La Révolution Française (1989) - The Best & Most Complete Movie To Date on the French Revolution

   

Vue du siège et de la Prise de la Bastille, Musée Carnavalet (14 juillet 1789)

Today, in honor of this being France's national holiday, and specifically in celebrating the memory of the "prise de la Bastille," or the taking of the Bastille prison in Paris on the 14th of July, 1789, it seemed like a good idea to post a blog entry for this movie. It is from 1989, and I believe that I heard somewhere - perhaps it was in college when I took a course which focused specifically on the French Revolution - that this was the best movie out there about the events of that monumental moment in history. Indeed, it does not so much dramatize things, as it shows the history, or what actually happened, as it happens. From Camille Desmoulins addressing a crowd and symbolically plucking a leaf from a tree and urging everyone to do the same as an identifier for revolutionaries, to Louis XIV jotting down "rien" or "nothing" in his diary for July 14th, and other small details. There is a lot packed into this admittedly very long movie. If memory serves correctly, it is over five hours long!

Still, it is the best and most complete movie version which I know of regarding the French Revolution, from the first stirrings (and addressing the bankruptcy of the French government and the reasons for it), the need for the King to call for les états généraux (the Estates General) in order to raise taxes, and then watching the Third Estate slowly empowering itself to become l'Assemblee nationale, or the National Assembly, to the events of the revolution itself, from the mostly positive first parts (including the storming of the Bastille, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, and so on) to when it begins to spiral out of control during the period known as "The Terror."

This has a truly international cast, and some of the actors are well-known (even to English speaking audiences) and accomplished actors. And again, it is as complete a recounting of the historical events of that era as there is (at least that I know of). I have seen a few movies on the French Revolution, but none of them felt anywhere near as complete or stripped of opinion as this one is. Surely, there are biases that people can find. But to me, it seems mostly focused on just getting the history right. And as a former student of this particular chapter in history, which always fascinated me from an early age, I try to watch it once every few years or so, just as a quick reminder of many aspects of this historical chapter in France's history.

So it seemed appropriate on this day in particular to post a blog entry about it. Also, to include both parts of the movie, which are available for viewing on Youtube, entirely for free. It is something which I recommend for any fans of French history, or France itself. It is not a casual movie which you should approach merely for entertainment, however. Because this is not a comedy, or anything. There are no huge explosions. Again, this is a historical movie, and as such, it requires some effort and a serious approach to recognize it as such. Perhaps that is why it did not do particularly well in the theaters when first released, as I heard somewhere at some point.

In any case, here are the two parts of the movie. 

Enjoy!

La Révolution Française (1989) Part 1 ENG SUB Upscaled & Improved

La Révolution Française (1989) Part 2 ENG SUB Upscaled & Improved