DVD The Four Musketeers
Richard Lester's 1975 sequel to his romping Three Musketeers--released the year before--reunites his swashbuckling cast for a decidedly less happy and more somber experience. This time, D'Artagnan (Michael York) and his Musketeer mentors (Richard Chamberlain, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay) have a tougher fight against their old enemies, and the adventure is not without its casualties. But the film is highly entertaining, filled with that same loony air that makes most films by Lester (How I Won the War, A Hard Day's Night, Help!) so much fun. The actors are with him every step of the way: Reed, Chamberlain, Finlay, and York are a heroic version of the Marx brothers, Raquel Welch was never better, and Charlton Heston clearly enjoys playing the evil Cardinal Richelieu. --Tom Keogh |
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Review(s): DVD The Four Musketeers | |
| The Revenge Of Milady |  |
Immediately following the events of the previous installment, Rochefort kidnaps D'artagnan's lover Constance. D'artagnan, unconscious after fighting the kidnappers, is taken in by the seductive Milady who is used by the control-hungry Cardinal Richelieu to distract him. With France at war with Protestants, The Duke Of Buckingham plans to send ships to aid the rebels. The Cardinal is going to have Milady assassinate The Duke by any means necessary. The Musketeers must prevent this for the sake of the Queen who is having an affair with the Duke. Not only this, but the Musketeers must also protect D'Artagnan and Constance from Milady (After Constance is rescued from the place where she is held), for she plans to wreck horrible revenge on both for humiliating her in the previous film. This is not a sequel; it is merely different packaging since both film were supposed to be one. Aside from that fact, "The Four Musketeers" is an incredibly good continuation of the story. While it manages to blend slapstick and swashbuckling action well, the slapstick is less goofy and the action is more brutal (whether these are pros or cons I'll let you decide). Some may not enjoy the murders of many of the more significant characters, as they occur rather suddenly. The performances are very enjoyable, the humor is excellent, the final battles are intense towards the end, and the conclusion is extremely satisfying. See it! Followed by: The Return Of The Musketeers. Overall rating: 5 stars Rated PG: contains brutal violence including a beheading, some language, adult themes, sexual encounters. However, I don't think many people will find this overly offensive.
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| A More Somber Conclusion... |
Not nearly as much fun as the first film, The Three Musketeers, this conclusion to the story of D'Artagnon, Athos, Porthos & Aramis and their efforts to thwart the machinations of Cardinal Richelieu, de Rochefort, and Milady DeWinter, is much more plot-heavy and somber than the original, and includes some jarring assassinations and murders.Benefiting greatly by having the same wonderful cast (both films were shot at one time), it continues where the first film left off, with clever and ironic period detail and wry observations, this time not only about the twit aristocracy, but about religious fanaticsm, persecution and wars (Protestant and Catholics)as well. The wit and intelligence is still here, but some of the elan is missing. There is so much plot to be disposed of that the film seems more hurried and less relaxed than the first. There are some good fights, especially one clever and funny bit on an icy stream, and a brutal fight at the finale in a nunnery that climaxes with de Rochefort (the marvelously arch and disdainful Christopher Lee) and D'Artagnon (Michael York) dueling in the chapel. Again, the sword fighting is FIGHTING, using both hands and feet, and with the participants becoming exhausted by their efforts. The cast, as mentioned, is superb, with Heston as the wily Cardinal, Jean Pierre Cassel as the dim King, Geraldine Chaplain the ninny of a Queen, a wonderful Raquel Welch as Constance, the aforementioned Chris Lee & Michael York, and the great Oliver Reed as the moody and explosive Athos, Richard Chambelain the aloof Aramis, and Frank Finlay the vain & pompous Porthos. I neglected to mention Roy Kinnear as the long-suffering servant, Planchet, in my review of the earlier film. He's wonderful, as he always was, and lost his life in making this film. Full of wry bits of business and humorous asides, and ironic contrasts, the Four Musketeers has the great benefit of continuity of cast and style and tone, although the tone shifts much darker and more plot-driven here. Not as good as the first film, but well worth your while. Compared to the witless films that more often than not make up our present world, these gems seem better and better for their audacity and intelligence. 4-1/2 stars.
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| Great movie, Fox-Lorber has poor DVD version |
This one was actually filmed back to back with the first movie, and was released in 1975. It features the same great cast and finishes up the story from the book "The Three Musketeers". Same cast as before. Oliver Reed as Athos, Richard Chamberlain as Aramis, Frank Finlay as Porthos, Michael York as D'Artagnan. Christopher Lee, Raquel Welch, Geraldine Chaplin, Faye Dunaway. Again, just about every performance is amazing. And what's sort of sad is that the actors signed up for one "project" - so even though they put in enough material to do two complete films, they were only paid once. Ah well, we the viewers benefitted! This tells the second half of the story from the book. The Queen was saved for ruin, and the musketeers are sent up to fight the Huguenots. The Cardinal is still after them, as is M'Lady. There are more battles, more attempts to kill the musketeers, more threats and plots. The mood turns darker in this one, as the fellowship runs into serious situations. The ending matches the book - not necessarily a "happy" ending but a satisfying one. Again, the BIG WARNING. I wore out several copies of this video tape before getting this on the first DVD available. Fox Lorber put out the DVD version. I was thrilled to have it on DVD. I was less thrilled when I saw what they did to the movie!! They literally cut off ALL FOUR EDGES of the movie, losing quite a lot of the picture. The special features are completely missing. There is a new DVD version out which is a two-pack of "The Three Musketeers" and "The Four Musketeers" that has the special features and has the full version of both movies without missing content. AVOID THE FOX LORBER VERSION and get the other one.
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