Victor Hugo 2004
Distributed by Films Media Group, PO Box 2053, Princeton, New Jersey 08543-2053; 800-257-5126
Produced by Tranquilo Productions
Directed by Pablo Garcia
DVD, color, 25 min.
Sr. High - Adult
Biography, European Studies, History, Human Rights, Literature, Poetry, Writing
Date Entered: 08/09/2005
Reviewed by Brad Eden, Ph.D., Head, Web and Digitization Services, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las VegasThis video is an excellent, concise introduction to the life and works of Victor Hugo (1802-1885), a giant of nineteenth-century French literature, and best known for his epic novel Les Miserables.
Hugo grew up during the Napoleonic purges of the early nineteenth century, and he was greatly influenced traumatically by the executions of political dissidents in his childhood. He was most prolific between 1830 and 1843, when his home became a hotbed for the French Romantic movement. In 1848 he strongly supported the election of Napoleon III as president, and was highly critical of him when he led a coup d'etat soon after his election democratically and reestablished the monarchy in France. Hugo spent the next 20 years in exile on Guernsey Island, just within sight of the French coastline, as a protest to Napoleon III's government. When Napoleon III died in 1870, Hugo returned to France as a hero and in 1876 was elected a senator for Paris in the French government. Eventually, he returned to Guernsey Island and died there. A wonderful video that also features short readings from Hugo's many works.