View source for Catherine (1986 TV series)

{{short description|1986 French television series based on the novels by Juliette Benzoni}}
{{about|the television series Catherine|the novels|Catherine (Benzoni novel)}}
{{Infobox television
| image        = Catherine (1986 TV series) cover.jpg
| image_size   =
| based_on     = ''Catherine, il suffit d'un amour'' by [[Juliette Benzoni]]
| screenplay   = Juliette Benzoni<br/>[[:fr:Jean Chatenet|Jean Chatenet]]
| genre        = [[Historical romance]]<br/>[[Historical fiction]]<br/>[[Drama]]<br/>[[Soap opera]]
| runtime      = 26 minutes <small>(TV version)</small><br/>52 minutes <small>(DVD version)</small>
| producer     = [[Henri Spade]]
| num_episodes = 60 <small>(TV version)</small><br/>30 <small>(DVD version)</small>
| director     = [[:fr:Marion Sarraut|Marion Sarraut]]
| music        = Robert Viger<br/><small>(Éditions des Alouettes)</small>
| starring     = ''See [[#Cast|cast]] below''
| narrated     = [[Bernard Dhéran]]
| country      = France
| language     = French
| network      = [[:fr:Antenne 2|Antenne 2]]
| company      = [[:fr:Société française de production|SFP]]
| first_aired  = {{Start date|1986|03|19|df=yes}}
| last_aired   = {{End date|1986|06|11|df=yes}}
}}
'''''Catherine, il suffit d'un amour''''' was a French television series produced by ''Antenne 2'' in 1986 and based on the [[Catherine (1963 novel)|''Catherine'' novels]] written by best-selling French author [[Juliette Benzoni]]. The adaptation remained similar to the original text of Juliette Benzoni's story about Catherine<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Woodrow |first=Alain |date= 18 March 1986 |title=Il etait une fois |trans-title=Once upon a time |language=French |work=Le Monde |location=Paris}}</ref> and her adventures in France during the [[15th century]].
The screenplay was written by Benzoni with [[:fr:Jean Chatenet|Jean Chatenet]], and directed by [[:fr:Marion Sarraut|Marion Sarraut]]. Sarraut had previously directed another of Benzoni's best-selling novel series ''[[:fr:Marianne (série télévisée, 1983)|Marianne]]'' with [[Corinne Touzet]] who starred in the leading role.
==Plot summary==
The story takes place in the time of the [[Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War]], a conflict which occurred during a lull in the [[Hundred Years' War]]. [[John the Fearless]], Duke of Burgundy, is locked in a struggle against the Armagnacs who support the future [[Charles VII of France|King Charles VII]]. During the Parisian riots of 1413, Catherine Legoix, the 13-year-old daughter of a goldsmith living on the [[Pont-au-Change]], tries to save a young [[Armagnac (party)|Armagnac]] knight, 16-year old Michel de Montsalvy. He is to be executed because he spat at Duke John and called him a traitor. Catherine hides Michel in the family's cellar, but he and her father are murdered by a paternal cousin. Catherine and her mother flee to [[Dijon]] to the home of her maternal uncle, Mathieu Gautherin. They are accompanied by Sara the Black, a young gypsy who hid the women in a slum area of Paris.
Catherine's attempt to save Michel de Montsalvy has changed her life. At the age of twenty-one, she is a beautiful woman. At this point, she meets a wounded knight, the noble Arnaud de Montsalvy who is one of [[Joan of Arc]]'s captains and the late Michel de Montsalvy's younger brother. After Catherine and Arnaud fall in love, Arnaud discovers that one of Catherine's family members killed his older brother. He wishes to avenge his brother's death by killing Catherine, but tells her he will not do so because she is a woman. Her beauty attracts the attention of Duke [[Philip the Good]] who desires her. He orders his treasurer, Garin de Brazey, to marry Catherine so she can be received at court despite her low birth.
