The Duellists
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Movie Reviews of The Duellists
Movie Review: Forget What You Think...
Summary: 5 Stars
this movie is about. I couldn't care less about fencing, old europe, or macho showdowns. The theme is really class envy. Carradine and Keitel are both highly ambitious officers in Napoleon's army, one from the rich educated class and the other from course street peasants. The cinematography here is almost as good as "Barry Lyndon" and the costumes and locations even better. Russian winter and French countryside has never been captured this beautifully. The duels are brief but effective and you'll never predict how it plays out. Terrific supporting actors as well. The only flaw is that Carradine's delivery is a little weak to play an army general. Ridley Scott was basically forced to hire him. I'm no history expert, but it really seems they nailed the early 19th century perfectly. Don't miss it.Movie Review: Much underrated classic.
Summary: 5 Stars
A much underrated classic. Though at first Keitel and Carradine may seem an odd choice for the roles, they are actually inspired. Set throughout Europe during the Napoleonic regime, Carradine plays the sober, dutiful officer merely sent to apprehend an erring peer. Unfortunately for him, the officer in question happens to be a stunted, obsessive nutcase, who takes the act as a real personal attack. Carradine plays the calm, obliging foil for Keitel's nasty runt surprisingly well, as they survive various battles, only for Keitel to 'kick off' with another assault. Top marks for both actors, and that it is played out with a certain grace (rather than full-on) gives it, in my humble opinion, a greater 'gravitas'. Pretty good, actually.
Yours,
Baby Cromwell, Nottingham, England
Movie Review: A great movie with a low budget
Summary: 5 Stars
A have seen the Duellist before and loved it. The idea of a long duel is a great story. The first 50 minutes and the last 10 are the best. The story slows down a bit after the first hour due to Napoleon's exile and the romance of the main character's wish to marry a young heiress. But, then comes Keitel once again. Always eagar for a fight. As time progresses Keitel's character starts to imagine how the duel started. Not someone you want to have a political discussion with.
The photgraphy is great, as is most of the acting.
After watching the extras, I learned that the budget was only $900,000, and that originally, Scott wanted Michael York and Oliver Reed. Guess who would have been the bad guy? LOL :-)
Movie Review: OUTSTANDING!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an outstanding film. The acting is subperb, the scenery is outstanding, and the dialogue is great. It gives one the feel and flavor of what it must have been like to have be alive during this historic period of time. The emotional "draw and bonding" between these two men - Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel - as two officers in Napoleon's Army is something that is hardly ever seen in films any longer. It is, in a sense, "male bonding" at it's best. They are obsessed with eachother in a way that might be difficult for many to understand but to them made perfect sense. What happens to that relationship between them in the end is nothing short of amazing. It would be interesting to see where that relationship went from there.Movie Review: Dueling across Napoleonic Europe
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a beautifully shot movie about the conflict, arising from almost nothing, between two hussars during the Napoleonic Wars. Every shot is beautiful and could be analyzed separately. It is also slightly cold, but I find that is the case with most Ridley Scott films and should not put off anyone from seeing it. Also, if anyone is at all interested in Ridley Scott, they really need to see the short film on the DVD version "Boy and Bicycle." This is a sort of embryonic compendium of all the themes and shots that Scott would later become known for. I haven't followed his movies for his own sake, although I've seen a great many of them in the course of my life, but even I could see many echoes to his later work in this short film.