6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
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.
Starring: Oliver Reed (I), Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain, Michael York, Christopher LeeComedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Romance | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0
French: LPCM 2.0
German: LPCM 2.0
English SDH, French, German
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region B (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Richard Lester's "The Four Musketeers" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include new program with critic Neil Sinyard; archival documentary; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH, French, and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Four Musketeers arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.
I viewed the new 4K makeover of The Four Musketeers in native 4K and did some random comparisons with the 1080p presentation of it on this release. (You can see our listing and review of the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack here).
The 4K makeover is as impressive as the one that was prepared for The Three Musketeers. This means that you should expect to see a wide range of great improvements in all areas that we scrutinize in our reviews. In a direct comparison between the 1080p and native 4K presentations, the main discrepancies are in the areas of color reproduction and the dynamic range of the visuals, but this is hardly surprising because it is where 4K Blu-ray should excel. However, as was the case with the 1080p presentation of The Three Musketeers, these discrepancies are not dramatic. In many areas, the 1080p content comes extremely close to matching the quality of the 4K content. On my system, the 1080p content even appears to be matching quite well the quality of 4K content where fluidity is quite striking. Also, the darker areas do not reveal any easily noticeable black crush. On the contrary, darker areas always look great and reveal excellent ranges of nuances. The film looks very healthy. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There are three standard audio tracks on this release: English LPCM 2.0, French LPCM 2.0, and German, LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH, French, and German subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I viewed the entire film in native 4K and did not encounter any issues to report. All exchanges sound very clear and healthy. The outdoor footage sounds great too, though you need to keep in mind that there are some small but noticeable fluctuations during fast movement with scattered lines and music. There are no encoding anomalies. The previous release that I have does not have optional English SDH subtitles, but this time folks that need them will be able to use them.
Perhaps The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers should have been one giant film with an intermission, as Christopher Lee implies in an archival program that is included on this release. If this was the type of film everyone tried to make, then perhaps its second half would have turned out as good as its first half. Earlier today, I revisited The Four Musketeers for the first time in more than a decade and enjoyed it quite a lot, but it is clearly not as well polished as The Three Musketeers. Indeed, it moves so far away from Alexandre Dumas's novel and dedicates so much time on the flashy action that it begins to look like a different type of period film.
StudioCanal has two releases on the market that introduce a great new 4K makeover of The Four Musketeers. The other release is this 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. If you pick up The Three Musketeers for your library, you should consider adding The Four Musketeers as well. This Blu-ray release and the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack offer equally convincing presentations of the new 4K makeover. If you reside in North America, please keep in mind that the 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free while the Blu-ray disc is Region-B "locked". RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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