The Complete Musketeers: The Three Musketeers/ The Four Musketeers
March 2003 Reviewed by: Rad Bennett Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

This famous Alexander Dumas story has been filmed many times. At least four others preceded this version, and more recently Disney had a go at it again, casting the most recent "brat pack" available at the time (1993). But Richard Lester’s vision stands not only as the best representation of the story, but also the most entertaining film. Praise seems initially out of line, for Lester’s telling is quite irreverent, even camp at times. But it also represents period behavior accurately, and is correct to the smallest detail regarding costumes, sets, and props. The crazy mix works in a way that only Richard Lester could pull off.

In case you do not remember the story, young D’Artagnan (Michael York) comes to Paris, bent on joining the King’s Musketeers. He meets their three most colorful members: the hard-drinking Athos (Oliver Reed), the vain Porthos (Frank Finlay), and the bookish, spiritual Aramis (Richard Chamberlain). He also encounters the queen’s dressmaker, Constance (Raquel Welch), and falls in love, but not so soundly that he cannot be tempted by the evil Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway). She is at the center of a lot of evil plotting going on in France, which also involves bad guys Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston) and the Count de Rochefort (Christopher Lee). It is up to D’Artagnan and his friends to save the honor of the Queen (Geraldine Chaplin).

I do not usually name virtually an entire cast in delineating a basic plot, but this cast is so perfect, it deserves that mention. Each member looks and moves perfectly, and can deliver the script’s one-liners for laughs while illuminating a deeper character. The movie is one of Lee's finest accomplishments, and the seemingly offbeat casting of Heston as Richelieu was a brilliant idea. Welch, whose career was starting to go down the tubes at the time, proves she was more than just a pretty face. In fact, her perfectly timed comedic portrayal of Constance, as a bumbling, awkward young woman, won her a Golden Globe award.

The movie was originally planned as one long four-hour affair with an intermission, but was later divided into two films. It has the best sword fights ever staged. Each duel seems to involve some memorable element. One revolves around laundry hanging in a convent, another is done with lanterns, and still another happens on ice. The climactic duel between D’Artagnan and Rochefort occurs in the transept of a cathedral, lighted through a rose window. The actors that participate in the two-part documentary recall that the swords were real. And in spite of thorough training, damage did occur. Reed got a sword point through his wrist, and York had his nose slashed by an errant blade.

The 16:9 anamorphic transfer that Anchor Bay has provided is rich and detailed, completely beating out the previous release on Fox Lorber, which was merely widescreen. The mono sound has good range and clarity. Dialogue is heard easily, as is the heroic music of Michel Legrand and Lalo Schifrin. The extras, in addition to the excellent 2002 documentary already mentioned, include a 1973 promotion documentary, numerous still frames and poster reproductions, as well as trailers, TV spots, and radio spots. Several of the latter are quite amusing and reflect the '70s in general as well as the movie. There are also biographies of all the major actors, and these are really thorough, possibly the best ones I have ever seen on a DVD. The 2002 documentary contains a section that gives moving tribute to the actors now deceased: Reed, who died while making Gladiator; Spike Milligan; and Roy Kinnear, who was killed in 1989 in a equestrian accident while filming The Return of the Musketeers, the sequel to this story. One presumes Anchor Bay could not obtain the rights to that movie, or simply chose not to include it. The title appeared on Universal laserdisc, so perhaps that studio will release it on DVD. It is not as good a movie as the first two, but quite enjoyable in its own right.

Anchor Bay’s color digipack foldout container is handsome and as colorful as the movie itself. Overall, this set is a treat, reminding one what a good adventure movie should be.

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