The Three Musketeers (1973) is star-studded, comic swashbuckler based on Alexandre Dumas’s 19th century classic novel of the same name. As production progressed, it was determined there was so much content the film needed to be split into two movies hence the sequel, The Four Musketeers, a year later. However, the producers didn’t properly compensate the cast and crew for a second film so lawsuits were filed, and the Screen Actors Guild created the Salkind clause, named after producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind, to prevent future business shenanigans like this.
Buy The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers Criterion Collection Blu-ray SetAfter training with his father on their farm, d’Artagnan (Michael York) heads to Paris, hoping to be a Musketeer. But he quickly learns the road to his dream is not easy traveled. En route, he is harassed by Comte de Rochefort (Christopher Lee) and his men, who steal his gold and break his grandfather’s sword. Rochefort is an agent of Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston), the actual power behind King Louis XIII of France.
Upon meeting Athos (Oliver Reed), Aramis (Richard Chamberlain), and Porthos (Frank Finlay) separately, all three challenge him to a duel for various reasons. Before they commence, Richelieu’s guards arrive to arrest the Musketeers for defying the edicts against dueling. To prove himself, d’Artangan joins the fight and they welcome him to their ranks.
To remember their past love affair, the Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward) requests a gift from the Queen Anne (Geraldine Chaplin), who gives him a jeweled necklace the King (Jean-Pierre Cassel, dubbed by Richard Briers) gave her. The Cardinal learns of their meeting and to catch the Queen, he gets the King to host a ball wherein she would wear them. Richelieu sends Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway) to England to meet with Duke and steal diamonds out of the necklace. The Musketeers are tasked with retrieving and repairing the necklace.
The Four Musketeers starts with a quick overview of Three. Seeking revenge for the foiling of his plan, the Cardinal orders the capture of Constance Bonacieux (Raquel Welch), dressmaker to and confidant of the Queen. Married to a much older man, Constance began an affair with d’Artagnan in the previous film the night her husband was jailed by the Cardinal’s men. However, the mindbogglingly simplistic way screenwriter George MacDonald Fraser plots the seduction makes one wonder if he had ever gotten a woman into bed.
Milady de Winter begins an affair with d’Artangan to keep him distracted, but he grows wise to her intentions. Athos reveals his solemn mood is because his heart was broken. The woman in question turns out to be de Winter, who he believed dead. At the Cardinal’s request, she returns to England to keep the Duke from sending help to the Protestant rebels even if she has to kill him. In exchange, she wants his sanction to kill d’Artagnan and Constance.
The video has been given a 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer displayed at the original aspect ratio at 1.85:1. According to the liner notes, “these new 4K restorations were undertaken by STUDIOCANAL from the 35 mm original camera negatives.” The color scheme comes through quite well across the spectrum, from the dull rich browns used for the lower class to the vivid hues, especially primaries of the upper class. Blacks are inky and whites are accurate. The image is clean, free from dirt and defect, and it delivers a sharp focus that accentuates the details and depth. There is also noticeable film grain. The only negative is when d’Artagnan meets with the captain of the Musketeers, sunlight beaming in through has a blown-out appearance.
The audio is available in LPCM Mono. The liner notes state, “the original monaural soundtracks were remastered from 35 mm magnetic tracks. The audio sounds free from signs of age or defect. Dialogue is clear. The scores by Michel Legrand and Lalo Schifrin, respectively, augment the action and come through with great clarity. The effects help reveal the width of the dynamic range. All the elements complement each other in the mix.
The Special Edition Features are
On Three Musketeers disc
- The Saga of the Musketeers, Part One (23 min) – Directed by David Gregory, this two-part documentary from 2002 explores the making of the film with interviews of cast and crew members, including producer Ilya Salkind, who initially wanted comedians like Danny Kaye and Jerry Lewis or the Beatles; producer Pierre Spangler York, Heston, Welch, Lee.
- Two for One, Part One (30 min) – “Pre-production [All for One]” film scholar David Cairns produced a four-part documentary. Part One, includes audio interviews of Lester, and focuses on director’s creative decisions
- Two for One, Part Two (43 min) – Principal Photography – on location is as advertised
- The Making of “The Three Musketeers” (7 min) – a 1973 featurette with behind-the-scenes footage of director Richard Lester
- Trailer
On Four Musketeers disc
- The Saga of the Musketeers, Part Two (25 min) – The rest of Gregory’s documentary.
- Two for One, Part Three (42 min) – Principal Photography [Part 2] – Cairns’s documentary continues.
- Two for One, Part Four (46 min) – Post Production
- Trailer
Both films are directed by Richard Lester. In each, he, along with Fraser’s writing, the cast, and the stunt performers, strike a fine balance between the swordplay, the palace intrigue, and the comic bits to create an entertaining pair of action/adventure films that evoke both the time of the story’s setting and the time the production was shot. The Musketeers could have been more heroic but that might have cut into how fun the characterizations are. The Blu-ray’s high-definition video delivers a very pleasing experience. Fans of the films will appreciate all the documentary material.
