Cyrano reviewed by Mark Kermode
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- Mark Kermode reviews Cyrano. Musical retelling of the story of a fighter and poet who - despite being in love with her himself - writes love letters to his friend Roxane on behalf of her suitor.
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Surprised that in listing all of those versions of Cyrano, the one Mark forgot was the 1950 version for which Jose Ferrer won the Best Actor Oscar.
Simon isn't far off re: rap battle. such verbal sparring in lordly and royal courts was called "flyting", and has indeed been noted in the context of the verbal sparring that evolved into Rap Battles
A brilliant adaptation with the sensational Peter Dinklage and one of the rare musicals where I didn't feel a strong desire to skip the song numbers.
Saw it today and was stunned to be honest. It’s very special. Dinklage is incredible.
"a rap battle?" Simon and Mark are evolving into adorable old men, and I'm here for it ♥️
Ironically that is exactly how the current London production is being staged! 🤣
A rap battle was the first thing that came to my mind as I was watching that clip, but I guess that means I’m not as ancient as Simon and Mark haha I thought it was quite clearly what they were going for, the way it was directed and shot was very reminiscent of a similar scene in 8 Mile.
@@curzonproduct the one with James Macavoy?
I agree with your assessment Mark. I saw the stage version of this in 2019 and Dinklage was the best thing about it then. I would say Haley Bennett is much better casting than the actress who played it in NYC (Bennett oddly didn’t go with it to nyc). Best song is the war one, which now is even more impactful.
I'm sort of surprised that there's no mention of the version of Cyrano de Bergerac, perhaps the definitive version ever captured on film, starring Jose Ferrar in the starring role. It was also notable for having what was, at the time, the most complex and authentic sword fight ever filmed. It's a film that's well-worth watching.
I watched the 2021 version on the plane, came home and went to find the older version for comparison's sake. The translation is brilliant! Although I do miss the rhyming verse of the original. I think the acting in the new version is absolutely stellar, but the writing wasn't up to par. (Especially for a story about poetic brilliance!)
I've only ever heard it pronounced as "SEE-ruh-know"...but I live in America, and I know we sometimes say things differently here. Love the show. Thanks for putting these segments out on an otherwise troubling day.
See-rah-no in French, no special emphasis. Yes, it's a welcome distraction.
I love it when people talk about a song's worth in terms of sales figures rather than, you know, saying what is particularly expressive about a song. Popularity is not an indication of artistic worth.
Agreed! I also don’t think a song needs to be memorable on first listening in order for it to be a ‘good’ song. Whenever there’s a musical film - Mark always seems to measure it by whether he remembers it or not.
I just watched this last night, and I absolutely fell in love with the cinematography, they managed to capture the feel of a stage play while somehow still allowing the scene to expand into the world of the story. I also quite appreciate the attempts to make the tale a touch more grounded/realistic, for example it was 10 men instead of 100, and having him succumb to wounds which never properly healed--likely due in part to not eating well--was far better than "random log/beam falls on his head from a decent height." While I will agree the songs LYRICS are perhaps less than memorable, the actual pieces lend themselves to the ATMOSPHERE of the film, though at times this is further assisted by the choreography of certain scenes, I particularly enjoyed the segment with Christian first joining the Guards. That said, ultimately Peter Dinklage is far and away the absolute best part of this film, though everyone else is at least servicable if not outright good. Will definitely watch again.
I thought the Wherever I Fall section (Part I, the scene in-between and Part II) was absolutely fantastic. For those 10-15 minutes I was seriously emotionally invested in the film. Everything before was fine, the songs weren't particularly memorable, the story is perhaps too simple and I didn't feel like any of the actors had chemistry with each other, but it was watchable. Then I didn't care for the ending, to be honest. It felt too rushed.
Couldn’t agree more about the song, that’s the only song I’ve listened to again since watching the film!