Because Catherine believes Arnaud is to marry Isabelle de Sévérac, she agrees to be the mistress of the powerful Duke who showers her with titles and riches. At the Duke's courts in Dijon and [[Bruges]], Catherine meets important historical figures such as Flemish painter [[Jan van Eyck]], Jean Lefèvre de Saint-Rémy, [[Gilles de Rais]], [[Jacques Cœur]], and [[Yolande d'Aragon]]. After Catherine's four-year-old son Philippe de Brazey dies, she discovers Arnaud de Montsalvy never married. Because is still in love with him, she travels to the beleaguered city of [[Orléans]] where Arnaud and the other captains of [[Joan of Arc]] are fighting against the English. In Orléans, Catherine's life is saved by Joan of Arc after Catherine has been condemned to death for treason.
After enduring many dangerous adventures, Catherine finds happiness. She becomes the beloved wife of Arnaud de Montsalvy, Lord of the Châtaignerie in [[Auvergne]] and Captain in the service of [[Charles VII of France|King Charles VII]].
==Cast==
===Main characters===
{{Div col}}
* Claudine Ancelot : Catherine Legoix / Catherine de Montsalvy
* [[:fr:Pierre-Marie Escourrou|Pierre-Marie Escourrou]] : Michel de Montsalvy / Arnaud de Montsalvy
* [[Pascale Petit (actress)|Pascale Petit]] : Black Sara
* [[Nicole Maurey]] : Isabelle de Montsalvy
* [[Anne Lefébure]] : Jacquette Legoix
* [[Henri Guybet]] : Gaucher Legoix
* [[Christian Alers]] : Mathieu Gautherin
* [[Philippe Clay]] : Barnaby of the Cockleshell
* [[:fr:Jean-François Poron|Jean-François Poron]] : Duke Philip of Burgundy
* [[Stéphane Bouy]] : Garin de Brazey / Spanish monk
* [[Dora Doll]] : Ermengarde de Châteauvillain
* [[Jacques Duby]] : Brother Étienne
* [[Amidou]] : Abou-al-Khayr
* [[:fr:Geneviève Casile|Geneviève Casile]] : Queen [[Yolande of Aragon]]
* [[:fr:Gérard Chambre|Gérard Chambre]] : [[Jean Poton de Xaintrailles]]
* [[Philippe Murgier]] : [[Jacques Cœur]]
{{Div col end}}
===Supporting characters===
{{Div col}}
* [[Isabelle Guiard]] : [[Joan of Arc]]
* [[:fr:Pierre Deny|Pierre Deny]] : [[Jean de Dunois]]
* [[Benoît Brione]] : [[Gilles de Rais]]
* [[:fr:Georges Montillier|Georges Montillier]] : Bishop Cauchon
* [[Marthe Mercadier]] : Mathilde Boucher
* Jacques Brucher : Jacques de Roussay
* Daniel Tarrare : [[Jean de Luxembourg (1400-1466)|Jean de Luxembourg]]
* François Brincourt : [[Arthur de Richemont|Arthur III, Duke of Brittany]]
* [[Stéphane Fey]] : [[Tristan l'Hermite]]
* [[:fr:Michel Duplaix|Michel Duplaix]] : [[Raoul de Gaucourt]]
* [[:fr:Christian Rauth|Christian Rauth]] : Fero, Gypsy Lord
* [[:fr:Philippe Caroit|Philippe Caroit]] : [[Pierre de Brézé]]
* [[:fr:Michel Peyleron|Michel Peyleron]] : [[Georges de la Trémoille]]
