Yeah, now you are being crazy. You always gotta take it too far, Dive.
There’s also the BBC Musketeers TV Show. I’ve only seen about a half-dozen episodes, but I did like the ones I’ve seen, and it was popular enough to get three seasons.
I think I saw the 1975 Chamberlain version of Monte Cristo as a youth and enjoyed it, but it’s been 40+ years now.
I’ll probably try the two Three Musketeers/Four Musketeers movies. It looks like my best option for viewing would be the 7 day free trial of the BFI Player Classics channel on Amazon Prime Video - has anyone else tried the channel?
I own them on Amazon in the US and the quality of the transfer was perfect.
I’ll second anyone who recommended Captain Blood. The Sea Hawk isn’t quite in the same vein but was also pretty good. Basically, anything based on a Sabatini novel is good, and that’s why I recommend Scaramouche as well, even though I have not yet seen it. Also, Sabatini would be ripe for a new wave of adaptations, it’s been many decades. They could even be redressed as space opera and that would still be cool.
For sandals and scimitars with some swashbuckling feel, I really liked The Thief of Bagdad (sic). Either version.
When it comes to movies about outlaws getting tracked down with duels and passion, I’d always try to shoehorn Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon into the discussion.
I remember enjoying the Richard Chamberlain version.
I LOVE THIS MOVIE!
It has the most amazing costumes and full up on anachronistic clothing, and for that, and the scenery and drama, it rates exceedingly high on my list of great, great movies.
Ridley Scott’s debut The Duellists is great. It’s a multi-decade rivalry between two soldiers where one of them is just such a dour, taunting bastard.
I love that movie, based on a novel by Joseph Conrad. It is set during the napoleonic times. Harvey Keitel was so perfect (and Carradine, too).
Well, there is still the '98 4part TV adaption with Depardieu? I remember that I’ve watched it, but unfortunately can’t really recall much beyond that.
Looking over the wiki page, its pretty crazy how often this story has been adapted (eg into the TV series Revenge with Emily VanCamp), but there aren’t that many recent “straight” versions to be had.
Another vote for The Duelists. The 70s Musketeers movies are also great fun. The newer Musketeers TV was a solid B.
However my favorite duel in a movie is probably in Rob Roy
The Duelists has a couple of good swordfights (that opening scene!), but I would never call it a swashbuckling movie- in fact, I think of it as an anti-swashbuckling film- much more concerned with realism/verisimilitude than showy movie stuff.
Along the lines of Jason and the Argonauts, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad has a great sordid with a skeleton and some great swashbuckling moments, plus some of Harryhausen’s best work. Golden Cottage was good too, but Seventh was my favorite.
There’s a new 2-part version of the Musketeers incoming and it certainly looks VERY brown!
Since its actually a french production for a change, I assume it might be more authentic than the various Disney/Italien/Russian…etc versions?
Otherwise it looks very action packed and that trailer has certainly made me curious!
I’m sorry I missed this thread the first time around. I’m curious, did you end up watching any of them? I’ve only seen the one with Guy Pearce from 2002, and I really enjoyed that one. I was not familiar with the story, and I thought the movie was very dramatic and the various events played out in a satisfying way.
And then two years ago, remembering how much I liked the movie, I downloaded the audiobook on Audible. And I eventually stopped listening because oh my god, Alexander Dumas is soooooooo black and white about these characters right from the beginning. One is a freakin’ Saint and one is a moustache twirling villain. I will probably finish the audiobook one of these days, but oh man, it was so over the top, I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes.
Hey awesome, we’re getting that all-French production of The Three Musketeers I was hoping for! Who’s crazy now, @Navaronegun?
I’m a pretty big fan of Three Musketeers movies, but @Cormac’s description of it as “very brown” is pretty spot on. I don’t know if I can take such a dreary color palette for two+ hours.
The 70s Musketeers film was my first movie I remember loving. I asked my Dad when the second one would be coming out prettty much weekly until it came out. I’ve enjoyed every iteration of the musketeers I’ve seen including the Leo Man in the Iron Mask. Which I did t know he the musketeers in it until I watched it. Love me some swashbuckling swordplay.
It ain’t 10 hours crazy man! But I’ll watch it. It does look completely sepia and colorless, tho.