Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

The Three Musketeers Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 15, 2023

Richard Lester's "The Three Musketeers" (1973) arrives on 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-B "locked".

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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Three Musketeers arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

I viewed the new 4K makeover of The Three 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).

My impression is that the Blu-ray release offers an equally convincing presentation of the 4K makeover. In many areas, I think that the dynamic range of the visuals is almost as good as that observed on the 4K Blu-ray release, possibly only with some of the darker areas struggling to reveal all supporting nuances as needed. Delineation, clarity, and depth are very good. I think that the density levels hold up incredibly well too, though in native 4K some visuals clearly reveal superior fluidity and look better on a larger screen. What about color reproduction? I like it a lot. On the 4K Blu-ray release, the HDR grade is very gentle but does strengthen some nuances, and yet I would not describe the difference in quality as dramatic. In 1080p everything looks very good, but in native 4K there is simply a wider color gamut that produces richer visuals. Still, if I had only this Blu-ray release as the final home video release of The Three Musketeers, I would have been very, very happy with it. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Three Musketeers 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.

While viewing the film in native 4K, 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 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• 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, among 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 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

StudioCanal has two home video releases that introduce the outstanding new 4K makeover of Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers. The other release is this 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free, but the Blu-ray disc is Region-B "locked". My advice would be to consider picking up the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack, but if you do not plan to upgrade to 4K, this Blu-ray release will meet all of your expectations. I think that in 1080p the new 4K makeover of The Three Musketeers looks very impressive, too. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.