Marie-Antoinette (TV 2006)

Directors:

Francis Leclerc, Yves Simoneau

Writer:

Jean-Claude Carrière

Stars:

Karine Vanasse, Olivier Aubin, Marie-Eve Beaulieu

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Karine Vanasse	...	Marie-Antoinette
Olivier Aubin	...	Louis XVI
Marie-Eve Beaulieu	...	Madame de Polignac
Danny Gilmore	...	Comte de Fersen
Chloé Rocheleau	...	Marie-Thérèse
Hélène Florent	...	Madame du Barry
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Ahmarani	...	Léonard
Charles Berling	...	Récitant (voice)
Luc Bourgeois	...	Bijoutier Bohmer
Daniel Brière
François Caffiaux
Maude Campeau
Patrick Caux	...	Chauveau Lagarde
Vincent Champoux	...	Comte de Provence
Serge Christianssens

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

versailles | marie antoinette

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Details

Official Sites:

TéléQuébec [ca] (French)

Country:

Canada France

Language:

French

Release Date:

21 December 2006 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Marie Antoinette

Filming Locations:

Saint-Hubert, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

GMT Productions, Télé-Québec, Émergence International Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Marie Antoinette (1938)

User Reviews

A technical breakthrough

This is NOT Sofia Coppola's movie, but a different made-for-TV docudrama. It covers Marie-Antoinette's entire lifespan in France, from age 15 to her death, describing also how people reacted to her (collectively as well as individually) and why. It feels cold and objective like a newsreport, and dramatic intensity is set aside for all but the last few minutes.

Technically, this movie was produced on a shoestring. It is one of the first full-length features, if not *the* first, to be shot entirely in limbo ("green screen" as for the weather forecasts on TV).

The actors were filmed in a Montreal studio with whatever props were needed, while the backdrops were photographed (or when necessary, filmed) in the real Versailles Palace, and electronically (and faultlessly) added in later.

This was necessary as the French authorities would not have allowed the Palace to be turned over (once more?) to film crews for over a month, and probably damaged in the process; but it also whittled the budget down to a minimum.

The Director was Yves Simoneau, a very experienced Quebec filmmaker who now works out of Hollywood, and yet he saw the need for a co-director due to the complexity of the job.

The end result is excellent. I haven't detected a single flaw such as jitters, problems with angles, perspective or lighting, or panning incoherences between the players and the backdrop. I would not in a million years have guessed that the movie had not been shot on location.

Students of the cinema should study this historic production very carefully as (in combination with advances in computer imagery) it probably foreshadows the end of hugely expensive studio sets.

As for the content - I found it similar to an illustrated lecture in history - mildly interesting but nothing to write home (or IMDb) about.