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Versailles, 1667. At the age of 28, King Louis XIV (George Blagden), decides to move his court from Paris to his father's former hunting lodge at Versailles, in a bid to undermine the nobles from rebelling against the monarchy. However, with the Parisian nobility deeply opposed to the move, Louis is faced with negotiating a dangerous cycle of lies, deceit and vicious political manoeuvrings as he attempts to exert his authority. As magnificent as the palace of Versailles becomes, it is also a gilded prison, trapping all the players in its glory and brutality.
The King's brother, Philippe d'Orléans (played by Alexander Vlahos) is a key figure in this series, and is fascinating for his many contradictory aspects: he is married for political expediency (and the King sleeps with his wife) but is also in a long term relationship with the Chevalier (Evan Williams) - and together they are very much a gay power couple in the court; Philippe is a fierce warrior, leading the Royal Army into battle, but he also sometimes wears female clothing at court (there is a powerful scene where he attacks someone he perceives mocking him). This series brings to light a long overlooked historically significant gay figure in great psychological complexity.
This epic French and Canadian co-production has sumptuous sets and costumes, a gorgeous cast, and very adult portrayals of nudity and sexuality.
This 4 disc set contains all 10 episodes of the first season.
Click on ''Product Videos'' below to see the Trailer for this film.
Starring: George Blagden, Alexander Vlahos, Evan Williams
Regions: 4 and 2
Rating: MA15+ (Strong themes, sex scenes, violence, coarse language)
Duration: 531 Minutes
This DVD Release Date: November 2016
Presentation: Colour, PAL, 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1
Language: English, English Captions (Descriptive subtitles for the hearing impaired) (Subtitles in Castilian Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish)
Special Features: None