Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)

 Second viewing; previously viewed on March 28, 1992.

A man (Cyrano) with a long nose is in love with a beautiful woman (Roxane), but is afraid of being rejected by her. She confides to him that she is in love with another man (Christian). Christian does not have a talent for rhetoric, and Cyrano offers to write love speeches for him.

The play superposes a layer of 19th century romanticism on a 17th century person. To make matters worse, the screenwriter, in one sequence, superposes yet another layer on the text, of 20th century feminism (when Roxane complains about women's subaltern role in society). The result of these anachronisms makes for a somewhat awkward text. To be fair, the first third, where one may still glimpse 17th century society, is excellent; the second third is still quite watchable, though it is obviously an ideological fabrication; the final third is where everything goes wrong, into irredeemably cringeworthy territory.

Rating: 58 (up from 49)