Riveting French historical melodrama that has as its centrepiece the 1572 St Barthomew's Day Massacre, which is staged like the mass revenge slayings in The Godfather. The intrigue at the French court is chillingly handled with the utmost skill and brio, while there's top-notch acting from the cream of France's thespians: Isabelle Adjani as the Catholic Marguerite of Valois, Daniel Auteuil as the Protestant Henri of Navarre and Jean-Hugues Anglade as the feeble Charles IX. A gorgeous-looking film that sweeps you up into the bloody flow of history. Veteran Virna Lisi deservedly won the best actress award at Cannes as the wicked queen mother, Catherine de Medici.


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