The Assassination of the Duke of Guise
Encyclopedia
The Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908
) (original French title: La Mort du duc de Guise; often referred to as L'Assassinat du duc de Guise) is a French historical film directed by Charles Le Bargy
and André Calmettes, adapted by Henri Lavedan
, and featuring actors of the Comédie Française and prominent set designers. It is one of the first films to feature an original film score
, composed by Camille Saint-Saëns
.
(played by co-director Le Bargy) summoned his powerful rival, Duke Henri de Guise
, to his chambers at the Château de Blois
and had him brutally murdered. The film has its share of lurid thrills, and the pacing is quick throughout, with better acting than most films of the time, and staged in a somewhat theatrical manner.
), but its costumes and staging followed the historical tradition of the French theater.
The movie contains the rudiments of the more elaborate narrative techniques of films to come. Although it consists of only nine shots, with theatrical rather than cinematic acting and staging, it presents enough elements of a story that it could be understood on its own. It does this through continuity of action and space. Leading up to and including the assassination, the camera follows the movements of the main character over five separate shots, through three separate rooms and back. Other elements were theatrical rather than filmic, such as sets with painted backdrops and the camera's single stationary position for each scene, reminiscent of a seat on the main floor, not far from the "stage."
Calmettes and Le Bargy were both eminent actors, and Le Bargy a member of the Comédie Française. Other cast members were in the Maison de Molière.
that year.
and other pantomime figures. The program included color photographs from Asia, described as "fairy-tale views" taken by Gervais-Courtellemont. LeBargy also recited Edmond Rostand
's poem "Le Bois sacrée", which was said to be "illustrated by a ballet--or rather, a choreographic vision".
The Assassination of the Duke of Guise was released in the United States
by Pathé Frères on February 17, 1909. There is no trace of a special premiere for the program. In Moving Picture World
, Pathé simply announced the film as one of its current "dramatic" releases, at a length of 853 feet—considerably shorter than the version for which Saint-Saëns had composed his score; and the company dropped the film from its listings five weeks later. There is no record that the score was even heard in America at that time. Neither the film nor the score was suited to the nickelodeon-centered American film industry in 1909, but it was nevertheless reviewed extensively over the next several weeks.
It received considerable attention from critics because of the reputation of its creators and crew. Many critics noted that with the movie's basis in French history, the film might appeal to the upper class, but the average American moviegoer might not be able to follow the plot. When comparing the movie with contemporary American historical drama, many critics considered The Assassination to have better photography, better acting, and better dramatic construction.
1908 in film
The year 1908 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Thomas Edison formed the Motion Picture Patents Company, with goals of controlling production and distribution, raising theater admission prices, cooperating with censorship bodies, and preventing film stock from getting into the hands...
) (original French title: La Mort du duc de Guise; often referred to as L'Assassinat du duc de Guise) is a French historical film directed by Charles Le Bargy
Charles le Bargy
Charles Gustave Auguste le Bargy was a French actor and early film director.He was born at La Chapelle...
and André Calmettes, adapted by Henri Lavedan
Henri Lavedan
Henri Léon Emile Lavedan , French dramatist and man of letters, was born at Orléans, the son of Hubert Léon Lavedan, a well-known Catholic and liberal journalist....
, and featuring actors of the Comédie Française and prominent set designers. It is one of the first films to feature an original film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
, composed by Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
.
Synopsis
Lasting longer than was then usual (about 15 minutes), the film more or less accurately depicts the events of the day in 1588 when King Henri IIIHenry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
(played by co-director Le Bargy) summoned his powerful rival, Duke Henri de Guise
Henry I, Duke of Guise
Henry I, Prince of Joinville, Duke of Guise, Count of Eu , sometimes called Le Balafré, "the scarred", was the eldest son of Francis, Duke of Guise, and Anna d'Este...
, to his chambers at the Château de Blois
Château de Blois
The Royal Château de Blois is located in the Loir-et-Cher département in the Loire Valley, in France, in the center of the city of Blois. The residence of several French kings, it is also the place where Joan of Arc went in 1429 to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before departing with her...
and had him brutally murdered. The film has its share of lurid thrills, and the pacing is quick throughout, with better acting than most films of the time, and staged in a somewhat theatrical manner.
Production
The Assassination was one of the first and most successful films to be made by the Societé Film d'Art, a production company founded in 1907 with the intention of making films that would earn the respect of the cultural elite as well as the patronage of large audiences. The script was written for the screen (by Henri LavedanHenri Lavedan
Henri Léon Emile Lavedan , French dramatist and man of letters, was born at Orléans, the son of Hubert Léon Lavedan, a well-known Catholic and liberal journalist....
), but its costumes and staging followed the historical tradition of the French theater.
The movie contains the rudiments of the more elaborate narrative techniques of films to come. Although it consists of only nine shots, with theatrical rather than cinematic acting and staging, it presents enough elements of a story that it could be understood on its own. It does this through continuity of action and space. Leading up to and including the assassination, the camera follows the movements of the main character over five separate shots, through three separate rooms and back. Other elements were theatrical rather than filmic, such as sets with painted backdrops and the camera's single stationary position for each scene, reminiscent of a seat on the main floor, not far from the "stage."
