Les Trois mousquetaires (1921)
Directed by Henri Diamant-Berger

Film Review

Episode 1: L'Auberge de Meung
D'Artagnan sets off for Paris to become a musketeer.  En route, in the village of Meung, he thwarts an attempt to ambush the Queen's lover, the English Lord Buckingham.

Episode 2: Les Mousquetaires de M. de Tréville
D'Artagnan shows his courage and becomes a musketeer.

Episode 3: La Lingère du Louvre
Cardinal Richelieu engages the greedy M. Bonacieux to spy on his wife Constance, the Queen's linen maid.

Episode 4: Pour l'honneur de la Reine
Realising that she has made an error by giving some jewels to her secret lover Buckingham, Queen Anne sends the musketeers off to England to recover them.

Episodes 5 & 6: Les Ferrets de diamant
Arriving in England ahead of the musketeers, Richelieu's agent Milady de Winter recovers the Queen's jewels. D'Artagnan has to act fast to prevent Richelieu from fulfilling his scheme to expose the Queen's infidelity...

Episode 7: Le Bal des Echevins
At a state ball, the Queen desperately awaits the return of the musketeers with the jewels which will save her honour...

Episode 8: Le Pavillon d'Estrées
Richelieu's ally Rochefort intends to take revenge on d'Artagnan by kidnapping his beloved Constance Bonacieux...

Episode 9: Les conquêtes de d'Artagnan
D'Artagnan learns the terrible secret of Milady's identity, just before war breaks out between England and France...

Episode 10: L'Auberge du Colombier Rouge
The four musketeers are caught up in the siege of Rochelle, unaware that Milady and the Cardinal have laid plans to have them killed...

Episode 11: Le conseil des mousquetaires
After a fierce battle against the Rochelais, the musketeers send a message to Lord de Winter to warn him about his sister's treachery.  Has Milady's luck finally run out?

Episode 12: Milady prisonnière
Imprisoned in Lord de Winter's castle, Milady finds a way of using her charms to improve her fortunes.   Buckingham is to be her next victim...

Episode 13: Le Couvent de Béthune
Milady takes refuge in a convent where she meets Constance Bonacieux, and finds yet another opportunity to avenge herself against d'Artagnan...

Episode 14: La vengeance des mousquetaires
D'Artagnan and his three friends finally turn the tables on their evil enemy, Milady de Winter.  They can spare her no mercy...

Henri Diamant-Berger's insanely ambitious 1921 production of Les Trois mousquetaires is both a superlative example of silent cinema and a rollicking good action adventure film of its time.  In its day, is was one of the most lavish and spectacular films to have been made and it proved to be a huge success, not just in France, but across the world.  The film production company Pathé took a huge gamble by engaging the young Diamant-Berger (then only 27 years old, and this his first directing job) and giving him a budget of 2.5 million francs (a colossal sum in those days) to make what we might now call a super-production.  The gamble paid off: not only was the film a commercial success, earning prestige for both Pathé and its director, but it also stands as a work of great artistic merit, setting a high benchmark for future historical adventure films.  Most subsequent adaptations of Dumas's novel (in particular André Hunebelle's 1953 film) pale in comparison with this stylish and energetic silent version. In his later career, Diamant-Berger rarely (if ever) lived up to the standard of this colossal first feature, but he had some success in the mainstream with such lowbrow fare as Arsène Lupin détective (1937) and Messieurs les ronds de cuir (1959).

In its original form, Les Trois mousquetaires was shown in serial form, consisting of twelve one-hour long episodes, with one episode being shown each week.   The film's subsequent history is almost as remarkable as the story it tells.  As part of the Nazi purge, all known copies of the film were destroyed during World War II and it was long believed that the film was lost forever.  Then, in 1995, the director's grandson, Jérôme Diamant-Berger, unexpectedly uncovered an English copy of the film.

Although the surviving film was in a very poor state (the spools having deteriorated so badly that it was not possible to play it back on a projector), it was possible to salvage it, thanks to recent advances in film restoration technology.  The film was finally brought back to life after a process of painstakingly meticulous restoration, involving repairing the original print and copying it onto a new film (having corrected for distortions caused by shrinkage of the original film).  Digital conversion allowed further imperfections (such as scratches and uneven contrast) to be  corrected.  This patient hard work is reflected in the resulting image quality, which is probably as close as it is possible to get to how it would have been in the 1920s.

