Ridley Scott's first film set on Napoleonic wars in which two French Husars battle a relentless duel . We are in 1800, in the garrison town of Strasbourg, on the Rhine and set during the grand, sweeping Napoleonic age and the disastrous Russian campaign . An officer named D'Hubert (Keith Carradine) in the French army insults another named Feraud (Harvey Keitel) and set out in pursuit each other on a life-long enmity . The two officers had fought a series of duels in the midst of great wars on some futile pretext .Both of them , fencing is a science ,loving is a passion and dueling is an obsession . The two officers cross swords time and time again in an attempt to obtain justice and preserve their honor ."The Duellists" is based on a story written by Joseph Conrad, which, according to the novelist , was itself based on a real story whose origins sprang from a ten-line paragraph in a small Southern France local newspaper. That brief paragraph reported the fatal ending of a duel between two officers in Napoleon's Grand Army . As the showdown pretext was never disclosed, Joseph Conrad invented one.
This is first rate action/fencing/drama/ epic film that benefits from intelligent screenplay and visual dynamics, however is overlong for its skeletal plot . Interesting story contains action , romance , battles , impressive duels, being ravishingly photographed and carefully made . Colorfully cinematography like paintings brought to life by Frank Tidy , showing spectacular landscapes filmed in Aquitaine, France ,Aviemore, Highland, Scotland,Château de Commarques, Dordogne, France (final pistol duel),Dordogne, France ,Highland, Scotland, London, England, UK ,Sarlat, Corrèze,Sarlat-la-Canéda, Dordogne, France , Strand, London, England, UK(interiors) . Evocative and touching musical score by Howard Blake . The motion picture produced by the prestigious David Puttman is glamorously directed by Ridley Scott , at his best and as stylish as ever , similarly his subsequent film ¨Someone to watch over me¨ and others as ¨Blade runner¨, ¨Black rain¨ , ¨Legend¨ in which his visual style is breathtaking . The picture belongs to his speciality ,the historical genre , as ¨Gladiator¨ , ¨Kingdom of heaven¨ , ¨Black Hawk down¨ and ¨Robin Hood¨ . Rating : Above average . Essential and indispensable watching for Ridley Scott followers .
This is first rate action/fencing/drama/ epic film that benefits from intelligent screenplay and visual dynamics, however is overlong for its skeletal plot . Interesting story contains action , romance , battles , impressive duels, being ravishingly photographed and carefully made . Colorfully cinematography like paintings brought to life by Frank Tidy , showing spectacular landscapes filmed in Aquitaine, France ,Aviemore, Highland, Scotland,Château de Commarques, Dordogne, France (final pistol duel),Dordogne, France ,Highland, Scotland, London, England, UK ,Sarlat, Corrèze,Sarlat-la-Canéda, Dordogne, France , Strand, London, England, UK(interiors) . Evocative and touching musical score by Howard Blake . The motion picture produced by the prestigious David Puttman is glamorously directed by Ridley Scott , at his best and as stylish as ever , similarly his subsequent film ¨Someone to watch over me¨ and others as ¨Blade runner¨, ¨Black rain¨ , ¨Legend¨ in which his visual style is breathtaking . The picture belongs to his speciality ,the historical genre , as ¨Gladiator¨ , ¨Kingdom of heaven¨ , ¨Black Hawk down¨ and ¨Robin Hood¨ . Rating : Above average . Essential and indispensable watching for Ridley Scott followers .