All Things Musketeer!

[Infinity9999x]

I've been a fan of Alexandre Dumas' novel since I was a child, and a fan of the movies, so I figured we might as well make a thread dedicated to one of the best adventures stories ever written!

This is the thread to discuss all things Musketeers. I have no idea if there are any plans to do a new Musketeer film anytime soon, but feel free to discuss all the old films.

A brief list of the recent films:

The Musketeer (2001)
The Three Musketeers (1993): Chris O'Donnell, Kiefer Sutherland, Tim Curry
The Three Musketeers & The Four Musketeers (aka The Complete Musketeers) (1973-74) Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlian
The Three Musketeers (1948) Gene Kelly, Lana Turner

There are many more, but those are the more recent and notable ones.

My personal favorite is The Complete Musketeers. Directed by our own Richard Lester (Superman II), it's the closest to the book story, and it mixes a wonderful sense of humor in with it's swashbuckling. The fights are also much more realistic. They're brawl-like, with the Musketeers using fists and feet just as often as their blades. The star studded cast only helps, and for me, it's the definitive version of the Musketeers. The only drawback is Raqel Welsh as Constance. While she's very nice to look at, she's no actress, and her character is dumbed down for pure comic relief.

[Figs]

I have to admit a guilty pleasure of mine is The Three Musketeers with Kiefer Sutherland and Tim Curry. I only call it a guilty pleasure because it was more on the comical side.

Not to mention Rebecca De Mornay had some really nice cleavage in that movie.

[Infinity9999x]

Originally Posted by Figs

I have to admit a guilty pleasure of mine is The Three Musketeers with Kiefer Sutherland and Tim Curry. I only call it a guilty pleasure because it was more on the comical side.

Not to mention Rebecca De Mornay had some really nice cleavage in that movie.

I will admit it was my first introduction to the mythos. I think I saw it for the first time when I was about five. I watched it a long ways later, after I had read the books, and realized how off the mark it was. Still, it is extremely comical, and it has it's fun parts.

My guilty pleasure is that when I first watched The Musketeer I liked it Now, in my defense, I was 12, and I hadn't yet read the novel. I read the novel, and when I watched that a few years later, I realized how horrible the acting was, how bad the plot was, and that the action wasn't even that good.

Still, it's what really kick-started my interest in the mythos, since I read the book directly after seeing the movie.

Nothing beats the 1973/74 movies for me though. Those are just gems. And really, how can you go wrong with Heston and Christopher Lee as your main villains?

[bullets]

I've never seen a three Musketeer film unless you count Man in the Iron mask . I'd like to see them do something with this now.

[CrimsonMist]

the Douglas Fairbanks film from 1921 is really a great, fun movie. Fairbanks is a blast to watch, and his stunts are incredible. He did his version of The Man In The Iron Mask called "The Iron Mask" in 1929, which I haven't seen yet, but really want to.

The Richard Lester films are wonderful, too. I haven't seen them in a long time though.

[Infinity9999x]

I haven't seen the Fairbanks version, but I would like to. Fairbanks was quite the swordsman on screen.

And I enjoy the Man in the Iron Mask film, (I've only seen the 90's version) but I thought it was fun. It's completely different then the book, but I'm not really surprised. The actual book is extremely depressing.

[tecnowraith]

What no love for Mickey Mouse's version of the Musketeers? Mickey, Donald and Goofy as the famed swashbuclkers.

[Infinity9999x]

Originally Posted by tecnowraith

What no love for Mickey Mouse's version of the Musketeers? Mickey, Donald and Goofy as the famed swashbuclkers.

Haha! I forgot about that one, I haven't seen it, which is surprising, since I have a 6 year old brother.

However, they only have three Musketeers in the show! They don't have anyone playing D'artagnan!

[C. Lee]

The 70's version with Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, and Frank Finlay is my favorite. I was lucky enough to be able to see them at the theater when they came out....hilarious movies.

My next favorite is the Gene Kelly version. I highly recommend it to those who only think of Kelly as a dancer....when he uses his athletic ability to jump around while sword fighting you'll be amazed.

