The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers

This pair of films is almost certainly the finest film version not only of The Three Musketeers, but of any of Dumas' novels. While it may not be truly "great," it is superbly made and one (or rather two) of the most enjoyable films I have ever seen. Under Richard Lester's direction, it is a light-hearted adventure story, but with enough genuine edge for those who demand some dramatic tension.George MacDonald Fraser's screenplay (full of clever, sharp dialogue) sticks much closer to the Dumas original than do other adaptations of The Three Musketeers, most of which transform the story into a standard good guys vs. bad guys plot with little more substance than the average B-Western (e.g., the more recent, one-step-above-awful Sutherland/Sheen/O'Donnell version). The Lester/Fraser version is essentially about four friends trying to survive and be true to each other (and, oh yes, to enjoy life along the way) while getting caught up in the neverending intrigues of the court of Louis XIII of France. The Musketeers are not conventional heroes, and with the partial exception of Milady, their opponents are not conventional villains.Besides superb direction and a great script, these films have a fantastic cast. All of the Musketeers come across as sharply drawn individuals. Michael York is a very suitably naïve, impetuous D'Artagnan. Richard Chamberlain makes a perfectly suave and sophisticated Aramis, the future priest, and his foil Porthos is brought to boastful but good-hearted life by Frank Finlay. Best of all is Oliver Reed's melancholy Athos, who gives the film some of the "edge" I spoke of above.Two other cast members give performances as good as anything they have ever done. Charlton Heston is a tremendous Cardinal Richelieu, subtle, intelligent, ever-scheming, but capable of taking a temporary setback with good grace. Raquel Welch may have given the finest performance of her career as D'Artagnan's lady-love, Constance, the queen's lovely but accident-prone dressmaker.Richelieu is ably served by Christopher Lee as a rugged, dangerous Rochefort and by Faye Dunaway as a ruthless Milady. The intelligent actor Jean-Pierre Cassel portrays the near-idiot Louis XIII very well, while Geraldine Chaplin succeeds in winning some of our sympathy for the selfish and spoiled Anne of Austria, his queen. Rounding out this impressive case are Roy Kinnear as Planchet, D'Artagnan's servant, Spike Milligan as Constance's husband, and Simon Ward as the Duke of Buckingham.One of the best things about this pair of films is the quality of the fight scenes. They combine a high level of excitement with a very realistic feel. One noteworthy touch is that each of the Musketeers shows an individual fighting style--e.g., D'Artagnan is a whirlwind of speed, while the older Athos fights more of a battle of attrition, wearing his opponent down. Another plus is that each fight scene has its own clear identity--they never seem repetitive.Like the fight scenes, the overall look of the film seems authentic. I am no expert on 17th century France to truly judge, but the sets and costumes give a great appearance of realism. Each film has a separate score, the first by Michel Legrand (with a bit borrowed from Giuseppe Verdi), the second by Lalo Schifrin. Both are quite effective.The DVD offers the choice of either the full-screen or wide-screen versions. Even on a modest sized 20-inch TV, I preferred the latter. The primary extra is a featurette titled "The Saga of the Musketeers." Appropriately, given that the originally intended one film was split into two features, the featurette is split into two parts, one on each disc. It is very good, with interviews with co-producer Ilya Salkind and several cast members-York, Welch, Finlay, Heston and Lee, as I recall. One nice element is a sort of "in memoriam" segment saluting cast members Oliver Reed, Roy Kinnear and Spike Milligan, all of whom died before the release of the DVD.For some 40 years, from classics like "The Prisoner of Zenda" and "The Sea Hawk" down through John Huston's "The Man Who Would Be King," Hollywood turned out great adventure films that had more to offer than just special effects and slam-bang action set-pieces. Although the Salkind Musketeers films were not Hollywood productions, they are worthy to stand among the very best films in that tradition.

