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Special Features
1.77 Wide Screen
16:9 Wide Screen
DVD 9
French
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 French
Dolby Digital 5.1
English
16:9 Wide Screen
DVD 9
French
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 French
Dolby Digital 5.1
English
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Eric Rohmer's historical films seem to explore aspects of the age in which they are set, the "Marquis von O" explored eighteenth century acting techniques, the "Lady and the Duke" explores aristocratic response to the French Revolution.
Exterior scenes take place in town and landscapes created from lithographs, and the interiors and costumes make wonderful use of muted colour tones. These settings could well be hung in an art gallery.
Grace Elliott (Lucy Russell) was a real life courtesan and past mistress of Le duc d'Orleans and the films is based on her autobiography "Journal of my life during the French Revolution" still available from Amazon.
Lucy Russell is superb in creating the character of Grace Elliot and the interaction between her and Dreyfus as the "duc d'Orleans" draws you into the bittersweet afterglow of the residual friendship from an earlier relationship.
However the horror of the French Revolution surrounding the characters is only portrayed by messengers and conversations as it would have been in real life, but this does leave us with a rather flat and uninvolving drama.
A must see for all admirers of Eric Rohmer, but probably of limited general appeal.
Exterior scenes take place in town and landscapes created from lithographs, and the interiors and costumes make wonderful use of muted colour tones. These settings could well be hung in an art gallery.
Grace Elliott (Lucy Russell) was a real life courtesan and past mistress of Le duc d'Orleans and the films is based on her autobiography "Journal of my life during the French Revolution" still available from Amazon.
Lucy Russell is superb in creating the character of Grace Elliot and the interaction between her and Dreyfus as the "duc d'Orleans" draws you into the bittersweet afterglow of the residual friendship from an earlier relationship.
However the horror of the French Revolution surrounding the characters is only portrayed by messengers and conversations as it would have been in real life, but this does leave us with a rather flat and uninvolving drama.
A must see for all admirers of Eric Rohmer, but probably of limited general appeal.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The lady,Grace Elliot, is an expat Scot who's living in France at the time of the French Revolution. She speaks perfect French(as does the actress,Lucy Russell).What an amazing feat for a British actress!The Duke is the Duke of Orleans,cousin to King Louis, but Republican and in opposition to the Monarchy.This is at the time of the Terror when lots of Aristocrats lost their heads to the guillotine. Grace is an ex-lover of the Duke, but they are still good friends and he writes to her and visits her. He is forever telling her to go as she is not safe. She prefers to live in France at this time. Rohmer makes an elegant stab at a historical drama and cleverly uses painted backdrops, and does a good job on the interiors and the clothing, all hand-stitched. He comes at the subject using Elliot's journals, from a Royalist point of view(that is Grace's). She and the Duke, sometimes have disagreements e.g. about supporting the King, but the Duke prefers them with her, than with his son, who rebels against him dangerously. The actors performed against blue screens and the perspectives of streets and buildings were painted& projected on to the screens.This perfection of artifice, works and creates the atmosphere of 18th century France. Lucy Russell, convinces with her eloquent French, and she has a Gainsborough-like animation, natural with the French and the artifice.Dreyfus is a good counterpart to her, as steady ,loyal and charming.She has a close shave with the Committee of Justice, but is exonerated.However Dreyfus meets a different end.French critics opposed Rohmer's politics, but lauded the technical feat of pulling off such a subject with limited means.Most of all, as it was based on a real journal, I loved the personal angle on it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I bought this because I love the movies that Rohmer makes - Claire's knee, Autumn tale, Green Ray... but this historical romance with painted backdrops doesn't do anything to me. I tried, but gave up about halfway. The acting is rather wooden, the heroine leaves me cold. The story is inferior to other tales of the same era, such as Scarlet Pimpernel or Scaramouche.
A disappointing movie - I didn't think it was possible with this director!
A disappointing movie - I didn't think it was possible with this director!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Irksome
This is one of two films that I've paid full cinematic price to see and walked out of (the other was Hugh Hudson's "Revolution"). Read more
Published 4 months ago by J. Rottweiller Swinburne
Despite its controversial politics, Rohmer's historical drama works
Rohmer returns to his historical dramas in the real story of Grace Elliot, an Englishwoman who stayed in France during the apex of the French Revolution. Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2008 by Andres C. Salama
Lady I nearly puke
Oh dear, only once have I come close to walking out of a film but why oh why do we hang on and give it "10 more minutes. Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2008 by Bod
Excellent
One the the best Movies on French Revolution. Landscapes are stunning. Dialogues excellent, better in French and ev with subtitles. Read more
Published on 27 April 2003 by A. Weiss V. Trostprugg
The Lady and the Duke
It is rather difficult to summarise the story of this film in one paragraph - the overall impression is that of a string of only loosely connected episodes. Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2002
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