L'Allee Du Roi (Original French Version with English Version)
by Nina Companéez
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DVD details
Director: Nina CompanéezPrimary Contributor: Dominique Blanc
Primary Contributor: Mauricio Buraglia
Primary Contributor: Didier Sandre
Primary Contributor: Valentine Varela
Primary Contributor: Samuel Labarthe
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: French (Unknown); English (Unknown)
Format: Box set, Color, Import
Running Time: 240 minutes
Published: 1995
Studio: CMR Home Video
DVD Reviews of L'Allee Du Roi (Original French Version with English Version)
DVD Review: The Sun King and His Court Compellingly Portrayed
Summary: 5 Stars
While there seems to be no letup in the stream of Louis XIV books starting from when he was still a teenager, the screen has been much less well served. Despite the fact that new books on the Sun King (Hilton: Athenaïs, Mossiker: The Affair of the Poisons, Fraser: Love and Louis XIV) have appeared with regularity even in recent years, there are still few movies or miniseries about the King's reign, and even fewer that make an effort to stay close to the actual history. This is a big exception, and it is no surprise that it is the French who have made it (and yes, there is no English dubbing, only subtitles, but fans of this period would not want it any other way). All of the characters, and the court itself, are wonderfully portrayed, as the story follows Louis and Françoise from their thirties into a rather gloomy old age. A real plus, virtually unknown in films about this period, is the sound track conducted by French Baroque specialist Christophe Rousset, consisting exclusively of music from the period.
Louis comes across as a rather ordinary but hard-working and generally well-meaning man whose actions and self-importance certainly stem from the situation he was born into. This series, following the actual history as closely as one might expect, is essentially about a triangle: Louis, Athenaïs (the Marquise de Montespan)and the principle character, Françoise D'Aubigné (the widow Scarron, later Madame, and later still the Marquise de Maintenon). The story starts with Françoise's childhood, and we meet Athenaïs and her many friends long before Louis appears. When we do meet him he is at the height of his fascination for Athenaïs, who has chosen her friend Françoise, rescued by her from near poverty, as governess for her illegitimate children by the King.
As others have remarked, it was the children and the love and care Françoise gave them (in marked contrast to Athenaïs who could hardly wait for the next party) that gradually won the King. It's also clear that Françoise, whom he eventually married in secret, was one of the few women he knew who neither sought to exploit him or gave themselves up mindlessly to his physical attentions. Although not easy to portray in a series like this without losing focus, the King's growing pangs of conscience over his many adulteries and his fear of God's judgment made the deep but unostentatious piety of Françoise especially attractive to him.
The universe of Versailles in the reign of the Sun King was a large one, and lasted a long time, so one can always regret that many interesting characters are given scant notice, such as the King's brother Monsieur (he only has a brief walk-on near the end) and the artistic and literary figures that were the objects of the King's support (Lully, Le Nôtre, Racine, Corneille and Molière). In compensation, the costumes, sets, and of course the music, are wonderful. Louis, his loves and his court have never been better served. Highly recommended.
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