misc The Three Musketeers

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Has there ever been a good film adaptation of the three musketeers?
If not - is it possible to have one? The only ones I've seen were super cheesy.

But I really like dumas writing in the count of monte cristo.
Never read the book 3 musketeers bc the movie was always not to my taste
 
There have been about a half dozen of them. In terms of Dumas's work in film, I thought "The Man in the Iron Mask" was ok.

The Three Musketeers is a great story, but has a few built in problems when it comes to making a film. For one thing you need 4 lead actors with both balanced charisma, and group chemistry. So you need 4 actors of similar fame level also. Otherwise you are telegraphing to the audience that one is the "central" character, which is not how the novel works. This gives you the choice between 4 big actors (expensive), 4 mid actors (seen by audiences as a budget version), or 4 unknown actors (requires a lot of work hours finding 4 good unknowns with the right balance and chemistry.)

As though that isn't a big enough problem, period dramas, swashbuckling adventures and the like, require 100% bespoke sets. You can modernize it, with some skilled writing, maybe. I'm having trouble picturing Athos and Porthos driving an escalade past a Carl's Jr. with all the swords in the trunk. If you wanted to completely transform it, you could do it Scott Pilgrim style with guitar battles replacing the swordfights. That might work out.
 
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I liked the 2002 monte cristo film.

iron mask was bizzarre as hell. casting teen hearthrob and covering his face the whole movie
 
That was a weird design choice. Maybe not as weird as paying Vin Diesel 52 million dollars to voice Groot.

If you are interested in classic style storytelling, I was just about to pitch an open colab project, a short film based on an old true story. I was on my way to post it when I read this thread.
 
That was a weird design choice. Maybe not as weird as paying Vin Diesel 52 million dollars to voice Groot.

If you are interested in classic style storytelling, I was just about to pitch an open colab project, a short film based on an old true story. I was on my way to post it when I read this thread.
Not so much classic storytelling, just a big fan of the count of monte cristo book.
wish I had the energy to contribute to multiple projects but i can barely manage anything g
 
Sadly, every time someone drops the ball on a particular franchise, it makes it less likely for the studios to try that franchise again. It can bounce back sometimes. Tarzan is a good example of an IP that has really had it's ups and downs. It's an interesting case study in the argument over the importance of concept vs execution. With the same core story done 15 times in a row, you can more clearly track how other factors affect quality.

As far as the Three Muskateers, I think it's been a break even for the studios over the years, with some successful iterations, and some mid range duds. Combine that information with a free IP and a dead writer they don't have to deal with, and it's almost guaranteed that we'll eventually see another 3 Muskateers film.
 
My favorite!
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Yes. The Four Musketeers (1974), directed by Richard Lester, with Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, and Raquel Welch.

it's been a long time, but I think this was playful (and "edited" from his earlier Three Musketeers--whatever that means--which I didn't see. ) Anyway, I remember liking it a lot, and remember both my older sisters all kookoo about Michael York (especially after his Tybalt in zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet) and remember me, as a kid, a little kookoo myself, here, about Raquel :) )


 
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Why did you edit out The Three Musketeers (1973), did you decide it actually sucked? 😂
 
Ah, because I had actually never seen it, but do fondly remember the Four. And also because I don't understand the relationship between the two films, the second being less a sequel, I think, and more a re-edited version. Although, of course, as always, I may be wrong.
 
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Has there ever been a good film adaptation of the three musketeers?
If not - is it possible to have one? The only ones I've seen were super cheesy.

But I really like dumas writing in the count of monte cristo.
Never read the book 3 musketeers bc the movie was always not to my taste
I actually just rewatched the Disney adaptation with Sutherland and Sheen. Even though this is far from a faithful adaptation, I still regard it as a super fun movie.
 
I had no idea this was even in the works!!
Trying to do it justice with two movies, easter then christmas of 2023

 
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