The Three Musketeers

Plot synopsis:
D'Artagnan (Michael York) and his father (Joss Ackland) engage in an exhausting sparring duel. The father shows his son a signature move, which ends with the point of the sword at his son's chest, and advises to use it in a fight only as a last resort. He gives the boy 15 crowns and a letter to the commander of the King's musketeers, then presents him a sword he and his own father used in the King's service. The young Gascon leaves home on a huge yellow workhorse with his few belongings and a salve his mother advises him to rub into any wounds, and he strikes out for Paris to take his place as a musketeer.As D'Artagnan arrives in Paris he comes upon Rochefort (Christopher Lee), a tall man with a patch over one eye, who makes an offhanded remark to some companions about the newcomer's horse. Anxious to fight at any opportunity, as his father suggested, the young Gascon challenges Rochefort, only to have his sword struck in two. He is knocked out as his new enemy goes to meet an approaching carriage. Rochefort greets the passenger inside--Milady DeWinter (Faye Dunaway)-- and tells her she must go to England to report on the Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward). The pair are spies for Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston). D'Artagnan again tries to pick a fight but ends up falling in the mud.Finding the musketeers' headquarters, D'Artagnan awaits an appointment with their commander M. Treville (Georges Wilson). As he makes his way through the indoor training ground, he sees Porthos (Frank Finlay) having his portrait done while Aramis (Richard Chamberlain) watches; outside Treville's office, Athos (Oliver Reed) has a shoulder wound attended to. Treville reads D'Artagnan's letter and asks to see the familiar sword, which D'Artagnan sheepishly produces; the commander knows the weapon, realizes what has happened and lets him borrow a new one. Unfortunately there is no place in the musketeers for him, Treville says, until he has established his reputation on campaign or in killing, but a place in the guard might be suited to him in the meantime. Suddenly D'Artagnan spots Rochefort outside and leaps from the window. . .only to be hoisted back up as he lands on a scaffold. Excusing himself to Treville, he hastily runs from the office and collides with Athos and his wounded shoulder. The musketeer says D'Artagnan needs a lesson in manners, and they agree to duel at the Carmelite Convent at 12:00. Hurrying downstairs to catch up with Rochefort, the Gascon knocks Porthos down, causing a wardrobe malfunction which embarrasses him, so they agree to duel at the Luxembourg at 1:00. Once outside, D'Artagnan mistakenly compromises a lady trying to get Aramis' attention, so the musketeer and intended priest decides to have the young man meet him at 2:00 to settle the matter with swords.At the convent, it turns out that D'Artagnan's other two appointments are with Athos' dueling seconds. Before the duel can begin, however, six of the Cardinal's guards appear and prepare to charge at the musketeers for dueling, which is against the law. D'Artagnan joins the outnumbered threesome, noting that he may not have a tunic, but has the heart of a musketeer. Together they make short order of the guards, and Athos has an opportunity to see that the Gascon is a good swordsman. The remaining two guards surrender, but not before Porthos finds that his hat has been cleaved in two and lifts twenty pistoles from a downed guard to pay the damages (and twenty more to teach them manners). Later Athos explains that the musketeer motto is "one for all, all for one," so each of them gets ten pistoles from the booty, which Athos suggests D'Artagnan use to get lodgings and a servant. He chooses Planchet (Roy Kinnear) for a servant, and takes dingy lodgings at two francs a day with the elderly M. Bonacieux (Spike Milligan) and his wife Constance (Raquel Welch), a clumsy but beautiful younger woman and the dressmaker to Queen Anne of Austria (Geraldine Chaplin).Porthos bets and loses all of their money, so the group enter a tavern; Porthos makes it a point to annoy Aramis and they start to duel, but when D'Artagnan tries to quell the swordplay, Athos pulls him back. The men are creating a distraction while they rustle some much-needed food and drink. D'Artagnan and Planchet soon get into the spirit, passing the pilfered food to Athos, who hides it under his cloak. When they depart, Athos throws a purse to the barkeep, which he secretly filled with salt, they make their escape and fill their bellies with the hard-won food.At the palace, the Cardinal arrives, and locals are paid to wave flags and cheer his coming, as he is despised by many for manipulating the power of the King (Jean-Pierre Cassel) to his own advantage. The King discusses the musketeers' fight with Richelieu's "ruffians," and is worried because the Duke of Buckingham has arrived in France and covets his wife Anne, but Richelieu assures him that she is faithful; in secret he has a plot he is about to set in motion.At night Rochefort and his men break into M. Bonacieux's home while he is