Anchor Bay deserves a great deal of credit for this informative and entertaining double feature of the two classic Musketeer films from the early 1970s. Originally planned as one long epic movie (including a then standard intermission in the middle) the decision was made at some point during the production of THE THREE MUSKETEERS that they would either have one four hour movie or two separate movies. Rather than cut out some of the fantastic scenes that had been shot to make the movie more manageable the production company made the more sensible decision to cut the production in two releasing THE THREE MUSKETEER' one year and then THE FOUR MUSKETEERS shortly after. Not everyone involved in the production of the movie was happy about the decision. Actress Faye Dunaway publicly stated that (had she known about the splitting of the movie into two) she would have refused to do it since her role in the first was so small. The move led to some litigation and was eventually settled but today movie contracts include what is termed "The Salkind Clause" (named after the Salkind's who produced the MUSKETEER movies) to protect actors from such moves. It is perhaps for this reason that Faye Dunaway is one of the only still living members of the main cast who does not appear on camera for the excellent hour-long documentary THE SAGA OF THE MUSLETEERS that Anchor Bay has put together for this release. Perhaps a deliberate reflection of the movie (or perhaps simply due to limited space on the DVDs) the documentary is split into two half-hour parts on each disc. Recounting their memories of the production are actors Charlton Heston, Raquel Welch, Michael York, Frank Finlay and Christopher Lee who cover nearly every aspect of the production from their casting to some of the close calls and injuries the actors sustained performing their own stunts and swordflighting with real, very lethal swords. Lee, himself an expert swordsman, had to remind a rather over enthusiatic Oliver Reed (who abandoned the staged moves for a fight for some more improvised swings) that it was "only a movie." Also on camera for interviews are producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler (who would both go on to produce SUPERMAN) who discuss not only the actual production of the movies but also where the initial idea came from and the recruiting of Director Richard Lester. Salkind recounts how Lester initially turned down the invitation to direct the movie, referring to it as "a children's book" (as it was seen at the time). It was not until Salkind actually sent him a copy of the actual Alexandre Dumas novel that Lester became excited by the prospect of directing the adaptation. With a screenplay by George MacDonald Fraser (of the FLASHMAN novels and later of 1983's OCTOPUSSY) these two movies work remarkably well. Even though there are some surprising stylistic differences (surprising since it was originally meant as one movie). The first movie is definitely more comic in tone and the second darker and more dramatic. This is not to say the second movie is lacking in humor - just witness the Musketeers eating lunch as the prefer for battle with the Protestants. Of the two I actually prefer the second movie much more because I feel the characters are more drawn out and the intrigue more involving, The climatic sword fight and Oliver Reed-Faye Dunaway subplot are both highlights in my opinion. The second movie also features the shocking deaths of two of the more likeable major characters. Overall, a fantastic job by Anchor Bay. One can only hope that the third movie in the series, 1989's THE RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS which was also directed by Richard Lester and included the majority of the original cast, will one day be released on DVD. Well recommended.

A costume adventure as comedy, a subgenre that was popular in the early 50s ("Crimson Pirate", "Prince Who Was A Thief" and others). This stewpot of intrigue, adventure, romance, swordplay and slapstick is perfectly blended into a delightful movie, equally exciting and funny. The terrific cast performs even better than might be expected. Except for the setting and costumes, no effort is made to play parts as French — it's all very British (indeed, some of the spoken humor is so English it may be missed outside the UK). Filmed as one movie, as true to Dumas as any other version, it's ceaselessly entertaining. The extras for the (US) Anchor Bay edition which I am reviewing include 50 minutes of illuminating interview excerpts with York, Heston, Welch, Finlay and Suskind.

