The Three Musketeers Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

The Three Musketeers 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.

In a way, Douglas Fairbanks may have been made to play d'Artagnan, and he brings a wonderful athleticism (one of the actor's most famous stunts is featured in the film, one which won't be spoiled here other than to say it involves catching a sword) and also a rather spryly self deprecating quality to his characterization. Some online sites suggest that Fairbanks' "signature" mustache literally grew out of this role, but even aside and apart from any hirsute qualities he sports, he personifies the heroic aspects of the character with perfect aplomb. Lovers of the Golden Age of Hollywood character actors may be surprised (shocked, actually) to see Eugene Pallette on hand here as Aramis, with the aforementioned Léon Bary as Athos and George Siegmann as Porthos. A suitably concerned Adolphe Menjou is Louis XIII and a suitably nefarious Nigel de Brulier is Cardinal Richelieu, though this film's climax actually may offer a "villain" who has a few redeeming qualities.

This is sumptuous, (for its era) big budget filmmaking with opulent sets and costumes, even if it can't quite escape some of the hyperbolic acting style that was popular during this part of the Silent Era. Kind of interestingly, the "romantic interest" of the film may be split between the king and Anne of Austria (Mary MacLaren) and d'Artagnan and Constance Bonacieux (Marguerite De La Motte), part of Anne's entourage. The Three Musketeers evidently originally screened with what was labelled the Wyckoff-DeMille Process, seemingly the same as the Handschiegl Color Process, but the version presented here is all in black and white.

The Three Musketeers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Three Musketeers 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 "a full frame 35 mm fine grain positive was scanned at 4K at an historically appropriate 21 frames per second. Following this, more than 160 hours of digital clean up was completed at 2K". Those who have experience watching "restored" silents will probably find this a mostly revelatory viewing experience, while those used to the pristine qualities of modern digital capture and an absence of age related wear and tear will probably wonder what my 4.0 score is all about. There are manifest signs of age related wear and tear, including some pretty severe (if taken on their own, minor) scratches covering the extent of the frame, but detail levels are still surprisingly good throughout the presentation, even given the then standard use of midrange and wide shots and a relative absence of extreme close-ups. Contrast is secure, if just slightly variable, and gray scale looks great, with a few passing deficits, especially in moments involving things like optical dissolves.

The Three Musketeers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While the credits for this release offer one Louis F. Gottschalk as composer, this version actually sports a boisterous new(er) score by Robert Israel, which sounds fantastic in both its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 formulations. Bolstered by heroic fanfares in the brass, this is a really full bodied sounding score with excellent fluidity and some very appealing dynamic range.

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

Unfortunately, no supplements are offered for either film.

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

The Three Musketeers may not have the nonstop action elements that more contemporary versions of the story have offered, and it does have some quasi-comedic moments as well, but it's really a thrillingly staged and expertly performed silent that continues to impress to this day. Cohen offers a presentation with generally secure technical merits (audio more than video, for understandable reasons). Recommended.