This rediscovered early color (hand-tinted) and sound (on disc) film from 1900 was put on the "Saved from the Flames" DVD collection. It depicts the duel between the title character and his rival with the actor who originated him in the play, Coquelin Aine, speaking in his native French language. Fascinating to watch though more interesting to see as historical than entertaining. Still, worth a look. P.S. This was followed by another early sound-on-disc musical short with singer M. Note singing "La Marseillaise" which, if you've seen Casablanca, you'd recognize as the French national anthem. That one was pretty entertaining.
4 Reviews
Color and sound can't make up for lack of story
Horst_In_Translation22 November 2015
Warning: Spoilers
There have been many movies about Cyrano de Bergerac, including an Oscar-nominated performance by Gérard Depardieu and this one here is actually the first time that you will see the character of de Bergerac on screen. This film runs for 2 minutes only and is the first movie if the information is correct that includes both sound and color. The color fits nicely on the pompous costumes of the protagonists. However, 115 years ago was still way too early as it took decades until these 2 aspects became really common in movies and today they are obviously essential in new movies. Thumbs up for director Clément Maurice for making this a truly modern movie for 1900. Unfortunately, the action is not too interesting, we hear men talking (make sure you get subtitles) and see them fencing. I am not familiar with the character of de Bergerac, but there is certainly more to that one. All in all, not too interesting of a watch. Not recommended.
Sound and Colour
JoeytheBrit14 July 2009
It really is remarkable what a difference sound makes to a film made during the silent era. This 2-minute film, made at a time when most filmmakers were content to shoot footage of postmen posting letters and people walking across bridges, shows a scene from the play Cyrano de Bergerac. Benoit Constantin Coquelin reprises his stage role as the wily Bergerac, taunting his foe, debating then explaining how he is going to defeat him in the duel in which they are partaking. Coquelin is very good, and gives a natural performance that would be beyond actors nearly thirty years later when sound films were first introduced. The film is also partly hand-coloured, which also adds to the enjoyment.
Wow--this one blew me away...
planktonrules9 July 2011
This film was included in the three DVD set "Saved From the Flames"--a collection of mostly ephemeral movies that have managed to avoid turning to powder, catching fire or melting--something that usually happened with the nitrate film stock used up through the 1950s.
Of all the very early films in this set, "Cyrano de Bergerac" is the most amazing to watch. That's because it consists of what seems impossible for the era--a color AND sound film! Despite popular belief that the first sound film was "The Jazz Singer", there were many earlier experiments using sound and moving pictures. However, like "Cyrano", the used a separate recording which created LOTS of problems. The most serious was actually synchronizing the sound and movement. The second was that the recording tended to wear out after just a few viewings. However, "Cyrano" was even more difficult, as it did not use a record but wax cylinders (records were not invented yet) and were even more prone to breaking. As for the color, well, it's not color like we know of it today. Instead, factories filled with women hand painted portions of each and every cel--sometimes a thousand or more! And, this needed to be done for each print! Sometimes the result was blotchy and gross and sometime, with "Cyrano", it looks marvelous. Frankly, this is the most technically amazing film I have seen of the era--and just goes to show you what a lot of ingenuity and skill could produce using relatively primitive technology. A must-see for historians and film buffs.
Of all the very early films in this set, "Cyrano de Bergerac" is the most amazing to watch. That's because it consists of what seems impossible for the era--a color AND sound film! Despite popular belief that the first sound film was "The Jazz Singer", there were many earlier experiments using sound and moving pictures. However, like "Cyrano", the used a separate recording which created LOTS of problems. The most serious was actually synchronizing the sound and movement. The second was that the recording tended to wear out after just a few viewings. However, "Cyrano" was even more difficult, as it did not use a record but wax cylinders (records were not invented yet) and were even more prone to breaking. As for the color, well, it's not color like we know of it today. Instead, factories filled with women hand painted portions of each and every cel--sometimes a thousand or more! And, this needed to be done for each print! Sometimes the result was blotchy and gross and sometime, with "Cyrano", it looks marvelous. Frankly, this is the most technically amazing film I have seen of the era--and just goes to show you what a lot of ingenuity and skill could produce using relatively primitive technology. A must-see for historians and film buffs.
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