Was keen to rewatch these movies mainly because of the celebrity casts. They have become quite dated though and general quality as movies leaves a lot to be desired. Spike Milligan married to Raquel Welsh is still classic though.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS + THE FOUR MUSKETEERS [1973 / 1974 / 2011] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] One for All and One for Fun! What Could Be Better Than The Three Musketeers! Now That's What I Call Swashbuckling!Here we have a Double bill featuring two popular comedy films directed by Richard Lester. In ‘THE THREE MUSKETEERS' [1973] it is set in the 17th Century Paris, when a young naïve D’Artagnan leaves home to seek his fortune as a swordsman. He soon makes friends with the three musketeers: world-weary Athos, comically arrogant Porthos and chivalric Aramis. Their enemy is aristocratic schemer Cardinal Richelieu, who plots to prove the infidelity of the Queen to King Louis XIII to increase his power.In ' THE FOUR MUSKETEERS' [1974] with D’Artagnan officially enrolled in the king’s service, his army besieges the rebels at La Rochelle and Cardinal Richelieu is determined to prevent any meddling by the English before the city falls. He dispatches Milady de Winter to London with orders to assassinate Buckingham. But she has a price – carte blanche to dispose D’Artagnan and “the slut Bonacieux” as she sees fit. Our heroes, in-between dodging musket balls at La Rochelle, must once again outwit the Cardinal Richelieu’s henchmen to save the day.From Director Richard Lester and featuring a stellar cast Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch and Christopher Lee 'The Three Musketeers' and 'The Four Musketeers' are faithful adaptions of Alexandre Dumas' classic novel, with belly laughs a-plenty and endless swashbuckling.FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: The Three Musketeers: 1975 Golden Globes®: Win: Best Actress in a Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical for Raquel Welch. Nominated: Best Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical. 1975 BAFTA® Awards: Nominated: Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music for Michel Legrand. Nominated: Best Art Direction for Brian Eatwell. Nominated: Best Cinematography for David Watkin. Nominated: Best Costume Design for Yvonne Blake. Nominated: Best Film Editing for John Victor-Smith. 1975 Evening Standard British Film Awards: Win: Best Comedy for Richard Lester. 1975 Grammy Awards: Nominated: Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture for Michel Legrand. 1975: Writers' Guild of Great Britain: Win: Best British Comedy Screenplay for George MacDonald Fraser.FILM FACT No.2: Awards and Nominations: The Four Musketeers: 48th Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Costume Design for Yvonne Blake and Ron Talsky. 1976 BAFTA® Awards: Nominated: Best Costume Design for Yvonne Blake. 1976 Evening Standard British Film Awards: Win: Best Comedy for Richard Lester.FILM FACT No.3: According to George MacDonald Fraser, Richard Lester became involved with the project when the producers briefly considered casting The Beatles as the Musketeers, as Richard Lester had directed two films with the group. The Beatles idea fell by the wayside but Richard Lester stayed. In late 1972 he hired George MacDonald Fraser to write the scripts, saying he wanted to make a four-hour film and cast Richard Chamberlain as Aramis. It was later decided to turn the script into two films. ‘The Three Musketeers’ was shot by David Watkins, with an eye for period detail. The fight scenes were choreographed by master swordsman William Hobbs. On 19th September 1988, Roy Kinnear fell from a horse during the making of 'The Four Musketeers' in Toledo, Spain, and sustained a broken pelvis and internal bleeding. Roy Kinnear was taken to hospital in Madrid but died the next day from a heart attack, brought on by his injuries. Roy Kinnear was 54 years old. Roy Kinnear is buried in East Sheen Cemetery, which is also known as Sheen, and is a suburb of London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.The Three Musketeers Cast: Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain, Michael York, Frank Finlay, Christopher Lee, Geraldine Chaplin, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Spike Milligan, Roy Kinnear, Georges Wilson, Simon Ward, Faye Dunaway, Charlton Heston, Joss Ackland, Nicole Calfan, Michael Gothard, Sybil Danning, Gitty Djamal, Ángel del Pozo, Rodney Bewes, Ben Aris, William Hobbs, Gretchen Franklin, Francis De Wolff, Richard Briers (voice) (uncredited), Michael Hordern (voice) (uncredited) and Frank Thornton (uncredited)The Four Musketeers Cast: Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain, Michael York, Frank Finlay, Christopher Lee, Geraldine Chaplin, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Faye Dunaway, Roy Kinnear, Michael