Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

The Three Musketeers 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 15, 2023

Richard Lester's "The Three Musketeers" (1973) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include new program with critic Neil Sinyard; archival documentary; archival promotional featurette; and two vintage trailers. In English, with optional English SDH, French, and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

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 Three Musketeers 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

StudioCanal's release of The Three Musketeers is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-B "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-11 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #14-20 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

The new 4K makeover of The Three Musketeers is very, very beautiful. I have this very old Region-B release of The Three Musketeers that Optimum Home Entertainment produced in 2011, and I did not even feel the need to do extensive comparisons after I was done viewing the 4K makeover. The improvements that I saw on my system were everywhere, plus the color grading job is as convincing as I hoped it would be. Indeed, the HDR grade is very gentle but at the same time strengthens the film's unique period appearance in very effective ways, especially in its management of daylight colors, which vary quite a lot. Darker nuances do not just look vastly superior in native 4K, there are entire ranges of them that are missing on the previous release. Depth and clarity range from very good to excellent. Fluidity is outstanding too, so all of the action footage with the quick zoom and pan effects looks terrific. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections, so the surface of the visuals has a very attractive organic appearance. Image stability is outstanding. Fantastic 4K makeover.

The Three Musketeers 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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 did not encounter any issues to report in our review. I thought that the upper register was very healthy and during the mass footage some previously problematic exchanges were very easy to catch now. Of course, if you require optional English SDH subtitles, this release has them. The previous release that I have does not have English SDH subtitles.

The Three Musketeers 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Interview with Neil Sinyard - in this new program, critic Neil Sinyard discusses The Three Musketeers and the career of its maker, Richard Lester. In English, with optional French and German subtitles. (32 min).

• 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, with optional French and German subtitles. (24 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, with optional French and German subtitles. (7 min).

• Trailer One - presented here is an original U.S. trailer for The Three Musketeers. In English, with optional French and German subtitles. (3 min).

• Trailer Two - presented here is an original UK trailer for The Three Musketeers. In English, with optional French and German subtitles. (3 min).

BLU-RAY DISC

• Interview with Neil Sinyard - in this new program, critic Neil Sinyard discusses The Three Musketeers and the career of its maker, Richard Lester. In English, with optional French and German subtitles. (32 min).

• 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, with optional French and German subtitles. (24 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, with optional French and German subtitles. (7 min).

• Trailer One - presented here is an original U.S. trailer for The Three Musketeers. In English, with optional French and German subtitles. (3 min).

• Trailer Two - presented here is an original UK trailer for The Three Musketeers. In English, with optional French and German subtitles. (3 min).

The Three Musketeers 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

StudioCanal has a definitive home video release of Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers. Earlier tonight, I revisited the film with this 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack and must say that all of the expectations I had for the new 4K makeover that was prepared for it were convincingly met. I plan to view The Four Musketeers later today and already know that I will see another fantastic presentation. If you reside in North America and wish to acquire the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack, please keep in mind that the 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free while the Blu-ray disc is Region-B "locked". VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.