The young D'Artagnan arrives in Paris with dreams of becoming a king's musketeer. He meets and quarrels with three men, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, each of whom challenges him to a duel. D'Artagnan finds out they are musketeers and is invited to join them in their efforts to oppose Cardinal Richelieu, who wishes to increase his already considerable power over the king. D'Artagnan must also juggle affairs with the charming Constance Bonancieux and the passionate Lady De Winter, a secret agent for the cardinal. Written by

Plot Synopsis:
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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.

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grendelkhan from Xanadu
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This film (and its companion piece The Four Musketeers) is the finest adaptation of the Dumas classic. It perfectly captures the blend of romance, adventure, and comedy inherent in the novel. There is some modification for modern viewers, but the spirit and attitude of the era is preserved.

Michael York gives one of his best performances as the young, naive D'Artagnan. He appears to be a bit of a bumbling idiot at first; but, one soon learns that a keen brain lies behind that bumbling exterior. This portrayal was criticized by another filmmaker, who adapted another of Dumas' tales. Judging by how far that director strayed from Dumas, it's understandable how he missed noting that Dumas portrayed D'Artagnan in the same manner at the beginning of the novel. 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. Athos is a man who has endured great pain and betrayal in his life and finds his only pleasure in drinking and brawling. He is the wise counsel to the young D'Artagnan, and the mysterious side to the Musketeer triangle.

Frank Finlay, a wonderful character actor, brings a wonderful, arrogant bluster to Porthos; a gentleman, a braggart, and a fool. Finlay also has a nice turn as the jeweler O'Reilly, showcasing his versatility.

Richard Chamberlain is Aramis, the future priest and great lover. Aramis gives an air of spiritual devotion, while romancing his mistresses. Like many clergy of the upper classes, he sees no conflict in these attitudes, or his profession as a soldier. Chamberlain brings great subtlety to Aramis. His part is not as big as the other two, but he says much with body language and attitude. He more than holds his own with the stage-trained Brits.

Charlton Heston brings a deep menace to Richelieu, quite the opposite of his previous heroes. He shows the devious nature of the Cardinal, and the intelligence of a man who knows he has lost, but will have other battles down the line.

Faye Dunaway is the beautiful and vicious Milady. She is the deadliest of D'Artagnan's adversaries; she charms with her beauty and grace, as she prepares her dagger unseen.

Christopher Lee is D'Artagnan's rival, Rochefort. Lee is always good, even when the film isn't. Luckily, this film is up to his abilities. His cool demeanor is backed by a strong sword arm.

The cast is rounded out by fine character performances from Roy Kinnear as Planchet, Jean-Pierre Cassel as King Louis XIII, Geraldine Chaplain as Anne of Austria, and Spike Milligan as M. Bonacieux. Raquel Welch gives a surprisingly deft turn in the comic role of Constance.

There is plenty of action, romance, drama, and fun for fans of each. The sum of those parts results in a classic that outshines all other attempts at Dumas. It is a swashbuckler to rival any Errol Flynn movie, a romance equal to a Merchant-Ivory production, and a comedy to rival Monty Python.

Forget Gene Kelly, the Ritz Brothers, and Charlie Sheen and company. These are the true Musketeers.

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Ben Burgraff (cariart) from Las Vegas, Nevada
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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 very length of the novel, with it's many plot twists, had resulted in various truncated adaptations over the years, with MGM's 1948 all-star production the only previous attempt to film more than the first half of the book. Lester, however, backed by producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind, and Wolfdieter von Stein, and working from a unrepentantly bawdy script by legendary scribe George MacDonald Fraser, tackled the novel head-on, with extraordinary results.

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". Quickly embarrassed by the smoothly villainous Rochefort (Christopher Lee), and ridiculed by the mysterious Milady de Winter, the lad reaches Paris with a broken sword, but his idealism undimmed. 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. The object of betrayal is a multi-jeweled necklace, a gift from Louis, given by the Queen to Buckingham, with two jewels stolen during a tryst by the Cardinal's agent, Milady de Winter. The task of recovering of the necklace, and replacing the missing jewels, is given to D'Artagnan and his Musketeer allies, who 'sacrifice' themselves to help the Gascon reach England.

Climaxing in a wild free-for-all at a Royal Ball, love triumphs, Richelieu is temporarily thwarted, Milady swears revenge against D'Artagnan, and he becomes a full-fledged Musketeer, joining his love and three recovered friends to celebrate.

