The Iron Mask
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Belle Bennett, Dorothy Revier, Douglas Fairbanks, Marguerite De La Motte, Vera LewisBrand: Kino International
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Silent
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-06-18
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: 2482
Studio: Kino Video
Product features:
- IRON MASK, THE (DVD MOVIE)
Movie Reviews of The Iron Mask
Movie Review: A somewhat bittersweet end to an era
Summary: 5 Stars
This film, released in the final year of the silent era (at least in America; other regions of the world were still making silents until the early Thirties), is a sequel to the earlier Fairbanks film 'The Three Musketeers,' and similarly is based upon the novel by Alexandre Dumas père. While it is helpful to have seen the first film (if not read the book) to get some background information on the main characters and a sense of where the general plot is picking up from, it's one of those sequels which one can also enjoy and understand entirely on its own merits. It's not so much a continuation of the prior story as it is a continuation of the adventures of the main characters. It begins in September of 1638, 13 years after the original film took place, and Queen Anne of Austria is about to give birth to the heir of France. King Louis XIII is thrilled to have a son, but what he doesn't know is that the Queen actually gave birth to twin boys. D'Artagnan's sweetheart Constance, who was present at the second birth, is kidnapped and taken to a convent to try to shut her up, but D'Artagnan quickly finds out about it, and as soon as he discovers just where she's been taken, he and the other Musketeers, Porthos (Tiny Sandford, whom fans of classic comedy will recognise as the frequent foil to Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy), Athos, and Aramis, take off to try to rescue her. Meanwhile the scheming Cardinal Richelieu, fearing a revolution if word of the second heir gets out, has the second-born twin taken away to be raised in Spain. Things don't go well for anyone, and the four friends are ordered to be separated. In the interim, D'Artagnan and the young Prince Louis are as thick as thieves, and D'Artagnan's loyalty to his three dear friends, the future king, and France remain as strong as ever in spite of the passage of time. All four of them still live by their adage of all for one and one for all when they are pressed into service for one last hurrah to rescue the true King Louis XIV and to preserve the glory and honor of France. Although there are a number of rather depressing and heartbreaking events in this film, and the end is quite bittersweet, it almost seems appropriate that this, one of the final great silents, not be all sunshine and roses. It was the end of an era, both the end of the silent era and Fairbanks's final silent feature, and the end of such a wonderful era should be duly mourned. The ending itself is also particularly poignant, sad, and bittersweet, knowing this was Doug's final silent and that the silent era was about to end forever. It's also kind of sad to see him made up to look like an older man in the second half of the film, knowing that he only lived to be 56 in real life. (Though he was 45 when this film when this film was produced, he was still as gorgeous as ever and in incredible physical shape, still able to do all of his trademark stunts and swashbuckling with ease.)
Extras are outtakes, an animated gallery with commentary by Doug, Jr., an excerpt from the 1952 reissue of the film, with all of the title cards deleted and Doug, Jr., narrating, and 7 text essays from the 1999 program book from Photoplay Productions Ltd. and Channel Four Television UK. The outtakes don't have any soundtracks, though since they're not extraordinarily long in length, this isn't as much of a hindrance as it is when similar outtakes or bonus short films on silent DVDs have no soundtracks.
While this film might not be the most perfect first silent for a new fan (primarily because silent costume dramas can take awhile to warm up to, although this is one that I don't feel would have been better as a talkie), it does have terrific production values and tells a very engrossing satisfying story. I found it a lot faster-paced than 'The Three Musketeers,' not to mention easier to follow the plot of. The print used is gorgeous, and the soundtrack is also wonderful. Like many silents made in the transitional period of the late Twenties, this one too has a few scenes of synchronised speech. Doug delivers a spoken prologue, and then makes another speech (much shorter) about midway through the film. Unfortunately, due to the primitive technology of the time, the sound quality isn't very crystal-clear, nor does it give a fully accurate register of his real voice. (The story goes that he was so horrified upon hearing the playback of the prologue that he turned green and someone yanked the plug to put him out of his misery at hearing this high-pitched girlish falsetto that sounded nothing like his real voice.) However, one should expect less than pristine sound quality when dealing with a very early talkie or one of these hybrids, and everything else is so great that that becomes a minor detail.
Summary of The Iron Mask
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