Start the Revolution Without Me is a 1970 British-French-American period comedy film directed by Bud Yorkin and starring Gene Wilder, Donald Sutherland, Hugh Griffith, Jack MacGowran, Billie Whitelaw, Orson Welles (playing himself as narrator), and Victor Spinetti. The comedy is set in revolutionary France where two peasants are mistaken for the famous Corsican Brothers.
The film begins with a narration by Orson Welles, who explains that the story is about two sets of Twins who were accidentally switched at birth. One pair, Philippe and Pierre DeSisi, are aristocratic and haughty, while the other, Charles and Claude Coupé, are poor and dim-witted.
On the eve of the French Revolution, the two sets of twins find themselves entangled in palace intrigue. The DeSisi brothers are summoned to Versailles by King Louis XVI to help protect him from the mob. The Coupé brothers, meanwhile, are mistaken for the DeSisi brothers and are forced to masquerade as aristocrats.
The Coupé brothers are initially overwhelmed by their new surroundings. They are clumsy and awkward, and they constantly make social gaffes. However, they quickly learn to embrace their new roles, and they soon become popular among the other aristocrats.
The DeSisi brothers, on the other hand, are struggling to fit in with the peasants. They are arrogant and condescending, and they quickly alienate their new friends. When the French Revolution finally erupts, the DeSisi brothers are forced to flee for their lives.
The Coupé brothers, meanwhile, side with the revolutionaries. They use their knowledge of the aristocracy to help the revolutionaries overthrow the monarchy. In the end, the Coupé brothers help to create a new and more just society for France.
Start the Revolution Without Me is a clever and funny film that satirizes the French Revolution and the class system of 18th-century France. It is also a film about friendship, loyalty, and the importance of standing up for what you believe in.
The film explores the themes of identity and class. The Coupé brothers are forced to confront their own identities when they are mistaken for aristocrats. They must decide whether to embrace their new roles or to remain true to their peasant roots. The DeSisi brothers, on the other hand, are forced to confront their own class privilege when they are forced to live as peasants. They must learn to see the world through the eyes of the people they have always looked down upon.
Start the Revolution Without Me is an important film because it helps to humanize the people who lived through the French Revolution. It shows that the revolution was not just a historical event, but a time of great change and upheaval for the people of France.
Cast
- Gene Wilder as Phillipe/Claude
- Donald Sutherland as Pierre/Charles
- Hugh Griffith as Louis XVI
- Jack MacGowran as Jacques
- Billie Whitelaw as Marie Antoinette
- Victor Spinetti as Duke d'Escargot
- Ewa Aulin as Princess Christina
- Helen Fraser as Mimi Montage
- Rosalind Knight as Helene de Sisi
- Harry Fowler as Marcel
- Murray Melvin as Blind Man
- Graham Stark as Andre Coupe
- Orson Welles as The Narrator
Director: Bud Yorkin
Writers: Lawrence J. Cohen, Fred Freeman
Box Office Gross: NA
Distributor: Warner Bros.])(@leoglossary/leoglossary-warner-bros-entertainment-inc
Genre: Comedy History
Release Date: February 4, 1970