Marie Antoinette: A Film by David Grubin
by David Grubin
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DVD details
Actor: Antoine de Baecque, Blair Brown, Caroline Bernard, Fanny Cosandey, Philippe AltierDirector: David Grubin
Brand: Paramount
Cinematographer: James Callanan
Cinematographer: Terry Hopkins
Producer: David Grubin
Writer: David Grubin
Producer: Fabienne Servan-Schreiber
Producer: Laurence Miller
Producer: Rachel Buchanan
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; French (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 120 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-11-28
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: PBS Paramount
DVD Reviews of Marie Antoinette: A Film by David Grubin
DVD Review: The condensed version of Antonia Fraser's biography
Summary: 4 Stars
After listening to Antonia Fraser's excellent and exhaustive biography of Marie Antoinette on audiobook (MARIE ANTOINETTE: THE JOURNEY), I immediately hopped onto Netflix in search of a related documentary or two. The only one to catch my eye was David Grubin's MARIE ANTOINETTE: A FILM. Try as I might, I can't help but critique Grubin's film in relation to Fraser's biography.
Grubin's MARIE ANTOINETTE clocks in at about two hours, compared to the 20+ hour narration of Fraser's MARIE ANTOINETTE. While it might seem unfair to compare the two for this reason alone, they do share a similar story arc and cover much the same ground. In fact, Grubin includes snippets of interviews with several French historians in MARIE ANTOINETTE, one of whom is Antonia Fraser herself!
Given the time limitation, Grubin does a decent enough job of detailing the life and death of Marie Antoinette, starting with her childhood in Vienna, Austria, and ending with her death at the hands of "revolutionaries" in Paris, France. Even so, Grubin barely scratches the surface; for example, though he attempts to examine Marie Antoinette's psychological, social and intellectual development, the audience is only beginning to get a feel for Marie Antoinette the person by film's end. Additionally, Grubin raises a few controversial points - such as Marie Antoinette's relationship with Count Ferson - which is unfortunate, because he's unable to examine points of contention on anything but a superficial level. For example, Fraser dealt with historical controversies by returning to contemporary accounts of the events (diaries, letters, etc.), detailing various modern views on the issue, and then concluding with her own reasoned interpretation of the evidence. Grubin simply doesn't have enough time to do the same.
On the plus side, Grubin's film boasts one momentous advantage over Fraser's (audio)book - visual aids! Grubin interlaces interviews and narration with video and stills for stunning visual effects. MARIE ANTOINETTE: A FILM highlights a number of contemporary images, including portraits of Marie Antoinette and her friends and family, as well as scores of pages from then-scandalous pamphlets and propaganda - much of which contains nudity and sketches of a sexual nature (thankfully, none is censored). Grubin juxtaposes modern video of historical places - Versailles, Le Petit Trianon, Vienna - with these historical images, thus allowing the audience access to the places significant to Madame Antoine's child- and adulthood.
Additionally, I thought that Grubin's recounting of the French Revolution was more linear and easier to follow than was Fraser's. Fraser interspersed her accounts of the revolutionary political climate in France with its effects on Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI, while Grubin offered a lean - but informative - summary towards the end of his film.
All in all, I enjoyed MARIE ANTOINETTE: A FILM, but coming off of MARIE ANTOINETTE: THE JOURNEY, felt as though I'd already heard much of Grubin's story. Newbies will probably find MARIE ANTOINETTE: A FILM a nice introduction to the topic, while history buffs might like the film's visuals. All in all, a keeper.
