| In the Play |
In the Movie |
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The lead character in the play is Cyrano de Bergerac, not CD Bales. |
The lead character in the film is CD Bales, not Cyrano de Bergerac. |
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Cyrano de Bergerac is a cadet (nobleman serving as a soldier) in the French Army. He is a brash, strong-willed as well as a duelist, poet and a musical artist.
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Charlie "C.D." Bales is a fire chief of a small town. He is intelligent, witty, charismatic and athletic.
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Cyrano interrupts a play when the lead actor offends him with his lack of talent. Viscount Valvert confronts Cyrano and they duel; Cyrano wounds and possibly kills him.
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Two drunks mock CD's appearance; his big nose. CD soundly thrashes them both with a tennis racket he was returning to Dixie. |
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Cyrano is told of a plot by many men to attack him. He goes off with a group of men to fight.
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While at a bar, a patron calls CD “big nose”. CD mocks him for the lame insult, but the patron challenges to come up with 20 insults that are better. CD does so very hilariously (25 better insults) to the ire of the patron. When the patron tries to attack CD from the back, CD punches the patron twice, knocking him out.
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At the play, Cyrano tells Le Bret of his long standing love for Roxane, but he feels he cannot express his feelings to her as he is too ugly.
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CD is drawn to Roxanne when she arrives into town and rents a house so she can observe the return of a comet. They meet when she accidentally locks herself out of her rental house while naked. CD unlocks her door (he does not give her anything to cover up with) and prepares a snack of wine, cheese and crackers for them. He is attracted to her. |
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Cyrano meets Christian when the Cadets are teasing Christian while talking about their last battle. Christian boldly teases Cyrano about his big nose, Cyrano is angry, but does not respond in kind due to his promise to Roxane that he will protect Christian.
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When Chris eventually meets CD, he accidentally says something about CD's big nose. CD does not beat him up as he is reputed to do to anyone who mentions his nose; because he is in a good mood after meeting Roxanne.
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Christian has admired Roxane from afar and is in love with her. But he is not skilled in speaking or writing letters. Christian is a new Cadet reporting to the same unit that Cyrano serves in.
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Chris encounters Roxanne at a bar, he is very attracted to her, but too shy to talk; he leaves the bar after she tries to introduce herself. Chris is a professional firefighter employed to train the town's unskilled firefighters. |
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Roxane reveals to Cyrano that she is attracted to Christian; Cyrano is hurt but hides it from Roxane. She asks Cyrano to protect Christian from the other Cadets; he agrees
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Roxanne and CD talk, he is disappointed that Roxanne is attracted to Chris instead.
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Cyrano writes letters for Christian after he begs him to. Cyrano cues Christian to repeat his wooing lines to Roxane and eventually speak for him while under cover of darkness below Roxane's balcony. Cyrano woos Roxane so well that she invites Christian up for a kiss.
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Chris convinces CD to write Roxanne a letter that Chris will sign. He later gets CD to help Chris speak to her at night from under some trees while Roxanne looks out a window. CD takes over and seduces Roxanne so well that she invites Chris into her house for sex. |
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Count de Guiche discovers that Roxane and Christian secretly wed. He orders Christian and Cyrano to the front to fight Spain. Roxane demands that Cyrano keep Christian safe, warm and faithful, he says he can only try, but he will ensure letters are written. Cyrano writes to Roxane as Christian very often. Later on as Christian and Cyrano are at the front, Roxane arrives with food for the starving soldiers.
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Roxanne leaves town for a while and gives CD her address so Chris can write letters to her. CD writes and sends many letters to Roxanne. When she comes back early, CD warns Chris about the many letters. There is no antagonist in the film.
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Eventually Roxane tells Christian that she loves him for his passionate letters and not his looks. Christian dies in battle soon after. Cyrano continues to support the illusion that Christian wrote the letters.
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Roxanne wants to hear Chris talk to her like he does in the letters as she say looks are secondary; this freaks Chris out and he runs away. Chris soon runs away to Reno with a female bartender who flirted with him. Chris tells this to Roxanne in a poorly worded letter. |
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Roxane does not find out that Cyrano wrote the letters until much later; and it happens when Cyrano accidentally reveals it.
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Dixie tells Roxanne that CD was the one who wrote the letters.
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Count de Guiche plots to have Christian and Cyrano killed by ordering them to hold the line at the front at all costs.
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This does not happen in the film. |
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This does not happen in the play. |
Roxanne is furious with CD for fooling her and helping Chris get into bed with her. When CD insults her for sleeping with Chris so fast, she slaps him; CD leaves her house.
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Cyrano rallies the Cadets and they hold the line against Spain.
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When CD leaves Roxanne's house, he smells smoke. He alerts the town's firefighters and they find a barn on fire. They put out the fire and are celebrated as heroes at the local bar. |
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15 years later Roxane is living at a convent outside Paris and mourning the death of Christian. Cyrano visits often with news of the outside world. Cyrano is severely injured by a falling log before his last visit. He asks to read Christian's last letter. Roxane learns that Cyrano wrote all the letters when she sees him quoting it in the dark. He dies soon after Roxane tells him that she loves him.
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CD is moping on top a roof after putting out the fire. CD hears Roxanne yell that it is his personality that she loves. After she declares her love, CD And Roxanne embrace and kiss.
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