"On Guard"... Ten years ago I said to myself, I'd like to give it a shot, inspired by the lingering memory of having seen the film at the age of seven. I took another look at the Marais/Bourvil version and I thought well, that's been done and well done. However, four years ago, I gave it serious thought anew, and three years ago I asked Jean Cosmos to work on a first draft. Two years ago I gave Philippe de Broca to read. Philippe, Jean Cosmos and Jérôme Tonnerre then worked for 18 months on the screenplay producing 23 versions ! That was followed by 6 months of preproduction and 16 weeks of shooting. Via this adventure, I'd wanted to bring back to life a genre I'd lost sight of, and to film it with the means of today. It's wonderful to be able to share a childhood dream and to see that others take the same joy in sharing it with you." (Patrick Godeau)