The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers: Two Films by Richard Lester 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers: Two Films by Richard Lester 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 15, 2025

Richard Lester's "The Three Musketeers" (1973) and "The Four Musketeers" (1974) arrive on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include four-part documentary by David Cairns; archival featurettes; archival documentaries; and vintage trailers. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

All for one, and one for all.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS

Seventeenth-century France. The young and very naive D’Artagnan (Michael York, Cabaret, Logan's Run) heads to Paris where he hopes to join the royal guards. Along the way, he is snubbed by Rochefort (Christopher Lee, The Skull, The Man Who Could Cheat Death), Cardinal Richelieu’s (Charlton Heston, Ben-Hur) best swordsman, and scorned by Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway, Bonnie and Clyde, Network), a dangerous beauty. D’Artagnan attempts to defend his honor, but only manages to break his sword.

In Paris, the young man borrows a new sword from an old friend of his father and runs into the half-drunk Athos (Oliver Reed, Paranoiac, Tommy), who challenges him to a duel. He also annoys the extravagant Porthos (Frank Finlay, Othello, Gumshoe) and his suave friend Aramis (Richard Chamberlain, The Music Lovers, The Last Wave), who also decide to cross blades with him. However, when a few hours later the men meet to defend their honor, Cardinal Richelieu’s guards appear and attempt to arrest them. During the scuffle, D’Artagnan impresses the three musketeers so much that they befriend him.

D’Artagnan also lucks out and meets the beautiful Constance de Bonacieux (Raquel Welch, Fantastic Voyage, Bedazzled), the Queen’s (Geraldine Chaplin, Doctor Zhivago, Cria Cuervos) confidante, who spends the night with him and steals his heart. Convinced that he has found the love of his life, D’Artagnan vows to always love and defend Constance -- or at least when her much older husband, M. Bonacieux (Spike Milligan, The Bed Sitting Room), isn’t around.

Meanwhile, Cardinal Richelieu decides to expose the Queen’s secret affair with the Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward, Young Winston) to strengthen his influence in the Louvre. He convinces King Louis XIII (Jean-Pierre Cassel, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie) to throw a lavish ball and have the Queen wear a special jewel necklace, which she has secretly given her lover as a token of her love and affection. Cardinal Richelieu also sends Milady de Winter to London to steal two jewels from the necklace so that even if the Duke of Buckingham manages to return it on time, the Queen would still be embarrassed and her infidelity revealed.

After King Louis XIII announces the ball and his desire to see the necklace, the Queen writes a desperate letter to her lover and gives it to Constance. She entrusts the letter to D’Artagnan, who immediately heads to England, followed by the three musketeers.

Director Richard Lester’s adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s famous novel is a lavish and energetic film that blends comedy and period action quite well. The dramatic duels, in particular, are wonderfully choreographed and executed.

The film’s style -- which is defined by an impressive emphasis on detail, brisk tempo, and technical efficiency -- pays homage to the great French swashbuckling films from the 1950s, and specifically Christian-Jaque’s Fanfan la tulipe (1952) and André Hunebelle’s Le bossu (1959). Also, the dialog is often similarly witty and hilarious.

The only major weakness of the production pertains to the authenticity of the characterizations. In Dumas’s novel, the musketeers have weaknesses and dangerous secrets that are now ignored. Chamberlain’s Aramis, in particular, has little in common with the complex character from the novel. Also, York’s D’Artagnan is demoted to a naive simpleton driven primarily by his instincts, not his intellect as is the case in the original novel and the sequels Twenty Years After and The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later.

THE FOUR MUSKETEERS

The Four Musketeers begins exactly where The Three Musketeers ends -- in the Royal Court, where D'Artagnan (Michael York) has been officially welcomed amongst the King’s (Jean-Pierre Cassel) musketeers. The Queen (Geraldine Chaplin) gives him a small present, his friends congratulate him, and Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston) gives him a nasty look. The action then moves to the La Rochelle fortress, where the protestant rebels have managed to capture Rochefort (Christopher Lee), Cardinal Richelieu's best swordsman. Moments before he is to be executed, the four musketeers appear and help him escape.

Shortly after, Cardinal Richelieu orders Rochefort to remove Constance (Raquel Welch), the Queen’s confidante. Without her, the Queen would no longer be able to keep in touch with her lover, the Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward), who has been secretly providing support for the protestant rebels.

After Constance is abducted by Rochefort’s men, Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway) is also summoned by Cardinal Richelieu and asked to travel to London and kill the Duke of Buckingham. She agrees but requests the elimination of D'Artagnan, who has managed to break her heart, and his beloved Constance. Cardinal Richelieu foolishly gives Milady de Winter a note that allows her to begin executing her plan.

Meanwhile, Athos (Oliver Reed), Porthos (Frank Finlay) and Aramis (Richard Chamberlain) rescue Constance from Rochefort’s men and hide her in an old monastery not too far away from Paris. After they reunite with D'Artagnan, a terrible secret is revealed, and the inspiration for Athos’ alcoholism is exposed. The Queen, who has been informed that Cardinal Richelieu has sent Milady de Winter to London to kill her lover, asks D'Artagnan and his three friends to save him for her.

