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| Marie Antoinette | 
 enlarge | Director: Sofia Coppola
Actors: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis, Rip Torn, Rose Byrne
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94
Buy Used: $3.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  313 reviews
Sales Rank: 2043
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 123
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 15910
UPC: 043396159105
EAN: 0043396159105
ASIN: B000M06KJ8
Theatrical Release Date: October 20, 2006
Release Date: February 13, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: SHIPS QUICKLY from Florida. Widescreen DVD. Condition: Very Good (case, inserts, disc all very good).
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While much was made of the fact that Marie Antoinette elicited boos at Cannes, the many favorable reviews attracted less attention. Inspired by Antonia Fraser's biography, Sofia Coppola fashions a portrait that's just as dreamy as The Virgin Suicides, her first literary adaptation, and the Oscar-winning Lost in Translation. Set to a soundtrack of post-punk (a conceit that adds more interest than resonance), the teenaged Marie (Kirsten Dunst, quite good) may be shallow, but she's rarely unsympathetic. The story begins in the late-18th century as the Austrian Archduchess agrees to marry Louis-Auguste (Jason Schwartzman). After bidding adieu to her mother, Maria Theresa (Marianne Faithfull), she travels to France, where King Louis XV (Rip Torn) sets the rules--and the list is endless (Judy Davis' Comtesse de Noailles is the primary enforcer). As for the Dauphin, he's just a boy, really, with more interest in his key collection than their marriage bed. Should Marie produce an heir, it might be enough to sustain her--since life is nothing but an endless shopping spree--but clouds gather on the horizon as an impoverished populace rises up against their extravagant leaders. Coppola merely suggests what happens next, although history paints a darker picture. Filmed in and around the Chateau of Versailles, Marie Antoinette is a riot of rustling gowns, sparkling jewels, and Manolo Blahnik-designed shoes. To say that style trumps substance does its maker a disservice, but the look of the thing does leave the deepest impression. --Kathleen C. Fennessy Extras from Marie Antoinette (click for larger image) 
Featurette: On the filming of Marie Antoinette:
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Film Clip: "The Introduction"
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Film Clip: "The Royal Treatment"
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Stills from Marie Antoinette (click for larger image) Beyond Marie Antoinette at Amazon.com 
The Book, Marie Antoinette: The Journey | 
More Period Pieces With A Twist | 
The Films of Kirsten Dunst |
Product Description
Academy Award winner Sofia Coppola (2003 Best Writing Lost In Translation) directs an electrifying yet intimate re-telling of the turbulent life of history's favorite villainess Marie Antoinette. Kirsten Dunst portrays the ill-fated child princess who married France's young and indifferent King Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman). Feeling isolated in a royal court rife with scandal and intrigue Marie Antoinette defied both royalty and commoner by living like a rock star which served only to seal her fate.Features:Deleted scenes"Making-of" featuretteCribs with Louis XVI featurette - Jason Schwartzman gives viewers a tour of the Palace of VersaillesSystem Requirements:Run Time: 123 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 043396159105 Manufacturer No: 15910
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| Customer Reviews: Read 308 more reviews...
 Marie Antoinette: The Music Video September 1, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Before I start ripping into the substance of this film, I'll offer up some praise. Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette is nothing if not a visual feast; the sets, costumes and cinematography are sublime. The attention to detail is startling, right down to the gorgeous confections and pastries consumed by the Dauphine and her ladies-in-waiting. I also felt that Kirsten Dunst was cast rather well in this part. Her portrayal of Marie Antoinette is at least capable, at most sympathetic, even if she is speaking with a SoCal accent rather than a French one. You can suspend disbelief enough to get into the meat of her performance, and this is not a character to be compared with the likes of Cher in Clueless.
Having said that, my biggest problem with Marie Antoinette is that the director seems to favor style over substance. If you're not already familiar with the story of the unfortunate French queen, you'll likely find yourself wondering what in the Sam Hill is a-going on. The story being told here is not seamless, and many elements were downright confusing (granted, my first viewing was late at night while wrestling with a bout of insomnia, but the segment dealing with the birth and death of the Queen's child told in the moving and editing of a large portrait had me scratching my head, muttering "Whathafaa?"). Great attention is given to the minutest of details while entire plot elements are glossed over, as if the viewer were a bored thirteen-year-old with remote-control-induced carpel tunnel. Pretty pictures do not a fascinating story make unless you belong to the Pimple Set and/or have a serious case of ADD.
