The Four Musketeers (1974)

Director:

Richard Lester

Writers:

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

Release Date:

26 February 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | History | Romance

Tagline:

One for all and all for one! (And every man for himself.)

Plot:

The Four Musketeers defend the queen and her dressmaker from Cardinal Richelieu and Milady de Winter.

Plot Keywords:

D'artagnan | Queen | Cardinal | Musketeer | Love

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Oliver Reed	...	Athos
Raquel Welch	...	Constance de Bonancieux
Richard Chamberlain	...	Aramis
Michael York	...	D'Artagnan
Frank Finlay	...	Porthos
Christopher Lee	...	Rochefort
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Queen Anne of Austria
Faye Dunaway	...	Milady
Roy Kinnear	...	Planchet
Michael Gothard	...	Felton
Nicole Calfan	...	Maid Kitty
Ángel del Pozo	...	Jussac (as Angel Del Pozo)
Eduardo Fajardo
Simon Ward	...	Duke of Buckingham
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Louis XIII (as Jean Pierre Cassel)

Also Known As:

Los cuatro mosqueteros (Spain)
The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (USA)
The Four Musketeers: The Revenge of Milady (UK) (complete title)
The Return of the Three Musketeers (UK) (video title)
The Revenge of Milady

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

Spain | Panama

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | UK:A (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Estudios Cinematografica Roma S.A., Madrid, Spain

Company:

Este Films

Trivia:

Director Richard Lester was sued by the actors who claimed they were tricked into thinking the film was to be part of The Three Musketeers (1973). They won their case in court, but did not receive as much money as they would have if they were paid separately for both films.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the climactic duel in the convent, Rochefort's wound moves lower between shots.

Quotes:

Athos: And you mark this: you kill Buckingham or have him killed, it's no matter to me. He's an Englishman and an enemy. But you touch one hair of D'Artagnan's head and I swear, as God is my judge, I'll break you on the wheel with my own hand.
MiLady DeWinter: No. Monsieur D'Artagnan has assaulted me, insulted me ...
Athos: [shouts] Since when has it been possible to insult *you*, Madame?
MiLady DeWinter: And he will die for it.
Athos: [produces a pistol] Have you ever seen a woman shot in the stomach? You know me, Milady. Give me the papers the Cardinal wrote just now. I'll give you five seconds.

Movie Connections:

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

Not As Good as It's Predecessor

The previous posts were very detailed and accurate, so I'm only going to add a few points.

First, although this movie was filmed along with the first, it's almost as though the scenes in this one were edited from the first because they just seem to be more lackluster. This one has much more "outside" filming, and they couldn't have chosen a more barren wasteland than this particular area in Spain - it was very colorless and depressing. Also, this one didn't seem as opulent as the first, in regards to costumes and scenery and such (again strange since this one and the first were actually one long shoot!).

A previous poster stated that Jean-Pierre Cassel was a joy in every scene he was in; this is true, but he had a WAY smaller part in this one, which was a major disappointment since his scenes are some of the best in both movies.

All in all, if you like The Three Musketeers you will like The Four Musketeers, but perhaps not quite as much.