L'aigle à deux têtes

Jean Cocteau first presented his play in 1946 and committed it to celluloid two years later. Anyone at all familiar with his filmic re-working of the legends of Tristram/Yseult and Orpheus/Eurydice will be conscious of his recurring theme of Love finding its ultimate fulfilment in Death. Plenty of scope here for this rather morbid concept as it depicts a Queen with a death wish in love with a man whose original intention was to assassinate her. The mystique is further enhanced by Cocteau having written her as composite of Empress Elizabeth of Austria and King Ludwig II of Bavaria, both of whose lives (and deaths) have never ceased to exert a strong fascination.

Cocteau had originally planned to entitle the piece 'The Dead Queen' but had already been beaten to it by de Montherlant in 1942 and also discarded 'Angel of Death'. The title he eventually chose is masterly not only by virtue of its emblematic associations but because it reflects the intense bond between the Queen and Stanislas, either of whom will die if the head of the other is cut off.

Cocteau has retained the three Act format and in Act 1 we are introduced to the protagonists and made acutely aware of the rivalries, intrigues and machinations that are an integral part of Court life, even today! This Act works best of all whilst the second Act seems to lose momentum before building to a tremendous climax.

Most of the original stage cast reprise their roles. When asked by his 'mentor' what he would like to do with the character of Stanislas, Jean Marais allegedly replied: "To say nothing in Act 1, cry with joy in Act 11 and fall upside down on a staircase in Act 111." He certainly got his wish and his tumble attracted one critic's comment "He is not an actor, just an acrobat!" There is no doubting Marais' strong presence in the role but alas this is not matched by his voice. Newcomer Silvia Monfort impresses as the treacherous Edith and as the equally treacherous security chief Jacques Varennes quietly walks away with most of his scenes. Of course no one walks away with any scene when Edwige Feuillere is on the screen and the spectacle of this superlative artiste in full flow is thrilling. Indisputably one of France's eminent tragediennes her tour de force as the Queen ranks alongside her stunning portrayals as the Nastasia Filippovna of Dostoevsky and Balzac's Duchess of Langeais.

The talent behind the camera is just as impressive with Art/Production design of the highest quality whilst Cocteau's favoured composer Georges Auric has expanded his original music for the stage. Christian Matras again shows why he was one of the most sought after of cinematographers.

Needless to say the critics in their infinite wisdom have damned this film with faint praise and labelled it as 'filmed theatre'. What exactly did they expect? It was not Cocteau's intention to disguise its stage origins and we owe him a debt of gratitude for having left us a record of a grand and gracious manner of acting that is now alas in this age of mediocrity, totally defunct.

No matter what you may think of this meticulously over-burdened drama inspired by the personality and fate of the empress Elizabeth of Austria in the 19th century, and set in the romantic environment of her world (like the 'Sissi' films with Romy Schneider), the idea here is ingenious. The empress has been in mourning since ten years after her husband was assassinated, and she lives only for continuing to grieve for him while she never appears in public any more except concealed by a veil, when one night, as she is going to celebrate his memory with a lonesome supper in the company of his imagined ghost, an anarchist breaks in to her castle on a mission to assassinate her, but he is badly wounded. The strange thing is that he looks exactly like her martyred husband. That is the spring of this tale.

The music is fantastic (composed by George Auric), and the most impressing scene is when she gives a ball with grand festive music for all the society, while the anarchist makes his surprise visit in her private quarters, while the ball goes booming on, and his failed mission turns into a drama. The settings are also marvellous with sumptuous decorations and great flamboyant cinematography, while also the dialogue throughout the film is extremely intensive and over-loaded. The drama is by Jean Cocteau himself, and it is a good example of filmed theatre, while at the same time he consistently sticks to perfect realism - all this could have happened. There is much of the Mayerling atmosphere here. The films is perhaps a bit too long, the subplot of the intrigues by the chief of security police goes maybe at bit too far and feels rather unnecessary, while the main theme could have been made more and better of. Anyway, it's a marvellously interesting film for its creative imagination and typically Cocteauan great innovative spirit.

Of Cocteau's film work I've only ever seen Beauty and the Beast and was looking forward to checking out other films of his. I don't recall hearing anything about this particular work of his but i found it to be fairly interesting. Romanticism rules the day here with the story and themes reminding the viewer of something Shakespearian in tone and structure. The cast creates characters who are strong willed and not afraid to express themselves. The sets, art direction, and costumes are all well done and they create a world the viewer might like to spend time in. The film requires the viewers full attention and despite its occasionally challenging story I found The Eagle with Two Heads to be thoroughly unique and worth checking out.

This work,which is looked upon as a minor movie in Cocteau's canon deserves to be known by young generations of cinebuffs,would it be only for its frenzied romanticism.

This queen,in her remote castle ,who shuns the Court,has probably been inspired by Empress Elizabeth from Austria,"Sissi".Jean Cocteau was certainly fascinated by this woman,the most beautiful of her time:Feuillère's hairdo,her words,always revolving around fate and death.The husband she's mourning is the equivalent of Sissi's son ,who tragically died in Mayerling.She often alludes to the Archduchess,her mother-in-law.And like Sissi,she's waiting for death.The character also borrows from Ludwig the SEcond,King of Bayern,Sissi's cousin,when the queen says that the only thing she does is building castles

The anarchist (Marais)resembles the late king,and the queen knows that she has met her fate .The double is a Cocteau leitmotiv:in "la belle et la bête",his towering achievement,the Beast turns into Marais who had appeared first as the Beauty's friend;in "Ruy Blas" which was directed by Pierre Billon ,but which bears the Cocteau's touch,Marais plays two parts as well.

The movie is full of strong scenes:the magnificent ball thrown by the queen,but as the guests are coming for the feast,they're told that the queen is not to attend it. Meanwhile she's having supper with her late husband.

Edwige Feuillère and Jean Marais are the embodiment of romanticism:love walks hand in hand with death along the corridors of the baroque castle. See it!It's younger than yesterday even if the reviews you find are somewhat tepid!Cocteau once said -and it is a lesson critics have to pay attention to-"critics judge works and they do not know they are judged by them."

There's another side in Cocteau 's movie:the political one.A character says something like that:a queen 's got to be beautiful ,so that she'll be able to conceal all that's ugly in the country,all the last lonely and wretched ones.The queen portrayed by Feuillère was a sovereign for democrats but she'd been knowing for a long time that power was illusive.All the pump and circumstance that surround her "come back" is some big carnival.The queen was a tragic character from the start,but Stanislas,Marais's character was not.He tries the compromise solution:he will give himself up provided that the queen returns to the world .He did not realize she could not ("you resemble the king,you insult him"),in any way, look back.The marvelous first scene tells it all: "I will not shout my name for fear the mountain may echo another one" That's only when Stanislas understands what love means for the queen that he becomes his equal.Around them,a lot a mediocre persons move:the count of Foen,a puppet in the Archduchess's-whom we never see-hands,as the lady in waiting ("reader")De Berg is.They spend their lives in compromise and lie ,waiting for promotion and begging favors.There's no communication between them and the doomed couple.An eagle with two heads which loses one of them is bound to die.