I laughed out loud at that song
@@marknewbold2583 Ooh, you're hard
Remember Peter took the Cyrano play which was his passion's work and merely transposed it to film. He even used the same actress in the play which meant they knew the source material like the back of their hand. The thing for me the film works when it utilizes the play's elements. The interplay between the love triangle is what kept me engaged. When it focuses on the film's sets and battle scenes it loses me. And I feel the final act needed a bigger emotional impact. I liked it mildly, but only because Peter carries the film. I implore you to see "The Station Agent."
He literally mentioned The Station Agent lol
@@RadReviews777 I just wanted to make sure he didn't forget after his much better work in "Pixels!"
@@danielcastillo4537 which actress are you talking about ?
The songs weren't catchy or bombastic, which won't get it far today, but the imagery was lavish and the sharp dialogue carried through them from the non musical sections. The exception was the "Wherever I Fall" song at the end which was brilliant and made me sit bolt upright where the other songs had me leaning back.
I saw this last night and pretty much agree with everything Mark says here. Dinklage is incredible and the one reason to watch the film. But the songs are a real mixed bag, and largely just slow down the plot, whilst the whole thing feels a little underwhelming and unconvincing. 10/10 performance in a 6/10 film.
Crazy how much i felt the complete opposite. "Overcome", "Someone to Say", "Your Name", and "Wherever I Fall" are some of the best songs i've heard in a musical before, and singlehandedly saved the film for me. Otherwise, I would've said this movie was boring as dirt with an absurd and over-dramatic premise.
I think the runtime wasn't particularly long, but that's probably because I'm used to watching lengthy award-winning films in the theater, or the average "money regurgitated on-screen" comic book films. I wish there was a stand-out song, like the ones in Disney films because they always have at least a couple (Especially in the 80s and 90s renaissance era 2D animated films) but there sadly wasn't, and I think that's the only complaint I have about the music.
Do they do justice to "The Impossible Dream," at least?
Dinklage made the film by far. Without his performance it would have been a 4/10 for me. He played the character well and gave the movie its charm. My issue is partly with the choice of making it a musical as well as the run time. If they are going to make it a musical it should have been longer to have more scenes between Roxane and cyrano. In the scenes they have there is chemistry but I would have loved to have seen more in which Roxane kinda starts to figure it out on her own more instead of suddenly declaring her love at the end when she does. I also feel the concept of falling for words is a good one but if it’s a movie why not visualize the letters in a way that we feel his love for her instead of weirdly erotic cheorgraphy of her reading it. Ultimately with a run time like that a musical is not the way to go but the concept itself wasn’t bad. I think 6/10 is accurate
You really wouldn't mention Jose Ferrer's award winning performance in 1950?
So happy that Mark mentioned Electric Dreams!
Saw it today with the significant other. A must watch. Completely breathtaking and emotionally uplifting. Cinema photography is absolutely beautiful and the songs didn't detract at all. A anti musical musical. They actually provide the film a uniqueness with its rap hip hop gothic mix. Up there with films like Belfast and Loving Vincent.
I figured the movie would be carried alone by Dinklages charisma.
I've never liked the Cyrano story, but I'm tempted to see this just for Dinklage!
I wasn't aware that there is a new version. Loved the Gerard Depardieu version ever since I was a child. Now I'm excited for this one! Thanks for the review!
Edit after the trailer: Wait...why the heck are they singing...?
It's always been Cyrano, as pronounced by the French, seeing its origins. It's not damn ham! :D
Flappy Hands making a strong appearance in the final 3rd of this clip.
Rap Battle - spot on, that's exactly how I took it. I thought the songs were superb. The Kate Bush inspired, pounding dums on the balcony scene were incredible, as was the troops singing Heaven is Wherever I Fall. Absolutely gorgeous. Tin ears!
Great review yes Wright seems to do a lot of old remakes but I prefer the previous versions
I'd forgotten about roxanne was reminded of that while watching the film and the whole exchanging words while declaring love.
My favourite use of panache in Hollywood from 'In the Line of Fire' with Clint Eastwood and Rene Russo
Lilly Raines : [in a conference room] What makes you think he'll call again?
Frank Horrigan : Oh, he'll call again. He's got, uh, "panache."
Lilly Raines : Panache?
