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Movie
Poster for Désirée

Désirée

1954 · 110 min

A sweeping, old-fashioned historical romance that moves through grand events with a wistful, melodramatic tone.

Tagline
The life...the women...the conquests of Napoleon!
Overview
In Marseilles, France in 1794, Desiree Clary, a young millinery clerk, becomes infatuated with Napoleon Bonaparte, but winds up wedding General Jean-Baptiste Berandotte, an aid to Napoleon who later joins the forces that bring about the Emperor's downfall. Josephine Beauharnais, a worldly courtesan marries Napoleon and becomes Empress of France, but is then cast aside by her spouse when she proves unable to produce an heir to the throne.

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More options Data from JustWatch
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • romanticstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • love
  • ambition
  • power
  • betrayal
  • fate
Places
  • big city
  • single country house
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language none
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror0
Humour2
Realism7
Romance7
Tension4
Darkness4
Complexity5
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

Rent or buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, romance, history
Directed by
Henry Koster
Written by
Daniel Taradash
Starring
Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Merle Oberon, Michael Rennie, Cameron Mitchell, Elizabeth Sellars, Charlotte Austin, Cathleen Nesbitt
Music
Alex North
Cinematography
Milton Krasner
Runtime
110 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English, Swedish

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