Trailer
Plot summary
Maximilien Robespierre governs France through the Committee of Public Safety, and the executions of the Terror are in full swing. Georges Danton, a well-known spokesman of the people and once Robespierre's ally, has been living quietly in the countryside. He comes back to Paris, where hungry and dispirited crowds acclaim him as their hero, and he calls on the people to take back their rights. Friends warn him that Robespierre plans to have him jailed and urge him to strike first, and General Westermann proposes an armed coup, which Danton refuses. He asks Robespierre to a dinner, where Robespierre asks him to give up the struggle and stand with him; Danton drinks and refuses.
Cast
- Alain Macéas Héron (as Alain Mace)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Danton (1983)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Emmanuelle Debever, who plays Louison in the film, accused Gérard Depardieu in 2019 of sexually harassing her on the set; in December 2023, after a TV documentary on Depardieu's crimes against women came to light, she took her own life.
- Danton was sponsored for decades by France's first socialist government in anticipation of the Revolution's 1989 bicentenary; a private pre-release showing for President François Mitterrand and culture minister Jack Lang drew a frosty reaction, as they had not expected such a cynical tale of power politics.
