Lucrèce Borgia (1953)

This sumptuous Franco-Italian blockbuster production exemplifies historical film dramas of the 1950s – beautifully shot in Technicolor and showing a meticulous attention to detail in its lavish costume and set design, to say nothing of the exciting, well-choreographed action sequences.  Whilst the film may be legitimately criticised for its overly sympathetic portrayal of Lucrezia Borgia (you’d almost think she was heading for a sainthood), it would not be fair to fault its production values. The film looks stunning.

Since the extent of the complicity of Lucrezia Borgia in her brother’s Machiavellian schemes is a matter of considerable conjecture, director Christian-Jaque is perhaps justified in presenting her as an innocent party, a pawn in Cesare Borgia’s nasty political games.  Even so, it’s a little difficult to swallow Martine Carol’s slightly over-sentimental portrayal of Lucrezia, face stained with tears whenever brother Cesare does the dirty on her.  What is missing is some motivation for Lucrezia’s acquiescence to her brother’s plans – is it sibling loyalty or is she genuinely helpless?

Attractive as the film is, it does have a slightly irksome theatrical artificiality (it doesn’t help that Pedro Armendariz’s Cesare Borgia has all the subtlety of a stock pantomime villain).  That said, the film does pack a few punches. Some of the darker sequences (such as the gruesome man hunt) do have a shocking, almost visceral, realism, making the film unsuitable for youngsters.  Likewise, the ending, whilst a tad contrived, has a genuine poignancy about it.

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