The Assassination of the Duke de Guise

In the late sixteenth century, power teeters on a knife’s edge in the gloomy corridors of the French court. King Henry III invites the Duke of Guise—his rival who has his eye on the throne—to the cold chambers of Blois Castle. One of the earliest cinematic examples of the historical drama genre, this film, directed by André Calmettes and Charles le Bargy, brings the tension of a political execution to the screen. Footsteps echoing in the dark corners of the palace foreshadow a conspiracy with no turning back.