The Song of Roland ( French: La chanson de Roland ) is a 1978 French adventure film.
| Song of Roland | |
|---|---|
| La chanson de rolling | |
| Genre | adventure movie drama |
| Producer | Frank Cassanti |
| Producer | Jean-Serge Breton |
| Author script | Michelle Ann Mercier Thierry Joly Frank Cassanti |
| In the main cast | Klaus Kinski Alain Cuny Serge Merlin Jean-Pierre Calphon |
| Operator | Jean-Jacques Flory |
| Composer | Antoine Duhamel |
| Film company | Z Productions, France 3, Aviva film |
| Duration | 110 minutes |
| A country |  France |
| Language | French |
| Year | 1978 |
| IMDb | ID 0077317 |
Content
- 1 plot
- 2 Cast
- 3 Music
- 4 Interesting Facts
- 5 Links
Story
The film takes place simultaneously in two dimensions: on the one hand, the 13th century — modernity in all its ugliness, on the other hand — the quasi-8th century, the Roland era — the legendary past.
A troupe of stray actors (mostly French) during the Crusades makes a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Along the way, they give performances, act out scenes from "Songs of Roland." In their imagination, the artists are transferred to the heroic past and themselves become characters in the epic (hence the futuristic costumes: we see the heroes of the legend as they are imagined by people of the 13th century).
Experiencing the events of the past over and over, the artists are constantly comprehending the present. The central character is a German named Klaus, who plays the role of Roland (Klaus Kinsky) in the play. Actors meet on their way a group of peasants who survived the uprising, crushed by local feudal lords. The leader of the group is a certain Anna (Dominic Sanda). She makes a strong impression on the clever, but illiterate Klaus. After the death of Anna, he begins to learn to read. Comparing the image of the romantic knight and the real knight, Klaus ultimately decides to enter the fight against the oppressors and (as follows from the epilogue) raises a peasant uprising.
The film gives a large-scale panorama of medieval life: Mohammedans, knights (noble and not so), peasants (silent and rebellious), buffoons, pilgrims, preachers, thieves, prostitutes, lepers and all this against the background of real architectural monuments and landscapes.
Cast
- Klaus Kinsky - a wandering actor Klaus / on stage - Roland
- Alain Kuni - preacher / on stage - Turpan
- Pierre Clementi - clerk / on stage - Olivier
- Jean-Pierre Calphon - Tourold / on stage - Carl and Marsilius
- Serge Merlin - Thierry / On Stage - Ganelon
- Laszlo Szabo - Hungarian Knight / Duke of Nam
- Niels Arestrup - Merchant / Oton
- Dominic Sanda - Anna
- Jean-Claude Brialie - Senior
Music
1979 Cesar Award for Best Film Music. Composer: Antoine Duhamel
Interesting Facts
- In the original version, Klaus Kinsky plays (as in other French films) without dubbing.
Links
- A Song of Roland on the Internet Movie Database
- La chanson de Roland - Review Summary The New York Times. Date of treatment December 28, 2012.