The Four Musketeers (1974) Part One

D'Artagnan has become a Musketeer. Protestants hold La Rochelle, and the Queen loves Buckingham, who'll soon send ships to support the rebels. Richelieu enlists Rochefort to kidnap Constance, the Queen's go-between and D'Artagnan's love. The Cardinal uses the wily, amoral Milady de Winter to distract D'Artagnan. But soon, she is D'Artagnan's sworn enemy, and she has an unfortunate history with Athos as well. Milady goes to England to dispatch Buckingham; the Musketeers fight the rebels. Milady, with Rochefort's help, then turns to her personal agenda. Can D'Artagnan save Constance, defeat Rochefort, slip de Winter's ire, and stay free of the Cardinal? All for one, one for all.

From IMDB:

8/10

Part two of a great action/adventure film

This film is part two of the movie "Three and Four Musketeers".

This film is somewhat more serious in tone as is warranted by the events described in the book. Not quite as fun as the first movie but true to the classic story writen by Dumas back in 1850.

(additional comments are duplicate comments made about the Three Musketeers)

This set of films (3 and 4 Musketeers were filmed at the same time and released 8 months apart) ranks right up there with "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Robin Hood" (with Erol Flynn) as one of the best in its genre (action/adventure). As an historian, I enjoyed the small touches of historical accuracy in the film. As far as I can tell, everything is just about bang-on: the costumes, the settings, the weapons, the street life, and the musketeers themselves (and yes I know the story is not "true" ). The two films are quite faithful to the classic book by Alexander Dumas given some small and reasonable changes.

The sword-play in the film is the greatest! The initial duel against the Cardinal's men in the Convent is a masterpiece of choreographed combat. The battle that takes place early in the second film is hysterically funny as our heroes try to eat lunch in the middle of a war.

The actors and actresses are all wonderful, especially Michael York, Oliver Reed, Faye Dunaway, and Charlton Heston. One small weakness in the film is that it does not have the time or interest in describing how Milady de Winter seduces her jailor. I suggest reading the book to get a full understanding of that sequence of events.