#danton 1983

[helvidius]

a colorful cast of characters (real)

#saint-just #oh god do i tag them all #saint just #frev #ltelv #la revolution francaise #terror bbc #un peuple et son roi #saint just et la force des choses #les visiteurs 3 #danton 1983 #art #please do not mind me i am hungry for notes

[istherobespierrecute]

My senior robespierre is tired all the time :(

poor peepaw robi :( try upping his orange intake and encourage him to go feed some pigeons at the local park. remind him to take breaks. robespierres often forget to stop and take a breather when they really care about something. best of luck, citizen!!

#is the robespierre cute? #robespierre #frev #maximilien robespierre #danton 1983 #pszoniakpierre #thermidorette #queue

[usergreenpixel]

JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 32: DANTON (1983)

1. The Introduction

Hello, fellow Citizens!

(Insert the “fellow kids” meme)

I’m back with a freshly made review for today’s meeting of the Jacobin Fiction Convention! I apologize for all the delays but a series of unlucky events in my personal life made everything too much of a shitshow.

Anyway, luckily I’m doing better now so let’s proceed with the meeting. Grab drinks and snacks and enjoy yourselves while we begin.

Before we get to the actual review, I have to say that reviewing this movie had been on my list pretty much ever since I joined the community and saw those lizard cake memes. Luckily, the entire thing is on YouTube, in French but with English subtitles as an option in the settings.

However, I also kept avoiding it because I wanted to dip my feet into the world of obscure media and also because I was afraid that this movie would idolize Danton (who was a fucking creep historically, even by the standards of the time).

Unfortunately, upon watching the movie itself I realized that my fear was more than justified. Not only that, but I believe it’s supposed to be some kind of political commentary on 80s Poland… a commentary that completely flew over my head because I didn’t live in that time period and it’s not my forte at all.

But, since it’s a Polish movie and half the cast is Polish, I dedicate the review to @edgysaintjust and to all the other Polish folks in my audience. Perhaps you guys can enlighten me on the political context while I voice my opinion on the movie as a work of fiction.

Okay, let’s fucking go before I bore you to death.

2. The Story

The movie is about Danton’s fall from grace, trial of the Dantonists and their execution. I believe @frevandrest made posts about the trial but it was very much a sham and a mess hotter than dog shit in summer.

Personally, I found the storyline quite easily digestible but it takes a more black-and-white approach that, in my opinion, does the real event a disservice.

Danton and Co are portrayed mostly in the positive light (more on that later) as the real advocates of the people and are juxtaposed with the tyrannical and radical dictatorship of Robespierre and the Committee, even though here Robespierre is a more complex character than in some other works of fiction.

Thankfully the plot is very much to the point with very little filler that felt unnecessary so props to the crew for doing an overall good job and not even thermidorizing everything as much as I feared they would!

For instance, we don’t have Robespierre actively gloating as Danton is being led to the guillotine or watching everything (because he didn’t watch and gloat in real life either) and there are hints that he actually has less power than other media ascribes to him.

Unfortunately, there’s still the idolization of Danton and other instances of thermidorization with a serving of homophobic subtext on the side, which left a bad taste in my mouth.

3. The Characters

Okay, let’s get one thing out of the way. Danton was too perfect for me to find him likable, especially knowing what I know about his historical counterpart. And when I say “too perfect”, I’m talking almost Gary Stu levels. Luckily not quite there, but the movie lets you know that it was probably sponsored by Dantonists.

Danton is the advocate and friend of the people who defends them and doesn’t want to be at odds with Robespierre, no matter how much a few of his supporters may attempt to provoke him to overthrow Robespierre (which wouldn’t do much irl, but oh well).

There are instances of Danton being a womanizer, but his creepy side is REALLY glossed over and on the poster the light around his head reminds me of halos of Catholic saints. That’s all well and good, but I didn’t sign up for an attempt at hagiography.

