The Three Musketeers (1973)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Richard Lester

Writers:

George MacDonald Fraser (screenplay)
Alexandre Dumas père (novel)

Release Date:

29 March 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | History | Romance

Tagline:

. . . One for All and All for Fun!

Plot:

A young swordsman comes to Paris and faces villains, romance, adventure and intrigue with three Musketeer friends.

Plot Keywords:

Musketeer | Cardinal | Duel | Villain | Foreign Language Adaptation

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Oliver Reed	...	Athos
Raquel Welch	...	Constance de Bonacieux
Richard Chamberlain	...	Aramis
Michael York	...	D'Artagnan
Frank Finlay	...	Porthos
Christopher Lee	...	Rochefort
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Anna of Austria
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Louis XIII (as Jean Pierre Cassel)
Spike Milligan	...	M. Bonacieux
Roy Kinnear	...	Planchet
Georges Wilson	...	Treville
Simon Ward	...	Duke of Buckingham
Faye Dunaway	...	Milady / Lady de Winter
Charlton Heston	...	Cardinal Richelieu
Joss Ackland	...	D'Artagnan's Father
Nicole Calfan	...	Kitty
Michael Gothard	...	Felton
Sybil Danning	...	Eugenie
Gitty Djamal	...	Beatrice
Ángel del Pozo	...	Jussac
Rodney Bewes	...	Spy
Ben Aris	...	1st Musketeer
William Hobbs	...	Assassin
Gretchen Franklin	...	D'Artagnan's Mother
Francis De Wolff	...	Sea Captain
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Briers	...	Louis XIII (voice) (uncredited)
Frank Thornton	...	Man in small carriage (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Lester

Writing credits
George MacDonald Fraser		(screenplay) (as George Macdonald Fraser)
Alexandre Dumas père		(novel) (as Alexandre Dumas)

Produced by
Alexander Salkind	....	producer
Ilya Salkind	....	executive producer
Wolfdieter von Stein	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Michel Legrand

Cinematography by
David Watkin		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John Victor-Smith

Production Design by
Brian Eatwell

Art Direction by
Leslie Dilley		(as Les Dilley)
Fernando Gonzalez

Costume Design by
Yvonne Blake

Makeup Department
Cristóbal Criado	....	makeup artist: Charlton Heston (as Cristobal Criado)
Susan Germaine	....	hair stylist: Faye Dunaway
Kaye Pownall	....	hair stylist: Raquel Welch
Charlene Roberson	....	makeup artist: Raquel Welch
Carmen Sánchez	....	hair stylist (as Carmen Sanchez)
José Antonio Sánchez	....	makeup artist (as Jose Antonio Sanchez)
José Antonio Sánchez	....	wig maker (as Jose Antonio Sanchez)
Ziggy Geike	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Francisco Bellot	....	general production manager
Enrique Esteban	....	production supervisor
Pierre Spengler	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Patricio Beltran Aparicio	....	second assistant director
Clive Reed	....	first assistant director
Francisco Rodríguez	....	second assistant director
Dusty Symonds	....	second assistant director
Alain Walker	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Eddie Fowlie	....	property master
John Lanzer	....	property buyer
Rafael Ablanque	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
José María Alarcón	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Tom Buchanan	....	boom operator
Don Challis	....	sound editor
Roy Charman	....	sound mixer (as Roy J. Charman)
Gerry Humphreys	....	dubbing mixer (as Jerry Humphreys)
Simon Kaye	....	sound mixer
George Rice	....	boom operator (as George B. Rice)
Don Sharpe	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Eddie Fowlie	....	special effects
Pablo Pérez	....	special effects supervisor (as Pablo Perez)

Stunts
Joaquim Parra	....	stunt arranger (as Juaquin Parra)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ronald Anscombe	....	assistant camera (as Ronnie Anscombe)
Antonio Colmenar	....	key grip
Enrique de la Jara	....	best boy
Alejandro Diges	....	still photographer
Frank Elliott	....	assistant camera
Peter Ewens	....	camera operator
Francisco Gallardo	....	gaffer
Federico G. Grau	....	still photographer (as Federico Grau)
Luis Peña	....	assistant camera (as Luis Pena)
Vincent Rossell	....	still photographer
Paul Wilson	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Manuela Iglesias	....	wardrobe assistant: Raquel Welch
Ron Talsky	....	costumes: Raquel Welch
Jean Zay	....	costume supervisor
Haleen K. Holt	....	costume illustrator (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Peter Boyle	....	assistant editor
Peter Holt	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Michel Legrand	....	conductor
David Munrow	....	advisor: period music (uncredited)
Peter Watson	....	music editor (uncredited)

Other crew
Christina Bracht	....	production secretary
Antonio Del Toro	....	production assistant
Quinn Donoghue	....	unit publicist
Norman Enfield	....	publicity assistant
Louis Diaz Gonzalez	....	production assistant
Norma Gorcey	....	production secretary
William Hobbs	....	fight director
Jennie McLean	....	production secretary
Jean-Philippe Mérand	....	production coordinator (as Jean Philippe Merand)
Juan Jose Molina	....	production assistant
Maria Monreal	....	secretary to producer
John Ornstein	....	production assistant
Armand Rubin	....	world wide representative: Europex-Paris
Ann Skinner	....	continuity
Mike Hoare	....	sailing coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Alexander Salkind
• Este Films
• Film Trust S.A.
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Filmtrust (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• International Video Entertainment (IVE) (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• USA Home Video (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Fox Lorber (1998) (USA) (DVD) (VHS)
• EuroVideo (199?) (Germany) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• CFDC-UGC (1973) (France) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Berman's and Nathan's  costume maker
• Camera Effects  titles
• Cornejo  costume maker
• Decoraciones Generales  set construction
• Mole Richardson  electrical equipment
• Panavision  camera equipment provided by
• Twickenham Film Studios  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

The Three Musketeers: The Queen's Diamonds (UK) (complete title) (USA)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1975) | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Aranjuez, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Alexander Salkind

Trivia:

Originally the director was to be Tony Richardson, but he was discarded after he said that the entire movie should take place in a convent.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Just before the fight with the cardinals' guards, Porthos picks up large rock to use as a weapon. As he examines the rock, you can see that it's artificial, because he exposes the mold line.

Quotes:

Athos: You will find, young man, that the future looks rosiest through the bottom of a glass.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Christopher Lee/Meat Loaf (#3.15)" (1978)

All for one And All For Fun,The Best Screen Version Ever!

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.