in bed with Constance, and prepare to take the couple to the Bastille, but Constance fumbles her way free and returns home and into D'Artagnan's arms. Later she leaves, saying she has to stop somewhere before she continues to the palace and the Queen, and makes him promise not to follow her, but he worries about her safety and trails after her from a distance to discover her meeting with another man. He challenges the interloper, then finds out it is the Duke of Buckingham himself. He helps escort the Duke and Constance to the palace laundry where Buckingham meets with Anne and begs her for a token he can hold until they can be together for good. She gives him a necklace containing twelve diamond studs. Suddenly guards appear and the Duke is outnumbered and in danger of being discovered, but D'Artagnan assists and Planchet brings the other musketeers as well, and they defeat the guards while the Duke makes his escape.At the Bastille, the Cardinal meets with Bonacieux and accuses him of treachery, then upbraids Rochefort for failing to hold onto Constance; Rochefort tells the Cardinal that Anne has given the diamond studs to Buckingham. The Cardinal releases Bonacieux, befriending him with a gift of 100 pistoles to get him to spy on his own wife. At an outing, the Cardinal mentions to the King that he wants to see the queen dance, and they plan a ball in her honor in two weeks' time. Richelieu suggests to the King that she should wear the diamond studs, and he approaches Anne with the request. The Cardinal later gives him a box with two diamond studs inside, and prompts him to count the studs when Anne wears the necklace and question her if they are all not there. He has sent Milady DeWinter to England and, in a tryst with Buckingham while he is wearing the token of Anne's affection, Milady has stolen the two studs the Cardinal has given the King. For the Queen to appear without them will cause her dishonor and may well cost Anne her life.Desperate to get the studs back, the Queen writes a letter to Buckingham and gives it to Constance, who is prepared to entrust it to her husband, but when he mentions that the Cardinal "took my hand and called me friend," she refuses to reveal more, so Bonacieux goes out to fetch Rochefort. D'Artagnan has been listening unseen, and volunteers to take the letter as he loves her and knows how to get to England. He locates the purse of 100 pistoles to use for the trip, but the pair are forced to quickly hide in a wardrobe when Bonacieux arrives with Rochefort and his men; after no trace of the pair is found, they leave. Constance faints and the wardrobe crashes to the ground. D'Artagnan breaks out of the wooden wardrobe, angered by the continued interference of the "inconvenient" Rochefort. Athos later tells the Gascon to avoid the man as he is a dangerous swordsman for the Cardinal. The trio of musketeers agree to help D'Artagnan get the letter to Buckingham and ride out with the agreement that if one falls, the others continue on their way.At a tavern Porthos gets into an argument with a man and, as they duel it out, the others ride on. The man slices into the musketeer's outfit, drawing blood, and Porthos drops to the ground. Later Athos and Aramis are set upon by thieves; Aramis is held at gunpoint, and D'Artagnan and Planchet watch from a distance, shocked, as Athos is cut at the throat in a duel. They continue to the docks to board a ship for England, but have no pass. Rochefort has a signed pass to board, but needs the governor to countersign, so he takes the road to town. On Rochefort's return, D'Artagnan accosts him, and when they recognize each other they fight a rough duel in the dark. Rochefort is wounded by D'Artagnan but not killed, and the Gascon suffers scraped ribs. Planchet nabs the pass, and when the harbor master questions why there are two people with one pass, D'Artagnan notes that he is one person, and Planchet is a servant.An exhausted D'Artagnan arrives in England, having taken six days. Buckingham is ready to hand over the studs but suddenly realizes that two studs are missing and figures out that Milady took them. His jeweler O'Reilly (Frank Finlay) is able to perfectly reproduce the two studs, and Buckingham hands the packet over to D'Artagnan, asking how he can repay him. D'Artagnan notes that they are enemies, but Buckingham offers a handshake and a sword which he accepts. With Planchet at his heels, they manage to get to Paris before the ball starts. At the familiar location of one of his companions' duels, D'Artagnan jumps upon a fresh horse, cutting a rope attached to the pommel, not knowing that two of his fellow musketeers are using the horse to pull Athos out of a well he has fallen into. The musketeers are wounded but recuperating. They realize from the accident with the horse that D'Artagnan has returned successfully and head out to join him at the ball.The Queen arrives on the arm of the King, but she is wearing a pearl necklace and he demands she wear the diamond studs; stalling for time, she says she will send to the palace for them and departs to wait with her dressmaker in hope of being saved. When Constance