Robespierre, as I mentioned, is surprisingly complex. Despite being pressured into having Danton executed, he does resist as long as possible and really doesn’t want to take such measures. He’s also very accurately portrayed as sickly and he tries to make peace with Camille Desmoulins.

Oh, and he really regrets that the executions took place and it seems like he believes that he betrayed his ideas and the people of France.

Honestly, not the worst take on Robespierre but my feelings are complicated.

Eleonore Duplay is… something else.

She is an ardent Republican with a dash of the “jealous girl” trope. Her first scene has her forcing a boy to recite The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and smacking him for getting it wrong (I think it’s supposed to be her younger brother?) but she also slaps a housekeeper for looking at Robespierre.

Eleonore does have a caring side though. She genuinely cares about Robespierre and supports him, so I kind of liked it but the character assassination is still unforgivable. *screams into the void*

SJ is portrayed as a stereotypically effeminate man and there’s a lot of gay subtext between him and Robespierre. Oh, and he’s also the one who pressures Max to be more radical which gives me LRF vibes. Fantastic… SJ can’t catch a break yet again. Excuse me while I’m going to bash in my damn skull.

To sum up, I didn’t find any character likable and a lot of portrayals were bungled to fit the political message.

4. The Acting

Some actors get really hammy, like the actress who played Lucille Desmoulins. Linda as SJ has his moments as well, but I liked the acting overall, especially in Pszoniak and Seweryn’s cases (Oh look, Seweryn is in Frev media yet again!).

Depardieu was fine as Danton. Just… fine. I don’t like him as an actor much but he was a good choice.

Unfortunately, the casting choices are hit and miss because at times the actors look NOTHING like the people they’re portraying. Other times the fits are great.

5. The Setting

Luckily there’s no mullets like in LRF and everything looks more or less accurate. I genuinely liked the settings. But the food at the restaurant scene… let’s just say I wouldn’t eat it… it looked weird.

6. The Soundtrack

Nothing outstanding, unfortunately. I don’t have much to say here though.

7. The Conclusion

My feelings are complicated. I did like some casting choices and the setting, but the movie idolizes a corrupt creep and dips its feet into homophobia and inaccuracies. Plus the political aspect is just too in the face and the character assassination makes me want to pull my hair out.

But hey, at least we have lizard cake memes! Still not enough to compensate for my wasted time though. I don’t recommend this movie. Read about the actual trial instead please.

Okay, with that out of my system, I declare today’s meeting officially finished. Thank you for your patience and support and stay tuned!

Love,

Citizen Green Pixel

#frev #french revolution #frev art #jacobin fiction convention #robespierre #maximilien robespierre #art #history art #frev media #frev movies #eleonore duplay #camille desmoulins #lucille desmoulins #danton #danton 1983 #wajda’s danton #maximilien de robespierre #georges danton #antoine saint just

[aedesluminis]

I rewatchen Wajda's Danton in Italian and thanks to the amazing voice actors, the movie seemed a bit less goofy and stupid.

#frev #danton 1983 #andrzej wajda #danton movie #french revolution

[edgysaintjust]

How is Danton homophopic?

Anon, I can only share with you my subjective observation and conclusion, so please take it with a handful of salt. I can point to what I notice personally, but I encourage you to also ask for the opinions of others if you needed more insight :)

I consider it homophobic in the very way some non-robespierrist friendly media are; it shows a strongly hinted homoerotic bond between Robespierre and Saint-Just (which in this very specific case is a leftover of the play Wajda based on, in which most characters are directly written as having interest in the same sex), but it's not depicted in a positive light. Although Saint-Just giving R flowers can count as a rare watchable scene in the movie, everything that contributes to showing their relationship in a "gay-coded" way doesn't do them a favour but rather ridicules them as "villains"; it's also not an equal, "healthy" relationship, as it was in reality, we can see that Robespierre is cold and distanced with Saint-Just who acts more like his devoted subordinate. The scenes they show us are meant to make the viewer think something about them is not right, they are contrasting with our flawless mary sue movie version of Danton, as we know: a good, straight hero played by Depardieu if it wasn't clear enough. It's possible that I am looking too much into it, but it's a quite repeating pattern, the same we see in, for example, the infamous BBC documentary.

