Review of Danton (1983) by David B — 01 Nov 2009
A French-language movie about the trial and execution of Georges Danton by the Committee for Public Safety (1794). A really scary movie in a lot of ways. My only criticism is that it lets Danton and Desmoulins off the hook, not entirely but more than Robespierre.
Perhaps it is so well known that Danton and Co. set up the bloody Tribunals and was possibly THE primary force in giving the CPS dictatorial powers only 9 months earlier. So maybe for a French audience, spelling it out clearly would have been too "on the nose".
But other things, such as that Danton predicted, the Committee's leader Robespierre would be executed eventually largely *because* he had executed Danton *was* clearly spelled out. And they had Danton correctly predict how long it would take (3 months), which I doubt is historical.
Still scary movie. If you're interested in this period and these people after seeing the movie, I recommend the book "The Gods Are Thirsty".
This review of Danton (1983) was written by David B on 01 Nov 2009.
Danton has generally received positive reviews.
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