The Three Musketeers (1974 film)

The Three Musketeers
From right to left: D'Artagnan, Aramis, Porthos, and Athos.
Directed byJohn Halas
Franco Cristofani
Written byHoward Clewes
Patrick Wachsberger
Based onThe Three Musketeers
by Alexandre Dumas
Produced byGabriele Crisanti
Luigi Nannerini
Steven Pallos
Geoffrey Verey
Patrick Wachsberger
Paolo Di Girolamo
Edited byTony Anscombe
Mariano Arditi
Michael Crouch
Music byMichel Polnareff
Production
companies
Michelangelo Cinematografica
Pendennis Films Ltd.
Educational Film Centre
Cristofani Films
Mothership Studios
Release dates
  • 15 August 1974 (1974-08-15) (Germany)
  • 19 June 1981 (1981-06-19) (United States)
Running time
85 minutes
CountriesFrance
Italy
United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Three Musketeers (French: D'Artagnan L'Intrépide), also known as The Glorious Musketeers in the UK,[1][2] is a 1974 French-Italian-British animated adventure film, directed by animators John Halas and Franco Cristofani. It is based on Alexandre Dumas's classic French novel, The Three Musketeers, first published in 1844.

Plot

[edit]

Cast

[edit]
Character Original French English Dub
d'Artagnan Francis Perrin John Fortune
Aramis Michel Duchaussoy Maurice Denham
Porthos Claude Bertrand Peter Bull
Athos Michel Elias Howard Clewes
Cardinal Richelieu Philippe Clay Maurice Denham
King Louis XIII Fred Pasquali Roy Kinnear
Milady Perrette Pradier Adrienne Corri
Constance Bonacieux Anna Gaylor Madeline Smith
The Queen Unknown Joyce Windsor
Duke of Buckingham Howard Clewes
Rochefort André Valmy Peter Hawkins
Owl Peter Hawkins

Release

[edit]

In the UK, the film aired on BBC Two on 29 December 1978.[2] In the United States, the film was distributed by National Telefilm Associates. It was released on VHS by Children's Video Library in 1981,[3] and Celebrity Home Entertainment in 1991.[4] To date, the only DVD release of the English dub available is a Greek region 2 one by third-party company Cine Net Entertainment,[5] featuring both English and Greek audio tracks.

Italy

[edit]

A different version was first released in Italy in 1977, titled Viva D'Artagnan, created by Aldo Frollini and Giovanni Brusatori. It features music sung by Cugini di campagna, with lyrics by Bruno Zambrini and Gianni Zambrini. There's also an opening scene added, in which the film's comic relief owl starts narrating the story throughout the rest of the film.[6] It was released on VHS by Playtime Home Video.

Accolades

[edit]

The film won a Special Prize at the Giffoni Film Festival in 1978.[6]

Music

[edit]

A soundtrack album was released on LP vinyl by Philips in 1974. The same year, a version of the album with a gatefold sleeve and a booklet was released.[7] A 2-disc compilation promo CD by Warner Chappell Music entitled Cinema, was released in 2007, featuring tracks 5, 19 and 20.[8] Tracks 1 and 6 were released for streaming on 19 December 2014.[9] Tracks 2, 5, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 19 and 20 were also included in another compilation album, Le Cinéma De Polnareff, released by Universal Music France in 2011. In this album, Wake Up, It's A Lovely Day and Freedom and Liberty, re-recorded versions of Et Hop On Va Tout Changer and Pour Vivre En Liberté for the English dub are included, with lyrics by Martin Shaer.[10]

Fonit Cetra released in 1977 a soundtrack album of Viva D'Artagnan on a 7-inch single vinyl, featuring two songs.[11] A year later, it released a compilation children's album on LP vinyl, called Supersigle tv, including the first song.[12]

Track listing

[edit]

The album is split in two vinyl discs, one for tracks 1 to 10, and another one for tracks 11 to 20. Lyrics by Michel Polnareff and Pierre Grosz (tracks 1 and 11).[13]

No.TitleLength
1."Et Hop On Va Tout Changer"2:10
2."La Valse"1:55
3."Moog"2:05
4."Menuet De Buckingham"1:09
5."Thème Des Trois Mousquetaires"1:10
6."Thème De Constance"1:00
7."Armée Anglaise"0:23
8."Menuet Du Roi"1:12
9."Thème Du Roi"0:45
10."Les Méchants"2:34
11."Pour Vivre En Liberté"3:30
12."Thème D'Amour De Constance"2:00
13."Cavalcade De D'Artagnan"2:10
14."La Chouette"0:45
15."La Peur"0:52
16."Thème De D'Artagnan"1:16
17."Lever De Soleil"0:20
18."Musique De La Mer"0:22
19."Thème De La Reine"0:45
20."La Chevauchée Et Le Combat"3:10
Total length:29:33

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "D'Artagnan L'Intrépide (1974)". BFI. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b "The Glorious Musketeers - BBC Two England - 29 December 1978". BBC Genome. 29 December 1978. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  3. ^ "The Three Musketeers (1981)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  4. ^ "The Three Musketeers - All for One and One for All (VHS 1977) Animated Kids". Ebay.com. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Οι 3 Σωματοφύλακες | Public ταινίες" [The 3 Musketeers | Public movies]. Public.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  6. ^ a b "The Glorious Musketeers". giffonifilmfestival.it. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Michel Polnareff - Les Trois Mousquetaires (Vinyl, LP) | Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Warner Music Chappell Présente "Cinéma" (CD, Compilation, Promo) | Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  9. ^ "D'Artagnan l'intrépide by Michel Polnareff on Amazon Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Michel Polnareff - Le Cinéma De Polnareff (CD, Compilation, Remastered) | Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Michel Polnareff - Les Trois Mousquetaires (Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM) | Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Supersigle tv (Vinyl, LP, Album) | Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  13. ^ "D'Artagnan l'Intrépide Soundtrack (Michel Polnareff) - Philips France (1974)". Film Music Site. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
[edit]