I confess that I don't know the director's personal account; I never happened to find any statement about him that would provide us more context, but it's simply hard to say that Wajda, strongly unsympathetic towards Robepsierre, would present him in a good light here.

#ask #anon #danton 1983

[saint-jussy]

when ur Definitely Not Robespierre but for some reason hearing this unnerves u to the bone

#danton 1983 #still can't believe he was IN this movie but was not robespierre #it's just wrong

[robespapier]

Wajda's Danton (1983) dinner scene but Saint-Just shows up instead of Robespierre and proceeds to taste and criticise all of Danton's weird food

#danton 1983 #saint-just #saint-just the foodie

[stephendedalus]

monthly rewatch ✅ 

#danton #danton 1983 #Andrzej Wajda #french revolution #la révolution française #one day when finally this movie is remade as Stanisława intended it #then you will all see #film

[comfortfoodcontent]

1983 Infinity Inc DC Comics House Ad Promo Poster 

By Roy Thomas, Jerry Ordway and Mike Machlan.

#dc #dc comics #dc comics house ad #dc comics promo poster #infinity inc #nuklon #brainwave jr #jade west #power girl #huntress #sylvester pemberton #danton 1983 #80s #1980's #comic ads #comic house ad #jsa #justice society #justice society of america #all star squadron #hector hall #roy thomas #jerry ordway #mike machlan

[i-gwarth]

Just got done watching the 1983 movie Danton and...

You know, I'm all for having a movie poster that matches the atmosphere of the movie. This film struck me as rather grim and cynical. It's about a fairly grim period of history after all. The original poster is over-the-top, presenting a controversial historical figure as something of a saint, complete with a halo

Maybe it's okay to take issue with that, and choose something a bit less idealistic for the Bluray re-release. But...

There is such a thing as overegging your pudding

#the artstyle originally made me think of Zdzisław Beksiński but this poster is by Wiesław Wałkuski #regardless this goes harder than it has any right to #frev #danton 1983 #danton #predacinemateca

[thecinematicshots]

#cinematography #movies #cineshots #beautiful shots #Danton 1983

[mondonguita]

Danton (1983) by Andrzej Wajda

Original Polish poster. Designer: Wiesław Wałkuski

#was it necessary to go this HARDCORE? #damn #🤯 #movie poster #poster art #posters #Danton (1983) #danton #french revolution #period film #period movies #films #movies #80s films #80s movies #gerard depardieu #Andrzej Wajda #polish cinema #French cinema #european cinema #Europe #Wiesław Wałkuski #art #arte #tw g0re #tw body horror #body horro tw

[onscreen-heartthrobs]

Gérard Depardieu in Andrzej Wajda's "Danton" January 12, 1983.

#Gérard Depardieu #Danton #Danton (1983) #1983 #1980s #Andrzej Wajda

[usergreenpixel]

Citizens, next review will tackle Wajda’s “Danton” and I will post tomorrow! Stay tuned!

(Dedicated to @edgysaintjust because #poland 😂)

#georges danton #danton 1983 #frev #history #french revolution #frev art #jacobin fiction convention #frev media #french revolution movies #review update

[moviesiveseenandwanttoremember]

Andrzej Wajda’s “Danton” January 12, 1983.

#Andrzej Wajda #Danton #Danton (1983) #1983 #Eighties #Foreign #🇫🇷 #Drama #Political Drama #Historical Drama #Period Drama #Gérard Depardieu #3/5

[edgysaintjust]

The fact we had Bogusław Linda and Wojciech Pszoniak [lgbt allies] casted as SJ and Robespierre in a movie based around the play of Przybyszewska [who openly wrote about homoerotic feelings in frev] and somehow the director still managed to make it homophobic is still surreal to me.

#pszoniak literally made his character in a movie from 1975 gay in the most healthy and respectful way #this man couldn't be better #we could have had it all #danton 1983