In 1989 Polydor released two volumes of music from the film (one from each part), running about 45 minutes each, and these became prized collectors’ items. On the really special projects was something even beyond that – and for the huge undertaking that was La Révolution française, the composer was inspired to a level extraordinary even by his standards and wrote what I believe to be his masterpiece. Even after his move to America in the 1980s which left him scoring some projects which were so far beneath him it’s almost an insult, in his music was such spirit and always, always such class – and when he chose so, the most astonishing beauty that I’ve ever heard in film music. His very Gallic joie de vivre shone through in just about everything he wrote.

In a glorious career spanning many decades, Georges Delerue left a rich legacy of film music.

It fared much better as a kind of educational document when re-edited (and made even longer!) for television. Unfortunately, despite its huge budget and massive cast of well-known actors, the film was very unsuccessful even in France, with its striving for strict neutrality and historical accuracy seemingly coming at the cost of real dramatic impetus, particularly in the sprawling first half.

The two parts (“The Light Years” and “The Terrible Years”) were directed by Robert Enrico and Richard T.

It was all pulled together by producer Alexandre Mnouchkine, born in Russia but based in France for most of his career, and filmed in both French and English. A monumental undertaking, 1989’s La Révolution française was a six-hour pair of movies released to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution.

La revolution francaise soundtrack