Les Visiteurs and "les 3 frères (1995)" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114732/ ) are the best french comedies ever made, you can watch them over and over again without being bored , i'm surprised by the relative low rating of this movie that's why i put a 10/10 , but i would rate it 9/10 normally i would recommend it to anyone who speaks french because it needs to be seen in it's original version to be truly appreciated You will learn and remember all the best sentences from this movie and use them as jokes on your everyday life with your friends. In France i don't know anybody who doesn't know at least one line of this movie , that's how popular and funny this movie isDon't bother watching the sequels they are not nearly as funny as the original , you better watch this one again

The two movies came in 1993 and if each one was a huge success, the two split totally in vision and production. This one is about what France does best, comedy and its long history! Usually, time travel is about going into the past and causing paradox while here it's about going into the future which is our present! A bit like "BTF", our heroes feel stuck and alien to their new environment and want to get back to their time-line. But the essential factors here are not the special effects that are rather crude but the cast and the idea to stick to country life that remains even today the real roots of France! Lemercier who isn't among the glamorous one is indeed exceptional as a catholic housewife of this rural elite! And for sure, for all who like French history, the meeting of old language and new speech is totally funny whereas we rather expected the same gap with the objects… So this comedy really embodies what's my country and is thus a must-see for all France lovers!

For me it took until about half the way through this movie to really get rolling, but it is a lot of fun once you just relax and enjoy the ride. It's not a deep farce, just an enjoyable one. It has a lot of slapstick, but it's not too heavy mostly, although there is a bit of blood and barbarity in the beginning part set in medieval times. (Possibly some of the harsher parts in the beginning aren't suitable for young children--I'm not sure what goes nowadays. By this I mean a graphic beheading and a couple of deaths by crossbow, both played for humor.) The best thing about this movie is that it doesn't sink to the level of a lowest common denominator comedy and retains some intelligence throughout. Overall, just give it time to build momentum and it's a fun time.

Although it is mainly slapstick humor to non French speakers I guess it is in the nuance of the dialog that the French find it so funny. What I liked about it was Jean Reno when playing it straight - there was real menace and one could imagine a medieval knight in today's society coming across as being psychopathic as life was cheap in mediaeval times and to kill a social inferior was as nothing. I also liked the scene not long after the start when the French King, although short and portly had a convincing regal air about him, darting keen shrewd glances about him as he walked through the camp. And the knights looked like real men at arms, a very tough bunch of warriors. If you stay through the titles at the end you will get a wave from a knight in armor who happens to be wearing sun glasses. The version I saw had sub-titles that were in keeping with the ambiance of the screenplay - slightly quaint and old fashioned. They were perfect in their intent of conveying the meaning of the clever and understated French dialog. These sub-titles were for the showing of the movie on Australian SBS channel. No advertisements either, it ran straight through non-stop. Reno plays it as a buffoon for much of the time but underpins his role with occasional deadly serious approaches to his plight and never hesitates to resort to violence to get his way. He presents an unshakeable determination to resolve the matter of being transported in time, resulting in a portrayal of a French knight of old which is very convincing. You would not want to cross this guy. I have watched this movie a number of times and can assure potential viewers that it is truly a very funny movie. Disregard the criticisms of those who didn't like it, they must be pathetically and pathologically humourless.