looks out a balcony window, she upsets a pot of flowers and D'Artagnan immediately knows from the accident where to go; he creates a distraction with musicians and prematurely set-off fireworks, but is delayed in getting the studs to Constance when the guards appear. The musketeers soon arrive and with the help of Planchet, who infiltrated the ball in a polar bear costume, they manage to subdue the guards. D'Artagnan throws the packet with the studs up to Constance, but they are thrown into the wrong window. Milady picks it up, but Constance bursts in and the two women fight until D'Artagnan swings in to assist. Constance is able to nab the valuable packet.The Queen reappears at the ball and reveals the studs at her neck. After the King tries unsuccessfully to count them while dancing with his wife, he stops the music and reveals the box containing the two studs which the Cardinal had given him; she delightedly says she now has fourteen studs. Backpedaling, the Cardinal says he wanted to give the additional studs to her but could not bring himself to do so directly. Milady informs the Cardinal that D'Artagnan thwarted the plot, but the Cardinal says the game continues.At an elaborate ceremony, Treville announces that D'Artagnan has become a musketeer; his comrades put the tunic over his shoulders while the commander provides his musket. The Queen greets him and, when she offers her hand, she discreetly gives him a ring as thanks for saving her honor. Milady flirtatiously passes by the new musketeer as D'Artagnan, joined by Constance and his friends, head to new adventures, and they become the Four Musketeers.

Tags: comedy, violence, historical fiction, action, humor, historical

Review:
D'Artagnan grows with his experiences and becomes a leader of men by the end of the novel; one who has confounded Cardinal Richelieu at every turn and preserved the honor of his Queen and country.Oliver Reed was perfectly cast as Athos, the melancholy drunkard.
THE THREE MUSKETEERS, Richard Lester's comic take of the oft-filmed Dumas adventure story, is not only terrific escapist fare with a brilliant cast, but stands as the most faithful adaptation of the Musketeer saga.
The novel's hero, young master swordsman D'Artagnan (portrayed by Michael York at his most boyish), is clearly the product of an impoverished Gascon household, unable to read or write, but filled with dreams of heroism in the elite Musketeers, and "fighting frequent duels".
With a borrowed sword, he then blunders into a series of challenges from the three title characters, emotionally scarred alcoholic Athos (Oliver Reed), comic buffoon Porthos (Frank Finlay), and dandified ladies' man/priest wannabe Aramis (Richard Chamberlain).
When the Cardinal's Guard attempts to arrest the four as Athos and D'Artagnan begin their duel, the Gascon displays such extraordinary skill with a sword that he is happily welcomed into the band of rogues, who help him procure a servant (the wonderfully comic Roy Kinnear) and lodgings at the home of an old reprobate (Spike Milligan) and his beautiful, if klutzy young wife (Raquel Welch, in her finest comic role), who the boy immediately lusts after.
The four friends then embark on a series of hilarious, swashbuckling escapades.Meanwhile, intrigue runs rampant in the Court; the Queen (Geraldine Chaplin) carries on a clandestine affair with the British Prime Minister, the Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward), under the oblivious eye of her husband, Louis XIII (Jean-Pierre Cassel), while evil Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston, who is marvelous, 'against type') plots to publicly embarrass her, and reveal her involvement, thus provoking a war with England, and the elimination of France's Protestant faction.
This constitutes only the FIRST half of the novel and movie, and the filmmakers decided to end the picture at this point, releasing a sequel, THE FOUR MUSKETEERS, a year later, which would cover the darker remainder of the story.
Fortunately for us this version does not suffer that kind of revisionism.If you're a fan of Dumas or just looking for a fun film with lots of realistic sword fighting then you won't want to miss this..
Richard Lester should have been nominated for an Academy award for his direction of this masterpiece, numerous members of the cast (including Christopher Lee as Compte Rochefort, Charlton Heston as Cardinal Richelieu, Raquel Welch as Constance Bonaciuex, Spike Milligan as Monsieur Bonacieux, Roy Kinnear as Planchet, Simon Ward as the Duke of Buckingham, Faye Dunaway as Milady de Winter, and of course Jean-Pierre Cassel as Louis XIII) should have been nominated for some kind of award.
This combines with "sequel" THE FOUR MUSKETEERS, with the same cast and director, to form the perfect film version of a wonderful novel.
After seeing Guardians of the Galaxy and the new Ninja Turtles movies at the cinema recently, I had almost forgotten what it was like to have a comprehensible fight sequence.This 1973 version of The Three Musketeers is the best version of the story I have ever seen, even better than the over-praised Gene Kelly adaptation.
