Versailles Season 1
DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:
With all the hype about the steamy sex scenes and the first couple episodes, I’m surprised I liked the first season of Versailles as a historic account as much as I did. It’s as if they use the sex to draw the audience in, then throw in the ringer: a visually striking, sensory-laden experience of the start of a phenomenal era: the very formation of the Court of the Sun King. BAM–you thought you were here for the titillation, but you’re going to get an education, too.
The carefree hedonism of the young nobles–and the attendant glorious youthful nudity splashed across the screen–actually serves a purpose: we’re reminded that in these rocky early years of Louis XIV’s reign, these actually were practically children ruling France and France’s far-flung nobility. And they were children who, very shortly, had to grow up quickly.
The cringe-worthy angst that underlies the cool and careful facades the young royals present is palpable, nowhere more-so than in the person of Louis himself. We’re convinced early on that his upbringing was like no other; he carries a weight even his own brother can’t comprehend. And he’s acutely aware that he’s in a position to make a profound break with the past and create a place, a lifestyle, an entire culture the world has never seen before. All right, so the sparkling vision of a grand court at Versailles arrives personified as a nubile nymph in one of the King’s wet dreams–but that’s the driving passion of youth in a nutshell.
What remains are the real-world obstacles to his dream, the nobles and citizens and other rulers who can’t share his vision. We have to wait and see just how he manages to bring it all to life in the end.
It took a few episodes, but I’ve grown to believe the opening music “Outro” (M83) couldn’t be a more perfect theme for the show.
– Gabriella L Garlock
King Louis XIV of France is 28 years old. Being King so far has not been all he hoped. Per the episode 1 introduction, he “has been King since he was 4 years old. For years, France has been governed by a Council of ministers, led by his mother. Now she is dead. The nobles are seizing control. To survive, Louis must defeat his enemies and build a new power base away from Paris, in a small village called: Versailles.”
The year is 1667. Louis already has a hunting lodge in Versailles and he has moved his court, including his pregnant wife, to this relatively remote place of safety. The ministers rule Paris and hardly listen to anything he says. The nobles rule everywhere else and power in France is fractured and decentralized and nobody wants to pay their taxes. On top of that, the Spanish, the Dutch and the Hapsburgs would love it if someone would assassinate him. And in spite his brother’s marriage to the sister of the English King, England doesn’t much respect him either.
What’s a poor monarch to do?
Season 1 of “Versailles” has 10 episodes totaling 9 hours. If you purchase the show on disc, there are English SDH subtitles available. The discs have no bonus features, which is a shame. There were several official interviews and making-of featurettes available on-line at one time, so it’s too bad they wouldn’t add them to the discs.
The show has graphic violence, but not as much as it has graphic sex. There is a lot of sex. Just about everyone is sleeping with everyone else, and I think they showed most of it. It does fit into the story because sex was hand-in-hand with politics in that era, especially for women.
Other than sex, the very favorite past-time of the court is lying. For good reason, it is a brutal time and your fortunes can change in the blink of an eye. You can lose your head for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and killing the messenger is the business norm.
For example, Louis needs a local doctor for the Queen’s confinement. He selects Dr. Masson (who doesn’t really have a choice), who will be assisted by his daughter, Claudine. After meeting the King, Masson tells Claudine, “If it goes wrong, we pack our bags and we leave immediately.”
The show is full of interesting and complex characters. Many of them, including the doctor and his daughter, are made up. The show’s producers don’t pretend “Versailles” is a documentary and it would be a good idea to not think you’re getting a history lesson. However, I think the spirit of Louis XIV’s early court is shown very well, and by the end of Season 1, you can see how this monarch will become “The Sun King”.
All in all, “Versailles” was engaging, a rather giant soap opera with lovely clothes and stunning locations. A king’s hunting lodge is larger than a mansion to anybody else. After all, where-ever HE went, went also his whole court, so a lot of space was needed.
Standing in for the Versailles hunting lodge in the filming is the very lovely Vaux-le-Vicomte, an estate about an hour from Paris. Louis XIV actually visited there when he was young, and he hired the same architect, gardener and interior designer when he started Versailles, the palace. (Which, incidentally, took 53 years to complete.) The Grand Salon with its oval dome is just one of the stunning rooms used in the filming.
Season 2 has already aired; its time frame is 4 years after the happenings in Season 1. Season 3 was in production in spring 2017 and hasn’t aired yet.
-Happy Reader
This TV series is mostly historical events presented with a fictional twist. And so you have real historical characters and others that are fictional.The ambient settings and wardrobe are superb and a treat to the eyes. Some of the actors (George Blagen) I new were going to be very good from their work at other TV series (The Vikings). However, the rest of the cast was mostly unknown to me and were a very pleasant surprise. Excellent acting and great chemistry.
-Amazon Customer
DVD Wholesale Main Features :
Actors: George Blagen
Format: Box set, Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
Region: Region 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 4
Rated: NR – Not Rated
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: December 27, 2016
Run Time: 551 minutes
ASIN: B01LZJ13QN
