The Three Musketeers (1973)
The young D'Artagnan arrives in Paris with dreams of becoming a King's musketeer. He meets and quarrels with three men, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, each of whom challenges him to a duel. D'Artagnan finds out they are musketeers and is invited to join them in their efforts to oppose Cardinal Richelieu, who wishes to increase his already considerable power over the King. D'Artagnan must also juggle affairs with the charming Constance Bonancieux and the passionate Lady De Winter, a secret agent for the Cardinal.
- Richard Lester
- Alain Walker
- Patricio Beltran Aparicio
- Clive Reed
- Dusty Symonds
- Ann Skinner
- Alexandre Dumas
- George MacDonald Fraser
Rating: 6.8/10 by 295 users
Alternative Title:
Los tres mosqueteros: Los diamantes de la reina - ES
Ο Ντ'Αρτανιάν και οι 3 σωματοφύλακες - GR
Os Três Mosqueteiros - BR
De Drie Musketeers - NL
De tre musketörerna - SE
A három testőr - A királyné nyaklánca - HU
Country:
Spain
United Kingdom
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 46 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $22,018,000
Plot Keyword: france, paris, france, based on novel or book, swordplay, fight, satire, dressmaker, louis xiii, sword fight, swordsman, musketeer, extramarital affair, swashbuckler, diamond theft, sword duel, diamond necklace, cardinal, 17th century, queen jewels, queen anne, 1620s, swordsplay, swordsman/swordswoman supporting character
OK, so I never really did understand why Michael York succeeded, but here he makes for quite a decent "D'Artagnan". A country bumpkin who arrives in Paris determined to follow in his father's footsteps and join the king's musketeers. His first day is not auspicious, though. He ends up slated to fight three duels with "Athos" (Oliver Reed), "Porthos" (Frank Finlay) and 'Aramis" (Richard Chamberlain). Luckily the Cardinal's guard intervene and soon the four are "one for all....". "D'Artagnan" ends up lodging with the cowardly "Bonacieux" (Spike Milligan) and his unlikely bride "Constance" (Raquel Welch) who is a dressmaker to the Queen (Geraldine Chaplin) who is treading a dangerous line between her marriage to the King (Jean-Pierre Cassel) and her love of British Prime Minister, the Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward). None of this is unknown to the shrewd Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston) who uses his two stalwarts "Rochefort" (Christopher Lee) and "Milady" (Faye Dunaway) to lay a trap that will rid him of not just the Queen, but also discredit the musketeers and leave the king squarely in his pocket! Tongues are firmly in cheeks here as this enjoyable adventure picks up pace from the get-go and with loads of characterful contributions from Milligan, the long-suffering "Planchet" (Roy Kinnear) and, personally, the always good value Frank Finlay. There's loads of lighthearted comedy, some pithy dialogue and all-in-all everyone looks like they are having a good time swashing and buckling, manoeuvring, seducing, plotting, swilling copious amounts of wine and... Funnily enough, it's actually Heston who comes across more the Thespian amongst the cast - his being the more earnest role, but Reed and Lee are up for the lark, and I was too. Enjoyable stuff, this!