The Rise of Louis XIV (1966)

1661: Cardinal Mazarin dies. In the power vacuum, the young Louis asserts his intention to govern as well as rule. Mazarin's fiscal advisor, Colbert, warns against Fouquet, the Surintendant... See full summary »

Director:

Roberto Rossellini

Writers:

Philippe Erlanger (scenario), Jean Gruault (adaptation)

Stars:

Jean-Marie Patte, Raymond Jourdan, César Silvagni

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Marie Patte	...	King Louis XIV
Raymond Jourdan	...	Jean Baptiste Colbert
César Silvagni	...	Cardinal Mazarin (as Silvagni)
Katharina Renn	...	Anne d'Autriche
Dominique Vincent	...	Madame Du Plessis
Pierre Barrat	...	Nicolas Fouquet
Fernand Fabre	...	Michel Le Tellier
Françoise Ponty	...	Louise de la Vallière
Joëlle Laugeois	...	Marie-Thérèse
Maurice Barrier	...	D'Artagnan
André Dumas	...	Le Père Joly
François Mirante	...	M. de Brienne
Pierre Spadoni	...	Noni
Roger Guillo	...	L'apothicaire
Louis Raymond	...	Le premier médecin

Storyline

1661: Cardinal Mazarin dies. In the power vacuum, the young Louis asserts his intention to govern as well as rule. Mazarin's fiscal advisor, Colbert, warns against Fouquet, the Surintendant who's been systematically looting the treasury and wants to be prime minister. Fouquet believes Louis will soon tire of exercizing power; he overplays his hand, offering a bribe to Louis's mistress to be his ally. She reports this to the king who arrests Fouquet. Louis and Colbert design a brilliant strategy to keep merchants making money, nobles in debt, the urban poor working and fed, and peasants untaxed. Years later, in a coda, we see Louis exercising the power of the sun.

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Plot Keywords:

17th century | king of france | looking at oneself in a mirror | prime minister | money | 

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Genres:

Biography | History

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French Latin

Release Date:

8 October 1966 (France)

Also Known As:

The Rise of Louis XIV

Filming Locations:

Chateau de Versailles, Versailles, Yvelines, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (ORTF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title character (Louis XIV) doesn't appear until 20 minutes into this 94-minute movie.

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Connections

Referenced in Inside the Actors Studio: Martin Scorsese (2002)

User Reviews

Highness and loudness of the power

Rossellini give us a magnificent lesson of history, and how his movie's title is well choose! Remarkable is the style, and the psychology of the young Louis, as a man full of his own genius, is excellent; we understand him, we understand each action which will conduct him to the summit of the real absolutism. Never before, a french director didn't explored the french meaning of the highness and nobility, the french mentality of this ancient time where the peoples of France sincerely believed that the king was divine. There were an Italian, an Italian who was flirting a while with the communism who enjoyed us with this splendid last sequence, and this last true picture of a true king highly thinking of his charge and his destiny. Maybe the Frenchmen are too busy with the ruins of their glorious past to effectively and really understand this past.