Most of the 9 comments I see here are negative to Luke-warm at best. So I beg to disagree and tell why I liked this film.
Firstly, I haven't seen other renderings of the story, except for the Australian Burbank animation (1985), which I also cherished (for different reasons, of course). In fact, that anime made me read up on Wikipedia about the complex back stories, fiction and true, and after that I re-watched this Beau Bridges piece.
I found him convincing both as Philippe and Louis XIV, and was thrilled by their duel on the shaky bridge (both dressed similarly, I was briefly on the edge of my seat).
Then there's the ladies, who in my European cut expose interesting body parts, and when dressed still deliver strong emotions.
But the roles that grabbed me most were Colbert and Fouqué, with their wheelings and dealings, mostly wrapped in courtly etiquette - quite fascinating. In contrast, the name-brand musketeers did not catch my attention so much.
Finally, what detracted me most was the mismatch of the French dub and subtitles (DVD labeled Bakker 7812/773). In Vienna, Austria, the film was produced in English, but I wanted the "native" language - though very often I was astonished how many phrases can be translated differently to French, starting from "Je vous en prie" (dub) vs. "s'il vous plait" (subtitle). So I didn't get the convenient read-along experience I had hoped for. But all in all, I really enjoyed this film. And Sylvia Kristel impressed me quite much as Spanish royalty.
Firstly, I haven't seen other renderings of the story, except for the Australian Burbank animation (1985), which I also cherished (for different reasons, of course). In fact, that anime made me read up on Wikipedia about the complex back stories, fiction and true, and after that I re-watched this Beau Bridges piece.
I found him convincing both as Philippe and Louis XIV, and was thrilled by their duel on the shaky bridge (both dressed similarly, I was briefly on the edge of my seat).
Then there's the ladies, who in my European cut expose interesting body parts, and when dressed still deliver strong emotions.
But the roles that grabbed me most were Colbert and Fouqué, with their wheelings and dealings, mostly wrapped in courtly etiquette - quite fascinating. In contrast, the name-brand musketeers did not catch my attention so much.
Finally, what detracted me most was the mismatch of the French dub and subtitles (DVD labeled Bakker 7812/773). In Vienna, Austria, the film was produced in English, but I wanted the "native" language - though very often I was astonished how many phrases can be translated differently to French, starting from "Je vous en prie" (dub) vs. "s'il vous plait" (subtitle). So I didn't get the convenient read-along experience I had hoped for. But all in all, I really enjoyed this film. And Sylvia Kristel impressed me quite much as Spanish royalty.