Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The Man in the Iron Mask Blu-ray Movie Review

Big Skirts and Palace Intrigue

Reviewed by Michael Reuben October 11, 2013

The works of Alexandre Dumas were very good to actor Richard Chamberlain in the Seventies. After starring as musketeer Aramis in Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers (1973) and its sequel, The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974), Chamberlain created a memorable Edmund Dantes in a 1975 TV version of The Count of Monte Cristo, which has just been released on Blu-ray by Timeless Media Group. Two years later, he starred in one of many film adaptations of the final volume in Dumas's Musketeer Trilogy, The Vicomte de Bragelonne, which was first made as a silent film with Douglas Fairbanks in 1929 called The Iron Mask. Most later versions have been called The Man in the Iron Mask, including the 1998 film written and directed by Randall Wallace and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Chamberlain's 1977 version is often treated as a TV movie, because that's how it was seen in America, but it was released theatrically in Europe and had a first-rate cast and professional production values that lifted it well above the era's typical TV fare. The director was Mike Newell, who has since become known for such features as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Specialty publisher Hen's Tooth Video has elected to treat The Man in the Iron Mask as a film and release it in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio seen in European theaters. The results are impressive.

William Bast, a prolific screenwriter and also a close friend and the first biographer of James Dean, wrote the adaptation from Dumas' novel. If you only know the DiCaprio film, this one will come as a surprise. Bast made much greater departures from the original story, largely eliminating the role of the musketeers, except for D'Artagnan, and refocusing the narrative on the competing plots and schemes between factions loyal and opposed to King Louis XIV. The core of the film becomes Chamberlain's convincing performances in the dual roles of Louis and his twin brother, Philippe, who, at the outset, has no idea that he's royalty.

The film opens with the unsuspecting Phillipe (Chamberlain) being dragged from his bed in a remote country village and hustled to a cell in the Bastille by retired musketeer D'Artagnan (Louis Jourdan), who is working secretly with Interior Minister Colbert (Ralph Richardson). It will later be explained that Phillipe is the twin brother of France's current monarch, Louis XIV (also Chamberlain), but Phillipe was born first and is therefore the rightful heir to the throne. A scheming minister arranged for the infant Phillipe to be smuggled out of the palace, while the children's mother (and the world) were told that he was stillborn. The schemer died before his plan, whatever it was, could be put into effect. Louis, who calls himself "the Sun King", has become an indolent tyrant squandering the wealth of France and ignoring affairs of state while the country flounders. Now, Minister Colbert, who knew of the deception, has decided to use this knowledge to replace Louis with his twin brother.

Before Colbert can finalize his plans, however, Phillipe is spotted in the Bastille by Duval (Ian Holm), the chief ally of Finance Minister Fouquet (The Prisoner's Patrick McGoohan). Fouquet wants the monarchy to remain just as it is so that he can continue plundering the royal treasury. Duval is checking on the father of a beautiful young noblewoman, Louise de la Valliere (Jenny Agutter), who refused Fouquet's advances and saw her father imprisoned as punishment. He sees a prisoner with a remarkable resemblance to the king, and Fouquet himself visits Phillipe to confirm his identity.

When Fouquet informs the king of his twin brother's miraculous reappearance, the stricken monarch orders that no royal blood shall be spilled, because he thinks it's bad luck. But the man's face is to be forever concealed, and Fouquet obliges by transporting the terrified Philippe to a remote prison on the Isle Ste Marguerite, where a blacksmith is forced to rivet a grim metal encasement onto the terrified man's head. Still demanding to know his crime, Phillipe is left alone to go slowly mad under the watchful eye of a jailer who is instructed never to speak to his prisoner.

At the royal court in Fontainebleau, Louis pursues his amusements, which now include Louise, who has caught his eye. The king's open flirtations are a source of constant embarrassment to his mother (Brenda Bruce) and his wife, Maria Theresa of Spain (Vivien Merchant in her last film), whom Louis married out of political necessity but despises. Colbert and D'Artagnan learn of Phillipe's whereabouts and storm the Isle Ste Marguerite with a group of loyal musketeers, narrowly escaping a group of Fouquet's men. With Phillipe safely concealed in D'Artagnan's country estate, they begin planning a coup, but no ordinary coup. This one will be secret and hidden from the world. As far as France and the world are concerned, Louis will remain king. He just won't be Louis.

