The Return of Martin Guerre [Blu-ray]

This is a good movie to watch if you are studying French. And it has a good cast of characters!

"The Return of Martin Guerre" was briefly issued on DVD 20 years ago on an undistinguished label and the transfer was far from good. Therefore, I'm so glad to see FINALLY this release in Blu-Ray. Martin Guerre is an excellent film that has faded from memory a bit, and that's a shame. It's a genuinely interesting story -- all the more interesting when you consider it's mostly a true story. The package is a little thin in terms of extras. I really would have loved to have a commentary track on this one. The transfer is decent. The only downside is that the film appears to be inherently grainy to begin with. I'm guessing they were using some of the very first high-speed film stocks that came out in the early 80s, which were quite grainy.Anyway, it's a wonderful film. If you like historical films, you're good. If you like a good mystery, this story sort of covers that too.

Amazon Prime is a member of the Movies Anywhere consortium that makes purchased movies available on other platforms. This only appears on Amazon Prime. Just sad that Amazon can't get with the program.

I have loved this movie since it was first made public, so glad that it's been remastered for DVD. I am a historian by training, and there is quite a lot of literature about this incident, portrayed quite accurately here for the most part. It turns on the question, how do you know someone's identity in a world without photographs (or any more modern technology)? If someone disappears for a long time, then returns, who gets to judge if this is the person he claims to be? Why might someone lie? What would cause doubts? (In this case, a key moment is when Martin says he might sell his father's field -- there are cultural reasons why the real Martin would not do that.) I just love everything about this -- the actors are wonderful (Nathalie Baye is just perfect), the cinematography is gorgeous, the music is delightful.

... watch it for the fine French acting of Gerard Depardieu and all the cast (though Depardieu's finest role of all wasn't Martin Guerre but Cyrano de Bergerac); watch it for the wrenchingly tragic love story; watch it for the historical insights it decodes into the 'mentalities' of the non-elites of pre-modern Europe; watch it for the gratification of discovering how much you really do prefer the moral climate of today to that of yesteryear; watch it because you want to practice aural comprehension of French, as I did.... but if you have never watched it, watch it soon, because you're in for a magnificent film. And if you have watched it, watch it again since you've probably forgotten just how good it was.Or, as an alternative, you could read the book "Martin Guerre" by Natalie Zemon Davis, which is every bit as gripping as the film, and somewhat more intellectually challenging. I had always assumed that the film was made from the book, but it seems that the idea of making such a film was the stimulus for Davis's research and writing. And the story of Martin Guerre wasn't entirely obscure before the film. In fact, Alexander Dumas wrote one of his historical crime novels entitled Martin Guerre in the middle of the 19th C.My thanks to the "amazon friend" who reminded me of Martin Guerre; I hope he'll review the film himself or at least comment on it.

This is one of the most beautifully-filmed, atmospheric movies of all time. It literally looks like it was painted by Camille Pissarro, and the period-accurate music is fantastic.And it's also a compelling procedural, asking the question of how do you prove that you are who you say you are, hundreds of years before fingerprinting and DNA. The village dentist is dragged out, as is the midwife who delivered him, and the shoemaker who brings a wooden last he made of the husband's foot before he went off to war.Depardieu is great, but the star is the transparently-beautiful Nathalie Baye, who has the difficult job of playing either his wife or his co-conspirator, depending on what's actually going on. When the judge asks her how she knows he is her husband, she answers: "Avant, pendant, et apres."

The start of this movie has Martin Guerre marrying a girl from his village, but not consumating the marriage. Before Martin disappears years later, he finally consumates the marriage and gets his wife pregnant. After he's been gone for years, he returns. The whole village welcomes him back. He and his wife have more children. Everything seems fine until he asks his uncle for some money that the uncle was holding for him. Now the uncle says he's not really Martin. The tension of not knowing if the guy is or is not Martin makes the film very interesting. Apparently, the movie was based on a real case during the 16th century.

This is great love story full of information and times represented to show human reactions to myths to truths. Saw it years ago in theaters and wanted a copy to see many times.

It is not at all obvious when ordering that this DVD has only subtitles in German - which despite having German O level, I would struggle with. Amazon should insist that all foreign films with non english subtitles should have a bold warning along with the title....

