The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers (Double Pack) (1973)

You can tell that the folks at Anchor Bay Entertainment love movies. It shows in every disc they release (like last years wonderful "MAD MONSTER PARTY" DVD). And this new release of director Richard Lester's delightfully enjoyable 70's comedy/ swashbuckler's "THE THREE MUSKETEERS" and "THE FOUR MUSKETEERS" in one 2-disc set is yet another example of their care and love. This is a wonderful release and a superior job over the DVD's Fox-Lorber have had on the market for the last couple of years. No one ever mentioned it (maybe nobody noticed it), but the Fox-Lorber DVD of "3 MUSKETEERS" was missing about 1 minute of footage in a scene between Charlton Heston and Christopher Lee. These new discs have the complete versions of both films and they look and sound great! For the first time they are presented in anamorphic widescreen in their proper aspect-ratio (full screen versions are also included but I haven't yet viewed them so I can't comment on them). The extras are also very nice. Two half hour documentaries on each disc includes interviews with stars Raquel Welch, Christopher Lee, Charlton Heston, Michael York and Frank Finlay and producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler. Trailers, tv spots, radio spots, photo & poster galleries and star biographies (that are actually informative and worth reading) round out this very pleasing package! Buy it, watch it and enjoy!

Anchor Bay deserves a great deal of credit for this informative and entertaining double feature of the two classic Musketeer films from the early 1970s.

Originally planned as one long epic movie (including a then standard intermission in the middle) the decision was made at some point during the production of THE THREE MUSKETEERS that they would either have one four hour movie or two separate movies. Rather than cut out some of the fantastic scenes that had been shot to make the movie more manageable the production company made the more sensible decision to cut the production in two releasing THE THREE MUSKETEER' one year and then THE FOUR MUSKETEERS shortly after.

Not everyone involved in the production of the movie was happy about the decision. Actress Faye Dunaway publicly stated that (had she known about the splitting of the movie into two) she would have refused to do it since her role in the first was so small. The move led to some litigation and was eventually settled but today movie contracts include what is termed "The Salkind Clause" (named after the Salkind's who produced the MUSKETEER movies) to protect actors from such moves.

It is perhaps for this reason that Faye Dunaway is one of the only still living members of the main cast who does not appear on camera for the excellent hour-long documentary THE SAGA OF THE MUSLETEERS that Anchor Bay has put together for this release.

Perhaps a deliberate reflection of the movie (or perhaps simply due to limited space on the DVDs) the documentary is split into two half-hour parts on each disc. Recounting their memories of the production are actors Charlton Heston, Raquel Welch, Michael York, Frank Finlay and Christopher Lee who cover nearly every aspect of the production from their casting to some of the close calls and injuries the actors sustained performing their own stunts and swordflighting with real, very lethal swords.

Lee, himself an expert swordsman, had to remind a rather over enthusiatic Oliver Reed (who abandoned the staged moves for a fight for some more improvised swings) that it was "only a movie."

Also on camera for interviews are producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler (who would both go on to produce SUPERMAN) who discuss not only the actual production of the movies but also where the initial idea came from and the recruiting of Director Richard Lester. Salkind recounts how Lester initially turned down the invitation to direct the movie, referring to it as "a children's book" (as it was seen at the time). It was not until Salkind actually sent him a copy of the actual Alexandre Dumas novel that Lester became excited by the prospect of directing the adaptation.

With a screenplay by George MacDonald Fraser (of the FLASHMAN novels and later of 1983's OCTOPUSSY) these two movies work remarkably well. Even though there are some surprising stylistic differences (surprising since it was originally meant as one movie). The first movie is definitely more comic in tone and the second darker and more dramatic. This is not to say the second movie is lacking in humor just witness the Musketeers eating lunch as the prefer for battle with the Protestants.

Of the two I actually prefer the second movie much more because I feel the characters are more drawn out and the intrigue more involving, The climatic sword fight and Oliver Reed-Faye Dunaway subplot are both highlights in my opinion. The second movie also features the shocking deaths of two of the more likeable major characters.

Overall, a fantastic job by Anchor Bay. One can only hope that the third movie in the series, 1989's THE RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS which was also directed by Richard Lester and included the majority of the original cast, will one day be released on DVD.

Well recommended.

Buy The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers (Double Pack) (1973) Now

Yes, rejoice one and all, for this new Lionsgate edition of, The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers have the EXACT same disc content as the Anchor Bay collection (except for a duller silk screen on the discs, light grey with etched writing) same menus, same extras (the new making of documentary actually says, Anchor Bay presents) but in a two disc plastic case (the size of a single disc case) with no chapter card (where as I believe the Anchor Bay set had the chapter lists inside the cardboard, flip open style case, with the plastic disc holders that tended to make you almost brake the discs trying to unlock them) but who ever uses the chapter search cards anyway.

So this is the set to get if you're looking to purchase these movies.

Hope this helps :)

Read Best Reviews of The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers (Double Pack) (1973) Here

Of course these are 5 star films so I'll just comment on the new release 2 DVD set. The picture and sound quaity is GREATLY improved over the fox/lorber release and both films are presented in their CORRECT widescreen with The Four Musketeers offering a choice of pan n scan or widescreen. Includes great current day interviews with Heston, Lee, Welch, York, Salkind among many others on the making of the film. Even the 'two movies' dispute is discussed in detail by all!! Nice packaging, great interviews and improved transfer makes this a must for upgrade. Too bad Return wasn't included. If you havent seen these films get set for a real treat. I wish I could go back and see them for the first time again. They don't make 'em like this anymore...

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I believe Richard Lester's films of Dumas' "The Three Musketeers" are far-and-away the best movie renditions of that great book. No other films capture the humor, the sweep, and the camaraderie as these two films from 1974. The casting is excellent, across the board, and the film transfer on this Anchor Bay release is vivid.

My only caveat with Lester's vision: the fencing almost always devolves into a fight with fists, furniture, and laundry. I wish he'd stuck to the classic Fred Cavan's-style dueling. Still, that's a minor quibble with an otherwise splendid pair of films.

These are perhaps the last true swashbucklers put on film, throwbacks in many ways to a vanished era.