The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

The cruel King Louis XIV of France has a secret twin brother who he keeps imprisoned. Can the twin be substituted for the real king?

Director:

Randall Wallace

Writers:

Alexandre Dumas (novels), Randall Wallace (screenplay)

Stars:

Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Leonardo DiCaprio	...	King Louis / Phillippe
Jeremy Irons	...	Aramis
John Malkovich	...	Athos
Gérard Depardieu	...	Porthos (as Gerard Depardieu)
Gabriel Byrne	...	D'Artagnan
Anne Parillaud	...	Queen Anne
Judith Godrèche	...	Christine (as Judith Godreche)
Edward Atterton	...	Lieutenant Andre
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Raoul
Hugh Laurie	...	King's Advisor
David Lowe	...	King's Advisor
Brigitte Boucher	...	Madame Rotund
Matthew Jocelyn	...	Assassin
Karine Belly	...	Wench
Emmanuel Guttierez	...	King's Friend

Storyline

Paris is starving, but the King of France is more interested in money and bedding women. When a young soldier dies for the sake of a shag, Aramis, Athos and Porthos band together with a plan to replace the king. Unknown to many, there is a 2nd king, a twin, hidden at birth, then imprisoned for 6 years behind an iron mask. All that remains now is D'Artagnan, will he stand against his long time friends, or do what is best for his country?

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Plot Keywords:

france | twin | musketeer | twin brother | three musketeers | 

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Taglines:

For the honor of a king. And the destiny of a country. All for one.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and some sensuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

France USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

13 March 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

El hombre de la máscara de hierro

Filming Locations:

Château de Pierrefonds, Pierrefonds, Oise, France

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,271,450, 15 March 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$56,968,902

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$182,968,902

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

MGM discovered the audience the movie attracted was "directly related to appeal of Leonardo DiCaprio", being 55% female and 46% under the age of 25.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the movie, we clearly see King Louis XIV inside and outside of the castle Vaux Le Vicomte. Louis XIV never lived in this castle, as it belonged to Nicolas Fouquet. Vaux Le Vicomte became a source of inspiration for the Versailles castle. Versailles was the living place of Louis XIV when he was old and is shown in the movie. Therefore, all castle sets are wrong, since the young Louis XIV lived mostly in the Louvre/Tuileries palace, in the center of Paris, not shown in the movie.

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Quotes

Aramis: Perhaps you should take his offer. We're dead anyway.
Porthos: He's right, D'Artagnan.
Phillippe: Wait. Bargain me to Louis for all your lives. You've done your best. Please let me go.
D'Artagnan: No, I cannot do it. Even if I could give up my king, I could never give up my son.
[they all look at him, thunderstruck]
Phillippe: Your son?
D'Artagnan: I loved your mother. I love her still. You are my son. I never knew you existed. And I never felt pride as a father... until this moment.

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Connections

Version of The Iron Mask (1909)

User Reviews

you can watch this over and over again

The only problem with this movie that the plot is a bit implausible, but nevertheless, everything was great. I must say that I've seen this movie more times than any movie in the world and i still say it's great. It has a star-studded cast, and all of them did an excellent acting job (DiCaprio, Byrne, Malkovich, Depardieu and Irons). This is a perfect ensemble cast, it's as if the roles were written for the actors. The acting was just well done. The events are exciting and sometimes heart-wrenching, the music is great, and the dialogue is truly, truly exceptional. Trust me, after watching this movie at least 18 times, I've realized that the dialogue is just superb. I very much recommend the movie, however, the story is very, very far from the original book by Alexander Dumas.