La Reine Margot (1994 film)

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This article is on the 1994 film. For other adaptations of the Dumas novel, see La Reine Margot (book).

Queen Margot (La Reine Margot)
original film poster
Directed by	Patrice Chéreau
Produced by	Claude Berri
Written by	Danièle Thompson Patrice Chéreau
Starring	Isabelle Adjani Daniel Auteuil Virna Lisi Vincent Pérez
Music by	Goran Bregović
Cinematography	Philippe Rousselot
Distributed by	Miramax Films US AMLF France
Release date(s)	1994
Running time	162 min.
Country	France
Language	French / Italian
IMDb profile

La Reine Margot is a 1994 film based on the 1845 historical novel of the same name by Alexandre Dumas, père. It was released in the UK under its original French title, and as Queen Margot in North America. The film was directed by Patrice Chéreau.

1 Synopsis
2 Production
3 Awards
4 Alternate versions and marketing
5 Principal cast
6 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Isabelle Adjani stars as Marguerite de Valois, better known as Margot, daughter of scheming Catholic power player Catherine de' Medici (Virna Lisi). Although Margot herself is excluded from the throne by the Salic Law, her marriage to a Protestant prince offers a chance for domestic reconciliation during the late 16th century reign of the neurotic, hypochondriac King Charles IX (Jean-Hugues Anglade), a time when Catholics are vying for political control of France with the French Protestants, the Huguenots. Catherine decides to make an overture of goodwill by offering up Margot in marriage to prominent Huguenot and King of Navarre, Henri de Bourbon (Daniel Auteuil), although she also schemes to bring about the notorious St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572, when thousands of Protestants are slaughtered. The marriage goes forward but Margot, who does not love Henri, begins a passionate affair with the soldier La Môle (Vincent Pérez), also a Protestant from a well-to-do family. Murders by poisoning follow, as court intrigues multiply and Queen Catherine's villainous plotting to place her son, the future Henry III (Pascal Greggory) on the throne threatens the lives of La Môle, Margot and Henri.

[edit] Production

The film was an international co-production made by several companies based in France, Germany, Italy, with the additional participation of StudioCanal and the American company Miramax, and the support of Eurimages.

[edit] Awards

The film won 5 César Awards and two awards at the Cannes Film Festival. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Costume Design.

[edit] Alternate versions and marketing

US DVD cover

The film's original running time was 161 minutes in its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and in its French theatrical release. However, its American distributor, Miramax, asked the director to re-edit the movie to 145 minutes, and this version was the version seen in cinemas outside France and later on video. The full-length version was available for a limited period in the UK on VHS in a collectors' edition box set in 1995, but all further releases, including the DVD, have used the 145 minute cut.

The re-edited version not only removed scenes, it also added a scene between Margot and La Môle, in which they stand outdoors wrapped in a red cloak. The director had cut this scene from the original 'full-length' version. The scene was re-inserted because Miramax insisted that the relationship between the two characters be more substantial, as the romance was to become the focal point for the American marketing campaign. The 'red cloak' scene appears on the US DVD cover. In contrast the Region 2 European DVD cover uses the original poster, showing a shocked Margot bespattered with blood.