The Return of Martin Guerre -- A Forgotten Classic Film (Episode 29)

Substack -- please subscribe to support this channel: learningaboutm...
Please follow me on Twitter for video releases and reviews: / drjoshmatthews
Letterboxd: letterboxd.com...
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @learningaboutmovies
Understanding Movies 101 Course: joshmatthews.o...
The Great Movies Series: joshmatthews.o...
Comprehensive List of the Great Movies Series: joshmatthews.o...
Movie Cliches Series -- Video Playlist: • Why Pianos Transform C...
The Great Directors Series -- Playlist: • Werner Herzog's 10 Gre...
Shot for Shot Analyses: • Understanding Movies 1...
Great Science-Fiction Movie List: joshmatthews.o...
Other Movie Lists: joshmatthews.o...
Disclaimer: All reasonable comments are welcome, including reasoned disagreements. You will be banned for foolish talk, harassment, and hate speech on sight; it's a tremendous waste of life. I believe in freedom of association and, by extension, freedom of dissociation from you.

[@btk1243]

If the story sounds familiar, the American film "Sommersby" (1993), with Jodie Foster and Richard Gere, was based on "The Return of Martin Guerre"

[@LearningaboutMovies]

ah, thank you!

[@sunshineandwarmth]

Philistine!😂 Sommersby should never be mentioned in the same breath as the RofMG! Seriously, the American film was advertised as the US version of Martin Guere but I think that was just to bring in viewers. I remember going to see the film based on that ad and came out of the theater stunned. Although Gere and Foster are two of my favorite American actors, they can't hold a candle to D&B. And it was a real cheat for the movie to have been advertised as it was. I do hope everyone catches this film. It's my fav GD film (well, aren't they all?).❤

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

The scene when they first embrace and kiss is one of the most passionate in all film. The film was reccomended to me by a history professor

[@lolizorz]

I like it when you recommend french movies. All of them turn out to be good.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

I have an "Amurican" filter for French movies for sure. Glad you have found that helpful.

[@isaacq517]

hey! i dunno how you feel about broadway musicals and whatnot, but are you aware that the two dudes behind Les Miserables also made a musical version of Martin Guerre? It debuted in the mid-90s to mixed reviews, so they took it away and rewrote 95% of the music and lyrics, then relaunched it in 1999. Both versions have soundtracks you can listen to on spotify or elsewhere, and they're super faithful to the original story... so hitting all the same story beats, twists and reveals. It does share one of Les Miserables' flaws in that musicals need comic relief, and there's very little humour to be found in the Martin Guerre story. But some of the songs are quite good if you're into that style of show tune. I couldn't decide between the two versions, so if you're at all interested I'd recommend listening to both. cheers!

[@LearningaboutMovies]

hey thanks, I had no idea about this!

[@sunshineandwarmth]

Thank you! I never heard of that, but I'm as little a fan of music in general as I am a great fan of French cinema, so that's no surprise. I'll go look it up now. Thanks again.😘

[@arifshahabuddin8888]

Depardieu starred in a couple of classics worthy films in the 1980s. These include: "The Last Metro", "Danton" and "Jean de Florette." Each of these films catches very well the time and place that they represent. It would be a shame for "Le Retour de Martin Guerre" to disappear. Like Dr. Josh said, it feels like you are right back in 1550s rural France near Toulouse. The bewildered looks in the peasants eyes when they were entering the Parlement in Toulouse displays jus how much their lives were relegated to just a few miles around where they were born. The fate of the jurist, de Coras, is also interesting. All in all, a great experience. I've seen the film at least three times in my life.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

There's a case for Depardieu as the greatest film actor of the 1980s, because of the films you mentioned.

[@watchmakersp9935]

Thanks for reviewing this movie. I agree; last week i watched it for the second time; told friends about it. Great plot, acting and atmosphere you do not see in French cinema including the 16th century setting (based on a true story/book).

[@LearningaboutMovies]

you're welcome!

[@natsoray]

I watched this bc it was one of the things that influenced the game Pentiment. Excellent film.

[@ageofmich]

putting that on my watchlist

[@LearningaboutMovies]

have fun!

[@tfred6403]

I remember the siskel ebert review of this. That was the only way you learned about what movies to watch...

[@LearningaboutMovies]

right, or you had a newspaper subscription to a major paper with a good reviewer. Or you waited until a Leonard Maltin book came out and then leafed through the millions of one-paragraph reviews to find a gem like this movie.

[@clinteastwood9742]

It's funny, seeing you from Europe a movie with a burning hangman and you warn us for "brief nudity" great movie by the way

[@Socrates...]

Would you review The Passanger (1975) with Jack Nicholson ? Thanks

[@LearningaboutMovies]

I did! It's on the channel somewhere.

[@Socrates...]

@@LearningaboutMovies thank you

[@MRR2000]

I just watched 3 women by altman. Do you like that movie?

[@LearningaboutMovies]

honestly I don't think I've seen it. I mean I have tried it back in the early 2000s, but probably didn't finish it, as I don't remember much of it. So, I will rewatch at some point! thanks.