Frank Horrigan : Yeah, it means flamboyance.
Lilly Raines : Mm, I know what it means.
Frank Horrigan : Really? I had to look it up.
It’s french, so the stress is on the end. CyraNo de BergeRAC, I don’t understand why Mark is suprised by that.
I don't think that's right, as I believe French doesn't use stressed syllables, each syllable has the same weight, but to our ears it APPEARS that a syllable that we would normally stress makes other syllables seem to be stressed. An example : the borrowed word "parking" is "le park ing", while we say PARK ing, so it appears to us that the French stress the "ing", whereas, in fact, they don't. This is one of the reasons why I, with a pretty good French vocabulary cannot follow a normal French conversation as all the words seem to flow into one another.
@@tonybennett4159 Well me and my big mouth, haha! I read language theory at uni but never spend any time on French. Serves me right.
I see that you are quite right that there is quite a school of thought that says that French basically lacks lexical stress and is syllable timed like you say.
Yet it sounds like this movie pronounces it with the stress on the first syllable? CYRano
In which case it is just wrong in a different way!
That's how Mark pronounces it. The film uses the American pronunciation, with the stress on the first syllable, which is what confused Mark.
My wife really enjoyed this film & found some parts & songs incredibly moving, especially “Whenever I Fall” when she said she couldn’t help but think of the poor soldiers in the Ukrainian situation at the moment, handing in their last letters to their families before their inevitable deaths
I also liked that song because it had Glen Hansard in it. The only other song I enjoyed was I Need More. Other than that, they were all very bland, predictable, and the lyrics were frankly just bad. It felt like someone wrote the lyrics in a couple of minutes and gave them no further thought
It’s a French book. Ask a Frenchman for the correct pronunciation of Cyrano
On this occasion the film has it closest. As French doesn't use stressed syllables, ce RAH no can't be right, but ci ra no with equal stress on all syllables is about right.
It's pronounced "see ra (with the r coming from the back of the throat) no", slowly, with equal time spent on each syllable, otherwise it sounds like a type of Spanish ham.
How strange to hear Peter Dinklage speaking with his American accent.
I just came home from the theater, wow! Certainly is nothing like I've seen recently, but hey I liked Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, Darkest Hour, and Anna Karenina.
No KN here and I know Joe Wright likes working with her, but this did deliver in the same way his films with her did. Also, he gave a shout-out to everyone who worked on the film before it started, that was very sweet of him to do.
I love that PD's wife (Erica Schmidt) wrote this, she wrote a beautiful film.
Enjoyed the film and Dinklage’s performance was superb. Haley Bennett was also very good as Roxanne. I agree that the songs were rather forgettable.
I’m Irish and the pronunciation of Cyrano that Mark is struggling with is how I’d imagine the Irish to say it. Similar to how Irish names like Kinsella and Costello(e) would be pronounced by us.
The play in French is in verse
I remember realising the subtitles on the French version.were also in verse. Translated by Anthony Burgess, I think
He was a bit of a genius our Anthony B!
Loved it! Really enjoyed it more than i thought I would. The cinematography and colours are great, what a treat.
Cyrano has always been pronounced "Si-ruh-noh" not "Serrano."
So glad to hear mark fondly speaking if Steve Martin and roxanne
Definitely worth seeing
The greatest showman is a better musical in terms of songs. And thats saying something
Clip made me want to watch the station agent again
Having said that gerrard dippy doo’s is the best IMO
I immediately thought of a rap battle when I saw this film's rendition of Cyrano's Montfleury takedown! I agree that the songs are mostly just plain not good, although "Wherever I Fall" was a standout exception. Sidenote: I've never heard it pronounced "sur-AH-no," only "SEE-rah-no." I speak decent French, and I'm pretty sure the latter would be the French pronunciation. I could be wrong.
Poster quote:
"NOT VERY FILM-Y" - MARK KERMODE
Looking forward to this. The real man was quite the character apparently.
"Flamboyant confidence of style or manner" sounds like the late Rik Mayall.
