Die Duellisten (1977)
23KDie Duellisten: Directed by Ridley Scott. With Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel, Albert Finney, Edward Fox. France, 1801. Due to a minor, perceived slight mild-mannered Lieutenant d’Hubert is forced into a duel with the hot-headed, irrational Lieutenant Feraud. The disagreement ultimately results in scores of duels, spanning several years.
“This /is/ one of the best sword-fighting movies ever made, in that the choreography doesnu0026#39;t look like choreography. In the fight sequences, thereu0026#39;s that rare sense of reticence, chance, uncertainty: of men thinking while they fight and trying to stay alive (The battle scenes in Kurosawa seem to me to share the same quality).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhat sets this film apart (beyond its sheer visual gorgeousness) is its unremitting humanity and realism. Carradine as the protagonist is a decent enough, reasonable enough chap trying to live by an unreasonable and inflexible code. Keitel as Feraud is a cipher: charged with a wholly unreasonable hate the sources of which we never see. The movie steps through the ups and downs of war, fashion, politics. Though the filmu0026#39;s structured around a series of violent combats, the struggle is finally a moral one. One man finally transcends the ideal of honor thatu0026#39;s kept him a prisoner for fifteen years. The other is unable to.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is a movie to watch, and to recommend to oneu0026#39;s friends. Itu0026#39;s lamentably not available yet in DVD, but can be found occasionally as a rental. Watch it for the costumes, the lighting, and the gorgeous camerawork. Watch it again for a movie that takes on The Big Issues. Brilliant.”
