Watch The Black Tulip For Free

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

In 1789 France, a thief known as La Tulipe Noir, regaled in black, including a black mask and cape, is going through France robbing noblemen. This sounds like Zorro or Robin Hood, except that the sentence ends "stealing from noblemen." Nothing about helping the poor. La Tulipe Noir, in reality Count Guillaume de Saint Preux (Alain Delon) is interested only in getting money and enjoying his clandestine affair with Marquise Catherine de Vigogne, who is a married to Marquis de Vigogne (Akim Tamiroff).The French somehow believe in La Tulipe as a revolutionary hero. But no one knows who he is. The Chief of Police Baron La Mouche (Adolfo Marsillach) believes Guillaume is La Tulipe and runs a sword down the man's cheek during an event, figuring when he's making his robbery rounds, he'll be easy to recognize.Now unable to rob anyone, Guillaume sends for his younger lookalike brother, Julien (Alain Delon) to lure La Mouche. Julien is guileless and idealistic, not to mention romantic, so when he meets Caroline Plantin, (Verna Lisi) a revolutionary, he falls for her.Julien soon learns that Guillaume is not interested in being a revolutionary so he takes on his La Tulipe persona to support the revolutionaries. This story is loosely based on a Dumas novel - real loosely, from what I understand. I found it delightful and very tongue-in-cheek. It's not as good as the Mark of Zorro of Tyrone Power, which had humor but also exciting drama, but it was still fun. Delon himself would play Zorro about ten years after this.Delon plays both brothers beautifully, Guillaume more macho and tough, Julien sweet and innocent. His acting can be controversial because of his staggering, almost impossible good looks and a charisma that wipes everybody else off the screen. And let's face it, it's usually men who find fault with him. If you've seen "Two Men in Town," "Mr. Klein," "Notre Histoire," and many others, he's an excellent actor, the winner of two Cesars, the French equivalent of the Oscars.Akim Tamiroff and Adolfo Marsillach are fantastic in their roles, bringing a good deal of humor to them.This was a non-dubbed version with subtitles - you will certainly be let down if you see it dubbed. Very good film.

French version of the Zorro legend set during the period just prior to the French Revolution plays like Zorro the Gay Blade at times. Its an amusing romp with Alain Delon in the heroic lead (Delon would take up the mantle of Zorro a decade later and sleep walk his way through the role). Its the typical stuff with the "bandit" hailed as hero while the ruling class hates his guts. Filled with funny remarks and great action this is a film to search out, or would be if there were any decent copies floating around. The only way it seems to see this is on really bad low budget videotapes, which is a shame since its better than most swashbuckling romps that have appeared over the years.

....,even when he's not at his best are always better than the rest.Although it's a swashbuckler,an action-packed story ,it's the kind of movie which loses much of its strength when watched dubbed .Released at the end of the swashbucklers era ,whose hero was most of the time Jean Marais ,"la tulipe noire" is more tongue in cheek,more picaresque,more libertine,closer to "Tom Jones " than "le bossu" or "le miracle des loups" .Christian-Jacques and Henri Jeanson wanted to match the scale and quality (and commercial success and critical acclaim) of their earlier and better "Fanfan la tulipe" (1951).In both works ,they take liberties with history and it's much fun:in "la tulipe noire" the characters know a priori that the 14th of July will be an important date ,they talk about revolution before the storming of the Bastille;and in the last pictures ,they say people will remember the 19th (!) of July.The villain (the evil prince who comes with his army to kill all the Parisians) about to be executed by the rebels says "I will remember my death all my life".Alain Delon plays two parts ,twins ,and he's well cast as the dazzling heroes ,even if Jeanson deflates them a bit.Henri Decae' s cinematography is as splendid as ever.However the plot is sometimes confused and Philippe De Broca's "Cartouche" starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and released at the same time,is more rewarding .NB:it has nothing to do with Alexandre Dumas's novel,which took place in Holland where the hero was trying to create a ...black tulip.

I would advise you to try this, despite the respect I have for another's reviewer opinion. I don't know if my viewing of an original, French spoken version on the big screen may have lost in incredibly funny innuendo, great colours, beautiful cinematography - if they are reduced to a poor VHS copy, possibly carelessly dubbed into a foreign language.At least the acting by Alain Delon, and his equal, Virna Lisi, are still outstanding, as the continuous, imaginative action scenes. The two principals prove to be fine swords, against each other, and a number of enemies, and police rascals.The Black Tulip is a Zorro type avenger, but a character more rich than its American counterpart. Without giving the plot away, I may add that American viewers will be both thrilled, and surprised, how a French action films' director is able to mix comedy, and drama so well.Besides getting one of the film's DVD editions, people should be aware that a copy of the French version exists (possibly uncut) at the Alliance Française Médiathèque, a French cultural institution, and that they allow people to see the film there, and even borrow it! Ask for conditions at [email protected] and ask for their film PAL #161... Ah, next time I'll go to France!...