Marie Antoinette (2006)

The retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 15 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen and ultimately the fall of Versailles.

Director:

Sofia Coppola

Writer:

Sofia Coppola

Stars:

Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis

Won 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kirsten Dunst	...	Marie Antoinette
Jason Schwartzman	...	Louis XVI
Judy Davis	...	Comtesse de Noailles
Rip Torn	...	Louis XV
Rose Byrne	...	Duchesse de Polignac
Asia Argento	...	Comtesse du Barry
Molly Shannon	...	Aunt Victoire
Shirley Henderson	...	Aunt Sophie
Danny Huston	...	Emperor Joseph II
Marianne Faithfull	...	Empress Maria Theresa
Mary Nighy	...	Princesse Lamballe
Sebastian Armesto	...	Comte Louis de Provence
Jamie Dornan	...	Count Axel Fersen
Aurore Clément	...	Duchesse de Char
Guillaume Gallienne	...	Vergennes

Storyline

"All eyes will be on you," says the Austrian Empress, Maria Theresa to her youngest daughter Marie Antoinette. The film, marketed for a teen audience, is an impressionistic retelling of Marie Antoinette's life as a young queen in the opulent and eccentric court at Versailles. The film focuses on Marie Antoinette, as she matures from a teenage bride to a young woman and eventual queen of France.

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Plot Keywords:

marie antoinette | queen | austria | versailles | marriage | 

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Taglines:

The Party That Started A Revolution

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, partial nudity and innuendo

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [fr] Official site [jp]

Country:

USA France Japan

Language:

English Latin French

Release Date:

20 October 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Marija Antoaneta

Filming Locations:

Basildon Park, Lower Basildon, Berkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£283,883 (UK) (20 October 2006)

Gross:

$15,962,471 (USA) (1 December 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Pricel, Tohokushinsha Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was ranked #3 on US Weekly's "Top Ten Films of 2006".

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Goofs

Marie is represented as being naked under her chemise, as was customary, but Kirsten Dunst's underwear can be seen several times.

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Quotes

Maria Teresa: [in her letter to Marie Antoinette] Remember you represent the future and nothing is certain about your place there until the final physical act to crown the Franco-Austrian alliance is performed.

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Connections

Version of The Affair of the Necklace (2001)

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Soundtracks

"Aux lagueurs d'Apollon"
(from the opera-buffon "Platée")
Music by Jean-Philippe Rameau
Performed by Carolyn Sampson with Ex Cathedra
Conducted by Jeffrey Skidmore
Courtesy of Hyperion Records Ltd.

User Reviews

Only In Dreams..

I have seen this film yesterday after a lot of hype up and waiting since in my little town everything comes out a month after the release date. I was looking forward to seeing this movie..a lot. But I must say that the trailers I had seen and the film have a completely different feeling. This isn't a bad film but I think that it well get a lot of criticism for not being historically accurate, not serious enough, being too long, being 'unfinished'... but those are not he bad points of this movie. The style is original and Sofia Coppola succeeds at showing Marie Antoinette's personal side. Her suffering through gossip and humiliation by her husbands lack of 'interest' in her etc. She succeeds in showing Marie Antoinette as a naive girl in the beginning..who hugs her first lady, cries at parting with her dog and announcing that the morning ceremonials are ridiculous. We see Marie Antoinette at the beginning trying to fit in with the strict life at Versailles but further on it's clear that with the gossip following her she stops caring and starts to have fun her own way which leads to her ruin. The negative points of the film is that Sofia Coppola uses the same techniques, the same scenes through out the movie. The trying on of shoes, the hairdressing, the patisserie dishes and the champagne. We see Marie Antoinette frolicking around in the grass too many times. Sofia Coppola apparently tried to show a girl out of touch with reality who lives just to have fun..to escape the wagging tongues of Versailles. But if that was her point the film should've ended long before. This is a biography of Marie Antoinette...even though not a completely serious or historically accurate one...but if Sofia Coppola is trying to show this French queens personality and human side then I can assure you there was more to her than the frilly lace, the satin shoe, the bakery department and the champagne. Marie-Antoinette was a mother who cared about her children and was involved with them..though we hardly we see this in the film except the sequence of her and her daughter on the farm. The relationship and the feelings she had for her husband aren't very clear and his for her aren't very much elucidated. This is a visually beautiful film but I think Sofia Coppola could've delved deeper into this rich personality. In the end you're left with the impression of stepping out from a hazy rose petal fragile dream that from someones tumultuous life. But a dream that's still worth seeing.