The Assassination of the Duke of Guise

The Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908) (original French title: La Mort du duc de Guise; often referred to as L'Assassinat du duc de Guise) is a French historical film directed by Charles le Bargy and André Calmettes, adapted by Henri Lavedan, and featuring actors of the Comédie-Française and prominent set designers. It is one of the first films to feature both an original film score, composed by Camille Saint-Saëns, and a screenplay by an eminent screenwriter. Synopsis Lasting longer than was then usual, about 15 minutes, the film more or less accurately depicts the events of the day in 1588 when King Henry III (played by co-director le Bargy) summoned his powerful rival, Duke Henri de Guise, to his chambers at the Château de Blois and had him brutally murdered. The film has its share of lurid thrills and better acting than most films of the time. It is staged in a somewhat theatrical manner but has slow pacing throughout. Production The Assassination was one of the first and most successful films to be made by , a production company founded in 1907 with the intention of making films that would earn the respect of the cultural elite as well as the patronage of large audiences. The script was written for the screen (by Henri Lavedan), but its costumes and staging followed the historical tradition of the French theater. The movie contains the rudiments of the more elaborate narrative techniques of films to come. Although it consists of only nine shots, with theatrical rather than cinematic acting and staging, it presents enough elements of a story that it could be understood on its own. It does this through continuity of action and space. Leading up to and including the assassination, the camera follows the movements of the main character over five separate shots, through three separate rooms and back. Other elements were theatrical rather than filmic, such as sets with painted backdrops and the camera's single stationary position for each scene, reminiscent of a seat on the main floor, not far from the "stage."