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 DEVILS (Ken Russell, 1971) - still unsettling after 45 years...

Of the films that caused film censorship controversy, THE DEVILS has lasted the longest with constant censor and distributor interference: Warner Brothers still refuse to include 'lost' footage or release the film on US DVD.

THE DEVILS is based on real events:  In August 1634 in Loudun a catholic priest Urbain Grandier was burnt to death for witchcraft and causing a number of Ursuline nuns to become demonically possessed, the chief accuser being the Mother Superior Sister Jeanne.

Grandier was victim to public and private revenge; he had opposed Cardinal Richelieu's wish to crush Loudon's autonomy and he was the subject of Sister Jeanne's sexual fantasies which turned to hate when she learnt of his other mistresses.

Explosive performances from Vanessa Redgrave, Oliver Reed and the supporting cast, Derek Jarman's glorious design and Peter Maxwell Davies' disorientating score all contribute to Russell's vision of an individual crushed by the State.  

Shelf or charity shop? Ken Russell's cataclysmic vision will be disturbing me for years to come...