# New movie version of Cyrano **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [November 4, 2021, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813 "2021-11-04T20:39:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/1 "2021-11-04T20:39:04Z")
I just happened to see the [trailer for this new movie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e8apSFDXsQ). I must lead by noting that Cyrano de Bergerac is probably my favorite play ever. It is a drama, a comedy, a romance and a tragedy. The 1950 movie with Jose Ferrer is a very creditable rendition, using the Hooker translation which I prefer. The wordplay is as brilliant as the swordplay, and the last scene always breaks my heart. There are other filmed versions that might be worthwhile, although none of the ones I’ve seen. So this new version – well, they’ve made a few changes. Instead of having a grotesquely large nose, the title character is a little person (David Dinklage). So that immediately throws out some of Cyrano’s best speeches, where he throws his nose back into the teeth of his detractors (so to speak). But that’s okay, because apparently they aren’t using any of the original dialog from the play. Because they can do better, I’m sure. Oh, and the last straw for me is that they have turned it into a musical, and if the excerpts from the preview are anything to go by, it is in the blandest pop-Broadway style. Bleah, and no thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/2 "2021-11-04T21:13:28Z")
I feel your pain. I happen to think that the Depardieu version is one of the greates movies ever. This seems to be just another Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/3 "2021-11-04T21:46:46Z")
Seems like Adrien Brody would be perfect as Cyrano. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/4 "2021-11-04T21:47:04Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > the Depardieu version is one of the greates movies ever. It may be. I think that hearing poetry in your native language is so different from reading (non-poetic) sub-titles. That’s why I like the Hooker translation, it is English poetry in its own right, a few minor changes from the French original I guess, for the sake of the English scansion and flow. And here is my rant about that. In the 1970’s, I think, San Francisco’s ACT did a production of Cyrano, which was also telecast at some point. They used a different translation, but it seemed fine as far as I can remember, until they got to the very last word. At the end, Cyrano is proclaiming everything that he has lost as he is about to die, and it goes something like “I have lost everything, except my white plume.” His white plume is the symbol, thoroughly established throughout the play, of his integrity and honor as a human being. But this production decided to keep the original French word, and so the line reads “I have lost everything, except my panache.” Now “panache” does mean literally plume in French, but it is a word that has made it’s way into English to mean flamboyance or extravagant style. That is a completely different meaning from what was intended in the original, and completely ruined that rendition of the play for me. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/5 "2021-11-04T21:48:50Z")
Because he’s a particularly good actor, or because he’s funny looking? ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/6 "2021-11-04T21:52:28Z")
That’s a shame, I feel that if anyone could have redone the Ferrer version, it’s Dinklage. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/7 "2021-11-04T22:22:40Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > the title character is a little person (David Dinklage). **Peter** Dinklage. It looks like a lot of fun. I’m really looking forward to it. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/8 "2021-11-05T01:26:06Z")
Well, I saw the title of this thread, and I got excited. I love both the Ferrer and Depardieu versions, and the story is ready for a new movie. But not this. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/9 "2021-11-05T01:34:06Z")
I watched with the sound muted and bailed at about the two-thirds mark. Michael Dunn might’ve been able to pull this off; he even had musical theater experience. Dinklage looked glum and one-note. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/10 "2021-11-05T01:45:59Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > I happen to think that the Depardieu version is one of the greates movies ever. Co-signed. > [@Uniqueorn](#): > > This seems to be just another Disney version Yeah. I actually don’t hate the idea of somebody making a watered-down Disneyfied musical version of Cyrano in English to let the teens and Dizgeeks experience a form of this magnificent story? And the trailer looks as though at least some thought and effort went into constructing that version. But is that enough reason for me to watch it instead of the real thing with the original Rostand dialogue? Probably not. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/11 "2021-11-05T02:58:10Z")
They kept the title, but threw out the heart. I can’t wait for the remake of “Dumbo”, the skateboarding giraffe. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/12 "2021-11-05T03:04:20Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I actually don’t hate the idea of somebody making a watered-down Disneyfied musical version of Cyrano in English to let the teens and Dizgeeks experience a form of this magnificent story I briefly had the thought that it might direct one or two of them to the source material, if they got into the story. I mean, the part of the story about Cyrano subbing for Christian under the balcony is close to a cultural trope, or at least it used to be, but so many other parts of the story are at least as important as that. And the last scene – “I never loved but one man in my life – and I have lost him twice!” I hope they include that sentiment, if not the exact line. > [@Dropo](#): > > Dinklage looked glum and one-note. He seemed very modern. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/13 "2021-11-05T04:08:39Z")