My two other complaints have to do with the rest of the casting and the use of 80's alternative music in the soundtrack. I felt Rip Torn was not a good choice for Louis XVII. Historically, this King was reputed to be the handsomest and most desirable sovereign to sit the throne of France for years, even in old age; Rip Torn is anything but a RoboBabe, besides which he plays the role with all the skill and finesse of Larry the Cable Guy. Fortunately he doesn't get that much screen time here. Likewise for Asia Argento, who looked as if she had gotten maybe thirty minutes of sleep before someone thrust her into costume and shot her closeups. This character is all wrong; Madame Du Barry in life was described as classless and tacky, but I have serious doubts that she was the entirely crass, burping, farting, tarty version we see on the screen. Asia Argento does the best she can with the one-dimensional character we're presented with.
Let's address the soundtrack for a minute. The device of using modern music in a historical setting is not an original idea. While it has been used to great effect in movies like A Knight's Tale, it fell flat in this film (compare the opening jousting scene, enhanced by Queen's "We Will Rock You" in A Knight's Tale to Marie Antoinette and her posse indulging in some 18th-century shopping to the tune of Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy" and you'll see what I mean, Manolo Blahnik footwear notwithstanding). One minute you're watching a historical drama, the next you're thrust into an MTV music video. It cheapens the story and makes one wonder just where the hell Coppola's head was when she decided to indulge her love of 1980's pop culture for the soundtrack of this movie. The most glaring example of this is the use of "Fools Rush In" during a carriage ride from Paris to Versailles; Sofia Coppola could not have done worse if she had slipped her hand into one of Freddy Krueger's finger-knife gloves and run it down a chalkboard.
If you want a complete retelling (and much more satisfying version) of Marie Antoinette's life, I would suggest reading the book that the movie was based on: "Marie Antoinette: The Journey" by Antonia Fraser. I do happen to own the DVD of this movie, but only as a companion piece to the book. And while I enjoy the film to some degree--as I said before, it is fantastic eye-candy and there is something about that French queen that has me mesmerized--I can't recommend it without pointing out its obvious annoyances.
 Good Movie August 26, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really liked this movie. I enjoy learning more about history, and I enjoyed learning more about Marie Antoinette.
 "Do you like it with ruffles or without?" August 11, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
And such is the third film by Sofia Coppola in which we follow the lives of lost girls trying to find their way in the mismatched worlds they've been thrown into. In Virgin Suicides, there were the Lisbon sisters, strained by suburbia. In Lost in Translation, we had Charlotte, who'd rather karaoke-it-up with Bill Murray than listen to her husband drone about his photography shoot in neon-bright Tokyo. Now, she brings us the last Queen of France, most often linked to the classically obnoxious phrase "Let them eat cake" and the decline of the aristocracy, though here is no brighter than a dazed-out mall girl, shopping sale to sale and partying til the sun comes up.
It's undeniable that the French New Wave technique Coppola uses over and over gives you a feeling of personal vulnerability that allows you to understand how Marie Antoinette must've felt and how it must've been to live in such an ancient and opulent time. Like the alienation films of Antoinoni or the youthful romps of early Godard, you get a sense of inclusion that scratches the blankness of many Hollywood films. When Marie looks confused, you feel confused. When she cries, you can feel the pain. When she parties off to 80's New Wave and postpunk giddiness, you want to become a decadent royal and feast on pastries, downing them with Dom Perignon. This is not the kind of historical drama that you would watch in school or even see from Spielberg. This is the kinda thing that only a girl who dropped out of art school, knew the best bands, and favored mood over plot could make. This is definitely the Phil Spector of Costume Dramas; this one's for the kiddies.
