MovieChat Forums > The Four Musketeers (1975) Discussion > Incredible detail

Incredible detail

posted 9 years ago by opetke
2 replies | jump to latest

This movie is a work of art, not just for the story, the marvelous fight scenes, and the comedy...but also for the immense detail. Notice the complexity of Cardinal Richelieu's castle? Notice the bundled wick he used to light the candle's in it? Or the priest blessing the cannons firing on La Rochelle? The heard of goats running scared in front of the artillery line? How about the 100 or so extras behind the line and the pavilion...all for a six second shot to take you to La Rochelle? How about the quick scene where Aramis is getting his boots washed or Porthos is having his hair combed for lice?

It's these little moments that immerse you in the time and life of the Musketeers. More to the point, all these set pieces had to be located, leased, set up, and executed. The brilliant spectacle of mundane little details stands in sharp contrast more recent remakes, where sets are threadbare, costumes are surreptitiously cleaned between scenes, and no action that is not scripted takes place.

What are your favorite little details?

[–] pawtrax67 8 years ago

It only could have been done in the 1970's in Spain. Franco was still in charge. Some bribery and you got into all the old castles, villas, it was perfect for the movie. Spain also is a good replacement for old France. Finlay was the only cast member that physically didn't match the role. But his superior acting captured the vanity well enough to make up for it.
I have to say it would have been interesting to see if Finlay and Lee swapped roles.

There was so many wonderful little things that make the movie so enjoyable. Even the poor person getting their tooth pulled!

[–] heelmaster2000 8 years ago

Totally agree with you, OP. Though it wasn't as good as the first part.