Germinal | |
---|---|
![]() Film poster | |
Directed by | Claude Berri |
Screenplay by | Claude Berri Arlette Langmann |
Based on | Germinal by Émile Zola |
Produced by | Claude Berri Pierre Grunstein Bodo Scriba |
Starring | Miou-Miou Renaud Jean Carmet Judith Henry Jean-Roger Milo Gérard Depardieu |
Cinematography | Yves Angelo |
Edited by | Hervé de Luze |
Music by | Jean-Louis Roques |
Distributed by | AMLF |
Release date |
|
Running time | 160 minutes |
Country | France |
Language | French |
Budget | €27.4 million[1] |
Box office | $36.1 million[2] |
Germinal is a 1993 French epic film based on the 1885 novel by Émile Zola. It was directed by Claude Berri, and stars Gérard Depardieu, Miou-Miou and Renaud. At the time it was the most expensive movie ever produced in France.[3] It was the fourth most attended film of the year in France.
It won the César Award for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design, and was nominated for Best Film, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best director, Best Writing, Best Sound, Best Editing, Best Music and Best Production Design. The film was selected as the French entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 66th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[4][5]
The film, set in the nineteenth century, closely follows the plot of the novel, which is a realistic story of a coalminers' strike in northern France in the 1860s.
Cast
- Miou-Miou as Maheude
- Renaud as Étienne Lantier
- Jean Carmet as Vincent Maheu dit Bonnemort
- Judith Henry as Catherine Maheu
- Jean-Roger Milo as Chaval
- Gérard Depardieu as Toussaint Maheu
- Laurent Terzieff as Souvarine
- Bernard Fresson as Victor Deneulin
- Jean-Pierre Bisson as Rasseneur
- Jacques Dacqmine as Philippe Hennebeau
- Anny Duperey as Madame Hennebeau
- Gérard Croce as Maigrat
- James Ard as the Priest
- Frédéric van den Driessche as Paul Négrel
- Annick Alane as Madame Grégoire
- Pierre Lafont as Léon Grégoire
- Cécile Bois as Cécile Grégoire
- Yolande Moreau as La Levaque
Reception
Critical reception
The movie was well received by the critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 75% of 12 critics gave the film a positive review, for an average rating of 6.9/10.[6]
Box office
The film opened at number one at the French box office with a gross of 29.6 million French francs ($5.2 million) from 314 theatres in its opening week.[7] It expanded to 456 theatres in its second week and remained at number one with a gross of 36.8 million francs ($6.5 million)[8] and stayed there for a third week.[9] The film had 6,161,776 admissions in France making it the fourth most attended film of the year.[10] The film grossed $36.1 million worldwide.[2]
See also
- List of submissions to the 66th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of French submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- Germinal (1963)
References
- ^ "Germinal (1993)- JPBox-Office". Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Top 100 grossers worldwide, '93-94". Variety. October 17, 1994. p. M-56.
- ^ "Into the black". Screen International. 19 November 1993. p. 20.
- ^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
- ^ Frook, John Evan (30 November 1993). "Acad inks Cates, unveils foreign-language entries". Variety. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ "Germinal". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "International Box Office". Variety. 18 October 1993. p. 14.
$5,201,736; $1=5.7FF
- ^ "International Box Office". Variety. 25 October 1993. p. 40.
$6,452,430; $1=5.7FF
- ^ "International Box Office". Variety. 1 November 1993. p. 14.
- ^ "Germinal (1993)- Resultats France". JPBox-Office. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
Further reading
- Tibbetts, John C., and James M. Welsh, eds. The Encyclopedia of Novels Into Film (2nd ed. 2005) pp 149–150.