Cyrano de Bergerac (TV 1985)

The Royal Shakespeare Company's stage production of the story about the large-nosed swordsman/poet who writes love letters to Roxane, the woman he adores, to court her for the handsome ... See full summary »

Directors:

Terry Hands, Michael A. Simpson

Writers:

Anthony Burgess (translation), Edmond Rostand (play)

Stars:

Jimmy Gardner, Richard Clifford, Robert Clare

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jimmy Gardner	...	Doorkeeper / Capuchin
Richard Clifford	...	Cavalryman / Gascony Cadet
Robert Clare	...	D'Artagnan / Gascony Cadet
Philip Dennis	...	Flunkey / Gascony Cadet
John Tramper	...	Flunkey / Gascony Cadet
Geoffrey Freshwater	...	Musketeer
Alexandra Brook	...	Flowergirl / Sister Claire
Niall Padden	...	Eater / Gascony Cadet
Phillip Walsh	...	Drinker / Gascony Cadet
Simon Clark	...	Citizen / Gascony Cadet
Jayne Tottman	...	Citizen's Son
Paul Basson	...	Page
Stephen Kennedy	...	Page
Raymond Llewellyn	...	Pickpocket
Jeffery Dench	...	Marquis 1

Storyline

The Royal Shakespeare Company's stage production of the story about the large-nosed swordsman/poet who writes love letters to Roxane, the woman he adores, to court her for the handsome Christian whom she loves.

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Plot Keywords:

love | foreign language adaptation | obsessive love | courtship | loneliness | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 December 1985 (Finland)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Channel 4 Television Corporation, Stratford-Barbican

Technical Specs

Runtime:

176 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first television production of Cyrano to use Anthony Burgess's translation, in which Cyrano's list of insults ends with "Oh, that this too, too solid nose would melt," a parody of "Oh, that this too, too solid flesh would melt," from "Hamlet". The translation had already premiered as far back as 1970, and had been used in the 1973 flop musical "Cyrano", starring Christopher Plummer.

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Quotes

Cyrano de Bergerac: That thing of yours is big, what? Very big.
Cyrano de Bergerac: Precisely what I've been saying.
Le Vicomte de Valvert: Ah!
Cyrano de Bergerac: Nothing more? Just a fatuous smirk? Oh, come, there are fifty-score more varieties of comment you could find, if you possessed a modicum of mind. For instance there's the frank aggressive kind: "If mine achieved such a hypertrophic state, I'd call in a surgeon at once to amputate!" The friendly: "It must dip in your cup, You need a nasal crane to hoist it up." The pure descriptive: "From its size and shape, I'd say...

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Connections

Version of Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)

User Reviews

Jacobi extraordinary in RSC taping of complete play.

This is, to my knowledge, the only complete presentation (three hours) of the five act play. The Royal Shakespeare Company is as always exemplary and Derek Jacobi's Cyrano is extraordinary. Right up there with the Jose Ferrer performance. Cusack's Roxanne is not as intelligent as it needs to be (why is this role almost always directed and acted incorrectly). Christopher Benjamin is an adequate though not outstanding Christian - and no way near pretty enough for the role. Pete Postlethwaite's Ragueneau is a sheer delight - a wonderful creation that holds its own with Jacobi's. The video of this production is available (according to Videohound) from Video Catalog and Turner Entertainment. Very much worth owning.