Cyrano De Bergerac

Rating:
Summary: Massive and unnecessary surgery on a classic
Review: Literary translation requires a balancing act between word-for-word interpretation and more liberal paraphrase. Anthony Burgess has gone farther than that, concocting an English version of "Cyrano de Bergerac" that is better classed an adaptation rather than a translation. He excises characters whom he doesn't like, reduces Roxane's appearance in the play, implants poems and speeches which were never in the original, and generally reworks the play into something other than the original. But worse still is the language - snotty, excessively erudite, and giving Cyrano an extremely bitter and obnoxious tone. I've read five other English versions of "Cyrano," and frankly this is my least liked, as if a surgeon unnecessarily cut off the legs of a healthy patient.

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Summary: Translation captures poetry and wit of Rostand's hero.
Review: Most readers and performers are probably more familiar with the translation of Cyrano by Brian Hooker. Hooker's translation has much to recommend it but it fails to capture the poetic power, whimsy or grace of Rostand's play. I feel the Burgess translation better represents Cyrano to a modern reader. One previous reviewer suggested that there was something almost absurd about Cyrano as he is portrayed by Rostand. Burgess himself had qualms about translating the play into rhyme. But this convention is powerful because it suggests that the men and women of Cyrano's dramatic world (even the lackwits) were impressed by cleverness, grace and beauty. It is set out in the play that Roxanne is one of the literary precieuse. The type of cleverness that Cyrano portrays in rhyme would appeal to her. At the same time, Cyrano is not a fop but a man of action whose mind is not stilled even by combat. Also this translation shows that Christian's "military wit" was something Cyrano could appreciate for its poetic appropriateness as well as for its courage. I think in some ways Cyrano's chivalry and heroism, as well as the more unrealistic elements of the play, are actually made more vivid and convincing by the use of rhyme. Burgess transports us to Rostand's imagined world of poetry and chivalry directly. . . and does not relent for a moment in portraying it. I think the real Hercule Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac would have appreciated the flair of it all. And if you don't buy that?-- Well, the fight scenes are STILL cool. Happy reading.

Rating:
Summary: A memorable tour de force !
Review: Puerto Rico must have done a big celebration when Jose Ferrer won the Academy Award for this unforgettable and artistic role . Cyrano is one of the most intimate pages of the romantic literature . Jean Rostand , the famous author sharped an emblematic character blending the passionate love surrounded for a rebel spirit. Cyrano was a rebel with cause in the widest sense of the word.
Michael Gordon could adapt into screen this novel giving to film an extremely and carefuly theatrical approach . Think about the glorius mesage of the work . Forget about your physical aspect ; Cyrano (Gordon and Rappenau) , The huntchback of Notre Dame (Jean Delanoy) and curiuosly The beauty and the beast (Jean Cocteau) meant an artistic triumph in the screen and The elephant man (Lynch) in the early eighties signified for the rest of the world the beauty is the sum of little details and not only a shinning face . Three of these three films were from France and the other one from U.K , but all of them were loaded of the purest romantic spirit of the early XIX Century.
This resource worked out to the sublime perfection in those hard times where the movie was inmersed in a chaos . A crossroad of possibilities were in the environement but it was a clear time of innovation and surviving .
The italian cinema wass emerging from the ashes of the war with Antonioni, Fellini, De Sica and Visconti as the most distinctive ambassadors .
UK. with David Lean , Carol Reed , Anthony Asquith and Ronald Neame twisting the fate of the british cinema with ne4w proposals .
However in Japan , Kenji Mizoguchi , Akira Kurosawa , Kon Ichikawa , Yasujiro Ozu and Kinugasa gave to japanese cinema a distinctive face with superb films .
But meanwhile when the american cinema found two clever roads as the film noir and the sci fi ; Elia Kazan , Otto Preminger and Stanley Kramer decided to face the social dilema with potent and disturbing films .
In this order of ideas , Gordon had the wonderful but risky inspiration of adapting a literature classic .
Gordon played hard and won fortunately for us ; the timeless cinema lovers .
Jose Ferrer made a dazzling and unforgettable performance with Cyrano ; the best role of his magistral career.

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Summary: "...the greatest play ever written" - Ayn Rand -- I agree!!!
Review: Rostand has done something that only a few authors ever achieve: he has created a true hero. Cyrano is a lover of life, a dueler of stupidity and a champion of reason and rational self-interest. The only way to find characters of this caliber and moral fortitude is to read Victor Hugo's "Toilers of the Sea," or Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" . Cyrano ranks with the best. If you want to read more about Cyrano, check out the fascinating new book by James L. Carcioppolo, "The Lost Sonnets of Cyrano de Bergerac," available here at Amazon.com. I promise you will not be disappointed! jk

Rating:
Summary: Bad transfer.
Review: Such a good performance to be wasted on such a bad transfer. Had I known how lousy a copy this was I would have saved my money and purchased the Marengo version. The best copy I've seen so far was by Image Entertainment on laserdisc but...

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written, but a non-comprehensable protagonist.
Review: The book overall was excellent, but I thought Cyrano made many stupid and irratic decisions for such a seemingly intelligent person. Maybe it was his love for Roxane that made him act so foolishly, but it confused me. It seems as if Rostand couldn't decide whether to make Cyrano an intellect, or a fool; an extravagent comedian, or a tragic poet. Picking one personality would make Cyrano seem more realistic, instead of making him appear to have multiple personality disorder. Many people have different personalities, but not with the extremities that Cyrano possesses, unless they stopped taking their prescription of Prozac, which in my opinion, Cyrano needs.

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Summary: Charming, amusing love story
Review: The play in which Steve Martin's "Roxanne" was based on is "Cyrano de Bergerac", a French play by Edmond Rostand. The title character is a witty men, well about words, but has a physical appendage that all find alarming and engrossing: a large, portrusive nose. He falls in love with Roxanne, but she is in love with another man; while he is beautiful, he's also a veritable dunderhead. Cyrano agrees to help him court Roxanne and many funny happenings occur. This is an amusing play, sure to charm anyone who can take physical imperfections lightly.

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Summary: a great film for all times.
Review: there is not a doubt that this film is a clasic the sword play and word-play is wonderful. I recomend the clasic hero film wonderful and romantic.

Rating:
Summary: Best edition of a magnificent film
Review: This (yellow poster on DVD case) is the Hal Roach edition of the 1950 film starring Jose Ferrer. I'm aware of two other editions: Alpha Video, & Marengo Films. The Alpha Video edition (full colour head shot of Cyrano) is crap -- not worth $5. The Marengo edition (black poster on DVD case), while clean in sound & video, is darker than this Hal Roach edition. In several significant scenes taking place outdoors at night, this edition shows more detail and is easier to watch. It has a minor flaw, a purple band that slowly rolls from bottom to top of the screen; I can eliminate it by reducing the colour intensity on my monitor.

I have all three editions; this is the one I watch.

Rating:
Summary: Cyrano de Bergerac - Alpha Video DVD -
Review: This a great motion picture. The source material for this Alpha Video DVD is an old tired 16mm print. Sound is as muddy as the picture. The screen actually "crawls" with grain. Contast is bad - no detail or resolution. The experience of Jose Ferrer's Academy Award Winning performance is ruined by the quality of this DVD. I don't know why they would manufacture it - and I know NO ONE should buy it! Someone should find new source material like IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT - their Laser Disc was pristine.