I watched this movie over and over back in 1973... and when I saw PotC I thought.. this is almost as funny as the Queen's Diamonds!!
I hope Queen's diamonds will be made to DVD soon.. maybe all three as a boxed set!!
Sir Paulus Maulus: Knight of the Rolling Thunder
THE THREE MUSKETEERS (aka THE QUEEN'S DIAMONDS) and THE FOUR MUSKETEERS (aka MILADY'S REVENGE) have twice been issued to DVD. First by Fox/Lorber, in an overpriced release in which THE THREE was missing several minutes of film throughout, and THE FOUR, although in English, used a print with French title and credits. A much better buy is the more recent reissue, THE COMPLETE MUSKETEERS, put out by Anchor Bay. Great transfers of both THE THREE & FOUR MUSKETEERS, new featurettes with cast & crew on the making of the films, production notes, etc., very reasonably priced. (Some stores stock this under Action, others under Comedy) So far, RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS is still only available on VHS from Universal.
shareAWESOME!! Thanks for the info... I have a birthday coming up and I know what will be on MY wish list!!
Sir Paulus Maulus~~Knight of the Rolling Thunder
Happy Birthday! (Musketeer boxed set not included!) You might want to also check out THE REVENGE OF THE MUSKETEERS, starring Sophie Marceau (the bad girl from the James Bond film THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH) who stars as "D'Artagnan's Daughter" (the film's original French title.) This is available on DVD and VHS from Miramax/Buena Vista. Not quite up there with THE THREE and THE FOUR MUSKETEERS, but well worth a look. D'artagnan's daughter, who was raised in a monestary, manages to escape with her life when the convent is attacked. Almost immediately caught up in court conspiracy, she finds herself caught up in a series of adventures and her father finds himself and his companions of days gone by forced out of retirement to come to her aid. (And we find, even back then, there was a Generation Gap.)
shareLoved both 3 and 4, any recommendations of films that are along these lines?
shareThese movies are my favorites! It's difficult to find anything like them.
One favorite of mine is "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" because it is funny, a bit slap-sticky and is a period piece, though not the same period.
Heck, I don't know--we need more movies like the Three Musketeers! What else did Dumas write?
The Count of Monte Cristo with Jim Caveizel & Guy Pierce is really good, imho.
Same mix of swordplay, intrigue and humor, though not as much humor as Lester would have put into it! And "The Princess Bride"....
actually I liked the version starring Gerard Depardieu better, but I guess that's just a matter of opinion. :-)
"Georges" is also a great Dumas book, quite a bit like "The Count of Monte Cristo" but far less famous. I'm reading it at the moment. :-)
I LOVED both the three and the four, btw. I watched both of the movies today, and looked up Porthos because he was my favourite. Turns out the actor who played him (Frank Finlay) went to the same drama school I plan to go to myself!!
I was really disappointed that the Depardieu "Count of Monte Cristo" cut short so much of his imprisonment and interaction with his mentor, the Abbe Faria. My favorite "Count" is still Richard Chamberlain. The ruthlessness portrayed in this version is sublime!
Additional good period films and/or swashbucklers: Dangerous Beauty, The Duelists, Sword and the Rose, (The Errol Flynn classics -The Sea Hawk - Captain Blood - The Adventures of Robin Hood, the Ivanhoe A&E miniseries, Cyrano deBergerac with Jose Ferer, The Prisoner of Zenda (both Ronald Colman and Stuart Granger versions).
I don't remember three and four, but i love the first two. Amazing memorable films from my childhood.
I first saw these films when I was in high school in '73, and they have remained in my top 25 all these years. The actors playing the Musketeers looked so handsome and elegant, but you still had Lester's rollicking slapstick and sly humor. If anything, I enjoyed Spike Mulligan's and Roy Kinnear's performances as much as the leads.
As for other films like this; I always liked Robin and Marian, though it is a little sadder and slower than the Musketeer films, but still a great story and wonderful cast.
Yeah, great film...
As for similar Dumas-based films, I'll gladly second the suggestion of "La Fille de D'Artagnan". Good fun, Sophie Marceau is rather charming, it pulls off that aging hero-bit nicely, and offers a lot of good-natured laughs at the expense of the genre itself.
Other than that I've seen "La Reine Margot", which was very good if completely different in style. It's much darker; a story about political intrigue, assassinations and the infamous massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day.
And the Depardieu TV-mini-series of "The Count of Monte Christo", which I remember liking a lot.
As for what else Dumas' wrote... Several hundreds of novels. His list for "writing credit" on IMDb is 170 titles long, dating back to 1898. (!)
(Oh yeah, agree on "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" as well.)
I recommend ROYAL FLASH, again directed by Lester, with a screen play by George Macdonald Fraser, based on his own novel. It's very similar in attitude to the Musketeers films. Malcolm McDowell is Harry Flashman, a young, cowardly, and venal officer in Her Majesty's army in the middle to late 1800s, reluctantly pressed into service by Otto Bismark (a great Oliver Reed) to impersonate a prince that he (Flashman) resembles. Thrills and comedy ensue. The only problem is that ROYAL FLASH has never had a USA release except theatrically; sometimes you can find the English released transferred to NTSC on ebay.
sharei'll have to give that one a look.Love, Malcolm Mcdowell! I'm interested in the Flashman character, and the books. Read any? They sound good. There is an italian (I think) superhero flick with that title, but, I don't think it's the same thing.
shareSince nobody else has mentioned it I will recommend LE BOSSU (AKA On Guard).
And don't forget the classic SCARAMOUCHE with Stewart Granger!
With all the accolades and awards this series recieved, it's sad how it's overshadowed by that wretched nities tripe! Sorry but I don't Buy Charlie Sheen as a musketeer. The costumes were ridiculous looking, they looked like they were fresh from a cheap costume rental whereas the attire in the Lester one looked more authentic. They had the elegant clothing but the actors looked unclean the nineties everyone looked like they bathed regularly and had clean teeth, and the scenery in Lester's film was superb, compared to the slicker nineties one. In that, The sets looked cheap.
shareSomeone mentioned the Flashman books of G.M. Fraser. They are superb. Fraser also wrote a spoof of pirates called, appropriately enough, "The Pyrates." Find these books if you love 3 & 4 Musketeers. They are great!!
sharei recommend you to watch both "The Man in Iron Mask" and "The Count of Monte Cristo" both starring Richard Chamberlain made back in the 70's, they were more serious in tone movies, but very good. Chamberlain was a terrific actor, he was kinda underused in "Three Musketeers" (he works more as a background character,'cos Ollie Reed took the lead and Finlay stole all the show).
shareIn terms of adherence to the novel, historical details ie costumes, this one is my most favorite. Along with its 1974 second part.
I loved it too. I went to see it at the cinema at least three times in 1974, perhaps four.
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