Two versions for THE FOUR


For some reason, there are two versions of this film. The difference is a slight change in the opening narration of the film. One version of the film has Frank Finlay's character of Porthos recapping the events of the previous film for the audience. The other version has Richard Chamberlain as Aramis doing the honors. I've seen both versions on a number of occasions, but can't seem to find anyone who knows why? (My initial thought was that maybe each of the musketeers did an opening, but it seems only Finlay and Chamberlain did the opening voice-overs. I once put the question to Christopher Lee, and he was not aware that there had been more than one voice-over ever recorded.)

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Hello. In response to your query about "The Four Musketeers" : two narrations were indeed used for two different markets. According to a (long out of print) study of Richard Lester's movies, the producer, Alexander Salkind, thought that the narration with Frank Finlay used in the British prints would not appeal to American audiences. Finlay was largely unknown in America and so Richard Chamberlain was brought in to re-record the movie's narration for the American market. Chamberlain was well known in the States as a romantic leading man in t.v shows and t.v movies, and as a recognisable character actor in some fairly big budget big screen movies (The Towering Inferno etc). The American prints therefore use his voice-over for purely commercial reasons. The version usually shown in Britain is naturally the Finlay narrated version but the Chamberlain version does occasionally get screened in other English speaking countries. I hope this answers your question.

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The video version I have has Finlay's narration; does anyone know if the Chamberlain version is available on video or DVD?

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It may have been available on the first VHS issue some 20 years back, but I dont' know for certain. I vaguely-vaguely remember Chamberlain's narration.

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I think the Chamberlain version may have been used for the network TV airings, although for all I know that may have been a totally different edit as was common during the 70s. I recall these films mostly for their airings on TV in the mid to late 70s when they seemed especially popular, perhaps moreso than when originally shown in the theaters.

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Both THREE and FOUR MUSKETEERS had been quite popular pictures in their American theatrical releases in 1974-75, so they didn't just develop an audience once they reached TV. Also, the U.S. film prints all used the Chamberlain narration right after the credit sequence (as does the 16mm print from 1975 which is in my own collection).

Most great films deserve a more appreciative audience than they get.

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