If the 1973 predecessor was all about high-energy high jinks and dazzling diamond escapades, Richard Lester’s The Four Musketeers pulls back the curtain into something much more raw, melancholic and deeply compelling. Written by George MacDonald Fraser (creator of the Flashman papers) and based on the timeless Alexandre Dumas classic, this second half of the massive Salkind production delivers some of the finest historical adventure filmmaking ever.
Set against the Anglo-French War and the siege of La Rochelle (1627–29), the political chess match masterminded by Charlton Heston’s towering, calculating Cardinal Richelieu kicks into high gear. Richelieu dispatches the icy and vengeful Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway) to neutralize the Protestant rebels and eliminate young d’Artagnan (Michael York) and his beloved Constance Bonacieux (Raquel Welch).
As d’Artagnan discovers Milady’s true, treacherous nature—including her dark history as the branded former wife of musketeer Athos (Oliver Reed)—the narrative dives headfirst into tragedy. The loyal trio of Athos, Porthos (Frank Finlay), and Aramis (Richard Chamberlain) fight desperately to protect their own, leading to a grim, gripping climax at the convent of Armentières, where the stakes turn permanently fatal. In the end, justice is dealt, and d’Artagnan earns his hard-fought lieutenant’s commission, though the victory carries a heavy emotional toll. Let me tell you, if you like Racquel Welch, maybe this isn’t the film for you.
In his book Lord of Misrule, Christopher Lee claimed that the rest of the cast were angry, as they got less pay for this unplanned sequel (the original film was too long, so it was split up). Lee, on the other hand, had no problem with the pay he received, having grown accustomed to low-budget movies.
This is a rare feat in this film. Not only is it one of two movies in the Criterion Collection and the Sybil Danning Adventure Video releases (the other is the first movie), it’s also one of two that actually has Danning in the movie inside the box.
You can watch this on Tubi.
One thought on “Sybil Danning’s Adventure Video: The Four Musketeers (1974)”