Synopsis

It is the era of Napoleon, and France is involved in conflicts on all sides, without and within.

The monarchy may be gone, but there is still a strong class distinction between the old, genteel aristocracy and the new, boisterous men of the people who have risen to new positions of power.

This tension is evident in the army, as demonstrated by two young, upcoming cavalry officers: the genteel, reserved Lieutenant Armand D’Hubert (Keith Carradine) and the belligerent, ferocious Lieutenant Gabriel Feraud (Harvey Keitel).



Feraud, despite being one of the new guard, has embraced certain old-fashioned romantic ideals. He has adopted a rigid, outdated concept of personal honor that treats the smallest slight, whether real or perceived, as a grave insult.

He has also become a fierce devotee of dueling as the only appropriate way to expiate such insults.
Ironically, although he a product of the aristocratic society that gave birth to such romantic notions of honor, D’Hubert takes a more tolerant, perhaps more enlightened view of such things.

His sense of personal honor is no less strong, but is certainly less bloodthirsty. For D’Hubert, honor is an internal matter; for Feraud, it is an external matter. --DVDVerdict

Cast: Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel, Albert Finney, Edward Fox, Cristina Raines, Robert Stephens, Tom Conti, John McEnery, Diana Quick, Alun Armstrong, Stacy Keach

Cannes (In Competition): Best First Work