The Three Musketeers

Alexandre Dumas would more than likely applaud this particular version of his fantastic novel. I remember when I was a kid and first saw the movie in the theater... I was stunned at the cinematography (yeah, a film buff even at 12). After leaving the theater, I went to a nearby bookstore and bought my first copy of the novel. Wow, how impressed was I when I realized that Richard Lester and George MacDonald Fraser stuck to the concept of the novel. The novel, incase you haven't read it, is funny and fun. The first half of the book... kept me at edge of my seat. When I recently re-read the novel, my wife would tell me that I would wake her up sword fighting in my sleep. Anyway, back to the movie. Michael York as D'Artagnan was fabulous. He embodied the dweeb that we all now and love as the future Commander of the King's Musketeers. Oliver Reed gave the best performance of his life as Athos. Richard Chamberlain as Aramis... the Musketeer who wants to be a priest was entertaining, and a delight. And Frank Finley as Porthos (and later came to realize that he was also O'Reilly... Buckingham's jeweler) was tremendous. Richard Lester should have been nominated for an Academy award for his direction of this masterpiece, numerous members of the cast (including Christopher Lee as Compte Rochefort, Charlton Heston as Cardinal Richelieu, Raquel Welch as Constance Bonaciuex, Spike Milligan as Monsieur Bonacieux, Roy Kinnear as Planchet, Simon Ward as the Duke of Buckingham, Faye Dunaway as Milady de Winter, and of course Jean-Pierre Cassel as Louis XIII) should have been nominated for some kind of award. The casts portrayals were direct from the Dumas novel. The sword play in the movie is the best that I have ever seen in a movie. There is none better, with the possible exception of the Four Musketeers... the rest of the novel.

If you have never seen the movie... go and get it. Watch it. Wait for it on TCM or FCM and tape it. Once you see it, you'll want to add it to your collection... or check out e-bay if your local stores don't carry it. I bought mine on e-bay and watch it at least 3 times a year. :D

This film, and its sequel (filmed concurrently) is by far the best movie version of the Dumas novel ever produced. The cast is excellent. The sets and costumes are marvelous. The swordplay (and there is much) is possible some of the most realistic ever filmed. And it's the only Musketeer movie I am aware of in which the Musketeers actually use muskets. Authenticity seems to have been very important to the producers, as well as staying true to the novel.

Sadly a film like this wouldn't be made these days. First off the fighting would be "punched-up" with a lot of wire work. And of course Hollywood would change the story to eliminate much of the "sleeping around" characters do (today's movie heroes in this type of movie aren't usually sexually active). They would also provide some creative story editing so that a certain character who dies in the novel would survive so as to supply the requisite happy ending. Fortunately for us this version does not suffer that kind of revisionism.

If you're a fan of Dumas or just looking for a fun film with lots of realistic sword fighting then you won't want to miss this.

Alexandre Dumas's classic The Three Musketeers seems to never lose its appeal, it gets another cinema version every generation. In the seventies Richard Lester shot such a long film that producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind decided to release it in two parts. This film only takes us to the point of the affair of the diamond studs.

Michael York is one truly bumptious Gascon in his interpretation of D'Artagnan. Apparently it's a French mantra that people from Gascony are braggarts and quick to fight. I don't know how well that point is known outside the French speaking world, but it's in the strength of Dumas's tale that we Americans even those who haven't studied The Three Musketeers in high school of college English can appreciate that fact. Because of that fact he manages to make all kinds of enemies, the wrong ones and the right ones.

Fortunately the right ones, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay, and Richard Chamberlain all recognize York's worth and he becomes a companion of The Three Musketeers. The King's own guard, fighting against the encroaching power of France's prime minister Cardinal Richelieu.

Charlton Heston adds to his collection of real historical characters portrayed on film with his interpretation of Richelieu. He was hardly the villain in real life that he is here. As he said on his deathbed that he had no enemies, but the enemies of the state. Richelieu was in fact a great French patriot though as a Cardinal was not terribly pious or scrupulous.

Richelieu was also not a tall man and the six foot two inch Charlton Heston had to stoop over a bit when playing him. Note that carefully when you watch Heston, especially in his scenes with Christopher Lee as Rochefort. Lee does not lack in the height department either.

Three women have substantial roles in The Three Musketeers. Raquel Welch makes a sexy Constance, not quite the innocent that June Allyson played her as in the MGM version with Gene Kelly. Geraldine Chaplin is serene and beautiful, but tragically unloved except by Great Britain's prime minister the Duke of Buckingham {Simon Ward}, France's mortal enemy. Milady DeWinter played by Faye Dunaway is as deadly and beautiful as Lana Turner was in the Gene Kelly film.