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. While it was a wise decision, no one had informed the cast that they were, in fact, making two movies, and not one, at the time of filming, and the stars quickly filed suit against the Salkinds. After a brief but highly publicized court case, the cast were compensated, and the second, equally enjoyable MUSKETEER film was released.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS (and it's sequel, THE FOUR MUSKETEERS) were triumphs for Lester, the Salkinds, and the matchless ensemble of actors. The films have achieved legendary status, over the years, and taken together, stand, today, as one of the finest comic adventures ever made.

If your experience of the tale is only the more recent Disney version, do yourself a favor, and catch the Lester films. You won't be disappointed!

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mvario from Mineola, NY
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This film, and its sequel (filmed concurrently) is by far the best movie version of the Dumas novel ever produced. The cast is excellent. The sets and costumes are marvelous. The swordplay (and there is much) is possible some of the most realistic ever filmed. And it's the only Musketeer movie I am aware of in which the Musketeers actually use muskets. Authenticity seems to have been very important to the producers, as well as staying true to the novel.

Sadly a film like this wouldn't be made these days. First off the fighting would be "punched-up" with a lot of wire work. And of course Hollywood would change the story to eliminate much of the "sleeping around" characters do (today's movie heroes in this type of movie aren't usually sexually active). They would also provide some creative story editing so that a certain character who dies in the novel would survive so as to supply the requisite happy ending. 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.

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radiopal from United States
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Alexandre Dumas would more than likely applaud this particular version of his fantastic novel. I remember when I was a kid and first saw the movie in the theater... I was stunned at the cinematography (yeah, a film buff even at 12). After leaving the theater, I went to a nearby bookstore and bought my first copy of the novel. Wow, how impressed was I when I realized that Richard Lester and George MacDonald Fraser stuck to the concept of the novel. The novel, incase you haven't read it, is funny and fun. The first half of the book... kept me at edge of my seat. When I recently re-read the novel, my wife would tell me that I would wake her up sword fighting in my sleep. Anyway, back to the movie. Michael York as D'Artagnan was fabulous. He embodied the dweeb that we all now and love as the future Commander of the King's Musketeers. Oliver Reed gave the best performance of his life as Athos. Richard Chamberlain as Aramis... the Musketeer who wants to be a priest was entertaining, and a delight. And Frank Finley as Porthos (and later came to realize that he was also O'Reilly... Buckingham's jeweler) was tremendous. 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. The casts portrayals were direct from the Dumas novel. The sword play in the movie is the best that I have ever seen in a movie. There is none better, with the possible exception of the Four Musketeers... the rest of the novel.

If you have never seen the movie... go and get it. Watch it. Wait for it on TCM or FCM and tape it. Once you see it, you'll want to add it to your collection... or check out e-bay if your local stores don't carry it. I bought mine on e-bay and watch it at least 3 times a year. :D

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ellis_suzie from London, UK
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I have loved this film (or rather, these films!) since I first saw them as a child in the early eighties. At that point I hadn't read the novels, but, unusually, I think no less of the films now that I have. In their broad, slapstick style of humour, they perhaps reflect the times in which they were made, rather than Dumas, but there is no lack of the original's tragedy in the scenes of Athos' past and D'Artagnan's disillusion. George Macdonald Fraser's script is as fine as you'd expect of the writer of the 'Flashman' novels and the choreography of the fight scenes has been justly praised. The foils were apparently as heavy as their Seventeenth Century counterparts and the actors' agony was increased by filming in the hot Spanish sun....

When I watched these films again a few weeks ago I was also struck by the beautiful cinematography, with the scene in the snow and the climactic fight in the convent particularly well-framed. For me, this is as near-perfect an adaptation of the adventure novel as is possible, combining romance, humour, tragedy and action with wonderful production values and a terrific script. Few other films, and no other version of the 'Musketeers', reaches this standard. Messieurs York, Reed, Finlay, Chamberlain, Heston, Ward, Lee, Milligan and Kinnear, plus Mmes Dunaway, Chaplain and Welch will forever be associated with their characters for me. Brilliant stuff!

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anagary
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The Three Musketeers has been filmed again and again. This is the best of breed. In fact, it tried to be so faithful to the book that they had to split it into two films. This is the first part. The second is titled The Four Musketeers. This required all kinds of negotiations with everyone involved because they had originally signed up to do one film.

The action is fast. Long rides on horseback. Lots of sword fights, but, instead of the old Hollywood fencing with crossed swords, this film makes sword fighting look like the brutal game it was where boldness and quickness often surpassed skill. The director included a strong mix of comedy in the action. This film maintains that comedic side. The second necessarily turns darker of necessity. A great cast, great photography. It's rollicking good fun to watch.

