The Visitors (1993)

A medieval knight and his servant ask a familiar wizard to move them back in time to prevent father-in-law's accidentally killing. Instead, they fly away to the 20th century.

Director:

Jean-Marie Poiré

Writers:

Christian Clavier, Jean-Marie Poiré

Stars:

Christian Clavier, Jean Reno, Valérie Lemercier

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christian Clavier	...	Jacquouille la Fripouille / Jacquard
Jean Reno	...	Godefroy de Papincourt, Comte de Montmirail
Valérie Lemercier	...	Frénégonde de Pouille / Béatrice de Montmirail
Marie-Anne Chazel	...	Ginette la clocharde
Christian Bujeau	...	Jean-Pierre
Isabelle Nanty	...	Fabienne Morlot
Gérard Séty	...	Edgar Bernay
Didier Pain	...	Louis VI le Gros
Jean-Paul Muel	...	Marechal des Logis Gibon
Arielle Sémenoff	...	Jacqueline (as Ariel Séménoff)
Michel Peyrelon	...	Edouard Bernay
Pierre Vial	...	Wizard Eusebius / Monsieur Ferdinand
François Lalande	...	Priest
Didier Bénureau	...	Intern Beauvin
Frédéric Baptiste	...	Freddy

Storyline

A medieval nobleman and his squire are accidentally transported to contemporary times by a senile sorcerer. He enlists the aid of his descendent to try to find a way to return home, all the while trying to cope with the cultural and technological changes distinguishing his time from ours.

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Plot Keywords:

time travel | year 1123 | 12th century | 20th century | trapped in the past | 

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Taglines:

When an 11th century knight and his loyal servant try to go back in time, only one thing will stand in their way. The 20th century.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mel Brooks was hired to write and record English-language dialogue for the U.S. release. But the version did not test well with audiences, and co-writer/director Jean-Marie Poiré hated it, saying Brooks had turned it from a comedy about a French knight into a parody with French accents so thick it was almost impossible to understand. So Miramax held up U.S. release until the summer of 1996, with standard subtitles. Brooks was paid $500,000 for his efforts, however.

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Goofs

When Godefroy arrives at Béatrice's, he complains that "there's no longer any hectare of forest". Hectare is a surface area unit that was invented during the French Revolution.

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Quotes

Intern Beauvin: Your patient is very dangerous - he nearly tore my scrotum apart.
Jacquouille la Fripouille: Limp scrotum! Limp scrotum!
[laughs]

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Crazy Credits

After the final credits role, stick around for a "Hello to all you credits-lovers!" accompanied by a waving medieval knight.

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Connections

Referenced in Fresh Bait (1995)

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Soundtracks

Symphonie Ecossaise
(Extraits)
Composed by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (as Félix Mendelsshon)
Performed by The Czech Symphony Orchestra

User Reviews

Immensely Enjoyable

Looking at some of the other comments, not everyone is in agreement here, but I have really liked "Les Visiteurs". The original is so good, its a pity they had to spoil with the Americanized version - 'Just Visiting' - which is at best an insult on the intelligence of the American viewing public.

For us that do not understand French, they have done a tremendous job with the English subtitles (translating a kind of 'medieval' French into a comparable type of old English – modern swearwords included). In fact, the job is so well done, that we had a lot of laughs just by comparing the film's verbal antics to the translation. Even though I do not speak French myself, it is quite clear that a lot of effort had gone into this. Sometimes the conversations are fast and furious, so it's worthwhile to see the movie a second time. Even on the second pass, there was a lot to laugh at.

This is meant to be slapstick and the story is a total farce, so it's hard to see why some viewers apparently expected more. I thought it was well done, and very well executed. Even though this whole thing is intended as a joke, the reactions of the medieval guys are quite believable.

The movie is a blast!

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French German English

Release Date:

12 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Visitors

Filming Locations:

Frémécourt, Val d'Oise, France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,792, 14 July 1996

Gross USA:

$659,810

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$659,810

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alpilles Productions, Amigo Productions, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1