Marat/Sade (1967)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Peter Brook

Writers:

Adrian Mitchell (screenplay)
Geoffrey Skelton (English translation)

Release Date:

13 April 1967 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Plot:

In an insane Asylum, Marquis de Sade directs the Jean Paul Marat's last days through a theather play. The actors are the patients.

Plot Keywords:

Chaos | Insane Asylum | Mental Hospital | Mental Patient | Singing

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Patrick Magee	...	Marquis de Sade
Ian Richardson	...	Jean-Paul Marat
Michael Williams	...	Herald
Clifford Rose	...	Monsieur Coulmier
Glenda Jackson	...	Charlotte Corday
Freddie Jones	...	Cucurucu
Hugh Sullivan	...	Kokol
John Hussey	...	Newly Rich Lady
William Morgan Sheppard	...	A Mad Animal
Jonathan Burn	...	Polpoch
Jeanette Landis	...	Rossignol
Robert Langdon Lloyd	...	Jacques Roux (as Robert Lloyd)
John Steiner	...	Monsieur Dupere
James Mellor	...	Schoolmaster
Henry Woolf	...	Father

Also Known As:

The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum at Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X | USA:Not Rated | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Marat Sade Productions

Trivia:

The full title of the original Broadway play was "The Persecution and Assassination of Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade" which opened on December 27, 1965 at the Martin Beck Theatre and ran for 145 performances. Ian Richardson, Michael Williams, Clifford Rose, Glenda Jackson, Freddie Jones, Hugh Sullivan, John Hussey, William Morgan Sheppard, Jonathan Burn, Jeanette Landis, Paul Robert Langdon, John Steiner, James Mellor, Henry Woolf, John Harwood, Leon Lissek, Susan Williamson, Carol Raymont, Mary Allen, Robert Lloyd, Jacques Roux, Patrick Magee, Mark Jones, Brenda Kempner, Maroussia Frank, Tamara Fuerst, Lynn Pinkney, Ian Hogg, Ruth Baker, Michael Farnsworth, Guy Gordon, Michael Percival, Heather Canning, Jennifer Tudor, Timothy Hardy, and Stanford Trowell recreated their stage roles in the movie version. The original play was written by Geoffrey Skelton, with the English translation by Peter Weiss.

Quotes:

Marquis de Sade: And what's the point of a revolution without general copulation?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Asylum: (#1.4)" (1996)

As vital and contemporary today as when it was first performed.

You do not need to know the details of French history to enjoy (?) this most astonishing and confrontational movie. Remember that this is a cinematic version of a play, and that Director Peter Brooks never loses sight of the physical presence and power that his original stage version was renowned for. Unlike many cinematic treatments of stage drama, this film is essentially theatre - the camera in fact intensifies the claustrophobic setting and puts the viewer in the front row. The performances are uniformly excellent : the intensity and conviction of the cast in their roles is exceptional. This is an emotionally draining, bravura movie that once seen, can not be forgotten.