"Rois maudits, Les" (2005)TV mini-series

Director:

Josée Dayan

Writers:

Maurice Druon (novel) and
Anne-Marie Catois (writer)

Release Date:

28 September 2005 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

Based on the novel of the same name by Maurice Druon, Les Rois maudits (The Cursed Kings) is the second...

Plot Keywords:

Costume Drama | French | Murder | Royal | France

Cast

Jeanne Moreau	...	Mahaut d'Artois
Philippe Torreton	...	Robert d'Artois
Tchéky Karyo	...	Philippe le Bel (as Tcheky Karyo)
Gérard Depardieu	...	Jacques de Molay
Jérôme Anger	...	Guillaume de Nogaret
Jean-Claude Brialy	...	Hugues de Bouville
Jean-Claude Drouot	...	Enguerrand de Marigny
Jacques Spiesser	...	Charles de Valois
Guillaume Depardieu	...	Louis X le Hutin
Julie Gayet	...	Isabelle de France, reine d'Angleterre
Julie Depardieu	...	Jeanne de Poitiers
Jeanne Balibar	...	Béatrice d'Hirson
Hélène Fillières	...	Marguerite de Bourgogne
Eric Ruf	...	Philippe de Poitiers
Anne Malraux	...	Blanche de Bourgogne

Also Known As:

A Cursed Monarchy (International: English title)
Maledizione dei templari, La (Italy)

Runtime:

500 min (5 parts)

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French | Italian

Color:

Color

Certification:

Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Castel Film Romania

Movie Connections:

Remake of "Rois maudits, Les" (1972)

Why did they remake the 1972 series?

Basically, because they could. The original series was and probably still is the best and most literate TV series ever made on this planet. The producers of this remake kept, for the most part, the very same dialogs, which is a very good thing, but have also shortened and simplified them (a.k.a. dumbing down), which robs the characters of their individuality and make them into soap opera nimrods. They also "glamourized" many parts and replaced the very stylized, evocative and economical sets of the first series - which gave precedence to the acting, the character development, the story and the costumes - with impressive 3-D sets and some amazing CGI work and special effects. What they couldn't replace was Jean Piat's and Hélène Duc's talent and presence. The new cast is stellar but today's actors just pale by comparison with what came before... Whereas Hélène Duc was malevolence incarnate, Jeanne Moreau just aged badly and is scary to look at... They also couldn't replace Georges Delerue's genius in the music department and they used every opportunity given them to show every execution, rape, hanging, torture scene, burning at the stake, etc. in lurid and sadistic detail, something they learned from the so-called euro historical dramas of the last decade, which I call the history-as-a-series-of-body-fluids school and which owes more to Quentin Tarantino than Maurice Druon. What was only suggested is now shown without any shame or embarrassment. I'm not sure this is progress. But you'll certainly get a great many people riveted to their TV screens and maybe get a few of them to actually buy and read the book when they are sufficiently recovered from the shock...