Search - Ridicule on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Humor, Sexual Situations Movie Release: 1996 DVD Release: 01/13/2004 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: French Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 43 mins Studio: Miramax Members Wishing: 7 Genres: Drama, Comedy of Manners, Period Film

This is a French costume drama from director Patrice Leconte that recalls both Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and Restoration (1995). Gregoire Ponceludon de Malavoy (Charles Berling) is a baron of the 18th century French countryside, wealthy in property and high in social position but poor in cash. Local peasants -- dependent upon his largesse for their income -- are in poor health, the result of a festering marsh that, if drained, could solve the villagers' illnesses and create valuable farmland. Ponceludon travels to Versailles to plead his case before King Louis XVI. There, he is informed that he has no chance of success unless he can impress the court with his verbal prowess, for the king and his minions value banter, preferably of the ironic, cruel, and insulting variety, above all else. Under the tutelage of the Marquis de Bellegarde (Jean Rochefort), Ponceludon discovers that his sober, blunt honesty can be mistaken for a skewering wit. Though the baron falls for his mentor's science-minded daughter Mathilde (Judith Godreche), he's forced to woo the politically powerful Madame de Blayac (Fanny Ardant). Ridicule (1996) opened the 1996 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Charles Berling - Ponceludon de Malavoy
Fanny Ardant - Madame de Blayac
Judith Godrëche - Mathilde de Bellegarde
Jean Rochefort - Marquis de Bellegarde
Bernard Giraudeau - L'Abbe de Vilecourt

This intelligent and absorbing French drama gets a simple but well-executed presentation for its North American release on DVD. Ridicule has been given a letterboxed transfer to disc in the wide screen aspect ratio of 2.35:1, which has been enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16 x 9 monitors. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Surround; the dialogue is in the original French, with optional English language subtitles. No additional bonus material has been included for this edition. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide