Marie Antoinette (DVD)

Marie Antoinette...the Queen who lost her head, made famous for her 'attitude' towards the starving French public. Her most famous quote, "Let them eat cake" is one of those memorable quotes from history and she is often depicted as a figure of hate. This film examines the wife of Louis XIV and allows a different version of a well known story to be told. The film opens where a young 14year old Dunst is forced from her familiar Austrian home and taken to the French court where she meets her future family and husband. Dunst marries and soon becomes the ridicule of the French court due the inability, or so it seemed, to get her husband to consummate the ...  Read the complete review

Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, Marie Antoinette was released in 2006 and stars Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis, Shirley Henderson and Steve Coogan. The film is based on the book "Marie Antoinette: The Journey," by Antonia Fraser. This is a modern day interpretation of the story of Marie Antoinette (played by Kirsten Dunst ). Set in the 18th century, Marie a beautiful (but naive girl) becomes betrothed to King Louis XVI at the age of fourteen. She finds herself saying farewell to everything she knows and cares about, and enters the unfamiliar world of the French Courts. Surrounded by rules (such as not being allowed to dress ...  Read the complete review

When Marie Antoinette was released it was met with boos at the Cannes Film Festival, not the best bit of advertising for a film. However in some ways it probably led some people to watch it to see what all the fuss was about. I like historical dramas so was intrigued to watch this although not knowing a lot about Marie Antoinette I didn’t know what to expect. The film is directed by Sofia Coppola who directed the Oscar winning Lost in Translation. She has attempted to produce a historical film with a modern edge. For those of you who aren’t up on your French History (that’s me!) the story starts in late 18th century in Austria. With the Austrian ...  Read the complete review

Marie Antoinette is leaving Austria to become the future Queen of France, a title which she seems ill at ease with and a life style to which she is not accustomed. But it is making her the toast of her home country, the joy of her mother and the relief between a possible Austrian-France conflict. When she is introduced to Versailles and her new husband, she doesn't at first fit into the scenery, with vicious gossip spreading about her and an inability to arouse the future King. With the chances of her bringing France a new Prince seeming slight, her position seems unsecure - so she throws herself into the extravagant and lavish Parisian routine. But trouble is brewing as ...  Read the complete review

note: also appears in part on Flixster and The Student Room Sofia Coppola rose to some considerable fame when she wrote and directed the hugely acclaimed film Lost in Translation, which, while considerably overrated, was a meditative mood piece that clearly touched a lot of people. Her next attempt was Marie Antoinette, a look at the young empress with a twist: it is heavily stylised with a modern sensibility, depicting her like the Madonna of her generation, replete with bubble-gum style pop music playing throughout the film. Regardless of what you make of this decision, the film won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and it is indeed quite a lavish ...  Read the complete review