Like a soul-searching rich girl on an MTV reality series, Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst, living up to her teen queen movie status) bumps through Versailles with curiosity and restraint, choosing her friends with ease and learning the protocol of which the inhabitants of her new world live by. Married to the future king, the chubby and clumsy Louis XVI (adorably by Jason Schwartzmann), who doesn't seem to show much interest in what she likes or wants, Marie finds herself indulging in shopping and pastries, diamonds and play dates with the Comtesse and the Duchess, trying to rid herself from the ennui that pervades the palace walls.
It isn't until Louis's grandpa croaks and she's Queen, when she then begins to enjoy her life. Her 18th birthday rivals any of that on Super Sweet 16 and her clique is filled with the most lush and the most extravagant of them all. While the country begins to support America, Marie finally gives birth to a child (though-shock!-a GIRL), an act that gives her the keys to her own little retreat, Petit Trianon. There she reads Rousseau in milk-maid couture to her equally-chic crowd while they pick berries, longing to be apart of nature. It's the scenes in which she and her daughter are roaming the fields in misdirection that make you rethink the whole guillotine thing. Even her whole affair with that Swedish Dior model/soldier after the Revolutionary War, deserves a nudge of sympathy. I mean, have you SEEN Louis?
OK, you know the rest of the story, but Sofia conveys it with an indifference and innocence that surpasses the snooty elitists of Masterpiece Theater. Replaced paintings represent the loss of a child. A misclap at the opera forces the decline of an era. The whole time we watch this sad girl who had no idea what she was doing, we can only witness the kind of scrutiny and expectations she is to live by, that ultimately get her in the most of trouble. In this, we're reminded of the fallen paparazzi princesses who have only but inspired an entire generation of party goers. We're also, in a way, reminded of ourselves at that young adolescent age when immortality was foremost.
A lot of people gives this movie a lot of flack for its prettiness and lack of whatever but after Lost in Translation, Sofia knew she could do whatever the hell she wanted and if she wanted to make a synthesized bio-pic fit for Molly Ringwald about 18th century French royalty, then why not? I have watched this movie at least 50 times now and never get tired of a moment. I am always reminded of some memory in my high school life when I felt as she did or partied as she did or laughed with my friends as she did. This movie is the equivalent of a good mixtape with its disjointed scenes and bulbous beauty, declaring a sense of identity and never turning back. Though earlier, I stated that this one is "for the kiddies," this is not just a "girl" movie or a "teen" movie. This is actually for anyone who has ever experienced happy moments and knows what it's like to realize that it's all gone and it's never coming back. It's for anyone who has been under pressure, been confused, been alienated, and been neglected.
I have a feeling in 10 years, this will be considered a classic. All-time or cult? That's up to the rest of you.
This is NOT your history class! August 6, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I see many people complaining that the movie doesn't give much attention to the whole Revolution fuss. Of course, in a story dealing with Marie Antoinette, one would have expected the revolution to be the central point of it all. But this is the very differential of this movie: it gives you an intimate picture of the queen, her life and her reality - even if that reality was not in accordance to the one of her people. Not that it was good or right, but that's how it was. Period.
And that's what i liked about it. The French Revolution - it's why's, how's, when's, you should have learnt in your history class. This is NOT a movie that will teach you history. This is a movie that will show you the infamous and despised Marie Antoinette from another point of view.
The movie is colorful, and has a wonderful light! It's pleasing to watch it, even in the balls, with all the music and movement, you don't get a headache, because it's really...smooth. The colors are alive, but no psychedelic. The soundtrack is fantastic - i loved how Sofia Coppola mixed old and modern music, and it doesn't feel awkward, The costumes are fantastic, and the fact that they filmed it all in the real Versailles, it's no wonder all seems so true. I usually don't care much about Kirsten Dunst, but she's nice here too...Coppola did managed to get a good work from an actress that is sorta uninspiring sometimes.
I agree, maybe Marie Antoinette is a bit fantasized. But as i said, this a movie you'll watch for fun, maybe for the opportunity of seeing hated Marie Antoinette in a different light. But it's not your history class. It's not her complete biography, several facts are missing, because you just cannot put one person's ENTIRE lifetime in a single movie. If you want it, read Antonia Fraser's "Marie Antoinette: The Journey", or Evelyne Lever's "Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France". As for the movie, enjoy it, the light, the beauty, the songs, the love, everything! This movie is simply meant to be enjoyed, and for that purpouse, i think it's just GREAT!