The latter half of The Man in the Iron Mask has a similar feel to the revenge of Edmund Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo, as an intricate plot is set in motion against men who are so sure of their position that they don't see the traps being laid before them. It's overlaid with a somewhat improbable love story between Phillipe and Louise that is made credible because Chamberlain and Agutter are both good enough at speaking the formalized period dialogue with sufficient conviction to sell the romance. (Also, Agutter looks terrific in period costume.) What should be a hopeless relationship achieves a surprisingly satisfying resolution, thanks to the last-minute intervention of an unlikely third party. Everyone in the court, it seems, has an angle to play.

Chamberlain holds the film together with his precise delineation of the dual roles. Louis' haughty demeanor and stilted cadences instantly distinguish him from Phillipe's ordinary man, and Chamberlain is even able to convey the extra effort that Phillipe has to exert when he assumes the role of Louis—the split second of hesitation before he responds to a comment or question, the slight hesitation before he makes a gesture. It looks like it was fun to play. It's certainly fun to watch.

The Man in the Iron Mask Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Man in the Iron Mask was shot by David Lean's favorite cinematographer, three-time Oscar winner Freddie Young (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, Ryan's Daughter), who knew how to photograph period films. Hen's Tooth's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is something of a revelation if, like me, you have only seen The Man in the Iron Mask in a TV broadcast. (As far as I know, it has not been released on region 1 DVD.) The image is sharp and colorful, revealing detail in the period costumes and decor and the various locations (some French, some English substituting for France) beyond anything that American audiences have ever seen. Facial expressions, skin textures, hair and the elaborate wigs favored by the nobility are all readily discernable. Colors are vivid, and the palette can be both bright and pastel, depending on the context.

A low level of video noise can be observed from time to time, but it's minor and not intrusive. Better that than the indiscriminate application of noise reduction technology that might diminish or smear the detail. The grain structure appears to be natural and undisturbed by digital tampering. The average bitrate is a respectable 24.00 Mbps, and compression artifacts were not an issue.

The Man in the Iron Mask Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The film's original mono soundtrack is presented as lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0, with identical left and right front channels, and it's an odd mix. The dialogue and the score by Allyn Ferguson (who also scored Chamberlain's The Count of Monte Cristo) play at normal volume, but many of the sound effects are so quiet as to be almost non-existent. Notable examples occur in the opening sequence, when Phillipe is seized by D'Artagnan's men. Their pounding on the farmhouse door and stomping through the house are so muted and lacking in resonance that the viewer may think the volume is too low. It isn't; the sounds just aren't there. Later, in a key sequence, Phillipe is grazed by a bullet. The firing is seen, but the shot is virtually silent.

Since many other sound effects are audible throughout the film, one must conclude that these omissions are deliberate, but they are puzzling nonetheless. Also detracting from the sound quality is the muddy reproduction of Ferguson's score. The instruments are not distinct, and the top end in particular sounds "blurred". This appears to be inherent in the original recording and not a fault of the Blu-ray, but given the track's numerous shortcomings and its overall lack of dynamic range, and absent a master tape for comparison, I cannot give it high marks.

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

The disc contains no extras, unless one counts the included DVD.

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

There really was a man in the iron mask (in reality, a hood of black cloth), who was held in the Bastille and other jails, but his identity has never been clearly established. The French philosopher Voltaire was the first writer to theorize that the mystery man was Louis XIV's brother, and Dumas invented most of the rest. The results have proven irresistible to filmmakers, and no doubt other versions will be made in the future. Chamberlain's version is unique for the richness of its dual characterization and the high-toned archness of its supporting performances—and the period costumes of the Sun King's court are eye candy on Blu-ray. Hen's Tooth has unearthed another gem. Recommended, despite the weakness of the original soundtrack.