The hunchback

Year of release : 1997

 

Run time : 1h38min

 

Genre : Romance / Horror

 

Cast : Salma Hayek, Mandy Patinkin, Richard Harris

 

 

The movie is based on Victor Hugo's 1831 novel 'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'.

 

The year is 1480,the place, Paris ,France. The Church considered the printing machine satan's instrument, and whoever possessed a printed page was condemned to death!

After getting rid of these 'infernal' devices, the priest Claude Frollo finds a baby on the steps of the Notre Damme cathedral.

 

25 years later, on the day of the Festival of Fools, Clopin, the king of the Roma, crowns Quasimodo as the King of Fools. Esmeralda, a young and beautiful Roma woman, presents Quasimodo with the crown, and dances in his honor.

Frollo and Gringoire, an intellectual, as Clopin called him, fall in love with her.

Frollo stops her dance number, and tells Quasimodo if he ever leaves the cathedral, he and God cannot help him.

 

Frollo whips himself a lot for lusting after Esmeralda. After a whipping session, he pays two guards to kidnap her, as one would.

 

When the two try to kidnap her,she is rescued by Gringoire and Quasimodo. Quasimodo is imprisoned for attacking a woman (!), and Gringoire is almost hanged by the Roma for trespassing on their land. He is saved when the Roma invoke the Law of Bohemia, and Esmeralda offers to marry him. And they are married right away.

 

Infuriated by Quasimodo's disobedience, Frollo allows the guards to whip and shame Quasimodo publicly, although he knows he's innocent.

Frollo would stop at nothing to have or k1ll Esmeralda, and after he asks her to be his, and she refuses, he k1lls Minister Gauchére with her dagger, framing her for the murder.

 

Frollo,as a 'man of God' ,had a very twisted view on love, as from the getgo, he tried to kidnap her, instead of talking to her, getting to know her, then goes full crazy, trying to have her imprisoned and executed for a murder she didn't commit, as a punishment for his sins!

Frollo is pretty evil,has some pretty twisted ideas, as he tries to keep the printing device away from the public, manipulating the king into doing his bidding.

 

The hunchback is the hero of the story, Esmeralda's man is a weakling,and just exists in the background. Quasimodo and Esmeralda bring heart and soul to the story, as they have a real and true friendship, always helping and trying to rescue each other.

 

Salma Hayek was beautiful and kind.

 

The actors were all great, Mandy Patinkin was the best.

 

The soundtrack was good, especially the song Esmeralda danced to.

 

You can watch the movie here, for free : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCHm5DURhMw&ab_channel=BardandQueen

 

and here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3RAQtxqmS4&ab_channel=BlackWolfBowman

 

Rating : Worth a watch !