Gothard, Nicole Calfan, Ángel del Pozo, Eduardo Fajardo, Simon Ward, Charlton Heston, Sybil Danning, Gitty Djamal, Jack Watson, Bob Todd, Tom Buchanan, Leon Greene, Lucy Tiller, Norman Chappell, Richard Adams, Tyrone Cassidy, Joss Ackland (archive footage), Gretchen Franklin (archive footage) and Richard Briers (voice) (uncredited)Director: Richard LesterProducers: Alexander Salkind (uncredited), Ilya Salkind (uncredited) Michael Salkind (uncredited) and Wolfdieter von SteinScreenplay: George MacDonald Fraser (screenplay), Alexandre Dumas père (novel)Composers: Michel Legrand and Lalo SchifrinCinematography: David Watkin (Director of Photography)Video Resolution: 1080p [Technicolor]Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 [Panavision]Audio: English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, German: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Mono and Spanish: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio MonoSubtitles: Spanish, Danish, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish and JapaneseRunning Time: 214 minutesRegion: Region A/1 and Region B/2Number of discs: 2Studio: Optimum Releasing / StudioCanalAndrew’s Blu-ray Review: Every generation has its own screen adaptation of ‘The Three Musketeers.’ In 1921 there was Douglas Fairbanks as D'Artagnan. In 1939 the Alexandre Dumas novel became a musical comedy starring Don Ameche and the Ritz Brothers. An all-star cast including Gene Kelly, Lana Turner, June Allyson and Van Heflin brought the tale to life in 1948. And most recently, in 1993, the brat pack made their own ghastly atrocious Musketeer film with Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and Chris O'Donnell. So what does the 1973 version of ‘THE THREE MUSKETEERS’ have to recommend all you sword fighting swashbucklers out there?After many versions of the Alexander Dumas classic adventure, along comes ‘THE THREE MUSKETEERS’ and I was when I viewed the film for the first time extremely impressed by this particular adaption that has been divided the story over two films. The cast, comedy, adventure and quirky humour are somehow never at odds with the original story, using spectacular locations, lush cinematography, and historical accuracy. Alexandre Dumas père (novel) wove fact and fiction together around historical events and characters.Richard Lester also exploited some beautiful European locations for ‘THE THREE MUSKETEERS.’ More than fifty locations and one hundred sets were spread across Spain. The crew made use of small towns, like Salamanca, where the local magistrate said he collected enough fees off the film's production to feed even the poorest person in the town for a year. And they had access to several castles, such as the beautiful Arnjuez Palace, often called the Versailles of Spain. But despite the gorgeous scenery, the spring and summer weather in Spain was gruelling because of the intense heat. On one day of shooting at Arnjuez, especially the scene where D'Artagnan is inducted into the Musketeers, the temperature reached 122 degrees Fahrenheit. A reported 7000 bottles of water were said to be consumed by the large cast and crew necessary for the elaborate scene. The sets for ‘THE THREE MUSKETEERS’ were also closed and the European press didn't like it one bit. But Richard Lester was concerned about having his ideas stolen as four other adaptations of the Alexander Dumas classic were also in production at the time that consisted of two Italian, one French and one animated film.While the photography is not as dark and candlelit realism as other previous films of this type of calibre, despite this, the lighting still evokes the period of time long before electricity became available, but with the slightly more romantic look of a Dutch master painting. Together with the astonishing costumes and palaces on display, this these two films definitely deserves getting this new digitally restored Blu-ray release. The two films were popular hits and was perfect at the time for the British summer of 1974 and 1975, and beyond.Both films raised the benchmark for realism by adding blood and exhaustion to the swordfights. Some are played for laughs, but you always knowing that the swords and sabres are deadly weapons and that the bloody wounds really hurt. Here, all the history is kept quirky because of the well-researched screenplay by George MacDonald Fraser, author of the still-cherished “Flashman” books and they too inspired a lavish location-rich film calibre starring Alan Bates and Malcolm McDowell, in the film ‘Royal Flash’ [1975]. George MacDonald Fraser also wrote a cutting book rounding up Hollywood's greatest historical inaccuracies.The cast of actors in these two Musketeer films is an impressive mixture of European, British and American stars, and all are totally convincingly cast. Watching it now on this double Blu-ray disc release and especially in an 1080p digitally encoded