3 Musketeers - The Musical (2003 Video) User Reviews

A fine musical but a Nordicization of the Novel!

[FromBookstoFilm · 7/10 · 19 February 2007]

Spoilers. I recently watched this on DVD and was quite impressed though this version of the Dumas book was loosely adapted instead of faithfully adapted. This version apparently the screenwriter borrowed story lines from other versions namely the 1935 and 1993 (Milady commits suicide to avoid execution by jumping to her death in this 2003 version the tower and in the 1935 it was a bridge and in the 1993 Disney film a cliff.)The other version borrowed from was the 1948 MGM version that has Milady and Athos still in love but estranged from each other. In the novel and most film versions Athos loathed his ex-wife but he did admire her beauty and intelligence as did any male who came across her and intelligent men even feared her like Cardinal Richelieu which isn't the case in this production. The Cardinal is blackmailing her about her past and that was what the Cardinal was doing to Milady in the 1993 version and Rochefort was blackmailing her in the 1935 version. Great performances especially Bastiaan Ragas good though physically against type as D'Artagnan. D'Artagnan in the novel and most film versions was a Mediterranean looking brunette with olive skin. Mr.Ragas is of Nordic appearance. Pia Douwes Milady de Winter. She is wonderful in the part but once again she is against type as Milady de Winter. Milady in the novel was a blond beauty from a part of France that was home to some of the Norse conquerers and Dutch,German,English immigrants. Pia Douwes is very attractive and is the second redhead to play Milady de Winter in a film version. The other being a 1957 Mexican production. Pia Douwes is a fine actress and a wonderful singer! Stanley Burleson's characterization of Cardinal Richelieu is like a combination of Vincent Price and Tim Curry. In other words quite good. Ambitious and blackmailing! Henk Poort as Athos conveyed the nobility and sadness of the character. Tooske Breugen's Constance stayed true in spirit to the Constance character but once against physical type. Ellen Evers made a fine Queen Anne. All in all I would recommend this version it sure is a lot better than the Disney's 1993 film with a horribly miscast Chris O'Donnell or the 2001 film the Musketeer with the equally miscast Justin Chambers and this is an improvement over the 1939 Ritz Brothers film and most of the 1940's thru 1970's Spanish and Italian versions of the Musketeer films.