The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade, usually shortened to Marat/Sade (pronounced [ma.ʁa.sad]), is a 1967 British film adaptation of Peter Weiss' play Marat/Sade. The screen adaptation is directed by Peter Brook, and originated in his theatre production for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The English version was written by Adrian Mitchell from a translation by Geoffrey Skelton.

Marat/Sade
DVD cover
Directed byPeter Brook
Screenplay byAdrian Mitchell
English translation:
Geoffrey Skelton
Based onMarat/Sade
by Peter Weiss
Produced byMichael Birkett
StarringPatrick Magee
Ian Richardson
Michael Williams
Clifford Rose
Glenda Jackson
Freddie Jones
CinematographyDavid Watkin
Edited byTom Priestley
Music byRichard Peaslee
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release dates
  • 22 February 1967 (1967-02-22) (US)
  • 8 March 1967 (1967-03-08) (UK)
Running time
116 minutes[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The cast included Ian Richardson, Patrick Magee, Glenda Jackson, Clifford Rose, and Freddie Jones. It was filmed at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire and released by United Artists on 22 February 1967 in the United States, and 8 March 1967 in the United Kingdom. The film's score comprised Richard Peaslee's compositions. David Watkin was the cinematographer.[2] The film uses the full title in the opening credits, though most of the publicity materials use the shortened form.

Plot

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In the Charenton Asylum in 1808, the Marquis de Sade stages a play about the murder of Jean-Paul Marat by Charlotte Corday, using his fellow inmates as actors. The director of the hospital, Monsieur Coulmier, supervises the performance, accompanied by his wife and daughter. Coulmier, who supports Napoleon's government, believes that the play will support his own bourgeois ideas, and denounce those of the French Revolution that Marat helped lead. His patients, however, have other ideas, and they make a habit of speaking lines he had attempted to suppress, or deviating entirely into personal opinion. The Marquis himself, meanwhile, subtly manipulates both the players and the audience to create an atmosphere of chaos and nihilism that ultimately brings on an orgy of destruction.

Cast

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Reception

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Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 94%, based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10.[3]

Roger Ebert wrote, "The actors are superb. When we first see the Marquis (Patrick Magee), he looks steadily into the camera for half a minute and the full terror of his perversion becomes clearer than any dialog can make it. Glenda Jackson, as Marat's assassin Charlotte Corday, weaves back and forth between the melancholy of her mental illness and the fire of the role she plays. Ian Richardson, as Marat, still advocates violence and revolution even though thousands have died and nothing has been accomplished."[4]

Film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film 4 out of a possible 4 stars, calling the film "chilling", praising the film's atmosphere as being "so vivid that it seems actors are breathing down your neck".[5]

Accolades

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The film received the "Youth Jury Mention, feature films" award at the 1967 Locarno International Film Festival.[6] Brook shared the 1969 Nastro d'Argento prize for Best Director of a Foreign Film (shared with Robert Bresson).[7]

References

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  1. ^ "THE PERSECUTION AND ASSASSINATION OF JEAN-PAUL MARAT AS PERFORMED BY THE INMATES OF THE ASYLUM OF CHARENTON UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE MARQUIS DE SADE (X)". British Board of Film Classification. 30 November 1966. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  2. ^ Watkin, David (7 January 2009). "Filmography". The David Watkin Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Marat/Sade (1966)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  4. ^ Ebert, Roger (2 May 1967). "Marat/Sade Movie Review & Film Summary (1967)". Chicago Sun-Times – via Rogerebert.com.
  5. ^ Maltin, Leonard (2 September 2014). Leonard Maltin's 2015 Movie Guide. New York City: Penguin Publishing Group. p. 896. ISBN 9780698183612.
  6. ^ "20th Locarno Film Festival". Locarno Film Festival. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  7. ^ "1969 awardsa". Nastri d'Argento. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
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