image for the first time, it was very apparent that the entire dialogue track had been re-recorded afterwards and especially being “looped.” Even at the time, we could tell that some of the extras had had humorous dialogue added in later, such as the sedan chair carriers complaining about Faye Dunaway, and saying, "She's put on weight..." and passers-by commenting on Raquel Welch running around the streets in her nightgown at night, and saying, "Put some clothes on, you saucy bitch!" Also Jean-Pierre Cassel [Vincent Cassel's dad] as the confused French King appears to be performing in English but sounds more like the British actor Richard Briers.Producers, Alexander Salkind and Michael Salkind brothers, made news by filming ‘THE THREE MUSKETEERS’ and ‘THE FOUR MUSKETEERS’ back-to-back, with the cast under the impression it was going to be one long epic film. So despite the story being released as two films, all the actors only received one fee. Christopher Lee points out in his “Christopher Lee: The Authorised Screen History” that the small print mentioned they were being paid for a “project,” not a film. The producers tried the same manoeuvre five years later with the first two big-budget ‘Superman’ films, but this time less successfully and especially having director Richard Lester having to complete ‘Superman II’ after the production lost actor Gene Hackman and a stand-in is used in many scenes, and director Richard Donner who eventually released his own more serious version.Filming ‘THE THREE MUSKETEERS’ and ‘THE FOUR MUSKETEERS’ films were apparently an easier coup, but listening carefully it sounds to me like the American cast didn't return to loop their characters' voices. Charlton Heston, Faye Dunaway, Raquel Welch and Geraldine Chaplin do not sound like themselves in the film THE FOUR MUSKETEERS.’ While ‘THE THREE MUSKETEERS’ is an outright and very funny adventure with almost non-stop action, ‘THE FOUR MUSKETEERS’ has far more dramatic weight. No less brilliant, the many downbeat moments are worthy of any major historical drama of the time. While there's just as much action, initially I was slightly disappointed that it wasn't as funny, but it is still a joy to watch. But the shocks and dramatic turns still left a totally lasting impression. For both films to show such range, makes them definitely all-round entertainment for all ages, without compromising on the source material or characterisations.Each swordfight has a unique twist to keep them fresh, without being unbelievable. For example, set in a royal laundry, amongst a firework display, a convent, or even on ice, fight arranger William Hobbs sword fight choreograph is all totally impressively imaginative and later worked on Ridley Scott's ‘The Duellists,’ ‘Flash Gordon,’ John Boorman's ‘Excalibur’ and Terry Gilliam's ‘Brazil’ among many others. William Hobbs appears in the film and, like all the main cast, does his own sword fighting. Christopher Lee and Oliver Reed had previously crossed swords in previous Hammer Films. Despite good safe sword fighting practice in the Musketeer films, that didn't protect them both from suffering injuries, Oliver Reed for example even impaling his wrist on a blade.In both Musketeer films, they are definitely my favourite band of Musketeer actors. Michael York is well cast as an over-enthusiastic, floundering upstart. Frank Finlay is excellent comedy relief, both physically and verbally, and rarely so well used despite the relatively small part. Richard Chamberlain is distinctive as an effete ladies' man. But Oliver Reed gets to deliver his most sterling performance ever, somehow keeping his scenes deadly serious through most of the shenanigans, especially the heart-breaking showdowns in ‘THE FOUR MUSKETEERS.’ It is also rewarding to see Charlton Heston back in period costume, effortlessly menacing as a behind-the-scenes villain, though still a fleshed-out character, Cardinal Richelieu. Note how aged he appears to be, knowing that this is in-between his 'action man' roles of ‘The Omega Man’ and ‘Earthquake.’ Also seeing Charlton Heston in his brief sparring with Christopher Lee is very electric in his performance. An important role for Christopher Lee, as he tried hard to escape his “Dracula” typecasting, demonstrating that Christopher Lee can act with the best of them, swordfight like a professional, and effortlessly playing a very droll, romantic baddie with Faye Dunaway as his lover.Faye Dunaway is at the top of her game, underplaying the villainess Milady. While Cardinal Richelieu is the mastermind, the head of church trying to depose the King, Christopher Lee and Faye Dunaway's characters do the Cardinal Richelieu's very dirty work. Faye Dunaway's touching performance rounds off her character so much that it makes it hard to fully condemn her villainess performance.Raquel Welch plays the pivotal role of Constance the Queen's dressmaker as an