Quite fortunately I've found the official DVD with this trilogy in one of our stores for a very funny price. It is one of my most successful buys to be sure.
The film itself is brilliant. It connects the power of music, singing, costume design, and powerful performance of all the actors. As far as I remember the original book, our production follows the novel in a very strict and attentive manner (e.g. the scene of the execution is here - compare to the lame American Walt-Disney version where the woman - you should know who - is jumping off the cliff instead of being beheaded).
The songs are so memorable that I cannot just wash them from my memory - and I don't want to.
The range of the emotions in this movie is simply vast: from silly clownish slapstick to tragic anxiety and woe. The songs and music never interfere but help the action to go smoothly and delicately. The whole story may seem a bit childish (the main characters survive in any situation and kick villains' asses quite often) but it never gets pathetic. And this is a sign of quality.
The film is free from blood (though I like the punched and scratched look of D'Artagnan's face in the beginning of the film - right after his foolish and cocky running-about) and there is no other mature material. At the same time the content is very serious and not to see that solemn layer below the music and lyrics is a rude mistake.
Mr Mikhail Boyarsky is the best D'Artagnan (I don't give a damn about the "notorious" age inconsistency). Just have a look at the drastic change of his character after the second episode. Mr Venyamin Smekhov is the best Athos and so on and so forth. Everybody is in the right place playing the right role and doing it rightly. And, just to add, I like the depiction of Cardinal Richelieu - he's simply amazing. While this position (Cardinal) was never intended in Christianity, it deserves such witty mockery. Bravo to Mr Aleksandr Trofimov! I wish such masters as Mr Charlie Chaplin, Mr Buster Keaton, and Mr Norman Wisdom could have seen this movie. I am quite certain that they would have loved it. One of our unbeatable classics. Right now I'm humming the melodies of this adventure gem...
10 out of 10 - the best musketeers ever. Thank you for attention.
The film itself is brilliant. It connects the power of music, singing, costume design, and powerful performance of all the actors. As far as I remember the original book, our production follows the novel in a very strict and attentive manner (e.g. the scene of the execution is here - compare to the lame American Walt-Disney version where the woman - you should know who - is jumping off the cliff instead of being beheaded).
The songs are so memorable that I cannot just wash them from my memory - and I don't want to.
The range of the emotions in this movie is simply vast: from silly clownish slapstick to tragic anxiety and woe. The songs and music never interfere but help the action to go smoothly and delicately. The whole story may seem a bit childish (the main characters survive in any situation and kick villains' asses quite often) but it never gets pathetic. And this is a sign of quality.
The film is free from blood (though I like the punched and scratched look of D'Artagnan's face in the beginning of the film - right after his foolish and cocky running-about) and there is no other mature material. At the same time the content is very serious and not to see that solemn layer below the music and lyrics is a rude mistake.
Mr Mikhail Boyarsky is the best D'Artagnan (I don't give a damn about the "notorious" age inconsistency). Just have a look at the drastic change of his character after the second episode. Mr Venyamin Smekhov is the best Athos and so on and so forth. Everybody is in the right place playing the right role and doing it rightly. And, just to add, I like the depiction of Cardinal Richelieu - he's simply amazing. While this position (Cardinal) was never intended in Christianity, it deserves such witty mockery. Bravo to Mr Aleksandr Trofimov! I wish such masters as Mr Charlie Chaplin, Mr Buster Keaton, and Mr Norman Wisdom could have seen this movie. I am quite certain that they would have loved it. One of our unbeatable classics. Right now I'm humming the melodies of this adventure gem...
10 out of 10 - the best musketeers ever. Thank you for attention.