Backdrop image for movie Terror! Robespierre and the French Revolution

Terror! Robespierre and the French Revolution (2009)

In 1794, French revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre produced the world's first defense of "state terror" - claiming that the road to virtue lay through political violence. This film combines drama, archive and documentary interviews to examine Robespierre's year in charge of the Committee Of Public Safety - the powerful state machine at the heart of Revolutionary France. Contesting Robespierre's legacy is Slavoj Zizek, who argues that terror in the cause of virtue is justifiable, and Simon Schama, who believes the road from Robespierre ran straight to the gulag and the 20th-century concentration camp. The drama, based on original sources, follows the life-and-death politics of the Committee during "Year Two" of the new Republic.

  • Documentary
  • History

Top billed cast

  • Photo of Jan PearsonJan PearsonNarrator (voice)
  • Photo of Stephen HoganStephen HoganMaximillian Robespierre
  • Photo of Ed StoppardEd StoppardHerault
  • Photo of Brian PettiferBrian PettiferCouthon
  • Photo of David AndressDavid AndressSelf - Author 'The Terror'
  • Photo of Martin HancockMartin HancockCollot
  • Photo of Colin JonesColin JonesSelf - Author 'The Great Nation'
  • Photo of Jonny PhillipsJonny PhillipsCarnot
  • Photo of Slavoj ŽižekSlavoj ŽižekSelf - Author - 'In Defence of Lost Causes'
  • Photo of Simon SchamaSimon SchamaSelf - Author - 'Citizens'

Similar to Terror! Robespierre and the French Revolution