It's athletic, earthy, and light-hearted, paired with one of the most perfect casts ever brought together for a movie and Michel Legrand's amazing score which proves adventurous and heart-achingly romantic in equal turns.If you love action and comedy, then I cannot recommend this enough.
One of the finest ever screen adaptations of the Dumas Literary source, Its much better than the dreadful versions released beforehand.Our story starts with the eternally youthful Michael york,as our determined young hero,Leaving the homestead to embark on a trip to Paris to become a kings Musketeer (like his father) Little does he know he gets a lot more Than he Bargined for,when he has an encounter with the titular three Musketeer's.Who are played by Oliver Reed,as the often drunk Athos,Richard Chamberlain, as the not so saintly Aramis,And Frank Finlay, as the pompous Porthos, York, finds himself lodgings in the foul establishment of Spike Milligain,in an amusing cameo, He becomes romantically involved with the Beautiful yet clumsy constance,(Raquel Welch) who is dress maker to the queen (And wife to Spike Milligain!
Unknown to york, he becomes involved in a devious plot to Descredit the queen of France, This film is one of my favorites timeless upon every viewing, This film and its companion Piece the 4 musketeer's are one and the same, Originally envisioned as one three hour Long epic, the producer's Decided to Release it As two separate films, wise move but it Resulted in the cast bringing the producers to court.Not only does it have an exceptional cast, It also has some fine Production values.
The supporting cast is full of great actors, including Charlton Heston (having fun at being evil here), Christopher Lee (gets to mix deadpan humor in with his menace), Raquel Welch (cast as beautiful but clumsy, really enabling her to be a character and not just a live mannequin), Spike Milligan (doing what he does best), and most wonderfully Faye Dunaway (seductively evil: my favorite kind!).
And, of course, holding it all together as D'Artagnan is Michael York, who never found a greater role.Besides handling the shifts in tone well, Richard Lester also had the great rare luxury of breaking Dumas' large novel into two seperate movies which he filmed simultaneously.
He could not have chosen a finer cast of actors for his movie - Reed is superb as the quiet, thoughtful leader, Finlay is outlandish as Porthos, Chamberlain brings a flair to Aramis, and York seems completely immersed in D'Artangan.
Yet great casting aside, the movie would be nothing if Lester had not incorporated the reality of life at court during the Musketeers' time period - the laziness and sheer excess (dogs as chess pieces on the palace lawn, wine fountains, and palace games).
(Reed's fighting style is particularly all-out - he uses his entire body as a weapon.)  In short, this movie has completely replaced the Disney version for me - as has its "sequel," "The Four Musketeers" (a must-see if you want to get the whole story and watch Porthos find "a new way to disarm himself")..
Richard Lester brings 17th century France to life within this wonderful satire of Alexandre Dumas' great novel, The Three Musketeers.
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.
This delightful adaptation based on Alexandro Dumas classic novel starts with the youngster D'Artagnan (Michael York) who arrives in Paris to find Mister Treville(Georges Wilson), chief of Musketeers.
Furthermore , there is developed an intrigue between Luis XIII(Jean Pierre Cassel), Queen Anna of Austria(Geraldine Chaplin), Duke of Buckingham(Simon Ward) and of course the nasty Richelieu( Charlton Heston).This is an entertaining swashbuckling, full of action, adventures,romance comedy with tongue-in-cheek and broad slapdash and of course , lot of fence.
Fortunately the right ones, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay, and Richard Chamberlain all recognize York's worth and he becomes a companion of The Three Musketeers.
The King's own guard, fighting against the encroaching power of France's prime minister Cardinal Richelieu.Charlton Heston adds to his collection of real historical characters portrayed on film with his interpretation of Richelieu.
It's the history of the gascon D'Artagnan (Michael York), new musketeer that is earned, the trust of Athos (Oliver Reed), Porthos (Richard Chamberlain) and Aramis (Frank Finlay) and of the Queen of France (Geraldine Chaplin) for which it recovers the necklace given to her lover English Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward).
D'Artagnan and the musketeers makes to fail the plot for to compromise the Queen, giving let-down to Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston) and to perfidious Milady (Faye Dunaway).
Unconventional and amused adaptation of the novel of Dumas, signed from George MacDonald Fraser, that it stirs gag exited from the slapstick tradition (D'Artagnan passes under a tree: they jump twenty persons down and nobody succeeds to take it) to realistic notations able to destroy heroic mythology of the book of Dumas (not is a crash in which the duelists they respect the rules); the film was turned in Spain with to the successive "The Four musketeers-The Revenge of Milay" (exited but the following year).
