Subtitles:

• None

Extras:

Carl Foreman, who wrote the screenplay, even planned and constructed the film in five major phases conforming to the five scenes of its performance on the stage. And Michael Gordon, the director, has seen to it that it is played in the formalized groupings and manners of theatrical costume romance. One significant scene has been added; Cyrano is now permitted to fight the "hundred men" at the Porte de Nesle which is only talked about on the stage. And the famous song of the cadets of Gascoyne has been discreetly overlooked.

But, above all, Mr. Ferrer plays Cyrano in a style that is in the theatrical tradition of gesture and eloquence. He speaks the poetry of Rostand with richness and clarity such as only a few other actors have managed on the screen. He bears himself proudly and nobly. He duels with decisiveness. And he carries off the maudlin romanaics of the play with remarkable grace. For all who are soft to the enchantments of Cyrano and sentiment, he's their man.

Cyrano de Bergerac is a swashbuckler unto itself. Since it first saw the light of night on a Parisian stage in 1897, it never goes long unperformed in some form or other. Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner are reviving Edmond Rostand's plumed, caped evergreen on Broadway. In Michigan, a new operatic version by David Di Chiera is being unveiled. Nor has it been ignored on film. Christian Coquelin, who originated the role, recorded a soliloquy in one of the first attempts at recorded sound on film. Gerard Depardieu starred in a 1990 version resplendent with idiomatic rightness and France's collective affection for it as a cultural treasure. Steve Martin's Roxanne (1987) remains a sweet contemporary reimagining. But the one everyone refers to, the one against which the rest are invariably measured, is the 1950 Cyrano de Bergerac starring Jose Ferrer.

Gary Tooze

September 12th, 2012