Friday 17 January 2014

The coward Henri III

The Assassination of the Duke de Guise (1908)

Directed by Andre Calmettes and Charles Le Bargy, who stars in the film, this film also features Albert Lambert and Gabrielle Robinne. In 1588 Henri III of France summons Duke Henri de Guise to his palace where upon the duke is killed.

For those of us not especially familiar with French history of the period this short film is a little hard to understand and offers little explanation for the on screen action. Most of the short run time of this film is taken up with showing the planning of and action of the assassination itself, it would have been nice to see even just a little on why the king wants the duke killed. Largely the film is well made with good sets and costumes as well as being well shot.


2/5

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