Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14597 in VHS
• Released on: 1997-11-11
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Color, Letterboxed, Original recording reissued, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 122 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
While many ugly Americans best remember Gerard Depardieu from late-'80s Hollywood fluff (and the less said about Green Card the better), his art-house reputation as a legitimate, conscientious actor was more than mere hype. The solid Return of Martin Guerre (Le Retour de Martin Guerre) stands as Depardieu's personal high-water mark: here, he was handed a well-written, nuanced role--one inviting a balanced display of intelligence, charismatic cool, and pure passion--and he makes the most of it. The narrative, set in medieval France during the Hundred Years' War, follows the alleged homecoming of a soldier after many years of absence. His wife (a structurally difficult role to portray with any skill, but played gamely here by the fetching Nathalie Baye) finds him such an improvement--both in the sack and otherwise--from the husband who left for the front that she ignores the villagers' suspicions that he is an impostor. The costumes and scenery are quite a bit better, and more historically responsible, than what we've all come to expect from period drama, and the logical flaws and obvious questions begged by the plot mechanics are smoothed out by director Daniel Vigne's steady hand with story art and cinematic pacing. The film was remade in English, and updated to the Reconstruction, in 1993 as Sommersby, starring Richard Gere and Jodie Foster. See this original instead. --Miles Bethany

Customer Reviews

Medieval verismilitude....
I bought "The Return of Martin Guerre" because I am a history buff, and the film had been described by a leading historian as the most accurate film one could find depicting the life of the middle class in Medieval France. The story line has been redone by Jody Foster and cast in post-Civil War Virginia, but this film is head and shoulders above the remake. If you can't understand French, read the subtitles and watch it more than once.

The setting is a small village in France during the late Middle Ages. The tale centers on a soldier, Martin Guerre played by Gerard Depardieu (in his younger slimmer body), who returns home after years of absence. He renews his relationship with the wife he deserted (or rather begins again since his former relationship left much to be desired). His years away have made him a better person than the callow youth he was when left the village seeking adventure. He has become a loving husband and a hard worker, and discordance seems a thing of the past.

After much hard work, one day, he asks his family to relinquish a parcel of land he says rightfully belongs to him. This request disturbs the family who had assumed he was gone for good and would never assume ownership of the land. Their greed leads them to begin a court proceeding against him charging him as an imposter who has no right to the land.

I found the legal angles of the story quite intriging. It was illuminating to discover there were laws and jurisprudence as well as thoughtful judges during this period. The "humanist" movement had begun, so there were newer provisions for protecting individuals from the group. The contrast of these provisions with the archaic punishments that date from an earlier period is instructive.

One of the Best Ever
I first saw this movie years ago when it was first released. It is the ONLY movie I ever left, bought another ticket for, and then went back in to watch a second time. It is mesmerizing. The film is beautifully shot, often looking like a series of oil paintings rather than film. But the beauty of the cinematography is nothing compared to the story itself. It is a legal thriller and a classic romance. While some consider this to be one of Depardieu's greatest films, the real star of this movie is Nathalie Baye, who plays Martin Guerre's wife. She makes believable the behavior of the film's most complex character. Avoid the dubbed version even if you don't know French. The actors who supply the English-speaking voices are terrible.

A Moving True Story
Daniel Vigen directs this touching 1983 film on the real events surrounding the life of Martin Guerre in late 16th century France. A moving story brought to life by the great acting of Gerard Depardieu and a strong supporting cast.

The film involves the life of a well-to-do farmer in 16th century France (not the Middle Ages and the Hundred Years War as erroneously claimed by the main reviewer!) Bored with farming and searching for adventure, Martin Guerre, a man who cares little for women or husbandry, goes off to war and leaves behind his beautiful wife (Nathalie Baye.) Years have past and the wife lives a solitary life of chastity while she awaits the return of her husband. An impostor (Gerard Depardieu) comes back as Martin Guerre to embrace his wife but suspicions abound. How long will this clever plot work? Will the wife find out? What happens to the real Martin Guerre?

The reviewers who claim this story to be fiction or exaggerated are clearly unfamiliar with French history as this story is completely true: all of the minute details of this tragic story were preserved in a 16th century court manuscript that recorded all of the testimonies and the verdict of the court. This touching film follows the lives of real historical characters who, although simple late Rennaissance peasants, risked the scorn of their peers and the infliction of serious criminal penalties for true love: it's a moving tragedy to watch. The story was well adapted to the screen and has good acting. If you're not into the Renaissance scene, you can watch the Americanized second-rate version of the story in the 1993 film 'Sommersby' with Richard Gere and Jodi Foster.