Les rois maudits 

Based on the novel of the same name by Maurice Druon, Les Rois maudits (The Cursed Kings) is the second television adaptation of this seven-volume book which is widely agreed to be an ... See full summary »

Stars:

Jeanne Moreau, Claude Rich, Line Renaud

1 nomination.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Jeanne Moreau	...	Mahaut d'Artois 5 episodes, 2005
Claude Rich	...	Le cardinal Deuze 5 episodes, 2005
Line Renaud	...	Marie de Hongrie 5 episodes, 2005
Vasile Albinet	...	Count 5 episodes, 2005
Serena Autieri	...	Clémence de Hongrie 5 episodes, 2005
Dan Badarau	...	Le Capitaine Bersumee 5 episodes, 2005
Patrick Bouchitey	...	Maître Evrard 5 episodes, 2005
Sophie Broustal	...	Le Divion 5 episodes, 2005
Hugues Dalmagro	...	Capitaine des gardes 5 episodes, 2005
Sophie De La Rochefoucauld	...	Dame Eudeline 5 episodes, 2005
Marie de Villepin	...	Reine Philippa 5 episodes, 2005
Hélène Duc	...	Mme de Bouville 5 episodes, 2005
Daniel Emilfork	...	Maître Martin 5 episodes, 2005
Andy Gillet	...	Hugh le Despenser 5 episodes, 2005
Frédéric Laforet	...	Sire de Souastre 5 episodes, 2005
Toinette Laquière	...	Comtesse de Beaumont 5 episodes, 2005
Christine Musset	...	Dame d'apparat Reine Isabelle 5 episodes, 2005
Philippe Nevo	...	Le chevaucheur 5 episodes, 2005
Violante Placido		5 episodes, 2005
Romain Rondeau	...	Henri Tors Col 5 episodes, 2005
Christiane Rorato	...	Mère abbesse 5 episodes, 2005
Wadeck Stanczak	...	Connétable Gaucher 5 episodes, 2005
Vasilescu Valentin	...	Comte de Salisbury 5 episodes, 2005
Aurélien Wiik	...	Edouard III 5 episodes, 2005
Malik Zidi	...	Philippe VI de Valois 5 episodes, 2005

Storyline

Based on the novel of the same name by Maurice Druon, Les Rois maudits (The Cursed Kings) is the second television adaptation of this seven-volume book which is widely agreed to be an accurate representation of actual events. It is the early 1300's and the treasury of France, under the rule of Philippe IV (Philippe le Bel or Philippe the Beautiful), is empty. The king decides the only solution is to raid the treasures of the Knights Templar (amongst others) and concocts various charges of treason, heresy and deviance against the Knights and their Grand Master Jacques de Molay. Having confessed under torture to the crimes of which he is accused, de Molay is condemned to be burned at the stake. With his dying breath he curses the king, the king's advisor (Guillaume de Nogaret), the pope (Pope Clement V) and the thirteen succeeding generations of their families. There follows one of the most dramatic periods in French history, half a century of political intrigue, murder, treason, war ...

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Plot Keywords:

murder | knight templar | burned at the stake | topless female nudity | female nudity | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Details

Official Sites:

France 2 [France]

Country:

France Italy

Language:

Italian French

Release Date:

7 November 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

A Cursed Monarchy

Filming Locations:

Romania

Box Office

Budget:

€18,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castel Film Romania,France 2 (FR2),France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

500 min (5 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Guillaume Depardieu - Es ist die Hölle! (2010)

User Reviews

Great text, lousy directing

Doing a remake of Les Rois Maudits is a little like doing a remake of Citizen Kane. You've got an awful lot of pressure! The text is powerful but most of the actors can't get a hold of it. Mind you, the producers have mostly hired good actors, but in many instances (Philippe Torreton for example), they can't get inside their characters, because it's not in their range. Others, like Julie Depardieu or Jeanne Moreau in some instances, are just pathetic!

Josée Dayan, the director, has a reputation for not taking many shots, so that the actors play on their "first energy". The result is interesting in some scenes, but you often get the feeling that there isn't any actor direction at all, which is very dangerous with this text, which requires some kind of classical training for the actors (No wonder the best actor was Eric Ruf, of La Comédie Française).

No wonder why in most stores in Paris you see more space for the 1972 version than for this year's!