The Voyage of Captain Fracassa

Although it does not follow Theophile Gautier's novel slavishly, this movie gets the essentials all right. (The very next day after seeing the movie in 1990 in France, I went to the nearest bookstore o buy the book, which I hadn't read yet; and which proved a delight, too.) While many US and UK movies do period pieces like the Three Musketeers in near-parody or camp, this one treats the story with respect. Think Cyrano de Bergerac, but with a more even and varied cast of characters, and a big twist of a happy ending. It's particularly fun for anyone who does amateur theater, as the plot involves a nobleman (down on his luck in the south) who swallows his pride long enough to join a troup of travelling actors (at the time, denied the right of burial), for a trip to Paris. Fortunately, despite being in the sticks, his tutor at sword fighting was the best.