Directed by: Charles Le Bargy & André Calmettes
History continues to play a role in world cinema: the Italian La Presa di Roma / The Capture of Roma (1905), the Russian Стенька Разинь / Stenka Razin (1908) and now the French L’Assassinat du duc de Guise / The Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908) – also known as La Mort du duc de Guise / The Death of the Duke of Guise. Although the French had already made their mark on cinema history with the likes of the Lumière brothers and Georges Méliès, they now took it upon themselves to elevate film to an art form and something worthy of the respect of the cultural elite. The aptly-titled production company Le Film d’Art pulled no punches and commissioned a screenplay from renown writer Henri Lavedan, an original score from Camille Saint-Saëns (one of the first original film scores) and hired actors from the Comédie-Française. It set the precedent for “films d’art” – high-budget historical dramas that tried to capture theater on film with elaborate sets and costumes and established actors.
Those unfamiliar with the historic event in 1588 might consider the title a spoiler. However, instead of relying on the assassination to serve as a shocking twist in the story, it uses it as a means of elevating suspense. We discover plans to assassinate Duke Henri de Guise from a letter to his mistress, Charlotte de Sauve, who passes on the warning. He laughs it off and tries to put her at ease. This interaction serves as a means of framing the story as a personal tragedy – two lovers torn apart by a vile act. The scheming that follows reaffirms that there truly is a conspiracy and once Duke de Guise arrives to meet King Henry III, we’re left to anticipate the outcome. It’s approximately 3.5 minutes from the moment he arrives until the assassination during which we see people act suspiciously, hover around him and make sudden movements that not only put him on edge but the audience as well. The tragedy comes to its inevitable conclusion.
A more recent counterpart would be Titanic (1997) – though more aptly if it were titled “The Sinking of the Titanic”. Similarly, the focal point is not the historic event but the human drama surrounding it. Although audiences largely knew of the disaster, they flocked to cinemas to see Jack and Rose’s story. (For those who want to be surprised by the sinking of the Titanic, I would recommend the animated The Legend of the Titanic (1999).)
Bibliography
Film Medium (2021). ‘Movements: Film d’Art Movement and Film List’, Film Medium, 9 May. Available at: https://filmmedium.com/movement/film-dart/ [Accessed: 14 February 2022].
IMDb contributors (n.d.). ‘The Assassination of Duke de Guise (1908)’, IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000637/ [Accessed: 14 February 2022].
JEC (2013). ‘L’assassinat du Duc de Guise (1908)’, A Cinema History. Available at: http://www.acinemahistory.com/2013/07/lassassinat-du-duc-de-guise-1908.html [Accessed: 14 February 2022].
Travers, J. (2002). ‘L’Assassinat du duc de Guise (1908)’, French Films. Available at: http://www.frenchfilms.org/review/l-assassinat-du-duc-de-guise-1908.html [Accessed: 14 February 2022].
Wikipedia contributors (2021). ‘The Assassination of the Duke of Guise’, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 16 July. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Assassination_of_the_Duke_of_Guise [Accessed: 14 February 2022].
Reel Lessons 