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Deux heures moins le quart avant Jésus-Christ

Deux heures moins le quart avant Jésus-Christ

Movie · 1982 · 3 people

Deux heures moins le quart avant Jésus-Christ ("A quarter to two before Jesus Christ"; English title Quarter to Two B.C.) is a 1982 French comedy written and directed by Jean Yanne. It is an anachronism-laden parody of Bible epics such as Ben-Hur, and is often set beside Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979). Released through Pathé, it runs about 100 minutes.

The story unfolds in a colony of the Roman Empire. A garage owner, Ben-Hur Marcel, also called Aminemephet, is pulled without meaning to into a false plot against Caesar. Coluche plays Ben-Hur Marcel and Michel Serrault plays Caesar. The cast also includes Darry Cowl, Jean Yanne, André Pousse, Daniel Emilfork, Daniel Laloux, Françoise Fabian, Ibrahim Seck, José Artur and Léon Zitrone.

The film is Yanne's sixth and second-to-last as director. Although critics were mostly negative, audiences turned out in large numbers: it sold 4,601,239 tickets in France and finished third at the 1982 French box office. Over time it has become a cult film for a certain public. Its German title is Die verrücktesten 90 Minuten vor Christi Geburt and its Spanish one Dos horas menos cuarto antes de Jesucristo.

DirectorJean Yanne
Production companyPathé Distribution

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Cast

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Coluche Coluche Film actor · died at 41 Michel Serrault Michel Serrault Actor · died at 79 Darry Cowl Darry Cowl Stage actor · died at 80

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Through different eyes

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Jean Yanne's film sends up Bible epics such as Ben-Hur and their grand picture of Rome. A hero who runs a garage in a colony of the Roman Empire deliberately crashes the ancient world into modern everyday life; the anachronism is not a mistake but a way of mocking the solemnity of big historical productions. That is also why it is so often set beside Monty Python's Life of Brian. Critics were mostly negative, yet the film sold over 4.6 million tickets in France and finished third at the 1982 box office. Its later cult status with a certain audience lays bare the gap in taste between critics and the public.

Yeşilçam Nostalgic A viewer raised on the classics, looking for warm storytelling and strong acting.

Seeing two masters of comedy like Coluche and Michel Serrault in the same film warms the heart; Serrault's Caesar alone is enough to make you curious. But for an eye that loved the grandeur of Ben-Hur, this parody is too scattered. The anachronism gags amuse for a while, then start repeating themselves. A good parody needs a story spine too, and here the jokes push the story aside. I understand why most critics were cool towards it, and why audiences filled the cinemas anyway.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

A deliberately silly parody comedy set in Roman times. A garage owner accidentally getting caught up in a plot against Caesar may make teenagers laugh. But some of the jokes rely on knowing the Bible epics and French culture of the time, so younger children will miss most of them. Since it pokes fun at religious epics, some older relatives may be bothered; keep that in mind before you put it on.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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