Calmettes and Le Bargy were both eminent actors, and Le Bargy a member of the Comédie Française. Other cast members were in the Maison de Molière.
Cast
- Charles Le BargyCharles le BargyCharles Gustave Auguste le Bargy was a French actor and early film director.He was born at La Chapelle...
as Henri IIIHenry III of FranceHenry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,... - Albert Lambert as "Le duc de Guise"
- Gabrielle Robinne as "Marquise de Noirmoutier, maîtresse du duc"
- Berthe BovyBerthe BovyBerthe Bovy , sometimes known as Betty Bovy, was a Belgian actress who appeared in theatre, films and television programmes for over 60 years....
as "Le page" - Jean Angelo
- Albert DieudonnéAlbert DieudonnéAlbert Dieudonné was a French actor, screenwriter, film director and novelist.Dieudonné was born in Paris, France and made his acting debut in silent film in 1908 for The Assassination of the Duke of Guise, with musical score by Camille Saint-Saëns. In 1924, he directed the film drama, "Catherine"...
- Huguette Duflos
- Raphaël Duflos
- Charles Lorrain
- Rolla Norman
Score
Calmettes is credited with the idea of scoring the film, and Saint-Saëns was a logical choice for such a prestigious venture. At age 73, he was probably France's most celebrated composer, and he had extensive experience in theater music. The score integrates small-scale dramatic details within a large-scale musical form to a degree rarely equaled during the rest of the silent period. Information about how he approached the project is scarce and ambiguous. Bonnerot, his biographer, tells us that he worked out the music "scene by scene before the screen"; and that because of the approach of winter he left Paris before the film's première, leaving Fernand LeBorne to conduct the orchestra. Saint-Saëns had a piano reduction of the score, dedicated to LeBorne, published by DurandDurand
- Places :United States* Durand, Illinois* Durand, Michigan**Durand Union Station, the town's Amtrak station* Durand , Wisconsin** Durand, Wisconsin, small city within the town* Durand Township, Minnesota* Durand-Eastman Park, Rochester, New YorkOther...
that year.
Premiere
The première was held at the Salle Charras on 17 November 1908. It was high-toned throughout, befitting such an "art" film. Sponsored and advertised by the Societé under the title "Vision d'Art", the various entertainments mostly combined imagery and live music. There were two other films beside The Assassination, each with an original score of its own: Le Secret de Myrto, depicting ballerina Regina Badet dancing to music of Gaston Berardi; and L'Empreinte, with music by LeBorne contained a series of "picturesque tableaux" using silhouettes of PierrotPierrot
Pierrot is a stock character of pantomime and Commedia dell'Arte whose origins are in the late 17th-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne; the name is a hypocorism of Pierre , via the suffix -ot. His character in postmodern popular culture—in...
and other pantomime figures. The program included color photographs from Asia, described as "fairy-tale views" taken by Gervais-Courtellemont. LeBargy also recited Edmond Rostand
Edmond Rostand
Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism, and is best known for his play Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand's romantic plays provided an alternative to the naturalistic theatre popular during the late nineteenth century...
's poem "Le Bois sacrée", which was said to be "illustrated by a ballet--or rather, a choreographic vision".
Reception
The film's success in France inspired other companies to make similar films, thus inaugurating a genre which eventually became known as films d'art, taking the name of the leading production company; a genre characterized by elaborate theatricality in sets, costumes and acting and associated with historical dramas concerned with noble characters.The Assassination of the Duke of Guise was released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Pathé Frères on February 17, 1909. There is no trace of a special premiere for the program. In Moving Picture World
The Moving Picture World
The Moving Picture World was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. By 1914, it had a reported circulation of approximately 15,000.The publication was founded by James Petrie Chalmers, Jr...
, Pathé simply announced the film as one of its current "dramatic" releases, at a length of 853 feet—considerably shorter than the version for which Saint-Saëns had composed his score; and the company dropped the film from its listings five weeks later. There is no record that the score was even heard in America at that time. Neither the film nor the score was suited to the nickelodeon-centered American film industry in 1909, but it was nevertheless reviewed extensively over the next several weeks.
It received considerable attention from critics because of the reputation of its creators and crew. Many critics noted that with the movie's basis in French history, the film might appeal to the upper class, but the average American moviegoer might not be able to follow the plot. When comparing the movie with contemporary American historical drama, many critics considered The Assassination to have better photography, better acting, and better dramatic construction.
Sources
- Gunning, Tom, D.W. Griffith and the Origins of American Narrative Film, 1994, University of Illinois Press
- Hanson, Bernard, "D.W. Griffith: Some Sources," The Art Bulletin, Vol. 54, No. 4. (Dec., 1972), pp. 493–515
- Marks, Martin Miller, Music and the Silent Film: Contexts and Case Studies, 1895-1924 , 1997, Oxford University Press
- Milestones of the Millennium: Great Film Music, 1999, NPR
External links
- piano score at IMSLP