In restoring the film, Jérôme Diamant-Berger and his collaborators took a number of executive decisions which risked upsetting the purists.  One of the problems with the original English copy of the film was that many scenes from the original film had been cut whilst others had been moved around (often quite clumsily).   The restoration team attempted, as far as possible, to restore the film to its original form, but they also decided to remove the captions and replace them with subtitles (for dialogue) and voice-over (for commentary).  This reduced the length of the film considerably and put it in a form that would be more acceptable to a modern cinema audience.  Another innovation was the addition of background sound (such as the sound of horses), to complement the film's new musical score (specially commissioned from composer Gréco Casadesus).  The film was re-structured into 14 episodes, each of around 26 minutes in length.

Whilst some elements of the restoration have aroused controversy (particularly the removal of the captions), it does allow a new generation to fully appreciate one of the classic works of French cinema.  The quality of the restored images and the sheer scale of the original film (which combines the lyrical beauty of Dumas's novel with the pace and drama of a great historical adventure film) makes this a surprisingly modern film.  Frequent use of exterior locations (including breathtaking shots of French countryside)  gives the film a striking naturalistic feel, often to the extent that you sometimes have the impression that you are watching a documentary on the life and times of Louis XIII rather than a film drama based on a 19th century novel.

Despite his inexperience as a film-maker, Henri Diamant-Berger shows a real flair in directing both the spectacular action scenes (some involving hundreds of extras) and the more intimate scenes.  What is perhaps most surprising about this film is its sheer range - it encompass almost every possible style of cinema, whilst preserving a consistency which respects the style and content of the original novel.  Whilst parts of the film are hysterically funny (for example, Monsieur Bonacieux' frequent falls from grace), it is equally heart-wrenchingly poignant in other places (notably the shockingly tragic Episode 13).   In one episode, the film is racing along at a frantic pace as our heroes surmount seemingly insurmountable odds to thwart their enemies' evil plans.  In the next episode, we have court intrigue, tender romance and some light-hearted comedy.  It is this variation in style which makes the film so entertaining and enthralling, making it possible to watch the film in its new episode format in fourteen separate sittings or all six hours of the film in one go with the same pleasure.

Another notable feature of the film, which also contributes greatly to its charm and ability to hook the audience, is the richness of the characterisation.  Almost every character in this film has a clearly defined identity and set of traits which makes them instantly believable and recognisable.  You would expect this for the main characters (d'Artagnan, his musketeer chums, Milady, etc), but the same is also true for lesser characters (Planchet, Bonacieux, Falton, Giovanni - even the executioner, who only appears in a few scenes).   Diamant-Berger shows consummate skill in framing his characters in such a way that their gestures alone betray their motives, their past, their thoughts.  The esteemed stage actor Charles Dullin appears in a minor role, just a few years before he made his mark on cinema in two other lavish period productions, both directed by Raymond Bernard - Le Miracle des loups (1924) and Le Joueur d'échecs (1927).

Most striking is Claude Mérelle's sinister portrayal of the venomous Milady de Winter, a creation which must rank as one of the all-time greatest female villains in film history.  Aimé Simon-Girard's portrayal of d'Artagnan is also one of the film's highlights, and it is no surprise that Diamant-Berger chose him to reprise the role in his 1933 re-make of the film.   Simon-Girard is every bit the classic film hero in this film - the French equivalent of Douglas Fairbanks.  Notably, the actor refused to be doubled and undertook all of his own action stunts (of which there are plenty) for this, his most famous film role in an otherwise lacklustre career.

As a result of a remarkable restoration, cinema enthusiasts across the world have another opportunity to experience and enjoy Henri Diamant-Berger's 1921 version of Les Trois mousquetaires.  Not only is this possibly the finest film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's oft pillaged novel (which, unlike many adaptations, retains the beauty, energy and eloquence of the original novel), but it is also a near-perfect example of the serial film and a definitive classic of the silent era.

Film Synopsis

1625, France.  The young d'Artagnan leaves his home in Gascony and sets out for Paris to fulfil his dream to serve as a musketeer under King Louis XIII.  He soon has the chance  to prove his swordsmanship and courage to musketeers Athos, Porthos and Aramis, who gladly accept him as one of their number.   Before long, the four heroes are caught up in the villainous intrigues of the Cardinal Richelieu, who is determined to expose the Queen's infidelity to the King by proving that the English Lord Buckingham is her lover.  In his evil machinations, Richelieu is served by the ruthless Milady de Winter, who will stop at nothing to fulfil her mission: to humiliate the Queen and destroy her sworn enemy, d'Artagnan...