No idea how anyone could watch a few eps of Game of Thrones without needing to keep going, but different strokes etc.
Every shot could be a painting
So many versions of this story but one thing that always occurs to me is that it absolutely doesn't work with gender reversal and that's a hard truth to face as a woman. Culturally we thinks it's a tragedy that every man doesn't have a model on their arm.
Erm, is it controversial to prefer Steve Martin’s Roxanne?
Such a shame that they allowed such a great story with strong performances share the screen with such awfully bland songs devoid of any wit, imagination or inner critic.
@Mark Kermode, you forgot his excellent turn in Elf!
I really wanted to love it...but I watched it after having seen James McAvoy in the Jamie Lloyd production and this just fell flat. I still adore the music and listen to it all the time but I wanted it to crack my heart open and it just didn't.
The film is Pirates of the Caribbean meets Les Miserables meets Romeo and Juliet.
No mention of “Tiptoes”?
Panache, it's french, it means style.... according to Clint Eastwood (In the line of fire (1993))👍. anyway, I digress. The 1990 version of Cyrano de Bergerac is a masterpiece.
I have seen this film promoted, and I don't think it's ever been mentioned as a musical. It wasn't until I saw the trailer, this week, that I found out it was a musical. And the song in the trailer is so meh, I can barely remember it.
Mr. Dinklage had a wonderful cameo in 'Elf' (.....must be a south-pole elf.....).
The Greatest Showman was not a musical - unless you can call it some version of a backwards jukebox musical. All of the songs are so generic and obviously tailored to be played on music services, as opposed to serve the plot. True musicals feature songs which drive the plot, not a plot which happens to have pop songs in it.
he was in the elf when i say this, i respect everybody too
Panache was a perfume from the 70's.
You left out Jose Ferrer's Academy award winning performance from 1950
I find it very amusing that Mark insists on pronouncing "Cyrano" in a weirdo way that no one has ever pronounced it. And before anyone says "it's a British pronunciation", I have lived half my life in the US and half my life in the UK, if it was a common Brirish pronunciation, I am sure I would have heard it. This is just a "Mark is wrong" pronunciation.
I’d love to see Dinklage as the next Doctor Who
Your kidding right??
@@65g4 nope. Other than his nationality I don’t see why not
Review Red Rocket (2021)!!!
Damn, is this 8 Mile ?
How long till he mentions the Exorcist?
"Rap battle"? What is this "rap" of which you speak?
It's the latest thing the young people are "into", as they say. I assume it's related in some way to be-bop and hoopla.
It's CYR-ano. Serrano is a pepper.
Or a ham
I need more is a great song.
I'll just stick with Steve martin's "Roxanne"
I enjoyed the acting and appreciated the choreography but whoever was in charge of the sound quality failed miserably. The music volume overwhelmed the singing throughout most of the performances and Roxanne's singing was faint and echoing regardless of the setting. A number of performances by other actors suffered the same effects, almost as if music track was overlaid the voices in a studio by someone who had no idea what they were doing.
This ruins singing performances that should have caused the musical to soar. What a massive disappointment.
I know him from Destiny
Top shirt Mark!
This will bomb spectacularly
Cannot get my head around Peter Dinklage's normal accent.........its all wrong........but he's very good.
What I learned is that some people pronounce Cyrano weirdly, is this a British thing? Like how you guys pronounce controversy? That being said, sounds like a very Joe Wright adaptation, which I'm not a fan of. So despite wanting to see Dinklage's performance, I think I'll wait for streaming for this one.
We pronounce words correctly
Isn't there only one way to pronounce controversy?
Hanna chemical brothers, yeah!
Serrano is a type of Mexican chili
This film is amazing. Peter Dinklage is fantastic in it. Ive never bothered watching a film more than once until I saw this. Everything about it is amazing, its beautiful to look at, the Acting and music are superb. This film should have had more recognition.
I thought it was very good.
And Roxanne is supposed to be his cousin D:
Mark is spot on about The Greatest Showman - utter dross and not a single decent song in it. Had I not been stuck in the middle of a row I would have left when that damn kid playing Young Jackman started caterwauling. Horrible
Anyone who knows what show on Netflix is called?