* [[Lena Grinda]] : Catherine de la Trémoille
* [[Marie Daëms]] : Anne de Sillé
* [[Sylvain Lemarié]] : Abbot Bernard
* [[:fr:Rebecca Potok|Rebecca Potok]] : Gauberte Cairou
* [[:fr:Philippe Nahon|Philippe Nahon]] : Fortunat
* [[:fr:Hervé Pauchon|Hervé Pauchon]] : Gauthier de Chazay
* [[Hugues Profy]] : Bérenger de Roquemaurel
* [[:fr:Virginie Pradal|Virginie Pradal]] : Margot
* [[Anne-Marie Scieller]] : Marie de Comborn
* [[Bernard Ortega]] : [[Rodrigo de Villandrando]]
* [[James Sparrow]] : Sir Hugh Kennedy of Ardstinchar
* [[:fr:Patrice Alexsandre|Patrice Alexsandre]] : [[:fr:Robert Ier de Sarrebruck-Commercy|Robert Ier de Sarrebruck-Commercy]]
* [[Jean-Claude Aubé]] : King [[René d'Anjou]]
* [[Julie Odekerken Sarraut]] : [[Agnès Sorel]]
* [[Bénédicte Sire]] : Azalaïs the lacemaker
* [[Corinne Touzet]] : Princess Zobeïda
* [[Marc Samuel]] : Josse Rallard
* [[Clément Michu]] : Maître Gaspard Cornelis
* [[Philippe Auriault]] : Landry Pigasse
* [[:fr:Serge Marquard|Serge Marquard]] : Simon Caboche
* Sylvie Folgoas : Michelle de France
{{Div col end}}
==Production==
The television series was a co-production involving [[:fr:Antenne 2|Antenne 2]] (succeeded by [[France 2]]) and [[:fr:Société française de production|SFP]] within its producer of the series was [[Henri Spade]]. After following the success of the ''[[:fr:Marianne (série télévisée, 1983)|Marianne]]'' series – which aired on 21 November 1983 – Spade supported the new project ''Catherine, il suffit d'un amour''.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
===Conception and development===
In the press review in 1983 for ''Marianne, une étoile pour Napoléon'', Benzoni writes: "Thanks go to [[:fr:Marion Sarraut|Marion Sarraut]], director after my heart... provided with a heart, sensibility and talent, a great artistic sense and an astonishingly safe flair to choose interpreters".{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
In the weekly television listings magazine ''[[:fr:Télé Star|Télé Star]]'' said: "I do not want a director other than Marion".<ref>{{cite news |last=Bovet |first=Henri |date= 15 March 1986 |title="Catherine", le XVe siècle en feuilleton fleuve sur Antenne 2 |trans-title="Catherine", the 15th century in serial drama on Antenne 2 |language=French |work=Télé Star |location=Paris}}</ref> Sarraut and Benzoni had a great admiration both for each other as well as [[:fr:Jean Chatenet|Jean Chatenet]] wrote the screenplay. Filming began in 1985 of ''Catherine, il suffit d'un amour'' after only two years of preparation under the direction by Sarraut. The production had a total of 200 actors, 1,500 costumes, 45 technicians and 130 horses.
