That Night in Varennes (1982)

In June of 1791, a group of passengers in a stagecoach find themselves caught up in the events of the French Revolution, when they find themselves in the city of Varennes when ... See full summary »

Director:

Ettore Scola

Writers:

Sergio Amidei (screenplay and dialogue), Ettore Scola (screenplay and dialogue)

Stars:

Jean-Louis Barrault, Marcello Mastroianni, Hanna Schygulla

6 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Louis Barrault	...	Nicolas Edmé Restif de la Bretonne
Marcello Mastroianni	...	Casanova, Chevalier de Seingalt
Hanna Schygulla	...	Countess Sophie de la Borde
Harvey Keitel	...	Thomas Paine
Jean-Claude Brialy	...	Monsieur Jacob
Andréa Ferréol	...	Madame Adélaïde Gagnon
Michel Vitold	...	De Florange
Laura Betti	...	Virginia Capacelli
Enzo Jannacci	...	Italian clown
Pierre Malet	...	Emile Delage, student revolutionary
Daniel Gélin	...	De Wendel
Hugues Quester	...	Jean-Louis Romeuf
Dora Doll	...	Nanette Precy
Caterina Boratto	...	Madame Faustine
Didi Perego	...	Madame Sauce

Storyline

In June of 1791, a group of passengers in a stagecoach find themselves caught up in the events of the French Revolution, when they find themselves in the city of Varennes when revolutionists arrest the fleeing King Louis.

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Plot Keywords:

marie antoinette | french revolution | escape attempt | horse drawn carriage | royal family | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French Italian

Release Date:

16 February 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

La noche de Varennes

Filming Locations:

Pont Saint-Michel, Paris 1, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Opera Film Produzione, France 3 (FR 3), Gaumont

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min (short version) (dubbed) (short) 135 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Casanova: Place au Chevalier de Seingalt et à Monsieur de la Bretonne! Place au génie!

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Alternate Versions

The Italian dubbed version runs 122 minutes, mostly due to the removal of the final speech when Restif talks to the audience.

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Connections

Featured in Ridendo e scherzando - Ritratto di un regista all'italiana (2015)

User Reviews

Fascinating movie

We really enjoyed this. Barrault and Mastroianni are terrific actors--did an outstanding job. The philosophical questions raised are still worth considering today, as the movie implies, and yet they are raised in an interesting and indirect way, so the viewer doesn't feel bludgeoned or lectured at.

I was interested to discover that the flight to Varennes was in fact historical, though I could not discover whether Restif de Bretonnes (Barrault's character) was actually at the event and commented on first-hand knowledge. He did write extensively about life and events of the time. The interchange of ideas seemed natural, despite the apparent absurdity of finding all of them in the same coach at the same time. Sort of like those "if you could invite 5 historical figures to dinner at the same time" ideas.

Very much worth seeing.