The all-star cast is a very shining list of major stars of the 70's including Christopher Lee as grim Compte Rochefort, wonderful Raquel Welch as Constance Bonaciuex, Spike Milligan as her comic husband, Roy Kinnear as Planchet, Simon Ward as the Duke of Buckingham, Jean-Pierre Cassel as Louis XIII.
All the players gives the stunning performances especially Michael York as superb D'Artagnan, Oliver Reed as charismatic Athos and great Charlton Heston in a unusual for him role as the evil Cardinal Richelieu.
The split works quite well although same incongruities (Faye Dunaway's presence as the evil Richelieu's accomplice is the most lopsided, hardly showing up in the first movie and dominating the second); but finally the two chapters of the story have different tones, with a meet fun tone of the first giving way to more serious plot developments in the second when Milady tries to take one's revenge towards D'Artagnan and the musketeers.The Lester's Musketeers films are very and original fine entertainments..
Every subsequent version of the Dumas tale make this one seem better and better and best of all.With its companion piece, THE FOUR MUSKETEERS, it depicts its own period (the revisionist seventies with all its questioning of authority, its humour, its openness to sex, its sense of deconstructionalism and fun, its topsy-turvy-ness...) while managing to be one of the most faithfull to the general plot of the book.Noteworthy: Charleton Heston brings depth and humanity to Richelieu, elevating him above the role of stock villain.
Look no further if you want a perfect filmed adaptation of Dumas' classic novel of adventure, romance, and intrigue.
It appears that I have watched even an earlier version of the Three Musketeers story in the 1970s - i.e., "Les 3 Mousquetaires" (1953), but my overall impression as a kid was that this movie was comedy with lot of laughter in it mainly because of the role of Planchet (Bourvil); the latter was a great French comedian, sorrily forgotten today.
Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain and Frank Finlay are great as the Musketeers and Faye Dunaway makes a sexy and sinister Lady DeWinter.
Not only is there accuracy in the depiction of life in 17th century Paris, but the acting of Oliver Reed, Michael York, Richard Chamberlain, Frank Finley and Charlton Heston is superb and all, individually and in the ensemble, create the ambiance of the wonderful story of the Gascon trying to be a musketeer as well as the intrigue of the Palace.
The battle that takes place early in the second film is hysterically funny as our heroes try to eat lunch in the middle of a war.The actors and actresses are all wonderful, especially Michael York, Oliver Reed, Faye Dunaway, and Charlton Heston.
Both movies provide adequate individual story lines on their own -- with the first being perhaps funnier, and the second more compelling and somber -- but there's no doubt that as a single four-hour saga this expert adaptation of Alexander Dumas' classic tale can't be beat.For an 'all-star' cast, the actors seem pretty comfortable in their roles and there's not much showboating.
(But there are definitely scene-stealers in the persons of Spike Milligan as Raquel Welch's better-part-of-valor husband, Monsieur Bonancieux, and director Richard Lester's favorite, Roy Kinnear, as Planchet, D'Artagnan's loyal manservant.) The Musketeers themselves are brought to vivid life by some real pros: a glowering Oliver Reed as Athos, dashing Richard Chamberlain as Aramis, and comic stalwart Frank Finlay as the blowhard Porthos.
After all, Dumas' story, here masterfully laid out in George MacDonald Fraser's humor-laced script, contains just about every kind of action, romance and intrigue known to fiction.And the great thing is, Lester excels at all of them.
With Michael York, Richard Chamberlain, Rachael Welch, Faye Dunnaway, Charleton Heston, and others, the acting is good, the action is funny, and the setting looks historic.
The soul and the greatest thrum of gravity are supplied by Oliver Reed as the Musketeer "Athos." Reed, a notoriously hard-living, wild-tempered actor, roils seas of pathos and also brotherly bonhomie within his character in this film, and his projected regrets over the impossibility of perfect love and also the encroachment of a soulless government in the person of the Cardinal and his crimson gendarmes add emotional heft.
The characters are benefited by some dream casting: Oliver Reed in perhaps his last great role as the brooding Athos, York as the naive yet dashing D'Artagnan, Chamberlain as ladies man Aramis, Finlay as the comical Porthos - and that's just the Musketeers.
Lester, after all, is following the original Dumas story quite closely; he just adds his own little highlights here and there to spice things up.This was followed almost immediately by "The Four Musketeers" - which was actually filmed at the same time.
