The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

The cruel King Louis XIV of France has a secret twin brother whom 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:

17th century | france | twin | musketeer | 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 | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Leonor Varela plays King Louis' (Leonardo DiCaprio) mistress after Christine. After this movie, Varela was engaged with Billy Zane, DiCaprio's love rival in his previous film, Titanic (1997).

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Goofs

When D'Artagnan is dealing with the angry peasants about the spoiled food, and the apples are thrown, the second apple that D'Artagnan "stabs in the air" is visible on his sword before the slow-motion shot.

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Quotes

Aramis: I have prayed every day for forgiveness. But now I realize that forgiveness must come from you before it can come from God.

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Alternate Versions

When Philippe is in prison and Aramis comes disguised as a hugely fat friar to hear his confession and offer mass, Philippe kneels down and makes the sign of the cross. When the movie was released on VHS, Philippe's making the sign of the cross was left out.

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Connections

Version of The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

User Reviews

I actually thought it was pretty decent

Without it being the best movie I have ever seen, I actually liked this film. I wasn't expecting a masterpiece, and I didn't get that. Instead I got a fun film, with flaws, but it was enjoyable enough.

Starting with the many good things, the cinematography is superb, as is the lavish scenery and costumes. The music is very rousing and moving, and the sword play is energetic. Also I thought the direction was fine, same with the acting. Gabriel Byrne is surprisingly good as D'Artagnan(much more suited to the part than Chris O'Donnell-the worst D'Artagnan, though I actually liked the movie- was). Even better were Jeremy Irons and Gerard Depardieu as Aramis and Porthos. John Malkovich was good too, if perhaps a little too fey to start with. Leonardo DiCaprio was somewhat uneven in his performance but he was good on the whole, personally I felt he was better as Phillippe in alternative to Louis, he never quite convinced me playing an arrogant king whereas he succeeded with Phillippe because of that spontaneous boyish charm he has.

However, the film is a little too long and the pacing is also uneven, I felt the film dragged in the middle and then it felt a tad rushed at the end. While the story is solid enough and sticks relatively faithful to the story, which is brilliant on a side note to those not familiar with it, it can get implausible with one or two soap-opera-ish qualities about it. Finally, the script does have one too many weak spots, one or two parts are a little too cheesy for my liking.

On the whole though, this is an above average and fun film. Maybe not the best for those who adore the book, but as an introduction to the story it is good enough. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

France USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

13 March 1998 (Canada)

Also Known As:

L'homme au masque de fer

Filming Locations:

Château de Pierrefonds, Pierrefonds, Oise, France

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,271,450, 15 March 1998

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 DTS-Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1