The Four Musketeers (film)
| The Four Musketeers | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Richard Lester |
| Produced by | Alexander Salkind Pierre Spengler Ilya Salkind Michael Salkind |
| Written by | George MacDonald Fraser |
| Based on | The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas père |
| Starring | Oliver Reed Charlton Heston Raquel Welch Faye Dunaway Richard Chamberlain Frank Finlay Michael York Christopher Lee |
| Music by | Lalo Schifrin |
| Cinematography | David Watkin |
| Editing by | John Victor Smith |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | October 31, 1974 (West Germany) September 1, 1975 (United Kingdom) |
| Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | Panama Spain United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Four Musketeers is a 1974 Richard Lester film that follows upon his film of the year before, The Three Musketeers, and covers the second half of Dumas' novel The Three Musketeers. Fifteen years later, the cast and crew returned to film The Return of the Musketeers, loosely based on Dumas' Twenty Years After.
During post production on The Three Musketeers, the producers realized that there was enough footage for two films and created The Four Musketeers. Most of the actors were incensed that their work on the long shoot was used to make an entirely separate film. All SAG actors' contracts now have what is known as the "Salkind clause", which stipulates how many films are being made.[1][2]
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[edit] Plot
During a war between France and the Protestant rebels of La Rochelle, Cardinal Richelieu orders Count de Rochefort to kidnap Constance de Bonancieux. The evil Milady de Winter, who wants revenge on d'Artagnan, seduces him to keep him occupied. He soon discovers her true nature, however, and that she was once in love with Athos, who had supposedly killed her however, after realizing what she was, a criminal.
Athos, Porthos, and Aramis rescue Constance from her imprisonment in San Cleux and take her to safety in the convent of Armentieres. Milady sends d'Artagnan poisoned wine along with a note to trick him into thinking that the other musketeers got drunk and imprisoned by a marshal. As he goes to bail them out, he is attacked by Rochefort and his men. Athos, Porthos, and Aramis join the fight, at the end of which Rochefort runs away and one of his men is captured and tortured for information, revealing that Richelieu is going to the Dove Cot Inn, before he drinks the poisoned wine and dies, revealing the trap Milady set for d'Artagnan. Athos spies on Richelieu as the cardinal gives Milady the order to persuade the Duke of Buckingham not to send a relieve force to aid the rebels, threatening him with the secret of his love affair with the queen, and to kill him if he does not comply. In return, Milady asks for a death warrant so she can kill d'Artagnan and Constance, and he reluctantly signs one, wording it in a way so that it does not leave any evidence against him.
However, Athos takes the death warrant from de Winter and later tells d'Artagnan of the dastardly plot. d'Artagnan sends out his servant Planchet to warn the Duke. In England, Milady asks Buckingham not to help the rebels, but he refuses, so Milady tries to assassinate him, but is captured. Buckingham's servant Felton locks her away in a tower, but she seduces him and convinces him that Buckingham is his enemy. Felton helps her escape and return to France, and then kills Buckingham before Planchet can warn him. It is not long before La Rochelle surrenders.
Now bent on killing d'Artagnan and Constance, Rochefort and Milady occupy the convent at Armentieres, and battle the four musketeers when they arrive. While Rochefort and his men hold the musketeers at bay, Milady strangles Constance before being captured by Athos. d'Artagnan duels Rochefort to the death and spears him in the chest, killing him. Milady is sentenced to death by beheading by the four musketeers, and they hire an executioner to carry out the punishment. Right afterwards, they are arrested by the cardinal's guards.
Richelieu charges d'Artagnan for killing his two most valuable servants, but d'Artagnan shows him the signed death warrant, which (due to its unclear wording) fully legitimizes d'Artagnan's actions. Utterly defeated and quite impressed at d'Artagnan's achievement, the cardinal gives him a commission for either him or one of his three friends to become an officer. Athos, Porthos, and Aramis turn it down, so d'Artagnan is now promoted to lieutenant of the musketeers.
[edit] Cast
- Michael York as d'Artagnan
- Oliver Reed as Athos
- Frank Finlay as Porthos
- Richard Chamberlain as Aramis
- Jean-Pierre Cassel as (King) Louis XIII
- Geraldine Chaplin as (Queen) Anne of Austria
- Charlton Heston as Cardinal Richelieu
- Faye Dunaway as Milady de Winter
- Christopher Lee as the Count De Rochefort
- Raquel Welch as Constance Bonacieux
- Roy Kinnear as Planchet
- Michael Gothard as Felton
[edit] Reception
The movie was met with mostly positive reviews.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Russo, Tom (2004-04-09). "Franchise This". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,607128,00.html. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ Salmans, Sandra (1983-07-17). "FILM VIEW; THE SALKIND HEROES WEAR RED AND FLY HIGH". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/17/movies/film-view-the-salkind-heroes-wear-red-and-fly-high.html. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ "The Four Musketeers". Varety. 1974-12-31. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117791061.html?categoryid=31&cs=1. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
[edit] External links
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