Catherine de Médicis, the power behind the Catholic throne of her son Charles IX, arranges an apparently peace-making marriage between her unwilling daughter Margot and the Protestant Henri de Navarre. The wedding soon turns into a massacre of the visiting Protestants and Henri's life is only saved by Margot's intercession. As intrigue, murder and adulterous relationships multiply in the Court a strange but strong loyalty emerges between the apparently ill-matched couple.

Patrice Chereau edited the original cut of the film (roughly 160 minutes) to a smaller 138 minutes for international release. This was due to a disappointing box-office performance in France and the criticism (by, among others, Variety critic Todd McCarthy) of the film as being too violent and often incoherent. The French press were scathing of this 'American censorship' (they described the film as having been 'given a face-lift' for American audiences) but the new version was defended by various French critics being both more coherent whilst also maintaining Chereau's artistic vision. The shorter cut was later released in France too, in the hopes of increasing the film's box-office takings.

[as Henri and Margot walk down the aisle after being married]


Henri:
Your mother hates me.


Margot:
Yours hated me.


Henri:
Yours *killed* mine.

Continuity: Margot's cloak as she approaches La Mole in the alley.

Performed by Ofra Haza
(Ofra Haza (as Haza) - Goran Bregovic (as Bregovic))