Douglas Fairbanks is great too. He's very athletic and swashbuckleryish (if it's not a word...it need to be).

I've only seen the Kiefer Sutherland one once....at the time I was not too happy with them putting an Asian martial artist into it....but I think it's time to watch it again and see if I change my mind.

[chamber-music]

I bet Oliver Reed was drunk half the time he was making his Musketeer films.

Dogtanian was my favourite

[Infinity9999x]

Originally Posted by C. Lee

The 70's version with Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, and Frank Finlay is my favorite. I was lucky enough to be able to see them at the theater when they came out....hilarious movies.

My next favorite is the Gene Kelly version. I highly recommend it to those who only think of Kelly as a dancer....when he uses his athletic ability to jump around while sword fighting you'll be amazed.

Douglas Fairbanks is great too. He's very athletic and swashbuckleryish (if it's not a word...it need to be).

I've only seen the Kiefer Sutherland one once....at the time I was not too happy with them putting an Asian martial artist into it....but I think it's time to watch it again and see if I change my mind.

I think you're getting the Sutherland one mixed up with The Musketeer. The Musketeer (2001) was the one that incorporated asian martial arts into the fights. Sutherland was in the 1993 version with Tim Curry and Chris O'Donnell.

I did enjoy Kelly's version as well. That man was an amazing athlete. I've always said I would love to see him as a running back in football, because that guy could move.

[Octoberist]

I LOVE the Michael York Musketeers. If you guys like The Prince Bride, you'll like these movies.

[FilmNerdJamie]

Great candy bar.

[Infinity9999x]

Originally Posted by Octoberist

I LOVE the Michael York Musketeers. If you guys like The Prince Bride, you'll like these movies.

Agreed. It's definitely got that kind of humor.

I'm actually writing my own stage play version of the story. I'm a theatre major, and playing the Musketeers on stage has been something I've wanted to do since I was a kid. Unfortunately, I've read a lot of the plays out there, and they're just plain crappy.

However, it's understandable, because trying to compress a 500 to 600 page novel into a two hour play is not an easy task. I mean, look at (in my opinion) the best film version of the show. The 1970's version with York split the story up into two whole films.

So many of the plays I've read haven't been the best because it just doesn't flow well. I think I've figured out a nice way to get the story to mesh a bit better, but we'll see. I'm hoping my college will agree to put it on if I do write up a full treatment. And of course I'll hope I can audition and get D'artagnan : )

There is one scene I would love to include in my play from the 70's movie. It's the one where, after Porthos has lost their money, Porthos and Aramis stage a fight in a restaurant to conceal the fact that they're stealing food. It's a great scene, and I think it could be great on stage, but I obviously don't want to get in trouble. I did write 20th century Fox, so I'm hoping to hear a response from them. Of course, I don't know if they actually own the writes to the script, or if the original screenwriter would. In which case I'm not sure what I'd do, since he died a few years ago

[C. Lee]

Originally Posted by Infinity9999x

I think you're getting the Sutherland one mixed up with The Musketeer. The Musketeer (2001) was the one that incorporated asian martial arts into the fights. Sutherland was in the 1993 version with Tim Curry and Chris O'Donnell.

I did enjoy Kelly's version as well. That man was an amazing athlete. I've always said I would love to see him as a running back in football, because that guy could move.

Nope...I didn't get them mixed up. I know that the MUSKETEER used Hong Kong stunt men and "wire Fu" stunts.....but the Disney movie had an actual Asian (Phillip Tan) playing a part as one of the bad guys.

[Infinity9999x]

Originally Posted by C. Lee

Nope...I didn't get them mixed up. I know that the MUSKETEER used Hong Kong stunt men and "wire Fu" stunts.....but the Disney movie had an actual Asian (Phillip Tan) playing a part as one of the bad guys.

Ohh, I get ya. I never noticed that, but then I haven't watched the movie in a very long time. So did he play the part of Rochefort?

[Octoberist]

The Musketeer was an awful movie. There was an exterior scene where it rained every other shot.