DVD Review: Excellent documentary but tragic story
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this on TV and was completely engaged. I just got this DVD today and very happy to own it. Marie Antoinette's early life was completely in a bubble. Yes she reminds us of celebrities like Paris Hilton but did she deserve to die?!! Of course, not!. She was completely ignorant of anything outside of her royal confines. In fairness to her, I think the partial cause of this tragedy was Louis XVI, who was an inept person let alone a King! If he was half as much of what a King should be, he would've dealt with much of the country's financial issues rather than Marie herself. He also could've made her change her frivolous ways and become more responsible to her subjects. It was just a mess. People blame her solely but half of it if not much of it was not her fault. She was in a wrong time with the wrong man. Granted she was a horrible queen but part of the reason which led to her execution was due to those pamphlet lies! I agree with the Englishman historian that if only she and the king could agree on a constitutional monarchy, which would have saved the royal family and prevented an uprising. It's just too bad. Very tragic indeed! I will go to Petit Trianon to see it. Been to Versaille but not her Petit Trianon. Vive la Marie!DVD Review: Was Marie Antoinette really THAT bad?
Summary: 4 Stars
Forever famous as the last French queen, and who lost her head, literally, to the French Revolution, I thought I knew quite a bit about Marie Antoinette. After watching this film by David Grubin, I realized I had much to learn. The film is organized in what can be called the "standard" historical film format, containing current on location shots of pertinent locales; pictures of paintings/engravings to give you a sense of what the people looked like at that time; actors portraying main characters in snippets of live action; interviews with knowledgeable historians; and a narrator to knit it all together. This film format works, and since it is familiar, one can concentrate on the content.
Hour one is called "The marriage bed" and recounts the years when a very young Marie Antoinette became the wife of then prince Louis XVI. Most of us who study history know that the couple did not consummate their marriage for several years, and the film takes time to thoroughly examine this issue, since sex amongst royals, who had to create an heir, was an open topic of the court. Marie Antoinette's rich lifestyle and large spending habits are outlined in this hour, as well as how much Marie Antoinette's mother (the Empress of Austria) was involved in her daily life at the French court. But what you really see is just how much Marie Antoinette (and Louis XVI) was totally out of touch with the everyday lives of the French citizenry, and why the revolution did take them by surprise.
Hour two is called "The most hated woman in France" and recounts the beginnings of the French Revolution, and how it lead to the end of the absolute monarchy in France at the time. During this time, Marie Antoinette finally understood how her frivolous lifestyle had alienated her from her subjects. The film shows many (in my view, too many) examples of what we now call political cartoons of the day, depicting the supposed sexual debauchery of Marie Antoinette. Of course, these cartoons, along with the large national debt France has rung up, added fuel to an already burning fire of discontent in France, and much of the blame was laid at the feet of Marie Antoinette. We all know the outcome -- Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette both meet their deaths under the blade of the guillotine.
When the film ended, I was left torn between feeling sorry for Marie Antoinette, who was just a young girl when she was thrust into the crazy stage of the French court and knew no other lifestyle but one of luxury; and feeling sorry for the French people that their king and queen were so out of touch that only revolution would change things. Marie Antoinette was a tragic figure, much of her own doing, and continues to be an interesting character to study. This film does an excellent job providing fuel to anyone who is interested in learning more about Marie Antoinette.
DVD Review: Loved it!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was looking for a dvd that talked about the life of Marie Antionette and this seemed like the way to go, cause there are many more around amazon and it was confusing to which would be the best choice. I randomly picked this one and I'm glad I did. This documentary was very well made and very well written. Very enjoyable to watch so TRUST ME you wont regret getting this!
Cheers,
DVD Review: A terrific bio!
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this DVD! I'm interested in Marie Antoinette anyway but anyone who appreciates history would find this very entertaining and informative. I consider this a 'must have' for my home video collection.
Description of Marie Antoinette: A Film by David Grubin
This is the story of a callous monarch, swept to her death in the torrent of the French Revolution. It is also the tale of a fragile young woman struggling to find herself during one of the most turbulent moments in human history. Filmed in France and Austria, with rare access to Versailles, Le Petit Trianon, and the Austro-Hungarian palaces of her youth, Marie Antoinette will tell the intensely human story of the often misunderstood monarch who was beheaded during the turbulence and horror of the French revolution.General DVDs
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