We’ve posted before about Versailles, the currently-in-production 10-part TV series about Louis XIV and the creation of his famous palace. A French trailer has just been released, as well as lots of pictures of the production and the costumes!
Versailles (2015)Â News:
- Versailles will air in France on Canal Plus in November of this year (in a dubbed-into-French version).
- It’ll show sometime later in the UK (BBC Two), Canada (Super Channel), Spain (Movistar Series), and the US (don’t know which channel yet, but it has been purchased for US distribution!).
- There will be a season 2! Filming should start in Spring 2016 — and various Europeans are stressed, because filming may relocate to Belgium.
- One of the filmmakers studied Louis XIV while at Cambridge, but…
- There is, of course, an emphasis on having a “different, a distinctive approach and a fresh take” and avoiding being “another conventional historical series”:
The drama is anything but a slavish retelling of the period, with the producers and showrunners not interested in delivering a history lesson. “This is a piece of drama, and we’re taking a few liberties with dates and events. We’re inventing something that could have happened,” says executive producer Claude Chelli. Associate producer Aude Albano adds: “We were obsessed by airing a very modern take on this part of history…” …
Co-writer David Wolstencroft says he’s using Versailles’ history as a lens to view the modern world. “I’m a historian, and I love France, but I often don’t agree with the way history is perceived. It’s true of Britain, too, where there’s this kind of preserved taxidermy. True history is a living, breathing moment in time, and everyone remembers it differently. Versailles is the birth of France as a superpower in Europe, the birth of fashion and haute cuisine, of architecture being used by a ruler — it’s a bit like the beginning of New Labour, Tony Blair, and Alastair Campbell, and there are parallels all the way through.” Drama Fit for a King
- And get ready, those who hated Marie Antoinette (2006)’s soundtrack: “Versailles’ modern approach is reinforced by contemporary electronic music and pared-back hairstyles and makeup, eschewing the huge wigs and chalky faces of the period.”
Versailles (2015) Synopsis:
Written by the company handling the international rights:
The year is 1667. King Louis XIV of France is 28 and finally in sole command of his kingdom. Haunted by childhood memories of a bitter coup against his father, he commissions the most beautiful palace in Europe, Versailles.
The nobles crave entry to this lavish château, not realising that its purpose is to imprison and control them. One of Louis’ prime targets is his younger brother, Monsieur, an effeminate dandy and formidable warrior. The court is also a battleground for love as Louis’ queen, Marie Therese, fights to tame his wandering eye. Can she win back his heart from his mistress, the sister of the King of England?
Welcome to a world of power and betrayal, love, lust and declarations of war, where courtiers battle for the King’s favour. This is Versailles in all its brutal glory.
Versailles (2015) Pictures!
Versailles (2015)Â Trailer!
If the trailer doesn’t load, you can watch it on Facebook.
Maybe it will be great, maybe it will be terrible, but I admit I have a bit of a *thing* for 17th Century France. It started when I read a stray aside about Colbert essentially abducting Venetian glass-makers to make the mirrors at Versailles, and next thing I knew I’d read 8 books about the era. I have low expectations for historical accuracy, but I am seriously pumped for this show!!
Me too! Not everything has to be historically accurate to be enjoyable…
If you want to feel the real atmosphere of the XVIIth c. court, you should better watch L’Allée du Roi. :-)