Vatel Movie Review 2000

Lavish period drama suffers from a dull screenplay and a lack of gusto. In 1671, Sun King Louis XIV (Sands) is ruling with the usual decadence when he and his court are invited to the country chateau of the Prince de Conde (Glover), who's hoping to curry favor. Conde leaves the plans for the the royal visit to his steward, Francois Vatel (Depardieu). He must supply food and entertainment to keep the court amused but Vatel provokes envy as well. Depardieu is efficient but the English language cast seems to be primping more than acting.

Distribution

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521-1120, Toll-free: 800-723-4763, URL: http://www.bvhe.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 117 minutes.
Originally from British, French.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Royalty, France, Period Piece: 17th Century

Screenplay

Jeanne Labrune, Tom Stoppard

Cast

Gerard Depardieu, Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Julian Glover, Julian Sands, Timothy Spall, Arielle Dombasle, Hywel Bennett, Richard Griffiths, Feodor Atkine, Phillippe LeRoy, Murray Lachlan Young

Cinematography

Robert Fraisse

Director

Roland Joffe

Music

Ennio Morricone