Le hussard sur le toit (1995)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Jean-Paul Rappeneau

Writers:

Jean-Claude Carrière (writer)
Nina Companéez (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

6 October 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Their only chance for survival was each other.

Plot:

In a time of war and disease, a young officer gallantly tries to help a young woman find her husband.

Plot Keywords:

Cholera | Provence | France | Wine | Epidemic

Awards:

4 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Juliette Binoche	...	Pauline de Théus
Olivier Martinez	...	Angelo Pardi
Pierre Arditi	...	Monsieur Peyrolle
François Cluzet	...	The Doctor
Jean Yanne	...	Le Colporteur
Claudio Amendola	...	Maggionari
Isabelle Carré	...	The Tutor
Carlo Cecchi	...	Giuseppe
Christiane Cohendy	...	Madame Peyrolle
Jacques Sereys	...	The old man
Nathalie Krebs	...	Madame Barthelemy
Laura Marinoni	...	Carla
Elisabeth Margoni	...	The farmer's wife
Yolande Moreau	...	Madame Rigoard
Christophe Odent	...	Monsieur Barthelemy
Hervé Pierre	...	Brig. Maugin
Daniel Russo	...	Maître Rigoard
Richard Sammel	...	Franz (leader)
Jean-Marie Winling	...	Alexandre Petit (representative)
Paul Freeman	...	Laurent de Theus
Michèle Addala
Marie Albe
Alice Aniel
Alain Aparis
Alain Bauguil	...	Peasant in the trap
Gérard Bayle	...	Owner of the forge
Michel Bellier	...	Fugitive
Beatrice Bertrand		(as Béatrice Bertrand)
Françoise Blanc	...	Lucienne
Stéphane Boucher
Denise Boulet		(as Denyse Boulet)
Didier Bourguignon	...	Cholera sufferer
Jacques Brun
Brigitte Canaan	...	Denise
Jocelyne Carmichael	...	Harpy
Dany Castaing	...	Fugitive
Joëlle Cattino	...	Religious woman
Viviane Cayol	...	Sick lady
Bruno Cécillon	...	Bourgeois
Paul Chevillard	...	Giacomo
Michel Cordes	...	Sergeant
Isabelle Dangerfield
Norbert Daverio
Christian David
Eric Debrosse	...	Soldier
Gérard Dubouche	...	Blacksmith (as Gérard Dubouché)
Jean-Claude Dumas	...	Harvester
Nadine Dumonceau
René-André Fernández	...	Militiaman
Jean-Michel Fête
Yvonne Gamy	...	Grandmother
Viviane Garcia
Christian Garde
Philippe Gleyze
Philippe Guégan	...	Austrian agent
Azur Guillier	...	Camille (little girl)
Florence Hautier
Michel Hulot
Jean-Paul Journot	...	Harvester
Gérard Lacombe	...	Inn owner
Antonin Lebas-Joly	...	Edmond (little boy)
Christophe Le Masne	...	Martial (valet)
Tony Lemiere	...	Adrien
Bernard Liger
Suzy Lorraine
Robert Lucibello	...	Man in the apron
Claire Massabo	...	Madame Terasson
Virginie Matheron	...	Sick servant
Patrick Médioni	...	Austrian agent
Claude Mismaque
Carlos Moreno	...	Harvester
Georges Neri	...	Old harvester
Alexis Nitzer	...	Hysterical man
Dominique Noé
Jean-François Pages	...	Austrian agent
Henriette Palazzi	...	Fugitive
Christine Paolini
Jacques Pater	...	Militiaman
Serge Pauthe	...	Police station employee
Christophe Pierrot		(as Christophe Pierot)
Anne-Marie Ponsot
Yves Pujol
Jacob Reymond	...	Dr. Arnoux
Julien Rivière
Lionel Robert	...	Excited man
Pascal Rozand	...	Young man on the farm
Frédérique Ruchaud	...	Madame Marquerite
Norbert Sammut	...	Fugitive
Désirée Saorin	...	Blacksmith
Joëlle Sevilla	...	Religious woman
Jean-Pierre de Tugny
Celita Villar	...	Lady at the window
Roseline Villaume
Fany Watier	...	Fugitive
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michel Carliez	...	(uncredited)
Laurence Cormerais	...	(uncredited)
Gérard Depardieu	...	Commissaire de Police à Manosque (uncredited)
Jacques Weber	...	Narrateur d'épilogue (uncredited)

