Queen Margot (1994)

Editor's Note This acclaimed film presents the epic 16th-century saga of Margot de Valois (Isabelle Adjani) and her tragic arranged marriage to Henri of Navarre (Daniel Auteuil). In order to create an alliance between the Protestants and the Catholics, Margot is betrothed to Henri, one of the leaders of the French Protestants. Margot, despite her initial hostility, eventually becomes Henri's main ally in a convoluted and conspiratorial court. However, determined not to consummate her relationship with Henri, Margot takes a Protestant lover (Vincent Perez) and during the St. Bartholomew's Night Massacre, in which the Catholics slaughter the Protestants, helps him escape. The events that follow change not only Margot's life but the course of French history.

	Daniel Auteuil
	Isbelle Adjani
	Jean-Hugues Anglade
	Vincent Perez
	Alexandre Dumas Pere - Based On Novel By
	Philippe Rousselot - Cinematographer
	Philippe Rousselot - Director
	Patrice Chereau - Director
	Francois Gedigier - Editor
	Helene Viard - Editor
	Claude Berri - Producer
	Daniele Thompson - Writer
	Patrice Chereau - Writer

New York Times
"...A big, splashy role for the regal [Adjani]....Chéreau creates an atmosphere in which his actors' flamboyance can be entertaining..." 12/09/1994 p.C10

Entertainment Weekly
"...Mesmerizing....History has rarely been so gorgeously, electrically, sensously portrayed..." -- Rating: A 01/27/1995 pp.32-3

Los Angeles Times
"...Rich and full of verve....Adjani still burns a hole in the screen..." 12/14/1994 p.F2

USA Today
"...Adjani, rapturously photographed by Philippe Rousselot, combines Lillian Gish's silent-screen inner strength with sex bomb packaging..." 06/16/1995 p.16D

James Berardinelli's ReelViews 8 of 10
Queen Margot never becomes tiresome despite a substantial running length (actually, more than 30 minutes were trimmed by Miramax from the original cut). There is enough energy to drive this film through its few slow spots on momentum alone, and Chereau fortunately doesn't subject us to too many scenes with only Adjani and Perez. Featuring the likes of Daniel Auteuil (Un Coeur en Hiver), Jean-Hugues Anglade (Killing Zoe), and Virna Lisi, the rest of the cast is impeccable. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 6 of 10
When I saw Queen Margot for the first time in May 1994 at the Cannes Film Festival, it was like looking at the home movies of complete strangers - in this case, the French. All of the many, many characters on the screen were apparently intimately familiar to those around me, but I was at sea. Eventually a few familiar faces came swimming toward me from out of long-ago history classes: Catherine de Medici, for example. But the film didn't seem much concerned with explaining people and relationships, and devoted its energies instead to an almost unwatchable visual style, made up of endless closeups and a restlessly roving camera. - Roger Ebert