Fairy Tale Spotlight: Cyrano de Bergerac (The 1950 Movie)

Old plays can be hard to read. Old English or English written in a poetic way can boggle the mind and make you wonder what on Earth you just read. I actually loved reading the Edmond Rostand play of "Cyrano de Bergerac." Even translated from French, it still had all that old English writing in it, and there were times that I got a little stumped on what exactly happened, but as a reader of the classics, I wasn't that bad off.

But if you have difficulties with that sort of writing, I might guide you over to the official movie made in 1950. Although filmed entirely in black and white, the movie follows the play very closely. They still opted entirely for the old English, but being able to see everything in action is a great help.

The movie allows you to see Cyrano for who he is. You can visually explore him for both his flamboyancies, his triumphs, and his weaknesses. It's all there, and very well displayed with movie magic. The language used in the film is still sometimes hard to understand, but the pantomime that goes along with it provides good context for it all. I would say that it is a good introduction into the play, but the reading of it is still highly recommended.

One of the reasons for the latter statement is that you will still get more fulfillment from reading his words. On the screen, much of what he says can be fleeting if you perchance blink or get slightly distracted at just the wrong moment. Although it is fun to see how cavalier he can be in person, there is a reason, a very personal reason, why he acts the way he does. And I personally believe that Cyrano is someone who should be heavily understood on a deep level if you are to properly appreciate him.

I see the 1950 movie as a compliment to the reading of the play. It will certainly place better context on the goings on of the story, but to understand Cyrano the best, you must read his words. You must come to understand that this man was entirely his own man... and there have been so very few men in history that can lay claim to that.

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