The first time I saw this film, I needed a break from graduate school exams (in France). I did not particularly like Depardieu and knew nothing of the story. But once I was inside, I was amazed and left thinking it was one of the best films I had ever seen, a serious fan of Depardieu ever since. It is an extraordinarily vivid historical reconstruction of a true story, illuminating a tumultuous period of history with exceptional accuracy. You feel the texture of the life, with innumerable subtle allusions that deep reading in history can uncover - about the rights of women, law, the role of religion in everyday life, about identity and possibility - and the best of all: a completely absorbing story that keeps the viewer guessing the whole time.The two principal characters, played by Depardieu and the astonishingly beautiful yet apparently plain Natalie Baye, are compelling in their love, having re-found each other. Martin Guerre, unhappy and unloving, had walked away from everything that he had: some land, a large extended family, and the obligations of his station. He returns after nearly a decade of war as a soldier in Spain, to welcome and forgiveness, fitting into the life of the village in his proper role. Martin and Bertrand have children, continue to work, and everything seems fine. Then some vagabonds arrive, who inadvertantly claim that Martin is not who he claims to be. This sows doubt in the village and gets tangled in some local politics and greed, leading to a law suit and threats of violence.The story is framed by the investigation of a good, aristocratic magistrate who seeks to find the truth behind the allegations. Is it true? Or do the accusers have ulterior motives involving greed and corruption. It is utterly riveting and a mystery until the end. The personalities are well drawn and evolve throughout the course of the story - the viewer's perception of the all changes more than once. I just watched it with my children, who normally prefer computer games, and they watched in fascinated silence, except when they asked questions (the best reward of all!).Warmly recommended. This is a classic, perfectly acted, distinctive, intricate.

Loved this french film. So atmospheric of the historic period. Excellent acting.

Classic

L'usurpation d'identité fut à travers les âges quelque chose de récurrent. Il est probable que pour des tas de raisons cela a pu ne jamais poser de problème. Mais parfois, ça ne passe pas et cela se termine en affaire judiciaire.Dans notre histoire, Martin Guerre, le vrai, est un homme faible, nonchalant et peu hardi ; un jour, il part pour la guerre sans prévenir. Au retour, un homme se présente sous son identité avec un caractère entreprenant, courageux. Le réflexe de tout le monde est : la guerre nous l'a changé en mieux… L'imposture aurait pu fonctionner s'il n'avait pas demandé des comptes à l'oncle, chef de famille… Et comme toujours dans ce cas, le doute s'insinue et on le trouve brusquement moins bien …Reste comment le film retranscrit une histoire aussi classique.Le réalisateur (Daniel Vigne) a soigné le casting pour cette histoire :D'abord pour le faux Martin Guerre, Gérard Depardieu, on connait, la force de caractère, le séducteur (surtout dans les années 80), un brin manipulateur a bien été à deux doigts de remporter la mise…L'épouse de Martin Guerre (Nathalie Baye) est d'un naturel doux et soumis et ne demande qu'à être aimée. Cela colle parfaitement avec le faux Martin.Le chef de famille, l'oncle est joué par Maurice Barrier qui excelle dans le rôle du paysan matois, prêt à tout pour défendre le patrimoine familial. Tant que le faux Martin Guerre travaille dur, fait des enfants à sa nièce, tout roule. Dès lors que le faux Martin Guerre commence à parler gros sous et à réclamer sa part, il y voit la fin de son règne. Et là brusquement, rien ne va plus.Jean de Coras qui instruit l'affaire est joué par Roger Planchon, parfait en juriste humaniste, soucieux de préserver la paix, s'avouant quand même séduit par le faux Martin.C'est André Chaumeau qui joue le rôle du curé, personnage clé à cette époque, cauteleux, borné à souhait.Le vrai Martin Guerre, qu'on ne voit guère, qui finit par arriver à la fin, c'est Bernard Pierre Donnadieu. Ce n'est pas un acteur séduisant… Plutôt du genre taiseux, avec un regard un peu pas franc du collier, comme dans bien des rôles qu'il a pu jouer par ailleurs… Si on rajoute qu'il a perdu une jambe à la guerre, on voit que le village va bien retrouver le vrai Martin Guerre mais aussi une charge pour le village. Mais le patrimoine ne changera pas de mains.On voit que par le casting, le film, et le spectateur, va naturellement pencher en faveur de l'imposteur.C'est très bien joué, dans un cadre soigneusement reconstitué de village au XVI -ème siècle. Nathalie Baye est dans un de ses meilleurs rôles. Gérard Depardieu, égal à lui-même. C'est très probablement un des meilleurs films de Daniel Vigne.