L'homme au masque de fer

Leonardo DiCaprio is "The Man in the Iron Mask" and also King Louis XIV in this re-telling of the famous Dumas story. He is surrounded in a sumptuous production by a stellar cast that includes Gabriel Byrne, John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu and Jeremy Irons. The oft-filmed plot concerns the twin brother of the cruel, selfish Louis IV who is guarded loyally by D'Artagnan. Phillipe, the twin, was taken from his mother at birth and once found by the King, imprisoned and placed in an iron mask to hide his identity. When the poverty and the uprisings become too much, Aramis (Irons), who knows of Phillipe's existence, breaks him out of prison with the help of Porthos (Depardieu) and Athos (Malkovich) with the idea of having him replace Louis at an upcoming masquerade ball. It falls to Athos, who has just lost his son Raoul in war because of Louis' lust for Raoul's fiancée, to teach Philippe how to be king in a short time. Things do not go as planned.

This tremendous cast and huge production make for absorbing viewing, different yet as entertaining as the Richard Chamberlain TV version and the Louis Hayward version in the 1930s. Here the emphasis is on the old Musketeers, which works well - Porthos who feels his age and misses the old lusts, the grieving Athos and Aramis, given an impossible job by Louis, which means that Louis must go; and, of course, D'Artagnan, fiercely loyal to his King and insisting that he can be molded into a great ruler, despite evidence to the contrary. The acting is fabulous - there really isn't a standout among the four men as they are all so good.

Leonardo DiCaprio creates two completely different characters with Louis and Philippe and does an excellent job. Though he was trending toward matinée idol/chick flick territory, he pulled himself out to take on weightier roles - though there's no doubt this film was meant to bring in the teenagers. And what's wrong with that - a classic story once in a while won't kill them.

Entertaining viewing.

In 1993 we got "The Three Musketeers," a story full of levity about three members of the royal French guard who vowed to save the king of France. In 1998 we got "The Man in the Iron Mask" which is about three musketeers who are seeking to depose the corrupt young king of France.

The story was riveting. Leonardo Di Caprio played King Louis the 14th who very much reminded me of a Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones. That alone made me want to see him taken down, and taken down hard. France was at war, the people were starving, and all the young king could think to do was sleep with another man's fiance.

Aramis (Jeremy Irons), Athos (John Malkovich), and Pathos (Gerard Depardieu), three ex-musketeers, desired a revolution--bloodless if possible. They could get the king they wanted on the throne if they could switch King Louis with his wrongfully imprisoned twin brother Phillipe.

The plot was a fascinating one because there was a loathsome king and those who would oppose him. It was complicated by the king's chief guard D'artagnan (Gabriel Byrne) having an allegiance to both his king and his fellow former musketeers, Aramis, Athos, and Pathos. The acting by all was delightful and the production itself was top quality. There were very few downsides to this film.

When this film started playing in theaters in March 1998, I thought: this is going to be another overrated film that Leo Di Caprio is in...so I avoided going to see it. But I decided to rent it yesterday, since I was in the mood to watch a period film. Was I surprised! I really enjoyed watching this film. Although it did have a few flaws here and there, it is still a very worthwhile and enjoyable film. The costumes were nice, yes, but the sets were even better. The cinematography was outstanding. Who cares if it "was not true" to the Alexandre Dumas novel--film adaptions of famous novels never are true to the books. This film didn't do so well at the box office because it started playing in theaters at a time when all of the Titanic hype was still taking place. Perhaps The Man in the Iron Mask should've been released in the fall of 98--I bet more people would've gone to see it in theaters. If you haven't seen this film, rent it. It's both an enjoyable story and a visual wonder. See it at least twice!

The only problem with this movie that the plot is a bit implausible, but nevertheless, everything was great. I must say that I've seen this movie more times than any movie in the world and i still say it's great. It has a star-studded cast, and all of them did an excellent acting job (DiCaprio, Byrne, Malkovich, Depardieu and Irons). This is a perfect ensemble cast, it's as if the roles were written for the actors. The acting was just well done. The events are exciting and sometimes heart-wrenching, the music is great, and the dialogue is truly, truly exceptional. Trust me, after watching this movie at least 18 times, I've realized that the dialogue is just superb. I very much recommend the movie, however, the story is very, very far from the original book by Alexander Dumas.

The picture is a new version of Alexandre Dumas novel and is set in 17th century French court , where two twins , one evil monarch , Louis XIV (DiCaprio) of France , and the other , Phillippe , (DiCaprio in a dual role) is imprisoned in the Bastilla as an incarcerated inmate , number 6943800 , that hides his identity wearing an iron mask . Both of whom are sons of the Queen Mother Anne (Anne Parillaud) . The King falls for a beautiful girl (Judith Godreche) and while Athos (Peter Sarsgaard) leads to the summit of the dreary musketeers , thus : the brave Dartagnan (Gabriel Byrne) ; the responsible father Athos (John Malkovich) ; the joker (though with flatulence) Portos(Gerard Depardieu) and the Priest Aramis (Jeremy Irons). They join forces for the royal vengeance with the shout : ¨One for all and all for one¨ . They are planning a twisted plot , involving substitution of the villain King by his lookalike brother.

It's a good adaptation with big budget , a moving rendition of the classic tale with derring-do , intrigue , romance , action and exciting swordplay . An excellent casting and lavish production shot in France make for a fairly amusement swashbuckler . Glimmer and watchable cinematography by Peter Suschizsky who reflects stunningly French palaces (Versalles), gardens and interior-exterior scenarios . Besides , the atmospheric and spectacular music score by Nick Glennie Smith . ¨Three Musketeers¨ remade numerous times for big screen and television . Thus : 1929 silent retelling by Alan Dawn with Douglas Fairbanks , 1939 by James Whale with Louis Hayward , 1977 TV rendition with Richard Chamberlain . The film is well realized by usual screenwriter (Braveheart) and first-time director Randal Wallace . The motion picture will appeal to costume drama enthusiastic and DiCaprio fans.