Directed by
Jean-Paul Rappeneau

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean-Claude Carrière		writer
Nina Companéez		writer
Jean Giono		novel
Jean-Paul Rappeneau		writer

Produced by
Bernard Bouix	....	executive producer
René Cleitman	....	delegate producer

Original Music by
Jean-Claude Petit

Cinematography by
Thierry Arbogast

Film Editing by
Noëlle Boisson

Casting by
Antonin Dedet
Frédérique Moidon		(as Frédërique E. Moidon)

Production Design by
Ezio Frigerio
Christian Marti
Jacques Rouxel

Art Direction by
François Hamel

Set Decoration by
Françoise Benoît-Fresco
Christian Marti
Jacques Rouxel

Costume Design by
Franca Squarciapino

Makeup Department
Christiane Berroyer	....	key hair stylist: extras
Jean-Pierre Berroyer	....	hair stylist
Mark Coulier	....	sculptor
Joël Lavau	....	makeup artist
Nathalie Louichon	....	makeup artist
Daniel Parker	....	special makeup effects artist
Myriam Roger	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Gérard Gaultier	....	production manager
Marc Vadé	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frédéric Auburtin	....	first assistant director
Xavier Castano	....	second unit director
Marie De La Selle	....	trainee assistant director
Natalie Engelstein	....	assistant director
Pascal Roy	....	trainee assistant director
Philippe Tourret	....	assistant director

Art Department
Alexander Beliav	....	first scenic artist
Yann Biquand	....	second assistant decorator
Éric Boutin	....	trainee set decorator
Jean-Luc Caffray	....	assistant set decorator
Alessandro Camera	....	second scenic artist
Thomas Chevalier	....	decorating painter
Paul Choitel	....	head carpenter
Jean-Pierre Cognard	....	second assistant decorator
Stéphane Cressend	....	assistant set decorator
Jean-Noël Delalande	....	painter
Sabine Delouvrier	....	prop buyer
Sabine Delouvrier	....	set decorator: exteriors
Didier Dubedout	....	chief painter
Yvon Fustec	....	painter
Christian Giambasi	....	chief painter (as Christian Giambassi)
Patrice Golardelle	....	head carpenter (as Pierre Colardelle)
Alain Gosse	....	head carpenter
Julien Grisot	....	assistant set decorator
Nicolas Hamel	....	assistant set decorator
Peter Hammond	....	painter
Jacques Kazandian	....	upholsterer
Gilles LaBoulandine	....	construction coordinator
Fabien Lacai	....	storyboard artist
Béatrice Lagriou	....	furniture
Thierry Lemaire	....	scenic artist
Philippe Lomax	....	painter
Cyril Maero	....	assistant props
Alexis McKenzie	....	second assistant decorator
Francine Meunier	....	artistic collaborator
Yvon Moreno	....	painter
Laurent Ott	....	assistant set decorator
Claude Padovani	....	assistant props
Françoise Pierre	....	painter
Christian Portal	....	property master (as Coyotte)
Olivier Raoux	....	first assistant decorator
Thierry Rouxel	....	painter
Enrique Santana	....	painter
Pierre Tejero	....	head carpenter
Patrick Tombette	....	carpenter
Éric Viellerose	....	set decorator: exteriors
Claude Vincent	....	construction coordinator
Patrick Widdrington	....	head carpenter

