| The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974) | |
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Rating: 6.9/10 (11,670 votes) Director: Richard Lester Writer: George MacDonald Fraser, Alexandre Dumas Stars: Michael York, Raquel Welch, Oliver Reed Runtime: 108 min Rated: PG Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance Released: 26 Feb 1975 |
| Plot: The Four Musketeers defend the queen and her dressmaker from Cardinal Richelieu and Milady de Winter. | |
When The Three Musketeers was in production, the producers realised that they were unlikely to hit their proposed release date if they stuck to the initial plan of making one epic length film. Thus the idea was put forward to find a convenient split point in the film to, instead, make two films out of the one story. This caused a bit of upset for the cast and crew who suddenly found they were part of two films yet only paid for one, and a legal battle ensued, resulting in what is known as the Salkind clause being created (named after Alexander and Ilya Salkind) to protect future crews from similar ideas. The resulting two films, adapted quite faithfully from the Dumas novel, would each serve as their own story, whilst being part of a whole when viewed together. The first film was released in 1973 (and is reviewed HERE ), with the second half/sequel releasing the following year.
The film starts with a quick recap of the key events of the first film, for those who maybe didn’t see that one, before launching right into the thick of the story. The period is during the Anglo French War (1627-29), and the Protestant rebels of La Rochelle are causing some bother for the French aristocracy. Cardinal Richelieu continues his manipulation of events in an attempt to keep power, whilst undermining those loyal to the Queen (whose devotion to Lord Buckingham could be troublesome for the French), and dispatches his agents, Count de Rochefort and Milady de Winter to abduct the Queen’s dressmaker, Constance, and put in place machinations to ensure the death of Lord Buckingham. In the middle of it all are the heroic Musketeers, with d’Artagnan due to his romance with Constance, and Athos who has a past with Milady, both having a personal stake in the events.
Once again, a special mention for the costume design, which is truly magnificent throughout.
One thing immediately apparent on watching this sequel of sorts is how subdued the tone is over the flippancy of the first film. The Three Musketeers was a very jokey, somewhat farcical affair, and whilst there are still moments of brevity in this film, the overall tone is a tad more serious in nature. Hence the more obscure comic characters such as Spike Milligan’s Bonacieux, and the random mutterings of the background cast are dispatched, which is a good thing for this back-end of the story. The events that play out take some darker routes, and the brevity of the first film would have seemed out of place here. Had the film been kept as one epic length film, it would be interesting to see how they would have edited it together to prevent the jarring contrast between the two halves.
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But the adventure is still a fun one, only with a much more structured plot than the first film had (which, itself, more served as an introduction to the characters). The action is once again impressive to watch, with standout sequences involving a fight on ice, a breakfast in a sieged ruin, and the final act’s swordplay offering some of the film’s highlights. The swordplay choreography is even more refined than the sometimes clumsy nature of the first film (deliberate as the four leads were not skilled to work alongside each other at that point), and each character has a distinctive style. Oh, and how the cast really have grown in the roles by this point in filming! Oliver Reed as Athos is on fine form and swagger, his drunken nature giving him a thuggish fighting style. Richard Chamberlain as Aramis is graceful and charming, and also respectful even of his fallen enemies, whilst Frank Finlay as Athos is the clumsy buffoon of the group, full of good intention, but always struggling to deliver. D’Artagnian, played by Michael York, is no longer the fresh, unskilled wannabe, but now a full Musketeer, and his style is now refined to be a dominant swordsman, and capable of standing up to the best around. The rest of the cast are all equally impressive, from Christopher Lee in the scene stealing role of Rochefort to Faye Dunaway’s scheming temptress Milady.
A stunningly powerful moment from toward the end of the film adds a sense of…erm…Pathos to the events.
The whole proceedings buzz along at a great pace, and lead to a satisfying conclusion, Lester’s direction as strong as it was for the first film (which is no surprise given it was filed at the same time), leaving us with a double bill that serves as the best adaptation of the classic tale to date. The Four Musketeers is, of course, essential viewing for anyone who saw the first film. For those who haven’t, well go watch that then delve into this film to complete the story.
