Cyrano de Bergerac [Blu-ray]

Overview

Recreating his stage role, Jose Ferrer stars as Edmond Rostand's Cyrano, a 17th-century French cavalier, poet and swordsman whose prominent proboscis is the subject of many a duel. Cyrano is madly in love with the beautiful Roxanne (Mala Powers), but assumes that she'd never love him back due to his cathedral of a nose. Roxanne is also loved by the handsome Christian (William Prince), who unfortunately can't put two consecutive words together when it comes to pitching woo. Cyrano agrees to help Christian win Roxanne by feeding him the right words for his midnight courtships and love letters; in this way, Cyrano can vicariously express his own ardor for the fair lady. Years later, Cyrano's deception is revealed, and he dies happily in the arms of his beloved Roxanne, who realizes that she has really loved Cyrano all along--by way of Christian. Cyrano de Bergerac wasn't seen by many paying moviegoers upon its original showing, but its relative box-office failure resulted in an early release to television, where it has remained a perennial attraction for the past forty years.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/18/2012
UPC:	0887090040600
Original Release:	1950
Rating:	NR
Source:	Olive
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Language:	English
Time:	1:53:00
Sales rank:	546

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Mala Powers	Roxane Rubin,Actor
William Prince	Baron Christian de Neuvillette
Ralph Clanton	Count Antoine de Guiche
Morris Carnovsky	Le Bret
Lloyd Corrigan	Ragueneau
Virginia Farmer	Duenna
Edgar Barrier	Cardinal
Elena Verdugo	Orange Girl
Al Cavens	Valvert
Arthur Blake	Montfleury
Don Beddoe	The Meddler
Percy Helton	Bellerose
Virginia Christine	Sister Marthe
Gil Warren	Doctor
Philip Van Zandt	Man with Gazette
Eric Sinclair	Guardsman
Richard Avonde	Marquis
Paul Dubov	Cadet
John Crawford	Cadet
Jerry Paris	Cadet
Robin Hughes	Cadet
José Ferrer	Cyrano de Bergerac
Albert Cravens	Viscount Valvert
Francis Pierlot	Capuchin Monk
John Harmon	Lackey (Assassin)
Dimitri Tiomkin	Composer

Technical Credits

Carl Foreman

Brian Hooker

Michael Gordon	Director
Carl Foreman	Screenwriter
Stanley Kramer	Producer
Edmond Rostand	Playwright
Brian Hooker	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Michael Gordon's film adaptation of the Rostand classic seems to have been limited to a B-movie budget, but features an Oscar-winning performance by Jose Ferrer. The tale of the 17th century swordsman gifted with every quality but the courage to profess his love has frequently been filmed, and in this version Hollywood was attempting to transfer Ferrer's celebrated stage production to the screen. Ferrer, though often effective, apparently did little to tone down his performance for the screen, often hammily overplaying dialogue better served by a more naturalistic delivery. Yet in the play's well-known set pieces -- the opening duel which counterpoints his verse with swordplay, and Cyrano's rhyming catalogue of witty nose invective -- he's at his best. With the exception of Morris Carnovsky, he's surrounded by a surprisingly mediocre cast, particularly Mala Powers as Roxanne, an actress whose vapid presence tends to rob Cyrano's ardor of its credibility, and William Prince, who plays the heroic Christian with the all the passion of a nervous postal clerk. While the film's direction is undistinguished, Dimitri Tiomkin's energetic score is well suited to its spirit.

All Movie Guide - Michael Costello