Sound Department
Jean-François Auger	....	sound synchronization engineer
Frédérique Bergeron	....	assistant sound editor
Fanchon Brûlé	....	assistant dialogue editor
Denis Carquin	....	boom operator
Bernard Chaumeil	....	sound assistant
Eric Chevallier	....	sound recordist (as Éric Chevallier)
Sophie Chiabaut	....	sound assistant
Eric Ferret	....	foley recordist (as Éric Ferret)
Pierre Gamet	....	sound
Jean Goudier	....	sound
Dominique Hennequin	....	sound
Alain Lévy	....	boom operator
Jacques Lévy	....	post-synchronization engineer
Jérôme Lévy	....	foley artist
Marion Lorthioir	....	post-synchronization engineer
Pascal Mazière	....	foley artist (as Pascal Mazières)
Alain Primot	....	sound recordist
Joël Rangon	....	assistant sound mixer

Special Effects by
Grégoire Delage	....	special effects assistant
Georges Demétrau	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Marc Bellan	....	special visual effects
Pierre Biecher	....	specials visual effects
Christian Guillon	....	visual effects
Frederic Moreau	....	visual effects
Guy Perricot	....	special visual effects
Frédéric Platey	....	special visual effects
Christian Rajaud	....	digital artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Sylvie Bobko	....	stunt double: horse stunts
Michel Carliez	....	stunt coordinator
Marc Devallois	....	stunt double: horse stunts
Albert Goldberg	....	stunts
Bernard Sachsé	....	stunt double: horse stunts
Frédéric Vallet	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Yves Agostini	....	camera operator
Paul-Claude Bessière	....	key grip
Sophie Bosquet	....	second assistant camera
Patrick de Ranter	....	Steadicam operator
Gil Fontbonne	....	key grip: second unit
Olivier Foucher	....	grip
Claude Hirsch	....	chief electrician
Loïc Jouan	....	electrician
Caroline Massicart	....	trainee assistant camera
Tariel Meliava	....	first assistant camera
Luis Peralta	....	electrician
Jacques Philipponeau	....	electrician (as Jacques Philipponneau)
Pascal Rabaud	....	camera operator: second unit
Daniel Salmon	....	assistant key grip
Michel Taburiaux	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Joël Toupense	....	grip
Mario Tursi	....	still photographer
Frank Tymezuk	....	trainee camera operator: second unit (as Franck Tymezuk)
Jörg Widmer	....	Steadicam operator

Casting Department
Pascale Béraud	....	extras casting
Brigitte Brocarel	....	casting assistant
Catherine Deserbais	....	casting assistant
Véronique Laveissière	....	casting assistant
Maya Seuleyvan	....	casting: Marseille (as Maya Sevleyvan)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gilles Bodu-Lemoine	....	costumer (as Gilles Bodu Lemoine)
Nathalie Chesnais	....	costumer
Chiara Donato	....	wardrobe mistress
Christophe Giraud	....	costumer
Laurence Glentzin	....	costumer
Tess Hammami	....	costumer
Pierre-Jean Larroque	....	collaborator to costume design
Tina Morel	....	costumer
Michèle Pezzin	....	wardrobe
Germaine Ribel	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Fabrice Blin	....	color timer
Valérie Le Bihan	....	editor trainee
Claire Sels	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jean-Claude Petit	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Claude Nanteau	....	driver: costumes

Other crew
Joëlle Baland	....	assistant: Mr. Lurashi (as Joelle Baland)
Denis Barraud	....	intern
Danièle Barroyer	....	production secretary
Tahar Boualam	....	groupman
Philippe Boutillier	....	staffing chief
Jean Brillanti	....	intern
Jean Brun	....	production administrator
Pierre Cadeac	....	animal trainer
Michel Carliez	....	battle master
Carole Cavallera	....	historical consultant
Béatrice Chauvin	....	production secretary
Laurent Chiomento	....	intern
J.J.J. Conseil	....	press attache
Ludovic Coulette	....	intern
Nicolas Davy	....	intern
Xavier Dhenry	....	production assistant (as José Xavier Dhenry)
Patrick Dorflein	....	production assistant (as Patrick Dörflein)
Catia Du Pont	....	assistant administrator
Danielle Francou	....	financial director
Marjorie Gaultier	....	horse attendant
Thierry Golitin	....	location manager
François Hardy	....	technical advisor: carriages
Brigitte Hedou	....	script supervisor (as Brigitte Hédou-Prat)
Ferdinand Kocken	....	production assistant
Catherine Leclou	....	carriage assistant
François Loubeyre	....	armorer
Claude Luquet	....	script supervisor
Mario Luraschi	....	horse advisor
Lina Martins	....	assistant: Juliette Binoche
Corinne Michel	....	production secretary
Gilles Mouchez	....	location manager
Alain Mougenot	....	production assistant
Tanh Nguyen	....	assistant administrator
Catherine Pellier Cuit	....	production secretary
Stéphan Ripoll	....	intern
Brigitte Saint-Léon	....	promotion and publicity
Harmel Sbraire	....	coach
Philippe Tourret	....	location scout
Luc Tramon	....	intern
Sylvie Ughetto	....	intern
Roland Vallet	....	assistant administrator
Isabelle Vervey	....	publicity assistant

