The Taking of Power by Louis XIV (1966)

After the death of Cardinal Mazarin, young king Louis XIV decides to assert his power to control the aristocracy.

Director:

Roberto Rossellini

Writers:

Philippe Erlanger (scenario), Jean Gruault (adaptation)

Stars:

Jean-Marie Patte, Raymond Jourdan, César Silvagni

1 nomination.

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:

looking at oneself in a mirror | king | versailles france | 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 Taking of Power by 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

Louisiana was named after him.

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Connections

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

User Reviews

True realism

I'm going to go ahead and make the rather bold statement that Rossellini's biographical films are the true end and completion of the project he started with the neo-realists. I do this in a rather roundabout way involving personalist philosophy and Andre Bazin, but what most interests me is where the other neo-realists ended up. Fellini found a strange hybrid with elementary surrealism, De Sica plunged into sentimentality, Visconti's outlook became increasingly epic and grandiose. But in Rossellini we arrive at pure personality, and pure reconciliation of physical circumstances and self-determination. It is apparent that this is not a typically exaggerated biography, but this is not mere truthfulness. It's all in the approach, and Rossellini understood this perfectly. The shots are very characteristic, and the sets have a low-budget, but Rossellini's vision is the dominant, and very welcome, force of the film.

5 out of 5 - Essential