Film

Lucrezia Borgia

Name: Lucrezia Borgia
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Released: 1935
Cast: Edwige Feuillère, Gabriel Gabrio, Maurice Escande, Roger Karl, Aimé Clariond

Period drama

Abel Gance's 1935 portrait of the Borgia dynasty treats history as melodrama and moral ruin. It's visually rapturous—all sculptural shadows and operatic staging—but emotionally austere, never letting you forget these were real people trafficking in poison and power. For anyone who wants their Renaissance corrupt, gorgeously rendered, and fundamentally tragic.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy courtly intrigue played as a family rot, with political scheming and bitter loyalties staged in heavy, theatrical period style rather than a brisk action history.

Skip it if you want a fast modern pace or strict historical accuracy, because its stately, operatic tempo and melodramatic plotting lean hard on period mannerism.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a compact ninety-three minutes, a patient, talky stretch where the dialogue and faces carry the weight and the mood stays formal and cool.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

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Dangerous Liaisons1988

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Lucrezia Borgia

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The Name of the Rose1986

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But Episodic and occasionally ponderous. The mystery doesn't always grip as tightly as the atmosphere does.

The Masque of the Red Death1964

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The Godfather Part II1974

Coppola splits the narrative between two generations of a crime dynasty, showing how ruthlessness is inherited and normalized. The Corleones are the modern Borgias: family first, morality nowhere.

But At over three hours, it demands commitment. Some find the intercutting between timelines frustrating.