The Half of It
Umm, is the rhyming just in that scene? Or the whole movie (adaptation of a stage play)?
it’s just in that scene
If it's like the play, most of it is in normal prose but Cyrano has the ability to eviscerate those he doesn't like in rhyme. In the best scene of the play he also does this whilst fighting a duel with swords.
@@GrubStLodger well, apparently, most of the late translations of the play went for blank verse - regular metre (is that same as cadence?) but without rhyming.
I think the movie combined different translations.
@@zvimur I've only seen the Antony Burgess translation, the rhymes worked really well there.
@@GrubStLodger stage or movie?
José Ferrer - says FO you knobs!
There's a German film version set among high school students that uses rap battles as the modern equivalent of verse. It's called Das Schönste Mädchen der Welt (The Prettiest Girl in the World).
*_'WHEREVER I FALL'_*
🎶 ruclips.net/video/DHo3w5ORcdY/видео.html 🎶
I have a wife I haven't seen
Since lilacs bloomed in Saint-Hippolyte
She always wears them in her hair
She lets them fall down everywhere
I can see her in the glowin' light
Dressin' without a sound
I promised I'd be home all right
But I gotta lay this body down
So take this letter to my wife
And tell her that I loved my wife
And tell my boys, the Lord he found me
When I say their names out loud, they're all around me
Tell them not to cry at all
Heaven is wherever I fall
I have a girl, I think I love her
Should have told her, instead I told her mother
I gave her chocolates, I bought a ring
But I never told her anything
But I can see her in every detail now
Turning in my mind
I barely knew that girl at all
But I will love her till the end of time
So take this letter to my girl
Tell her that I saw the whole world
Say that right before I fell
I said her name out loud: Isabel
Tell her not to cry at all
Heaven is wherever I fall
I have a father, he isn't well
Thinks he might be going to hell
He was a sinner, he liked to fight
So I don't know, he might be right
I can see him every Sunday morning
Diving into the fray
He wasn't one of God's best men
But I loved him anyway
So take this letter to him, please
Tell him I can't wait to see him
I went in first, I rang the bell
I called his name out loud and I gave 'em hell
So tell him not to cry at all
Heaven is wherever I fall
Tell 'em not to cry at all
Heaven is wherever I fall
Tell 'em not to cry at all
Heaven is wherever I fall
ruclips.net/video/Nq_HkKfobyA/видео.html
Peter dinklage was excellent. Everything else was meh unfortunately.
No one is seriously considering Dinklage as the next Bond?
He could pull it off. Whether it's allowing him to be the same height as the other actors in close up shots and getting a taller stuntman for action scenes.. or casting other small people for the other co-stars. I think Peter should be considered and possibly get Guy Ritchie to direct. I think he'd inject a much needed dose of Statham as well.
There's so much wrong with this comment
😄😄
Im sorry i love Dinklage but playing Bond thats beyond a joke 🤣🤣
@@65g4 why?
The central performances were good but the songs were forgettable and meh! at best
Mark doesn't know what a rap battle is, TIL
It was pretty bad. Some artful moments.
Point of break off with you and all connected persons.
Sin--ah--mah
Yeah...not for me mate
funny story, girls don't like it when people write them poetry.
Terrible ending
Why doesn't he have a freakishly long nose? Smh.
:)
Cyrano, not Cyrano? Why? And I thought "Schedule" and "Schedule" brought enough misery to the world. What with; Lieutenant, Charades, Tomato, Kermode, Advertisement... aren't there enough problematically pronounceable words? And do not get me started on Zucchini, Crisps, Chips and Fries. The World has gone mad! Mad, I tell you. Run to the Hills (Not the Appalachians). Save yourselves...
I think you should lie down in a darkened room and close your eyes until your brain fever passes. The sun is still in the sky little hen.
Courgette not zucchini
@@marknewbold2583 That just makes it more of a challenge. This is like Pilchards or Sardines all over again. Oh the humanity.