The Visitors

"They weren't born yesterday!"

1993 1h 47m FR

👍

7.1

SOLID

🥫

31%

ROTTEN

⭐

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 2,110🥫31%Rotten Tomatoes★7IMDB · 40,689

FantasyComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After a wizard's spell goes awry, 12th-century Gallic knight Godefroy de Papincourt, Count of Montmirail finds himself transported to 1993, along with his dimwitted servant, Jacquouille la Fripouille. Startled and perplexed by modern technology, the duo run amok, destroying cars and causing chaos until they meet Beatrice de Montmirail, an aristocratic descendant of the nobleman, who may be able to help them get back to 1123.

“They weren't born yesterday!”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon Prime VideoSubscription

Amazon Prime Video with AdsSubscription

France Channel Amazon ChannelSubscription

Cast

Jean Reno
Comte Godefroy de Montmirail
Christian Clavier
Jacquouille la Fripouille / Jacques-Henri Jacquard
Valérie Lemercier
Frénégonde de Pouille / Béatrice de Montmirail
Marie-Anne Chazel
Ginette Sarcley
Christian Bujeau
Jean-Pierre Goulard
Isabelle Nanty
Fabienne Morlot
Gérard Séty
Edgar Bernay
Didier Pain
Louis VI le Gros

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jean-Marie Poiré
Writers: Christian Clavier, Jean-Marie Poiré
Languages: French
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $99M — a 10.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

33 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Visitors Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jean-Marie Poiré, shot by Jean-Yves Le Mener. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Eric Levi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Catherine Kelber shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jean Reno and Christian Clavier and Valérie Lemercier carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "They weren't born yesterday!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jean-Marie Poiré directs. Jean-Yves Le Mener behind the camera. Eric Levi scores. Catherine Kelber cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in France. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $99M — a 10.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
233 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "The Visitors Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Jean-Marie Poiré, shot by Jean-Yves Le Mener. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Eric Levi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Catherine Kelber shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Jean Reno and Christian Clavier and Valérie Lemercier carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "They weren't born yesterday!".
9IMDB entry: tt0108500 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jean-Yves Le Mener
Original score: Eric Levi
Editing: Catherine Kelber
Production design: Hugues Tissandier
Costume design: Catherine Leterrier
Makeup / hair: Patrick Archambault
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Status: Released
Budget: $9,500,000
Box office: $98,800,000
Return: 1040% of budget
Original language: FR
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Visitors (1993)
Rotten Tomatoes: 31% 🥫 Rotten
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 40,689 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 win & 8 nominations total

César Award for Best Supporting Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

The Visitors Collection

The Visitors (Les Visiteurs) is a French fantasy comedy film directed by Jean-Marie Poiré and released in 1993. In this comedy, a 12th-century knight and his servant travel in time to the end of the 20th century and find themselves adrift in modern society. A sequel, The Visitors II: The Corridors of Time followed in 1998, and an American remake, Just Visiting, made with the same stars, was released in 2001. The Visitors: Bastille Day has been announced with the original cast, for a 2016 release.