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Telly Talk: Filthy Cities – Revolutionary Paris
Friday 15th April 2011, 3:12PM BST.
Paris, one of today’s most glamorous cities in Europe was once one of the smelliest.
The past is vividly brought to life as historian Dan Snow looks back at the unbelievable stench of Paris 200 years ago, and sniffs out the rotten story of the French Revolution.
Viewers become immersed in the past like never before as the disgusting smells and images are recreated throughout the BBC2 programme.
I found myself curling my toes in disgust as stunning CGI reveals the stinking streets where ordinary people slaved in toxic industries and suffered grotesque poverty and disease.
Dan visits a perfumer to recreate the foul stench of the 18th century city – Pong de Paris.
Revolting images are recreated of rotting corpses piled up in graveyards and of the thousands of executions that were performed by the infamous guillotine.
Dan has a go at one of the worst and jobs in history, tanning leather by rancid methods using dog excrement and urine, to make luxury goods only the filthy rich could afford.
He gets a rare glimpse of the private rooms of Queen Mary Antoinette at the palace of Versailles and reveals some disgusting facts of what went on at the royal court.
The filth, misery and stench became intolerable and drove Parisians into a bloody revolt which would transform Paris and give birth to a new republic.
We are exposed to how the disgusting city dragged itself out of the dark ages of its past.
Hannah Elkes
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