The Three Musketeers

". . . One for All and All for Fun!"

1973 1h 47m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 379

ActionAdventureRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 17th century France, young D'Artagnan wants to join the King's Musketeers, but instead befriends three legendary musketeers—Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—and together, they become embroiled in the political intrigue surrounding King Louis XIII and his adversaries, particularly the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.

“. . . One for All and All for Fun!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Michael York
D'Artagnan
Oliver Reed
Athos
Richard Chamberlain
Aramis
Frank Finlay
Porthos / O'Reilly
Faye Dunaway
Lady de Winter
Raquel Welch
Constance de Bonancieux
Christopher Lee
Rochefort
Geraldine Chaplin
Anna of Austria

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Lester
Writers: George MacDonald Fraser
Languages: English
Countries: Spain, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.9× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Spain, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Musketeers Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Richard Lester, shot by David Watkin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michel Legrand. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John Victor-Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Lester directs. David Watkin behind the camera. Michel Legrand scores. John Victor-Smith cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Spain, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 4.9× over at the box office.
353 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4International production across 3 countries: Spain, United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Part of the "The Musketeers Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Richard Lester, shot by David Watkin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Michel Legrand. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor John Victor-Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Michael York and Oliver Reed and Richard Chamberlain carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: ". . . One for All and All for Fun!".
11IMDB entry: tt0072281 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 23 themes, including "france", "paris, france", "based on novel or book", "swordplay".

The technical file

Cinematography: David Watkin
Original score: Michel Legrand
Editing: John Victor-Smith
Production design: Brian Eatwell
Costume design: Yvonne Blake
Makeup / hair: Cristóbal Criado
Stunt coordinator: Joaquín Parra
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,500,000
Box office: $22,018,000
Return: 489% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Three Musketeers (1973)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

The Musketeers Collection

The Musketeers fight the cardinal for King, Queen and France.

Also by

Richard Lester

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-12-25
★ 7/10
OK, so I never really did understand why Michael York succeeded, but here he makes for quite a decent "D'Artagnan". A country bumpkin who arrives in Paris determined to follow in his father's footsteps and join the king's musketeers. His first day is not auspicious, though. He ends up slated to fight three duels with "Athos" (Oliver Reed), "Porthos" (Frank Finlay) and 'Aramis" (Richard Chamberlain). Luckily the Cardinal's guard intervene and soon the four are "one for all....". "D'Artagnan" ends up lodging with the cowardly "Bonacieux" (Spike Milligan) and his unlikely bride "Constance" (Raquel Welch) who is a dressmaker to the Queen (Geraldine Chaplin) who is treading a dangerous line between her marriage to the King (Jean-Pierre Cassel) and her love of British Prime Minister, the Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward). None of this is unknown to the shrewd Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston) who uses his two stalwarts "Rochefort" (Christopher Lee) and "Milady" (Faye Dunaway) to lay a trap that will rid him of not just the Queen, but also discredit the musketeers and leave the king squarely in his pocket! Tongues are firmly in cheeks here as this enjoyable adventure picks up pace from the get-go and with loads of characterful contributions from Milligan, the long-suffering "Planchet" (Roy Kinnear) and, personally, the always good value Frank Finlay. There's loads of lighthearted comedy, some pithy dialogue and all-in-all everyone looks like they are having a good time swashing and buckling, manoeuvring, seducing, plotting, swilling copious amounts of wine and... Funnily enough, it's actually Heston who comes across more the Thespian amongst the cast - his being the more earnest role, but Reed and Lee are up for the lark, and I was too. Enjoyable stuff, this!

Production companies