Cyrano De Bergerac [1950, Marengo, with The Son of Monte Cristo]

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Apparently, I wasn't the only person who had a concern with the picture and especially the audio quality of Marengo's first transfer of the 1950 classic, "Cyrano de Bergerac," to DVD. I said of their initial release, "the print they obtained, as had the companies before them, was pretty bad. Even with the minor digital touch-ups they were able to do, the image and especially the sound reveal the ravages of time. Without a major restoration, however, this is probably the best we can hope for." Well, it wasn't the best we could hope for because Marengo Films seem to have either obtained a better print or done a far better job this time cleaning up the image and sound. In terms of audiovisual quality, the result is now an altogether different film. And to make sure we know it's different and better, Marengo, known for their double features, have even packaged it with a better co-feature, "The Son of Monte Cristo," from 1940. Before going on to explain the new trappings of "Cyrano," let me repeat a few words I said about the movie itself.

"Cyrano de Bergerac," the great Romantic tragicomedy written by French dramatist Edmond Rostand in 1897, has had several film adaptations, but, sadly, none of them have captured the full essence of the stage play. Rostand based his story loosely on the life of a real, seventeenth-century character, Hector Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac, and in spite of the play's obvious sentimentality, it is a beautifully lyrical vision of love, loyalty, gallantry, and honor. The most lavish screen production yet appeared in 1990 with Gerard Depardieu in the title role, but it was done in French and unless one spoke French, Anthony Burgess's subtitles were a poor substitute for hearing Brian Hooker's poetically inspired English translation. A silent, 1925 version was also made of "Cyrano," along with Steve Martin's updated comedy rendition, "Roxanne," and a few old vinyl records and television specials, one with Ralph Richardson and another with Christopher Plummer standing out in memory. But it is this 1950 film interpretation with Jose Ferrer, threadbare as it may be, that wins the day as the most consistently authentic and rewarding English reworking of the play. The black-and-white motion picture may have been made on a shoestring, the supporting roles less than ideally cast, and some of the text trimmed, but Ferrer managed to win an Academy Award for Best Actor in it, no mean feat given the circumstances. This newly remastered "Cyrano" should find a home with viewers who enjoy eloquent dialogue, high adventure, and, most of all, heartbreaking romance.

Cyrano is, of course, the greatest swordsman, the greatest hero, and the greatest poet in France, a member of the King's Guard, circa 1640. He is also the world's most reluctant lover. You see, it's his nose--a nose that, as he puts it, "marches on before me by a quarter of an hour!" Not that he hasn't learned to take pride in his very prominent proboscis:

"Know that I glory in this nose of mine,
For a great nose indicates a great man--
Genial, courteous, intellectual,
Virile, courageous--as I am." -- Act I

But when it comes to women, it's all a sham, for beneath the bravado lies a most pathetic and insecure soul. He puts it best when he says:

"My mother did not love to look at me--
I never had a sister. Later on,
I feared the mistress with a mockery
Beneath her smile." --Act V

So whom should he love but the most beautiful woman in all the world, his distant cousin, Roxanne (Mala Powers). Yet he cannot tell her. He is too afraid she'll laugh at him. Now, enter the handsome and dashing Baron Christian de Neuvillette (William Prince), a young recruit newly entered the Guards. It turns out that he and Roxanne have fallen in love from afar and have never spoken. She asks Cyrano to protect her young friend from any possible danger that may come of his position, a distinct possibility given the looming prospect of war with Spain. Cyrano agrees, but once he meets Christian, he has other ideas. When it comes to women, you understand, Christian is the opposite of Cyrano; he is totally good looking but wholly at a loss for words. "Oh, if I had words to say what I have here," he professes to Cyrano. "If I could be a handsome little Musketeer...," Cyrano responds. Therefore, Cyrano suggests a deal. Cyrano will write the speeches and Christian will deliver them to Roxanne. Together, they will make one great hero of romance! "My words upon your lips," says Cyrano, proud of the bargain. But when Christian wins Roxanne's heart through Cyrano's words, the poet can take only small comfort in his secondhand conquest:

"...I have something here that is mine now
and was not mine before I spoke the words
That won her--not for me! Kissing my words,
My words, upon your lips." --Act III

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