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71% Critic Match
The Taking of Power by Louis XIV
7.1 / 10• 1966• 1h 35m•NR• French
DramaHistory
Storyline
Cardinal Mazarin dies, leaving a power vacuum in which the young Louis asserts his intention to govern as well as rule. Mazarin's fiscal advisor, Colbert, warns against Fouquet, the Superintendant who has been systematically looting the treasury and wants to be prime minister. Fouquet believes Louis will soon tire of exercizing power and overplays his hand by offering a bribe to Louis' mistress to be his ally. She reports this to the king who arrests Fouquet. Louis and Colbert design a brilliant strategy to keep merchants making money, nobles in debt, the urban poor working and fed, and peasants untaxed.
Cast & Crew
Jean-Marie Patte
Louis XIV
Lead
Raymond Jourdan
Jean Baptiste Colbert
Silvagni
Cardinal Mazarin
Katharina Renn
Anne d'Autriche
Dominique Vincent
Madame Du Plessis
Pierre Barrat
Nicolas Fouquet
Fernand Fabre
Michel Le Tellier
FP
Françoise Ponty
Louise de la Vallière
What People Are Saying
4.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Roberto Rossellini's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
4.0
“Every frame feels alive. The Taking of Power by Louis XIV is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
