Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
That Night in Varennes (1982)
Director: Ettore Scola
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Featuring such notables as Tom Paine (Keitel), the ageing Casanova (Mastroianni), the randy writer Restif de la Bretonne (Barrault), and an Austrian countess (Schygulla), this is a picaresque story of the coach and party that followed hard on the one which tried to transport Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to safety in 1791. Thus is history viewed not through the eyes of its main participants, but through the appetites, passions and prejudices of its commentators and bit players. The result is like Tom Jones crossed with Stagecoach, with the addition of Sergio Amidei and Scola's wise and witty dialogue, some sumptuous painterly landscapes, and a subtle feeling for the period far removed from the clichés of British imagining. There's a real sense both of history in the making and of life in the living: a warm, bravura work of lasting majesty.Author: SGr
Cast & crew
Director: Ettore Scola
Producer: Renzo Rossellini
Cast: Jean-Louis Barrault, Marcello Mastroianni, Hanna Schygulla, Harvey Keitel, Jean-Claude Brialy, Daniel Gélin, Andrea Ferreol, Michel Vitold, Laura Betti, Jean-Louis Trintignant full cast
Genre(s): Period/Swashbucklers
Duration: 165 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
James Marsh on ‘Man on Wire’
James Marsh tells David Jenkins the amazing story of ‘Man on Wire’ and how he saw the Twin Towers go up – and come down
Gurinder Chada on ‘Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging’
Gurinder Chada, the director of Brit hit, 'Bend it Like Beckham' discusses her new film, ‘Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging’ with Wally Hammond
A holiday guide to movie dystopias
‘Going anywhere nice this summer, sir?’ To celebrate the release of Pixar’s sublime post-apocalyptic robo-romance ‘Wall-E’, Time Out offers a tour guide of the best future worlds in film
Eddie Murphy's Crimes Against Cinema
We all remember the comic highs of 'Beverly Hills Cop' and 'Bowfinger', but Eddie Murphy has been in a fair few stinkers as well. Time Out to presents a handy rundown of his ten darkest cinematic hours...






What do you think?
Post your review now