accident-prone simpleton so well, that I initially thought Raquel Welch was indeed not all there. After seeing more of her films, I learned she was not just voluptuous but an excellent comedy actress. In Britain Raquel Welch was seen as the sexiest of Hollywood female stars at that time period and as luck would have it, Hollywood were keen to make films in the United Kingdom at the time, meaning Raquel Welch appeared in many British comedies at the time, spoofing her image of a sex goddess. Hence Raquel Welch played Lillian Lust in the film ‘Bedazzled’ offering two lumps with a cup of tea to Dudley Moore, and whipping half-naked slave girls in ‘The Magic Christian.’Roy Kinnear almost steals his scenes in ‘THE THREE MUSKETEERS’ as the hapless, maltreated sidekick Planchet, the workhorse of the many musketeers, often getting the last laugh in the comedy scenes. One of the biggest laughs in the first film is his character failing to steer his galloping horse around a tree. Although the gag is done by a stuntman, it is now no longer funny knowing that Roy Kinnear would have the serious and fatal accident and of course eventually passed away following a horse stunt during the filming of latter day sequel ‘The Return of the Musketeers’ [1989], which reunited many of the cast and crew from these two films, and again directed by Richard Lester.Richard Lester re-used many more British comedy actors from his time with “The Goons” BBC Radio comedy broadcasts and from The Beatles' films ‘A Hard Day's Night’ and ‘Help!,’ like Graham Stark and Bob Todd. But best of all, “The Goons” writer Spike Milligan shares scenes with Charlton Heston and in bed with Raquel Welch, who plays his wife! That's funny in itself, but Spike Milligan builds up his scenes, as well as showing great flair for more serious acting. While the first film maybe tries a little too hard to milk amusement out of every last onscreen character, there's little else to fault in these two wonderful gems.So all in all, ‘THE THREE MUSKETEERS’ and ‘THE FOUR MUSKETEERS’ are both rousing adventurous yarns brought to vivid life on the screen by the brilliant director Richard Lester. They are the true old fashioned Hollywood type entertainment that is timeless in their appeal. Rarely have any films so combined action with humour; and together, the two films make for the perfect Saturday matinee double-feature. The rest of the cast are all equally impressive, from Christopher Lee in the scene stealing role of Rochefort to Faye Dunaway’s scheming temptress Milady. Once again, a special mention for the costume design, which is truly magnificent throughout. So all in all both films are non-stop fun and because Richard Lester shot two pictures in one go, you get two films for the price of one. Much of the two films are played for the physical and the verbal comedy, as well as you feel everyone had a brilliant time filming both films and it is such a shame we do not get to see documentaries of behind-the scene filming or personal interviews, but despite this, both films are just so brilliant to watch and you will never get bored, as each film has its own merit and some people prefer one to the other, but to me personally I love both films, but I have to admit the first film has a slight edge over the second film, and because so much action is going on both films are well worth viewing several times.Blu-ray Video Quality – Optimum Releasing and StudioCanal brings you this Blu-ray double disc package with a 1080p encoded quality image and an equally impressive 1.78:1 aspect ratio and is not too bad given both film were release in 1973 and 1974, although the images can be slightly grainy at times and there is some dirt on the print. The picture doesn`t have a great deal of detail, particularly on long outdoor shots, and in some cases there is a slight halo effect on distant buildings. As far as the visuals go, the film is quite well made, with large sets and good use of location and everything on offer looks reasonably authentic for the time period settings. The relatively good news is that partial corrections to cover these limitations and make the film look sharper and smoother have not been applied. There are traces of filtering throughout the entire film, but they are clearly not as damaging as they could have been. The most sever examples are during the majority of the panoramic daylight scenes where detail and contrast have clearly been affected. Many of the close-ups, however, are quite easy to view and the colour reproduction is also very decent. Overall, however, the colour scheme is certainly so much more satisfying and much more superior than it was on the release of the inferior Anchor Bay DVD release.Blu-ray Audio Quality – Optimum Releasing and StudioCanal brings you this Blu-ray double disc package with a 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Mono sound experience, and therefore doesn`t offer much in the way of audio aural excitement, although the dialogue is always clear and understandable. The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track on both Blu-ray discs are quite good and with some of the more elaborate action scenes in the film have clearly benefited with the audio boasts that familiar crispness and fluidity all good audio tracks deliver. Similarly, the sound effects and music on both Blu-ray discs are very exciting, especially composed by the brilliant genius of Michel Legrand and Lalo Schifrin, they are well produced and don`t detract from the film.Finally, with this Optimum Releasing and StudioCanal Blu-ray double disc release package, which can also be purchased as two separate Blu-ray discs if you prefer. Despite having no extra special features, but I am very happy to report that these Blu-ray double disc release package is such a great presentation. Sadly many of the cast are not around these days, but Richard Lester is, and it would have been a great opportunity to get some recollections on the making of such two epic swash buckling film epics, and with these oddball pair of films we could of at least had some kind of audio commentary if not a full documentary. Alas, it seems that these films are never to receive the respect of being remastered which they deserve this totally unique, eccentric and brilliant energetic missing link between the great Hollywood epics of the 1950s and 1960s and the huge Hollywood blockbusters we have had since. The lush soundtracks that were composed by Michel Legrand and Lalo Schifrin are respectively both available on a brilliant Compact Disc release, so all in all a definite must purchase, especially if you are a fan of both films, like me, and well worth adding to your Blu-ray Collection. Highly Recommended!Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film AficionadoLe Cinema ParadisoUnited Kingdom

Simply the best film versions of Alexander Dumas's Musketeer novels. The whole cast, locations, direction and production is nigh on perfect. Ironically it helped that the cast and crew were lied to by the film company as they thought they were just making one movie, when in fact they were making two!Once that had become established on release of the first 'The Three Musketeers ', litigation followed, however it explains the wonderful consistency that exists between both films.Another point to make is that the fight scenes were choreographed by a trained swordsman. This means the fencing looks authentic and realistic, the characters getting exhausted and resorting to physical blows, there's none of the endless 'Erroll Flynn', cartoon sword play here!.The first film is an absolute joy, mixing humour and action with breathless aplomb, carrying the viewer along with the sheer exuberance of the story.The second film is darker due to its subject matter, but as for reasons I stated above, it's a seamless sequel to the first.The Blue Ray version means an excellent picture and much improved sound helping in many important scenes.I simply cannot recommend these films and this blue ray release highly enough. Forget the later 'plodding' Hollywood versions, if you want true swashbuckling, humour and films that actually portray Dumas's vision, then buy this disc.All for One and One for All!

There have been many film accounts of Dumas's musketeer novels, but these two films must surely rank as the best, and it is very hard to see how they could really be bettered.For a start the cast is uniformly excellent. Names like the much missed Oliver Reed really speak for themselves, but there is also some particularly good character acting; Charlton Heston's Richelieu for example is superb, and exactly captures the deeply ambivalent character portrayed by Dumas. More recent attempts to paint him as some kind of Bond villain - Cardinal Blofeld? - are simply ghastly.And there is the lively and entertaining script, which is always engaging and often romantic without ever being mawkish or sentimental. One of the peculiar delights of these two films is the continual undercurrent of odd little asides, quite often from minor characters like beggars or workmen, that so often bring a smile to your face.The sets and locations too are well chosen. Perhaps Spain is not entirely ideal as seventeenth century France, but what it lacks in greenery is more than made up for by some marvellous buildings and intriguing Heath Robinson technology, which often form the background for some splendid set piece scenes.Perhaps what makes these films stand head and shoulders above the rest, which seem leaden and gruesome by comparison, is Lester's light touch, which has resulted in two films that always radiate good humour, even when it comes - as it often does - with a steely edge.There are really too many memorable scenes and lines to discuss here - the best thing to do is to buy these splendid films while you can and enjoy them.