In the coach up ahead, history rides. Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and their children are fleeing Paris in disguise, for a rendezvous with royalist allies. In the coach behind them, humanity rides. An aging Casonova, fending off women rather than seducing them; Tom Paine, pamphleteer of the American rebellion; and Restif de la Bretonne, a journalist. Among the fictional creations is the lady-in-waiting to the Queen and Her Majesty’s snippy homosexual hairdresser. Caught in the making of history, these bystanders can only catch a glimpse of events of the revolution as they unfold. A few will be present when the decree ordering the royal family to return to Paris, and ultimately the guillotine, is read. All they will see of that historic moment will be the King’s shoes and socks and the Queen’s skirts. Stars Marcello Mastroianni, Harvey Keitel, Jean-Louis Barrault and Hanna Schygulla.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
305086
Language
French
Audience classification
MA
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)