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In
the DVD video and the videocassette "VERSAILLES, the visit",
Gérard Corbiau, the director, and Béatrix Saule, the author
of the commentary, guide us for 60 minutes to the heart of Versailles,
where we discover the palace, and the park and gardens through
a circuit arranged chronologically and by subject matter. Accompanied
by the best cinema technicians, the director shows us a sparkling
and sumptuous Versailles. Certain areas generally closed to
the public (Marie-Antoinette's theatre, Louis XV's "petits appartements")
are shown to us in all their intimacy.
The DVD video also includes,
- the making-off : a 20 minute film of the shooting directed
by J-C Guillosson, which will show you the difficulties met
by the team, both of a climatic nature and inherent to the palace's
architecture, as well as the extent to which the director has
created a work of emotion through this documentary.
- the life at court, a two miniute short length film showing
the the museum's collections (prints, paintings, etc.).
- the plans of the palace and its gardens.
- access to the film by chapter.
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THE
DIRECTOR
 Gérard
Corbiau began in 1968, with the editing of "La grande barrière
de corail" (The Great Coral Reef) a documentary feature
film which won the gold medal at Venice in 1969. He then embarked
on a career as a director of documenatry
films at the RTBF (Belgium Television), for whom he directed
over fifty films. The Television's critics twice remarked on
the originality of his research on the detailed analysis of
the relationship between music and fiction and awarded him the
Antenne de Cristal for "Sax" in 1981 and "A la recherche
de S" in 1983. In 1987, Gérard Corbiau directed his
first feature film for the cinema, a costumed musical: the "Maître
de musique" (the Music Master), with José Van Dam in the
title role. The film was very successful and was nominated for
an Oscar in the best foreign film category in 1988 and obtained,
besides 15 other distinctions, the jury's special prize at the
Rio festival.
In 1990 Gérard Corbiau directed, "l'Année
de l'éveil" (The Year of the Awakening) and in 1994 "Farinelli"
which again obtained an Oscar nomination for the best foreign
film, two Césars (best sound and best direction) and, in Belgium,
the golden Olivier for the best film of the year. The same year,
he completed directing the documentary "Nostalgie d'une voix
perdue" (Nostalgia of a Lost Voice), a making of about the
musical adventure of Farinelli. With "VERSAILLES, la visite"
(Versailles, the Visit), Gérard Corbiau has directed a documentary
which is enriched by the spectacle and emotion of fiction.
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Head Curator at the palace of Versailles, Béatrix
Saule lends herself with passion and dynamism to the enhancement
of all aspects of the palace. Director of the Department for Publics
and Cultural Services, she is in charge of carrying out the palace's
cultural policy and originated the development of the visit programmes
proposed to the public. Curator of the exhibition "Versailles
et les tables royales en Europe" (Versailles and the royal
tables of Europe) in 1993-1994, her major catalogue contribution
made it possible to bring knowledge on customs and table manners
at Versailles up to date. General Curator of the exhbition "Topkapi
à Versailles, trésors de la Cour Ottomane" (Topkapi at Versailles,
treasures of the Ottoman Court) in 1999, she enabled the meeting
at Versailles of two cultures and two ideas of monarchy. She is
also author of the CD Rom Versailles, le complot (Versailles,
the plot) which was launched in 1996; and author-designer of the
Internet site www.chateauversailles.fr.
Béatrix Saule has written Poum Tiya et le Roi Solei (Poum
Tiya and the Sun King), an illustrated childrens' book which received
the Saint Exupery prize and Versailles triomphant, une journée
de Louis XIV (Versailles triumphant, a day in the life of
Louis XIV), which has been reprinted several times.
Béatrix Saule is currently preparing a major event which will
take place in front of the Orangerie at Versailles, from June
to October 2000, on the subject of gardens, on the occasion of
the tricentenary of the death of André Le Nôtre.
THE
PARTNERS
Producers and Publishers
"VERSAILLES,
the visit" is a French production entirely produced by the Réunion
des Musées Nationaux, the palace of Versailles and
Montparnasse Productions.
The Réunion des Musées Nationaux, in conformity with
its mission of cultural distributor, coproduces and publishes
films on art, art history, museum collections, major exhibitions,
contemporary art and introducting art to children.
The palace of Versailles, which figures on the list of
world heritage masterpieces, is a state property that is unique
in France, visited by nearly 9 million people each year. The
objective of the museum's public authority and the estate of
the palace of Versailles is to develop a dynamic and
ambitious cultural activity. Exhibitions, conferences, seminars,
concerts, theatre and dance allow the spirit of the place to
relive throughout the year.
Montparnasse Productions, a subsidiary of Editions Montparnasse,
produces cultural documentaries which aim to privilege the cultural
and historical approach to a country or a region. Since its
creation ten years ago, Editions Montparnasse have built up
a catalogue of over 500 titles of classical cinema and documentary
works including notably: Citizen Kane, Microcosmos and the famous
collection "Palettes" ...
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THE
VISIT, A COLLECTION
In
1998, Editions Montparnasse and the Réunion des Musées
Nationaux produced a film on the Louvre, an ambitious wager
to make the great museum known to a wide public: this production
has been highly successful, as is shown by sales in only a few
months for just the French version of 65,000 videocassettes and
nearly 10,000 DVD videos. (availability)
Today, the film we have produced for you here, "VERSAILLES, the
visit" and projects currently being produced: France, the visit;
Paris, the visit; Auvergne, the visit; Rome, the visit; the palace
of the Loire ... are part of the same process.
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AVAILABILITY
From
17 November 1999
- in video cassette: pal/secam for the French version and Pal/NTSC
for the English version. Price FF 119.
- in DVD: in French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian,
Portugese, Mandarin Chinese or Japanese. Format: 16/9, compatible
4/3 Length: 65 min x Stereo configuration. Price about FF 220.
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