The Iron Mask Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

The Iron Mask Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 26, 2023

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Cohen's Douglas Fairbanks Double Feature: The Three Musketeers / The Iron Mask.

Fans of Alexandre Dumas probably know that there were (ultimately) actually four musketeers, and somewhat hilariously these two films based on Dumas end up offering at least eight musketeers (between the two films), and arguably even more given the fact that only Douglas Fairbanks and Leo Bary are constants in terms of playing the same musketeer characters in both films, which adds at least four more musketeers (i.e., two per film), or perhaps more accurately the actors portraying them, to the total. However many musketeers are deemed to be involved, both of these films offer a great and perhaps even slightly unusual showcase for the singular talents of Fairbanks, on hand in both films as d'Artagnan. The Three Musketeers probably wins the "action adventure" mantle pretty easily when compared to the somewhat more restrained The Iron Mask, but the fact that the second film features an older Fairbanks not trying to pretend he's still a young whippersnapper gives that film a rather interesting emotional edge.

It may not rise quite to the level of the inimitable advertising campaign Metro Goldwyn Mayer engaged in to promote Greta Garbo's matriculation to talkies in 1930's Anna Christie, but Douglas Fairbanks does speak in this 1929 film, accompanied by a few sound effects like the swishing of sword blades through the air, even if this nascent attempt to inject synchronized sound is fleeting and intermittent. What's kind of funny, though, is that, unlike Garbo, who got general raves for her voice despite her thick Swedish accent, Fairbanks is not a redolent bass or baritone as his athletic mien might suggest, but more of a higher voiced tenor type. That actually may help play into the fact that The Iron Mask offers a considerably older and arguably wiser Fairbanks, once again essaying the role of d'Artagnan.

That aspect of "aging" plays rather smartly into a plot that sees d'Artagnan on a quest for vengeance. This films offers repeat performances by Nigel de Brulier as Cardinal Richelieu, seemingly back to his villainous ways after a somewhat tempered finale for the character in The Three Musketeers, as well as Leon Bary as Athos. Gino Corrado takes on the role of Aramis this time around, with Tiny Sandford as Porthos. There are some unexpectedly hefty emotions running through this film, and suffice it to say even apparently major characters don't make it out of this one alive.

The Iron Mask Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Iron Mask is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of the Cohen Film Collection, an imprint of Cohen Media Group, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Cohen usually doesn't provide much technical information about their releases, but this is a happy exception, with the back cover detailing that "The Iron Mask was restored by Cohen Film Collection in association with Photoplay Productions, and was based on the 1999 photochemical restoration initiated by Kevin Brownlow and Patrick Stanbury in association with the Museum of Modern Art and The Douris Corporation, using Douglas Fairbanks' personal nitrate print. Digital restoration of these elements was carried out in 2017 on behalf of Cohen Film Collection at Roundabout Entertainment". As with The Three Musketeers, those used to watching silents in high definition will probably be better prepared and therefore willing to cut a bit of slack for recurrent if minor age related wear and tear, as well as a few passing issues with clarity. Detail levels are frequently quite impressive throughout this presentation, and as with its disc sibling, contrast is secure with nicely modulated gray scale. Grain can be somewhat variable, but resolves without any major issues.

The Iron Mask Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

One Hugo Riesenfeld is credited with what was the original score for The Iron Mask, but evidently for copyright reasons this version offers a really wonderful Carl Davis score created for Kino Lorber's DVD release of the film several years ago, presented here in either DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Davis has long been one of my personal favorites courtesy of his work on pieces like The World at War, and he provides a multilayered score here which frequently reminded me of Richard Strauss. Davis isn't above "sampling" classical chestnuts from days of yore for occasional scenes. The score is beautifully rendered here, with excellent fluidity and some perhaps surprising engagement of the low end (even the subwoofer) for bursts of tympani.

The Iron Mask Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, no supplements are offered for either film.

The Iron Mask Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Iron Mask may be at least a slightly different tale than that told in such features as The Man in the Iron Mask, but that may not be a bad thing. Fairbanks doesn't shirk from playing an older man in this film, and that gives its emotional edge a certain gravitas that was missing from the more freewheeling The Three Musketeers. Cohen provides a release with generally secure technical merits (audio more than video, for understandable reasons). Recommended.