Yes, from the trailer it doesn’t seem that Dinklage has the zest or energy for the role, and the production has a very blah, Beauty and the Beast vibe. I love the Jose Ferrer and the Depardieu film versions, and I also really enjoyed a short-lived Broadway musical version, in 1994. It was great fun, as well as romantic and touching, and was nominated for 4 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book and Best Original Score. It ran only 137 performances, though. The rumor was that the Broadway establishment was resentful of a production that premiered in Amsterdam and whose producer, director, writers and leading actor were all from the Netherlands. > **[Cyrano: The Musical](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrano:_The_Musical)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Cyrano: The Musical is a musical with music by Ad van Dijk, an original book and lyrics (in Dutch) by Koen van Dijk. For the Broadway production, English lyrics were provided by Peter Reeves, with additional lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. > Produced by Joop van den Ende, the original Dutch production Cyrano de Musical premiered in 1992 at the Stadsschouwburg (City Theatre) in Amsterdam. It is based on Edmond Rostand's classic 1897 play of the same name... ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/14 "2021-11-05T04:28:20Z")
I almost forgot, I rather enjoyed the modern re-telling in the Steve Martin movie Roxanne. The only sour note for me was when he called someone a “flat-nosed, flat-faced flat-head.” ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/15 "2021-11-05T05:54:15Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > > [@Uniqueorn](#): > > > > I feel your pain. I happen to think that the Depardieu version is one of the greates movies ever. > > It may be. I think that hearing poetry in your native language is so different from reading (non-poetic) sub-titles. Anthony Burgess’s translation used in the English subtitles to the Depardieu version is brilliant and entirely in verse using rhymes and sprung rhythm. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/16 "2021-11-05T09:10:22Z")
Too bad they didn’t use [Josh Walker](https://www.joshwalkerofficialwebsite.com), another little person (not the football player). He can act, sing and dance, among many other things. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/17 "2021-11-05T10:33:56Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > And here is my rant about that. In the 1970’s, I think, San Francisco’s ACT did a production of Cyrano, which was also telecast at some point. They used a different translation, but it seemed fine as far as I can remember, until they got to the very last word. At the end, Cyrano is proclaiming everything that he has lost as he is about to die, and it goes something like “I have lost everything, except my white plume.” His white plume is the symbol, thoroughly established throughout the play, of his integrity and honor as a human being. But this production decided to keep the original French word, and so the line reads “I have lost everything, except my panache.” Now “panache” does mean literally plume in French, but it is a word that has made it’s way into English to mean flamboyance or extravagant style. That is a completely different meaning from what was intended in the original, and completely ruined that rendition of the play for me. For 30+ years my wife and I have made occasional fun of the Depardieu version because it also ends on the word _panache_, which until this moment I didn’t understand. Well. The more you learn. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/18 "2021-11-05T15:22:48Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Anthony Burgess’s translation used in the English subtitles to the Depardieu version is brilliant and entirely in verse using rhymes and sprung rhythm. Thank you for that information. The poetry of it doesn’t come across easily when reading it, one line at a time as subtitles, nor as it would if someone were speaking those lines. But clearly it bears further study. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/19 "2021-11-05T17:07:12Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > And here is my rant about that. In the 1970’s, I think, San Francisco’s ACT did a production of Cyrano, which was also telecast at some point. They used a different translation, but it seemed fine as far as I can remember, until they got to the very last word. At the end, Cyrano is proclaiming everything that he has lost as he is about to die, and it goes something like “I have lost everything, except my white plume.” His white plume is the symbol, thoroughly established throughout the play, of his integrity and honor as a human being. But this production decided to keep the original French word, and so the line reads “I have lost everything, except my panache.” Now “panache” does mean literally plume in French, but it is a word that has made it’s way into English to mean flamboyance or extravagant style. That is a completely different meaning from what was intended in the original, and completely ruined that rendition of the play for me. That’s the source of my screen name. I think it works better than “White Plume”. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813/20 "2021-11-05T17:13:53Z")
Worms, Roxanne. I was afraid of worms! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813.md?page=2)