The Taking of Power by Louis XIV (French: La prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV), also called The Rise of Louis XIV, is a 1966 French television film by Italian film director Roberto Rossellini.
| The Taking of Power by Louis XIV | |
|---|---|
 French DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Roberto Rossellini |
| Written by | Philippe Erlanger Jean Gruault |
| Produced by | Roberto Rossellini |
| Starring | Jean-Marie Patte Raymond Jourdan Katharina Renn Silvagni Pierre Barrat |
| Cinematography | Georges Leclerc |
| Edited by | Armand Ridel |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 min. |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
Plot
editThe film revolves around the French king Louis XIV's rise to power after the death of his powerful advisor, Cardinal Mazarin. To achieve this political autonomy, Louis deals with his mother and the court nobles, all of whom make the assumption that Mazarin's death will give them more power.
Cast
edit- Jean-Marie Patte as Louis XIV
- Raymond Jourdan as Jean-Baptiste Colbert
- Giulio Cesare Silvagni as Cardinal Mazarin
- Katharina Renn as Anne of Austria
- Dominique Vincent as Suzanne, Marquise du Plessis-Bellière
- Pierre Barrat as Nicolas Fouquet
- Fernand Fabre as Michel Le Tellier, Marquis of Barbezieux
- Françoise Ponty as Louise de la Vallière
- Joelle Laugeois as Maria Theresa of Spain
Reception
editColin McCabe of the University of Pittsburgh praised the film as "the most serious attempt by a great director to film history." In addition to the political story of the king's grasp of power, the "incidental details, it can be argued, form the real subject matter of all of Rossellini's historical films...." McCabe's examples include the doctors’ examination of Mazarin at the beginning of the film and the "extraordinary banquet" that comes close to the end. "We watch the dishes being prepared in a kitchen teeming with cooks, we follow the umpteenth platter as it is formally escorted through the corridors and staircases, until it reaches an enormous table, where the king sits alone, dining in front of his whole court."[1]
Release
editThe Taking of Power by Louis XIV received a DVD release by The Criterion Collection in January 2009.[2]
References
edit- Colin MacCabe, (2008) The Taking of Power by Louis XIV: Long Live the Cinema!, Criterion Collection Essay.
References
edit- ^ McCabe 2008
- ^ "The Criterion Collection Coming Soon". The Criterion Collection. Archived from the original on November 7, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2008.
External links
edit- The Taking of Power by Louis XIV at AllMovie
- The Taking of Power by Louis XIV at IMDb
- The Taking of Power by Louis XIV at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Taking of Power by Louis XIV: Long Live the Cinema! an essay by Colin MacCabe at the Criterion Collection
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