La Révolution française (film)
1989 film directed by Robert Enrico and Richard T. Heffron

La Révolution française is a two-part 1989 historical drama co-produced by France, Germany, Italy and Canada for the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. The full film runs at 360 minutes, but the edited-for-television version is slightly longer. It purports to tell a faithful and neutral story of the Revolution, from the calling of the Estates-General to the fall of Maximilien Robespierre. The film had a large budget (FRF 300 million) and boasted an international cast. It was shot in French, German and English.
Plot
Part I
La Révolution française: les Années lumière (The French Revolution: Years of Hope), directed by Robert Enrico
The first part focuses on the events of the early days of the French Revolution.
The Estates General of 1789 quickly falls apart as many members of the Third Estate swear an oath to continue assembling until they are given more rights. In response, King Louis XVI closes the assembly. In a private lunch following the incident, Marie Antoinette gives Louis a few ideas, such as using force should the people refuse the King's demands. Meanwhile, many orators rouse the people to demand for change.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “La Révolution française (film)” is 1989 film directed by Robert Enrico and Richard T. Heffron. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Révolution, française and film, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1989 film directed by Robert Enrico and Richard T. Heffron” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q912557. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1989 and 1789.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “La Révolution française (film)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.