Ridley Scott obviously recruited God as his Assistant Director in this, one of the two or three most marvellous films I've seen. After 75 years I've seen a few. Perfectly cast, perfectly written, perfectly acted, perfectly directed and perfectly shot. Towards the end Ridley simply said: we need to bathe the scene in sunlight here; and God obliged. The scene is reminiscent of a famous painting by Caspar David Friedrich.
At a certain point Ridley thought it would add spice if the horses started to love each other, and God agreed. There are the usual occasional half-witted reviews, by people who can't understand what the story is about, or who object to the accents. Do these people have the faintest idea what early 19th century French sounded like? Keitel and Carradine were perfect in their parts, accent-wise and every other-wise.
Given the reported budget of a farcical $900,000, these actors must all have played their parts for nothing. So Finney walked off with a crate of champagne.
It is sadly true, and must be accepted, that Scott must have taken some notice of clunky Barry Lyndon, in particular the natural lighting. It's as if Scott said to himself, I think I can see what you're trying to do, Stanley. I'll just show you how to do it.
I saw Kubrick's Lyndon, many years ago, and, except for the lighting, it struck me, end to end, as utterly tedious, pointless garbage. Kubrick was essentially little more than a somewhat mediocre stills photographer.
The Duellists is multi-layered, subtle, thought-provoking; historically, politically, socially, psychologically, stimulating. It raises questions, and suggests answers.
It is known that Conrad fairly closely based his tale on the animosity recorded between two actual Napoleonic officers, named Dupont and Fournier. Fournier gained the soubriquet "El Demonio". These two fought at least 30 duels over a 19 year period, starting in 1794. Dupont referred to Fournier as "the worst subject of the Grande Armée". Look them up.
The Duellists reminds me of what Polanski said about Chinatown: that he didn't realise he had created what others called a masterpiece. It's time the public, and perhaps Scott himself, began to understand that with this film he created a true masterpiece, for all ages. But the self-appointed connoisseurs voted for Vertigo, God Help Us.
At a certain point Ridley thought it would add spice if the horses started to love each other, and God agreed. There are the usual occasional half-witted reviews, by people who can't understand what the story is about, or who object to the accents. Do these people have the faintest idea what early 19th century French sounded like? Keitel and Carradine were perfect in their parts, accent-wise and every other-wise.
Given the reported budget of a farcical $900,000, these actors must all have played their parts for nothing. So Finney walked off with a crate of champagne.
It is sadly true, and must be accepted, that Scott must have taken some notice of clunky Barry Lyndon, in particular the natural lighting. It's as if Scott said to himself, I think I can see what you're trying to do, Stanley. I'll just show you how to do it.
I saw Kubrick's Lyndon, many years ago, and, except for the lighting, it struck me, end to end, as utterly tedious, pointless garbage. Kubrick was essentially little more than a somewhat mediocre stills photographer.
The Duellists is multi-layered, subtle, thought-provoking; historically, politically, socially, psychologically, stimulating. It raises questions, and suggests answers.
It is known that Conrad fairly closely based his tale on the animosity recorded between two actual Napoleonic officers, named Dupont and Fournier. Fournier gained the soubriquet "El Demonio". These two fought at least 30 duels over a 19 year period, starting in 1794. Dupont referred to Fournier as "the worst subject of the Grande Armée". Look them up.
The Duellists reminds me of what Polanski said about Chinatown: that he didn't realise he had created what others called a masterpiece. It's time the public, and perhaps Scott himself, began to understand that with this film he created a true masterpiece, for all ages. But the self-appointed connoisseurs voted for Vertigo, God Help Us.