Clio by the Book and at the Movies

History 399

 

Danton: The French Revolution as Mirror of the Past and the Present

 

Each generation, it is said, rewrites history, revealing it's particular interests and ideological concerns within a context of surrounding circumstances.  Hence, in the attempt to recover and interpret the past, historical writing also reflects concerns of the present.  In this sense, written and filmed history mirror both "the past" and "the present."  The French Revolution provides a classic example of this continuing process of rewriting and revision, as our study of the film Danton and selected historical writing will show.  

 

We'll begin by looking at examples of  how Georges Danton (1759-1794) and Maximillien Robespierre (1758-1794) have been interpreted by J. M. Thompson in 1929 and by other historians in 1989.  We'll also look at how two historians of the 1980s disagree over the nature and significance of that radical part of the Revolution known as "The Terror."  With this background, we'll then study the film Danton, made in 1982 by one of Poland's most celebrated directors, Andrzej Wadja.

 

In the reading, concentrate on identifying the differences in the accounts of Danton, of Robespierre, and of the Terror.

 

Questions for comparing the accounts of Danton and Robespierre by J. M. Thompson (1929) and Mona Ozouf et al. (1989):

 

1. What are two major differences in these biographical sketches?

2. How might these differences reflect the era in which they were written?

3. Which of the paired accounts seems to be more favorable to the leader in question? How so?

4. To what extent has the heroism (or villany) attributed to Danton or to Robespierre changed over time in the hands of successive historians?

5. Which of the two accounts of Danton (or Robespierre) do you find more compelling?

6. How would you make a film that centers on Danton and Robespierre?

 

Questions for comparing Francois Furet and David Bien on "The Terror."

 

1. What do you think is the main point of Furet's interpetation of The Terror?  What evidence does he present to support it?

2. What do you think is the main thrust of Bien's critique of Furet?  What evidence does he bring to bear?

3. To what extent are you persuaded that the Terror was built into the Revolution from its very beginning and was thus a natural outcome of the 1789 revolutionary program?

4. What would either Francois Furet or David Bien emphasize in a film that represents their view of the Revolution and Terror?

 

Questions on the Film will be handed out on Wednesday.