The horses were trained by [[:fr:Mario Luraschi|Mario Luraschi]], horse trainer and stuntman both for French and international cinema.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
===Casting===
For the male leading role, Sarraut said that [[:fr:Pierre-Marie Escourrou|Pierre-Marie Escourrou]] did not correspond at first to the idea of the personality she had in mind – however after his audition she knew that she had found the perfect Arnaud de Montsalvy.<ref>{{cite news |last=Merle |first=Pierre |date= November 1985 |title=Catherine, il suffit d'un amour: 24 heures pour A2 |trans-title=Catherine, one love is enough: 24 hours for A2 |language=French |work=Télé Journal  |location=Paris}}</ref> The yet unknown young actress Claudine Ancelot was the perfect Catherine de Montsalvy.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}
As a special bonus, popular French actors and actresses were engaged to play cameo roles in ''Catherine''. The cast was joined by [[:fr:Geneviève Casile|Geneviève Casile]] of the [[Comédie-Française]], [[:fr:Jean-François Poron|Jean-François Poron]], [[Philippe Clay]], [[Pascale Petit (actress)|Pascale Petit]] and [[Dora Doll]].{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
===Filming===
The shooting of the television series lasted for 15 months. The indoor scenes were shot at the Buttes-Chaumont SFP studios in [[Paris]], and the outdoor scenes were filmed on location in [[Burgundy]], [[Chaumont, Haute-Marne|Chaumont]], [[Blois]], [[Auvergne]], [[Château de Sully-sur-Loire]], Villefranche-de-Conflent, and Le prieuré de Marcevol. The oldest quarters of the city at [[Castelnou]] in the [[Pyrenees]] served as [[Montsalvy]], the home of Catherine and Arnaud. Scenes set at the [[Alhambra]] in [[Granada]] were shot at the castle of the [[List of monarchs of Majorca|Kings of Majorca]] in [[Perpignan]].{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
===Music===
The music was composed by Robert Viger<ref>[http://bibliotheques-specialisees.paris.fr/ark:/73873/pf0000351243?highlight=Legrand,%20Michel%20compositeur%20&posInPage=1&bookmark=773797ae-a9e3-4365-b6ca-3d56858e2482&queryid=a17b9ac1-9739-4bcb-aba1-b14325594678&searchType=cat Robert Viger, composer of Catherine tv-soundtrack]</ref> who had already composed several soundtracks such as ''[[:fr:Les Amours romantiques|Les Amours romantiques]]''<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167525/combined Les amours romantiques, Music by Robert Viger]</ref> for a French television series. In 1983, Viger had composed the television soundtrack for the successful [[:fr:Marianne (série télévisée, 1983)|''Marianne'']]. Juliette Benzoni's ''Marianne, une étoile pour Napoléon'' (six books) was the first of the novel series filmed for [[Television in France|French television]].{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}
==Critical reception==
On 19 March 1986, ''Catherine, il suffit d'un amour'' was proclaimed "the largest [[soap opera]] ever created in France". It was broadcast at 13:30 [[Central European Time|CET]] each afternoon during the week. Several critics praised the lavish scale of the production, comparing it to popular American television soaps such as ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]'' and ''[[Dallas (1978 TV series)|Dallas]]''.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
The daily newspaper ''[[Le Monde]]'' wrote: "A soap opera? Certainly! But with panache. It is clear that the actors really go for broke. And it's contagious… why not?"<ref name=":0" />{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
In [[Polish People's Republic|Poland]], the 1986 television series was shown on [[TVP1]] from 2 April to 9 July 1989.  It was known as the [[Polish language|Polish]] title ''[[:pl:Katarzyna (serial telewizyjny 1986)|Katarzyna]]'', and it contained a total of 15 episodes which ran approximately 90 minutes each.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
==Home media==
In December 2007, the French book sales club [[:fr:France Loisirs|France Loisirs]] released the entire series on [[DVD]] with the complete collection consisting of five boxes in ten discs. The covers of the DVD boxes displayed images from the 1986 television series, but there were no [[English language|English]] [[subtitles]], special features, nor extra elements included.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
Eventually, the DVD version of the television series – originally consisting of 60 episodes and 26 minutes – were reduced to 30 episodes of 52 minutes each.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
==See also==
* [[Cultural depictions of Joan of Arc]]
* [[France in the Middle Ages]]
* [[Middle Ages in popular culture]]
* [[1986 in French television]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* Website dedicated to the television series Catherine, il suffit d'un amour en/fr [https://www.catherinedemontsalvy.ch/English/TV_Series/Marion_Sarraut/Marion_Sarraut_TV_Serie_Catherine.htm]
* Website dedicated to film location Catherine [http://catherine-il-suffit-dun-amour-feuilleton.com/index.html]
* {{IMDb title|0167558|Catherine}}
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[[Category:French drama television series]]
[[Category:Television series set in the 15th century]]
[[Category:Television shows based on French novels]]
[[Category:1980s French television series]]
[[Category:1986 in French television]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Joan of Arc]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Gilles de Rais]]