LUSCIOUSLY DONE, BUT A BIT WEAK ON SUBSTANCE August 3, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Nothing makes me happier than huge powdered wigs, beautiful gowns with wide farthingales, riding to hounds, fans, feathers, fruit, and fops. But there was way too much of that here. I almost overdosed on opulence. I got what director Sofia Coppola was trying to do, but I felt like I was watching today's Hollywood crew of "ne'er do wells": Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie, etc.
This movie was less about "Marie Antoinette" than it was about her husband's impotence (the result of a physical problem eventually corrected by surgery, something not revealed here). It was painful to watch and wait for 75 minutes until Louis XVI, an expert locksmith, was able to get his "key" in the door. Later, Marie's "booty calls" with the sexy Count Fersen (Jamie Doman) seemed like porn after scene after scene waiting for the Dauphin's "cannon" to blow. With no reference to time passing, it seemed that the non-consummation of the royal marriage went on for decades. It wasn't until Marie had some kids did we get some idea of the time, although the kids were growing up like children on soap operas - one minute they are in a cradle, the next they are going to law school. And it appeared as if the Swedish Count was the real "baby daddy" of Marie Antoinette's second child, the male heir to the throne.
Many of the scenes, while lush and beautifully filmed, went on way too long, adding nothing to the story (there were so many hunt scenes, I was about to shoot myself!). Kirsten Dunst, in the title role, was lovely, child-like, and ethereal. She had you believing that Marie Antoinette really said "Let them eat cake", with her birthday cake and kazillion pastries shown throughout looking as if they were baked by "The Ace of Cakes". While I loved the contemporary soundtrack (produced by Brian Reitzeil), the 1940s standard hit single "Fools Rush In", sung by a vocally-challenged chanteuse, was reminiscent of early Mary J. Blige, which made the fillings in my teeth hurt! The sets were gorgeous (it's hard to mess up Versailles and Le Petit Trianon), but the story was weak, inaccurate and, at times, just ridiculous. Take note of the scene with Marie buying shoes like she was at a Jimmy Choo sample sale - it shows a pair royal Chuck Taylors! I was expecting Snoop Dogg to be at the Bal Masque!
The only compliment I have is very minor. The production and costume designers kept the colors worn and around the aristocracy soft, with pinks, blues, mints, and yellows. With everything looking like a surgary icing-covered pastry, you could almost taste the decadence and waste of the time while the common people of France were starving. But we never actually saw any poor people....except for the ghetto-fabulous Madam Du Barry (Asia Argente), mistress of the licentious Louis XV (Rip Torn), Marie Antoinette's father-in-law. A former "woman of the streets", du Barry she actually burps loudly at a state dinner, among other coarse actions. While everyone else at Versailles seemed to have been given the Limited Edition Easter Set of Crayolas, du Barry only got the box of 8 colors - and she preferred using the red, black, and blue crayons, with great abandon. She stood out of the movie like a sore thumb which, of course, was the point. Now, that I got.
I know that young Marie Antoinette was merely a political pawn between France and her own Austria. She had been shipped off to have a baby for the future teen king of France, in order to cement relations between the two countries. At age 14, Marie did what teenagers do when they have nothing to do and the American Express Black - wear the numbers off the card! But after 2 hours of watching overspending and aborted sexual relations, I couldn't wait to see "The National Razor", le guillotine. I wanted to chop off Coppola's head for wasting all of that satin! But the movie never even went that far - it failed like Louis in bed.
Judy Davis, Marianne Faithful, Rip Torn, Jason Schwartzman, Jamie Doman, and the rest were well cast here. Molly Shannon was so believable that I still don't remember seeing her. All of the little dogs were good, too. But the end titles, which came out of the blue, were more interesting than this movie. I didn't bother to see if there were deleted scenes on this disc - I wished the whole movie had been deleted!
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