Art Vandelay The top-shelf movie is made up of scenes between the two principals. The Polish lead is as good a performance as I've seen in a long time. Dippy-do was speaking French so he didn't drive me nuts like he does when he's in English-speaking movies. The lower-shelf bowl of hambone soup is when everyone else has aline of dialogue, spoken earnestly, often in wild-eyed shouts. Plays like a high-school drama club performance of That Wacky Wacky French Revolution. Lots of thought-provoking things here, and it looks great, but too many sub-par actors to pull it off.

thinker1691 'They are a very intelligent people, the French'. So says author Boris Pasternak, in his novel, Dr. Zhivago. After watching this movie called " Danton " one would tend to agree. A study in French History will illustrate how closely this film comes to duplicating it. The story is taken from the first five years after the nightmarish 1589 revolution in France which consumed the lives of thousands of Aristocrates and their supporters. Danton (Gérard Depardieu) has returned from his countryside estate to meet with his old friend Robespierre (Wojciech Pszoniak). It seems word has reached Danton that the Committee system, or more precisely, the Safety committee, in Paris has become lethal to the very people it's suppose to protect. Despite, their long friendship, differences of political opinion soon make it apparent the deadly revolution with its connection to the Guliotine, will soon destroy their goals, promises and even their lives. The dramatic acting in the movie between the principal actors and their ardent followers, is superb. Indeed, the devious plots, counter plots and murderous intentions of all involved is designed to unearth history from deep within it's bloodiest pages.****

eric-1501 Many American pea-brains who worship and support the political half-truths of hucksters like Michael Moore would do well to sit through this movie more than once and see how hypnotic manipulators can scare, intimidate and lie to an underinformed public and get the people they fear or loathe killed, spindled and mutilated. Robespierre in this fine epic kills the opposition by remote control, all in a fit of self-righteous devotion to his principles. We get the impression that Robes felt it quite justifiable to snip off his opponent's heads, even as he sent his minions out to trump up false and misleading charges against the State. Today, the captains of our rotting media institutions are much more sensitive that Robes...they merely murder your character with innuendo and false charges laid down without foundation or sources. Witness Dan Rather's attempts to assassinate W's character on the eve of the 2004 election, or the constant drumbeat that the 2000 election was stolen, although constitutional scholars continue to scoff at such irresponsible drivel.

geofille This is one of the most amazing movies... Anyone who says that Gerard Depardieu portrayed Georges Jacques Danton "wrongly", and who purports that Danton was "not" the huge, strong, charismatic, man of the people that Depardieu portrayed him as obviously has not done much research on the French Revolution. George Jacques Danton was like this exactly. The contrast between Robespierre's incessant paranoia and reservedness (conveyed perfectly by Wojciech Pszoniak...an EXCELLENT job) and Danton's relaxed approach towards the problems with which he was faced, extreme easiness and likeness among people, and the dynamic way with which he approached the mob of Paris' unemployed masses and people in general was spot on: the two men were complete opposites. This movie developed the characters of the French Revolution so well, it is unbelievable. It ENTRAPPED the personalities of all those great, complex, astounding men that gave this extraordinary period of time its distinct shape. Saint-Just, Desmoulins, Robespierre, Danton, all of them...they were painted so accurately. This movie truly brought these incredible men to life. I have to say, the score of this movie was incredible. It brought out all the proper emotions. Overall, an astonishing movie.