Personally I've never thought that Hollywood ever got The Three Musketeers quite right. It will never happen I'm sure, but I'd love to see the operetta that Rudolf Friml wrote the music for, made into a Three Musketeers film. Still this one isn't too bad with an accent more on bawdy comedy than anything else. The followup Four Musketeers takes a more serious turn.

Richard Lester did what no one before or since has been able to do: tell Dumas' story as magnificently as it deserves to be told. This tale gets told again and again in Hollywood, but leave it to a European to do it right. The cinematography, sets, and costumes are all fantastic, but they aren't all clean and impossibly perfect like the 1948 Gene Kelly or 1993 Kiefer Sutherland versions. Lester infuses this familiar story with an energy and tone that made his work with the Beatles successful. Yes, "The Three Musketeers" is an intriguing adventure, but the humor in their friendship, that's what draws me in again and again. And what an amazing cast he had to work with: all the Musketeers are perfect, especially big Oliver Reed, who can be silly, witty, and scary all in the same scene. The supporting cast is full of great actors, including Charlton Heston (having fun at being evil here), Christopher Lee (gets to mix deadpan humor in with his menace), Raquel Welch (cast as beautiful but clumsy, really enabling her to be a character and not just a live mannequin), Spike Milligan (doing what he does best), and most wonderfully Faye Dunaway (seductively evil: my favorite kind!). And, of course, holding it all together as D'Artagnan is Michael York, who never found a greater role.

Besides handling the shifts in tone well, Richard Lester also had the great rare luxury of breaking Dumas' large novel into two seperate movies which he filmed simultaneously. This really allows for greater character development and a truly epic scale. All of the other film versions try to cram all of that plot into 120 minutes. Not only is it impossible (in the 1993 version they simply change it completely using only the basic idea of Dumas' book), but it makes this huge complicated story with many threads seem contrived and ridiculous (the 1948 version has such dramatic and sudden shifts of tone - from wacky comedy, to romance, to heavy drama - that it can confuse and lose the audience).

This is great moviemaking.

This film (and its companion piece The Four Musketeers) is the finest adaptation of the Dumas classic. It perfectly captures the blend of romance, adventure, and comedy inherent in the novel. There is some modification for modern viewers, but the spirit and attitude of the era is preserved.

Michael York gives one of his best performances as the young, naive D'Artagnan. He appears to be a bit of a bumbling idiot at first; but, one soon learns that a keen brain lies behind that bumbling exterior. This portrayal was criticized by another filmmaker, who adapted another of Dumas' tales. Judging by how far that director strayed from Dumas, it's understandable how he missed noting that Dumas portrayed D'Artagnan in the same manner at the beginning of the novel. D'Artagnan grows with his experiences and becomes a leader of men by the end of the novel; one who has confounded Cardinal Richelieu at every turn and preserved the honor of his Queen and country.

Oliver Reed was perfectly cast as Athos, the melancholy drunkard. Athos is a man who has endured great pain and betrayal in his life and finds his only pleasure in drinking and brawling. He is the wise counsel to the young D'Artagnan, and the mysterious side to the Musketeer triangle.

Frank Finlay, a wonderful character actor, brings a wonderful, arrogant bluster to Porthos; a gentleman, a braggart, and a fool. Finlay also has a nice turn as the jeweler O'Reilly, showcasing his versatility.

Richard Chamberlain is Aramis, the future priest and great lover. Aramis gives an air of spiritual devotion, while romancing his mistresses. Like many clergy of the upper classes, he sees no conflict in these attitudes, or his profession as a soldier. Chamberlain brings great subtlety to Aramis. His part is not as big as the other two, but he says much with body language and attitude. He more than holds his own with the stage-trained Brits.

Charlton Heston brings a deep menace to Richelieu, quite the opposite of his previous heroes. He shows the devious nature of the Cardinal, and the intelligence of a man who knows he has lost, but will have other battles down the line.

Faye Dunaway is the beautiful and vicious Milady. She is the deadliest of D'Artagnan's adversaries; she charms with her beauty and grace, as she prepares her dagger unseen.

Christopher Lee is D'Artagnan's rival, Rochefort. Lee is always good, even when the film isn't. Luckily, this film is up to his abilities. His cool demeanor is backed by a strong sword arm.

The cast is rounded out by fine character performances from Roy Kinnear as Planchet, Jean-Pierre Cassel as King Louis XIII, Geraldine Chaplain as Anne of Austria, and Spike Milligan as M. Bonacieux. Raquel Welch gives a surprisingly deft turn in the comic role of Constance.

There is plenty of action, romance, drama, and fun for fans of each. The sum of those parts results in a classic that outshines all other attempts at Dumas. It is a swashbuckler to rival any Errol Flynn movie, a romance equal to a Merchant-Ivory production, and a comedy to rival Monty Python.

Forget Gene Kelly, the Ritz Brothers, and Charlie Sheen and company. These are the true Musketeers.