Richard Lester's pair of films taking Dumas' novel as a starting point were regarded as a bit of a mess when they first appeared, although they have acquired affection with repeated television showings.This first film deals with the appearance and acceptance of the young D'Artangan (Michael York) into the ranks alongside the other musketeers (Richard Chamberlain, Frank Finlay, and Oliver Reed).
It also introduces Milady (Faye Dunaway) and Constance (Raquel Welch), and Buckingham (Simon Ward) and embroils all concerned in a jewel stealing plot.The strength of this film is in its humour; the fight scenes are a riot and the musketeers are at best, bumbling in their attempts to secure events go as planned.
Considering just how many big names are in it it still remains one of the less seen movies and whenever the Musketeers are discussed these are usually the last movies to be brought up as the more recent "Man in the Iron Mask" and "The Three Musketeers" of Kiefer Sutherland/Charlie Sheen fame - both barely hold a candle to the originals in terms of costumes, backdrops and setpiece duels.At times the film wanders, but mostly it does the job of showing just how chaotic, grotty and ultimately hideous France (and therefore the rest of the world) really was - neatly contrasting the opulence of Royalty to the grim struggle of the peasants.All the actors produce decent turns, if at times a little bit too much like "Acting by numbers".
With a large ensemble cast there is not space in this review to mention all the good performances, but I would single out Heston as the Cardinal, Welch as the lovely Constance Bonacieux, the Queen's dressmaker and D'Artagnan's lover, Kinnear as the Musketeers' comical servant Planchet and Dunaway as Milady de Winter, the Cardinal's villainous agent.
It may have been for this reason that Constance's husband (the character played by Milligan) was written out of the sequel.It is a long time since I last saw any of the other versions of Duma's story, so will not attempt a direct comparison.
the other one, I will not reveal it here, is great) for Constance(Welch, looking hot if somewhat dim), befriends the three musketeers Athos(Reed, giving the serious and solemn air to him that is called for), Porthos(Finlay being bombastic) and Aramis(Chamberlain, sophisticated) and with them, becomes the best hope for saving his queen(the delicious Chaplin...
Michael York is a fine D'Artagnan, displaying a lithe physicality while the Muskateers themselves, (Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlin and Frank Finlay), are a courtly breed given to a bit more paunch than might have been expected.The villains are a terrific Faye Dunaway as Lady De Winter and Charlton Heston as a suave Richelieu while Raquel Welch shows her prowess as a comedienne as an accident-prone Constance.
What I found inconceivable while watching this film, is that the producers where able to obtain such a cast for such a lousy script: Oliver Reed who starred in the classic Oliver!; Michael York who starred in the famous Cabaret a year earlier; a Golden Globe nominee that starred in the classic Doctor Zhivago (Geraldine Chaplin); an Oscar nominee (Faye Dunaway); an Oscar winner (Charlton Heston); screen legend Christopher Lee and TV star Richard Chamberlain.
Watched Three Musketeers an amazing Performance by Michael York(Romeo And Juliet) as d'Artagnan, Oliver Reed(Revolver) as Athos , Frank Finlay(Othello) as Porthos,Richard Chamberlain(Dr.Kildare) as Aramis, Simon Ward(Young Winston) as The Duke Of Buckingham , Raquel Welch(One Million Years B.C.
But if Richard Lester's movie version of "The Three Musketeers" is any indication, then it must be a fun read.
But either way, there's not a dull moment in this version of the tale.Playing the title characters are Oliver Reed as Athos, Frank Finlay as Porthos and Richard Chamberlain as Aramis, with Michael York as D'Artagnan trying to become a musketeer.
The choreography of the fights is very well done and the acting is (most of the time) quite good, but in my opinion the movie lacks a bit of story.As you probably already know it is about a young man who wants to become a musketeer.
The film has an all-star cast consisting of: Richard Chamberlain (Aramis), Charlton Heston (Cardinal Richelieu), Faye Dunaway (Lady de Winter), Raquel Welch (Constance), Christopher Lee (Rochefort), Michael Yok (D'Artagnan), and the unfortunately underrated but really quite amazing actor par excellence, Oliver Reed (Athos).
A little sloppy.But, as I said, it's great fun...and still my favorite movie adaption of Dumas' story.Michael York heads the cast as d'Artagnan.
Best Adaptation Of The Book Yet. Originally conceived as a vehicle for the Beatles by Richard Lester, it is hard to imagine this movie working in the way that it does had the 'Fab Four' been given the roles of Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan.