Amazing portayal of 17th century life

larkspur

Richard Lester brings 17th century France to life within this wonderful satire of Alexandre Dumas' great novel, The Three Musketeers.  Originally shot to be a three and a half hour epic, then split into two movies released eight months apart, The Three Musketeers accurately captures the first half the story.  The acting is superb and the characters are brought to life by Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, Faye Dunaway, Raquel Welch, Charlton Heston, and Christopher Lee.  The fight choreography, developed by fight director William Hobbs, is well done, and entertaining.  But one of the more interesting side notes is the backgrounds to the main film depicting the royal and street life of France.  Not only is it well researched, it adds a dimension to the movie that is lacking in other versions.  The movie does an admirable job of recapturing the spirit of Duams' tale, and by separating the movies, the full story with all of its twists and intrigues is brought full Force.  I also recommend the sequel The Four Musketeers.  Highly enjoyable!

score 9/10

larkspur 25 April 1999

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0138751/