The sequel to The Three Musketeers is a fast and occasionally entertaining film in which the action convincingly outweighs the drama. Interestingly, it has more complicated subplots than those observed in the first film. Also, it moves further away from Alexandre Dumas's famous novel and produces far greater inaccuracies in the depiction of the relationships between the main characters. The most glaring ones are in the final act, where Milady de Winter goes after Constance.

Shot on location in Spain, the film’s panoramic scenes look great. The period costumes and decorations are excellent as well. David Watkin’s lensing, however, isn’t always stellar. As a result, there are multiple sequences where it feels like the camera tries to capture more than it possibly can. John Victor-Smith’s editing leaves a lot to be desired, too.

Ultimately, The Four Musketeers should please viewers that enjoy light period action films, but it will disappoint viewers expecting it to deliver an accurate adaptation of Dumas’s classic novel.

The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers: Two Films by Richard Lester 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers is a four-disc 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The two 4K Blu-ray discs are Region-Free. However, the two Blu-ray discs are Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-rays and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray discs.

Screencaptures #1-25 are from the Blu-rays.
Screencaptures #28-39 are from the 4K Blu-rays.

The release introduces the recent 4K restorations of The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers that were prepared on behalf of StudioCanal. In native 4K, the two films can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view them with Dolby Vision.

We have reviews of StudioCanal's 4K Blu-ray releases of the two films here and here. If you have seen them, you already know that I like the work that was done on these films a lot. The 4K restorations are so strong, so convincing that comparing their quality, in native 4K or 1080p, to any previous presentations on home video releases, like this two-disc set, is utterly meaningless. Indeed, all visuals, regardless of whether they come from daylight, indoor, or nighttime footage, boast superior delineation, clarity, and depth. Color reproduction is dramatically improved as well. As a result, in native 4K, but in 1080p as well, the dynamic range of these visuals is routinely exceptional. If you have a large screen, you will be very pleased with the terrific density levels of the restored visuals, too. Furthermore, in native 4K, all visuals have a slightly richer, more vibrant appearance, which should not be surprising considering that they have an expanded color palette. Select highlights and especially darker nuances can be particularly impressive. The Dolby Vision grade manages darker areas very well, so you will not see any flattening or crushing. Image stability is outstanding.

The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers: Two Films by Richard Lester 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers are presented with English LPCM 1.0 tracks. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for each film.

In both films, there is a lot of action material where dynamic intensity is very good. However, there are plenty of other areas with comedy material and music that sound terrific as well. The dialog is clear, sharp, and easy to follow, never revealing any signs of age-related anomalies. While revisiting the two films earlier today, I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report either.

The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers: Two Films by Richard Lester 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY - THE THREE MUSKETEERS

• Bonus Features - there are no bonus features.

BLU-RAY - THE THREE MUSKETEERS

• The Saga of the Musketeers Part One - this archival program examines the production history of The Three Musketeers. Included in it are clips from interviews with executive producer Ilya Salkind, production director Pierre Spengler, Michael York, Frank Finlay, and Charlton Heston, amongst others. The program was produced by Blue Underground and Anchor Bay Entertainment. In English, not subtitled. (24 min).

• Two For One: Part One - presented here is part one of David Cairns' documentary about Richard Lester's adaptation of The Three Musketeers. Included in it are clips from audio interviews with Lester, production director Pierre Spengler, assistant editor Peter Boyle, and others. The bulk of the comments address the journey of Lester and cast members to Spain. In English, not subtitled. (43 min).

• Two For One: Part Two - presented here is part two of David Cairns' documentary about Richard Lester's adaptation of The Three Musketeers. Included in it are clips from audio interviews with Lester, production director Pierre Spengler, and costumer designer Ann Skinner, amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (30 min).

• The Making of The Musketeers - presented here is a vintage promotional featurette for The Three Musketeers. Included in it is raw footage from the shooting of the film, as well as clips from interviews with Richard Lester, Charlton Heston, Raquel Welch, and Michael York, amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for The Three Musketeers. In English, not subtitled. (27 min).

4K BLU-RAY - THE FOUR MUSKETEERS

• Bonus Features - there are no bonus features.

BLU-RAY - THE FOUR MUSKETEERS

• The Saga of the Musketeers Part Two - included are numerous clips from interviews with executive producer Ilya Salkind, production director Pierre Spengler, Michael York, Christopher Lee, Charleton Helston, and Raquel Welch, amongst others. The program was produced by Blue Underground and Anchor Bay Entertainment. In English, not subtitled. (25 min).

• Two For One: Part Three - presented here is part three of David Cairns' documentary about Richard Lester's adaptation of The Three Musketeers. Included in it are clips from audio interviews with Lester, producer Pierre Spengler, and costumer designer Ann Skinner, amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (43 min).

• Two For One: Part Four - presented here is part four of David Cairns' documentary about Richard Lester's adaptation of The Three Musketeers. Included are clips from audio interviews with Lester, assistant editor Peter Boyle, and sound designer Don Challis, amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (27 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for The Four Musketeers. In English, not subtitled. (27 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film critic Stephanie Zacharek, as well as technical credits.

The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers: Two Films by Richard Lester 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers were fully restored in 4K a couple of years ago, when the former celebrated its 50th anniversary, on behalf of StudioCanal. The work that was done on these films is very convincing and as a result both look outstanding on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray. This upcoming four-disc set also has a very nice four-part documentary about Richard Lester's adaptation of The Three Musketeers. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.