Being only 20 years old, it may be strange for me to have a favourite actor who's era of greatness was that of the mid 20th century. However, the 1948 version of Dumas' 'Three Musketeers' continues to remain one of my favourite movies, especially with the enigmatic performance of Gene Kelly being at the forefront.
The story follows the journey of a young Gascon named D'artagnan who endeavours to become one of King Louis XIV (I think) musketeers. I must point out that at this point, I always thought that there were only EVER three musketeers. However I soon realised that the three charcters at the focus of the story are but three of a large cadre of the aforementioned individuals.
The reason I liked this movie was not for its intriguing story but for the sword fights. The only other movie where I have seen sword fighting of such a skillful measure is that of the duel between Mandy Patinkin and Cary Elwes in 'The Princess Bride'. Even the newer version of 'The Man in the Iron Mask' and the pitifully woeful version of the 'Three Musketeers' starring Kiefer Sutherland, fail to master that sleek elegance and skill that is evident in the Gene Kelly version: rather they resort to a series of hard whacks and punches to achieve their aim.
Even though several of the death scenes involve the swords clearly being passed under armits and next to hips (similar to one of my favourite scenes in Cy Enfield's 'Zulu', where Hook, a soldier, stabs a Zulu with a bayonet under his armpit, and we are witness to a clear indent in the wall), this movie remains one of the better versions of Dumas's novel.
I give it 8.5 out of 10
James Durham
The story follows the journey of a young Gascon named D'artagnan who endeavours to become one of King Louis XIV (I think) musketeers. I must point out that at this point, I always thought that there were only EVER three musketeers. However I soon realised that the three charcters at the focus of the story are but three of a large cadre of the aforementioned individuals.
The reason I liked this movie was not for its intriguing story but for the sword fights. The only other movie where I have seen sword fighting of such a skillful measure is that of the duel between Mandy Patinkin and Cary Elwes in 'The Princess Bride'. Even the newer version of 'The Man in the Iron Mask' and the pitifully woeful version of the 'Three Musketeers' starring Kiefer Sutherland, fail to master that sleek elegance and skill that is evident in the Gene Kelly version: rather they resort to a series of hard whacks and punches to achieve their aim.
Even though several of the death scenes involve the swords clearly being passed under armits and next to hips (similar to one of my favourite scenes in Cy Enfield's 'Zulu', where Hook, a soldier, stabs a Zulu with a bayonet under his armpit, and we are witness to a clear indent in the wall), this movie remains one of the better versions of Dumas's novel.
I give it 8.5 out of 10
James Durham