A 3-hour French Renaissance fever dream where one man weaponizes his own moral rot.
This stage play from 1977 is adapted from the well-known play "Lorenzaccio" written by French poet and playwright Alfred de Musset. Set in 16th-century Florence, the play revolves around the complex and tormented protagonist Lorenzo, known as Lorenzaccio, who faces inner conflicts as he struggles with his desire for personal freedom and the responsibility he feels towards his city. Between political corruption, morality, and the struggle for justice; the stage blends with historical drama and psychological exploration.
Acting
Francis Huster's spiral into calculated self-destruction.
Direction
Carrère preserves theatrical intimacy for television.
Writing
Musset's dense wordplay, unapologetically preserved.
Director
Jean-Paul Carrère
Francis Huster
Lorenzaccio
Louis Seigner
Philippe Strozzi
Jean-Luc Boutté
Alexandre de Médicis
Claude Giraud
Scoroncocolo
Jacques Eyser
Palla Ruccellai
Dominique Rozan
Le marchand
Marco Behar
Bindo Altoviti
Jean-Paul Moulinot
Guicciardini
Gérard Caillaud
Niccolini
Jean-François Rémi
Le Marquis Cibo
Raymond Aquaviva
Tebaldeo
Patrice Kerbrat
Julien Salviati
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Musset wrote this in 1834 as a young Romantic reacting to the failed July Revolution, using Renaissance Florence to critique his own political paralysis.
This 1977 television adaptation was considered lost for decades until a damaged kinescope resurfaced in 2015; the visible degradation ironically enhances its haunted atmosphere.
FR
