
Cyrano de Bergerac. 1990. France/Hungary. Directed by Jean-Paul Rappenneau. Screenplay by Jean-Claude Carrière, Rappenneau, based on the play by Edmond Rostand. With Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Vincent Pérez. In French; English subtitles. 137 min.
Larger of heart than of nose, Gerard Depardieu’s tragicomic Cyrano is a throwback to the grandiose swashbuckling of Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn, and Tyrone Power, bringing a touching grace and humanity to Edmond de Rostand’s hoary play of 1897. Indeed, the “panache” of Rostand’s alexandrine verse has never seemed more romantic and alive than in Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s exquisitely choreographed production and in the parrying rhythms of Anthony Burgess’s English subtitles.
4K digital restoration courtesy Lagardère Studios Distribution