Les Rois maudits

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Au d but du XIVème Si �cle, Philippe IV le Bel r �gne sur la France en ma� tre absolu. Trois de ses fils assurent sa descendance. Isabelle, sa fille unique est mari e au roi Edouard II d'Angleterre. Sous son règne, la France est grande mais le

Les Rois maudits Review

This French television production of Maurice Druon's famous hexalogy has a great deal to recommend it: most pleasurably, for those accustomed (or resigned) to the megalomaniac meddlings of Hollywood, it is *extremely* faithful to the original books, right down to the dialogue. It is also, by and large, well executed; although the gentleman playing the central character, Robert d'Artois, has a tendency to overact (possibly because of M. Druon's repeated characterisations of him as larger than life).

Unfortunately, it has two large strikes against it.

One, mentioned by other reviewers, is that there are no subtitles. One has to wonder at the cause: indifference to foreign sales, arrogance (let them learn French), or simply laziness?

The other is that the entire thing is apparently shot in cheesy studio sets. Even quite modest settings like council chambers are unconvincing. I didn't expect a cast of thousands, but they can't even manage the forest scene where Philip the Fair collapses.

Even more irritating than the visuals, though, are the acoustics, which never change, whatever the scene. Even when it's supposedly the streets of Paris, there are no background noises, nothing but the dialogue of the principals.

Can it have been done on a shoe-string budget? A major production of a famous book by an Academician (as the titles do not neglect to tell us)? Surely not. Some comments on Amazon France attribute these characteristics to the age of the production (1972), but Elizabeth R, from the same era, is far more professional.

However, this is comparing it with the very best. By and large, the fine acting and the colourful characters and costumes make it more than worthwhile — if you speak French! — to catch this convoluted, fascinatingly true historic pageant of power, violence, love, hate, intelligence, stupidity, treachery, nobility, venality, and (of course) sex.

Incidentally, there are six (not seven) volumes of "The Accursed Kings" books in English, corresponding to the six episodes of the video:

1) The Iron King
2) The Strangled Queen
3) The Poisoned Crown
4) The Royal Succession
5) The She-Wolf of France
6) The Lily and the Lion

If you read these first, you will be able to get through the videos with only schoolboy French.

The 7th book, Quand un roi perd la France ("When a King Loses France"), appears to have been a later addition, not filmed and not translated into English.

UPDATE 2007

I now gather that sets and costumes were deliberately kept minimal, to give the audience the feel of a small theatre production; fair enough (although I would have thought that a small theatre used cheap sets because it had too, not because it wanted to).

Also that the 2005 remake has realistic sets, CGI blood and guts, and (with the illustrious exception of G rard Depardieu) inferior acting (but still no English subtitles!).

I think I'll stick with the good acting.

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