Thanks
Gérard Depardieu	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Hachette Première
• Canal+
• Centre Européen Cinématographique Rhône-Alpes
• Compagnie Européenne Cinématographique (CEC)
• Entree Europees Cineatografique
• France 2 Cinéma

Distributors

• AFMD (1995) (France) (theatrical)
• Atlantis Entertainment (1996) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
• Miramax Films (USA) (theatrical)
• Sonet Film AB (1996) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Artificial Eye (1996) (UK)
• Atlantic Film (2006) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Cine Company S.A. (Spain)
• Filmes Lusomundo (Portugal)
• Gativideo (Argentina) (VHS)
• Líder Films (Argentina)
• Miramax Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Miramax Zoë (1996) (USA) (subtitled)
• Mundial Filmes (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Pathé (1999) (France) (DVD)
• Sonet Film AB (1996) (Sweden) (VHS)

Other Companies

• FCM  multimedia
• Orchestre National de France  orchestra

Also Known As:

The Horseman on the Roof (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for a scene of nudity.

Runtime:

135 min | Argentina:134 min | Germany:136 min | USA:118 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Company:

Hachette Première

Quotes:

Angelo: Mother, you always wanted me to be more reckless. Today, you would have been proud of me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Afula Express (1997)

A dashing romantic drama with thrilling moments.

Provence provides a stunning locale for this romantic adventure. The camera work is exquisite and every opportunity is taken to capture the natural beauty of this region. The story is simple enough. Angelo, an Italian colonel (handsome Olivier Martinez) escapes from Austrian-oppressed Italy to raise funds in the continuing battle against Austria. He finds more than an unsympathetic acceptance in France. Most of the towns through which he rides are beset with cholera. The camera scenes of the dead and dying victims, horse-drawn carts packed high with bodies and funeral pyres are terrifying enough, but it is the fluttering of black wings as crows seek out the eyes of the dying victims that frighten most. Some of the close-ups are pretty grim. In lighter vein I liked the scene where a cat befriends our horseman and he talks to it on the roof about how wars are won with money as much as guns. The cat is a great little actor. The horseman an accomplished swordsman carves his way through many a desperate situation (What hero doesn't?) He acquires a bottle of medicine from a dying stranger who has taught him a massage technique to avert death from cholera. On his way back to Italy with a bag of gold coins, he gives protection to Pauline, a doctor's wife (Juliette Binoche)who is seeking out her missing husband in the cholera-infected area. The young 25-year old colonel who sends almost daily letters to his mother in Italy (they are really a diary of events) behaves as the perfect gentleman at all times, but his protegee is obviously drawn to him. Here is a love story where the lovers admire from a distance never submitting to the chemistry which is drawing them together. When the woman collapses with cholera, all existing barriers are forgotten as he works on her frantically with his acquired knowledge to save her life. One of the great joys of this film is to watch the handsome faces of Martinez and Binoche. Their beauty contrasts sharply with the agonised plight of the villagers and the devilish black crows which hover continuously about the dead, fluttering out through open doors and windows. The ending may not satisfy some, but it leaves us with the thought that somewhere sometime all will be well again.