Amazon.com essential video: Director Richard Lester strikes the perfect balance between slapstick and swashbuckling swordplay in this whimsical adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's grand adventure. Michael York, all innocence and wide-eyed chivalry as young D'Artagnan, makes quite an impression on his first day in Paris: he challenges all three of the legendary Musketeers to a duel, then joins them in arms against the cardinal's soldiers. The worldly rascals, led by Athos (Oliver Reed), who hides his brooding past behind a sarcastic wit, adopt the young hero. Soon D'Artagnan is stealing hearts and stealing food with equal aplomb as he joins their campaign to defend the queen (Geraldine Chaplin) against a plot devised by the scheming cardinal (Charlton Heston) and his cold-hearted accomplice Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway). Richard Chamberlain's Aramis, the trio's Don Juan and resident man of God, and Frank Finlay's fun-loving hedonist Porthos round out the Musketeers, while Christopher Lee's sneering Rochefort executes the cardinal's wishes as commander of the church's soldiers. Other members of this talented cast include Raquel Welch as the beautiful but disaster-prone seamstress to the queen, Spike Milligan as the beauty's jealous husband, Roy Kinnear as D'Artagnan's bumbling servant, Planchet, and Jean-Pierre Cassel as the clueless king. George MacDonald Fraser's rollicking screenplay combines boisterous adventure and roguish humor with marvelous characters, and Lester's dynamic direction turns it into one of the greatest comic swashbucklers of all time. Followed by The Four Musketeers, which continues the story in a darker vein. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Spaghetti Western or Hamburger Musketeers ?
This remake of the old black and white film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's « The Three Musketeers » misses the main point of the book, maybe even two main points. It misses the gallant courtly politeness ... Read More
Rating: - If you want to have a great time then see this Film!!!
This is the standard for all other Musketeers films. (Save your time as they are generally not worth the time & money) If you want to see and get the feel for what the 17th century was like then this is ... Read More
Rating: - ALL FOR ONE AND ALL FOR FUN
Richard Lester's refreshingly breezy adaptation of the Dumas classic is one of the best interpretations of this venerable classic. He combines the elements of swashbuckling swordplay with the satirical buffooneries ... Read More
Rating: - The Three Musketeers
Set in 1500's France, a young Gaston named D'Artagnan (Michael York) leaves his family with hope of becoming the king's musketeer. After facing humiliation in his daily exploits, he inadvertently offends three musketeers ... Read More
Rating: - Great Fun & The Best Version so far.....
Richard Lester & his screewriter, George Macdonald Fraser (of Flashman fame), made the best & most complete version of the Dumas tale with great flair and wit, seasoning the old story with satiric touches, irony and ... Read More
- If you want to have a great time then see this Film!!!