The Horseman on the Roof [Le Hussard sur le Toit] **** (1995, Olivier Martinez, Juliette Binoche, Pierre Arditi, François Cluzet, Jean Yanne) – Classic Movie Review 8006

The 1995 The Horseman on the Roof [Le Hussard sur le Toît] is another French historical winner from Jean-Paul Rappenau, director of the 1990 Cyrano de Bergerac.

Olivier Martinez cuts a smashing dash as Angelo Pardi, the 1830s exiled young Italian hussar who is chased by Austrian secret police assassins, rescues French aristocrat Pauline de Théus (Juliette Binoche) and sets off on a series of adventures across the cholera-ridden Provence countryside.

The Horseman on the Roof [Le Hussard sur le Toît] is a beautifully made swashbuckler done with every ounce of style, wit, brio and old-style confidence it needs to make the heart beat faster. Mon dieu, the French are très, très bon at this kind of thing! The only real criticism is that Martinez is just a bit too darned handsome for his own good.

The screenplay by Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Jean-Claude Carrière and Nina Companéez is based on the novel by Jean Giono.

Also in the cast are Pierre Arditi, François Cluzet, Jean Yanne, Claudio Amendola, Isabelle Carré, Carlo Cecchi, Christiane Cohendy, Jacques Sereys, Nathalie Krebs, Laura Marinoni, Yolande Moreau, Christophe Odent, and Elizabeth Margoni.

It runs 135 minutes but the cut US version runs 118 minutes.

The Horseman on the Roof [Le Hussard sur le Toît] is directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau, runs 135 minutes (US version 118 minutes), is made by Hachette Première, Le Studio Canal +, France 2 Cinéma, Centre Européen Cinématographique Rhône-Alpes, Entree Europees Cineatografique and Compagnie Européenne Cinématographique (CEC), is released by AFMD (France), Artificial Eye (UK) and Miramax (US), is written by Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Jean-Claude Carrière and Nina Companéez, based on the novel by Jean Giono, shot by Thierry Arbogast, is produced by Bernard Bouix, is scored by Jean-Claude Petir and is designed by Jacques Rouxel and Ezio Frigerio.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 8006

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