DVD/150: THE THREE MUSKETEERS (THE QUEEN'S DIAMONDS) (Richard Lester, 1973)

Although Lester's fondness for dubbed muttered asides gets wearing, THE THREE MUSKETEERS still delivers great Sunday afternoon adventure.

Alexandre Dumas' classic tale of young d'Artagnan's wish to join King Louis XIII's Musketeers and being taken under the wing of intense Athos, jovial Porthos and romantic Aramis.

He also finds love with Constance, Queen Anne's clumsy maid, and makes enemies of the manipulative Cardinal Richelieu, and his spies Rochefort and deadly Milady de Winter when he foils an attempt by them to discredit Queen Anne.

Lustrous cinematography by David Watkin, Yvonne Blake's costumes and Michel Legrand's stirring score make the film a delight to watch and Richard Lester mixes swordplay and slapstick memorably.

Delivering memorable performances are Oliver Reed as Athos, Michael York as d'Artagnan, Charlton Heston as Richelieu, Raquel Welch as Constance, Roy Kinnear as d'Artagnan's servant Planchet but above them all, is Faye Dunaway as a wonderfully icy Milady.

Shelf or charity shop?  The musketeers are swashing their buckles in the limbo of my plastic dvd storage box.

Dvd/150: The LAST OF SHEILA (Herbert Ross, 1973)

I first saw SHEILA in 1973 and immediately loved it's bitchy dialogue, intricate plot and in particular, the fabulous performances of Dyan Cannon and James Mason.

The thriller was written by friends, actor Anthony Perkins and composer Stephen Sondheim, both keen parlour game fans which reflects in the twisting plot and betrays a heavy gay aesthetic too.

Gossip columnist Sheila Greene leaves a Hollywood party after a fight with her producer husband Clinton but is killed by a hit-and-run driver.

A year later, Clinton invites six friends for a Riviera cruise on his yacht named 'Sheila'; scriptwriter Tom and his socialite wife Lee (Richard Benjamin, Joan Hackett), agent Christine (Dyan Cannon), director Philip (James Mason) and actress Alice with her manager-husband Anthony (Raquel Welch, Ian McShane).

Clinton devises nightly scavenger hunts but is his motive to discover Sheila's killer?

44 years on and I still love it...

Shelf or charity shop?  One of my all-time favourites... what do YOU think?