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nutsy from Olympia, Washington
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Director Richard Lester hit it right on the nose! Dumas's book THE THREE MUSKETEERS is generally regarded as a kind of classic adventure, but it's more than that. Throughout all the romance and swordplay, it is humor, not adventure, that prevails. D'artagnan is even introduced as "Don Quixote at eighteen", which is clear indication of humorous intent. Lester's pop-comedies like THE KNACK and A HARD DAY'S NIGHT made him perfect for directing this film. George MacDonald Fraser's screenplay for THE THREE MUSKETEERS preserves the original dialogue with all its humor and adventure to the letter (even though this is only half the book). This gave Lester free reign to fill the picture with physical comedy and sight gags, particularly in the swordfights. The heights of such humor show in a scene where the musketeers fake a duel in order it steal food. Michael York excels in the role of D'artagnan using sword skills picked up while making ROMEO AND JULIET. The late/great Oliver Reed is a suitably drunken, overpowering Athos. Another highpoint is the film's villain. Charlton Heston's restrained performance brings the puppet-master Cardinal Richelieu to life (and far better than Tim Curry did in 1993). He can break a man with a word and we believe it. Raquel Welch brings her usual talents to the role of Constance. Perhaps the most important of all is Bonnie herself, Faye Dunaway, as the Countess DeWinter. Dunaway brings to life all the character's cold allure that appeared as good on the screen as it did on the page. The action is well choreographed and satisfies, and the humor is good. This combines with "sequel" THE FOUR MUSKETEERS, with the same cast and director, to form the perfect film version of a wonderful novel. If nothing else, it at least beats the Disney version into the morgue. Not To Be Missed!

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Hermit C-2 from Marietta, GA, USA
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Richard Lester has to be one of the greatest directors of comedy there ever was. There are dozens of slapstick gags and situations in this movie and almost 100% of them work. And what an opulent setting they are placed in! Lester and his cohorts have created a film in which almost every frame resembles a museum painting come to life (and gone berserk.)

Lester is better with style than relating a narrative. I found it impossible to completely comprehend the story line here, and I think if you asked most people what the movie was about, they'd tell you there was a lot of swashbuckling and general mayhem and lunacy, but I doubt they'd give you much of Dumas' story. When the style is this good, however, a little fuzziness on the substance is not a fatal flaw. Still, it might keep this picture from being an all-time classic rather than "just" a most enjoyable film.

Lester is such an auteur that his direction is the main focus of this film even with such an all-star cast. It was a wise decision (actually it seems like a no-brainer) to divide what was originally shot at one time into two films, this one and 'The Four Musketeers.' There really can be too much of a good thing, and even at under two hours, 'The Three Musketeers' threatens to be overwhelming. But on balance this film is great entertainment.

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Pamsanalyst from New Jersey
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Watching this and its 'sequel' only confirms the tragedy of Oliver Reed's flirtation with the bottle, and he is just one of the wonderful cast. What is especially impressive to me is that with so much scenery available to be chewed, none of the cost set their teeth to it but act in as an ensemble.

This and "Four" represent a Victorian telling of the tale in a theater: dauntless heroes, villains that can be freely hissed and heroines worth taking up the sword to defend, and by the time Lady deWinter has strangled Constance at the end of the second part and is sent to her death, and Rochefort is vanquised, the heroes appear on stage again in the wonderful coda.

Lester creates a dirty, brawling world complete with cows, sheep, pigs and men with dirt and filth on their clothes. The dandies are on the side of wrong; those who sprawl in the mud are the good guys. Yes, it bears similarity to Hard Days Night, but Lester was more than that, as anyone who has seen Petulia will agree.

George Macdonald Fraser, who wrote the script, also created the Flashman books. In the same years as the Musketeers, there was also Royal Flash, a film I have not seen in ages.

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Kieran Green (greene515@hotmail.com) from Scotland
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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. Production was shot on location in Spain, It's grand costume's won the Oscar for best costume design,

Lester's Director of photography David Watkins is here to handle the Lush cinematography shot in lester's usual and effective 1.66.1 aspect Ratio, which not only captures the grime and the squalor of the period But the romantic, and swashbuckling action.

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AKAs Titles:


Certifications:
Australia:G / Australia:PG / Finland:K-16 / Iceland:L / Netherlands:12 / Netherlands:14 (orginal rating) / Norway:16 (1975) / Portugal:M/6 / Singapore:PG / South Korea:All / Sweden:11 (original rating) / Sweden:7 (cut) (1978) / UK:U / USA:PG / West Germany:12 (nf)