001 To Rent: DVD: 12 Aug 2002 |
Rohmer's third historical feature and literary adaptation is taken from the memoirs of Grace Elliott (Russell, even... read more on Time Out
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Superb acting and authenticity
Eric Rohmer is one of France's greatest living film directors. This is his adaptation of the memoirs of an aristocratic Scottish lady living in Paris during... read more »
[Highly rated reviewer]
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Lady and the Duke
Different, great actors,marvellous evocationof Revolution,see it only for the wonderful costumes and the amazing sets ,all painted ,with seemingly the players... read more »
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The Lady and the Duke
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS | Show review anywayHide
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Rohmer - but slightly different
Atypical Rohmer in some ways - the scenary is completely unnatural - but typical of the man's attention to fine detail. Strong script, and excellent central... read more »
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