The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

Awards

Won 3 awards & 2 nominations
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Users' rating: 6.5

81 votes

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About the movie

Year

1998

Runtime

2 h 12 min

Genres

Action, Adventure, Drama, History

Countries

United Kingdom, United States

Director

Randall Wallace

Writers

Alexandre Dumas père, Randall Wallace

Plotline

The cruel King Louis XIV of France has a secret twin brother who he keeps imprisoned. Can the twin be substituted for the real king?

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Starring

Leonardo DiCaprio

Jeremy Irons

John Malkovich

Gérard Depardieu

Anne Parillaud

Main cast

Leonardo DiCaprio Philippe

Jeremy Irons Aramis

John Malkovich Athos

Gérard Depardieu Porthos

Gabriel Byrne D'Artagnan

Anne Parillaud Queen Anne d'Autriche

Judith Godrèche Christine

Edward Atterton Lt. Andre

Peter Sarsgaard Raoul

Hugh Laurie King's Advisor

David Lowe King's Advisor

Brigitte Boucher Madame Rotund

Matthew Jocelyn Assassin

Karine Belly Wench

Emmanuel Guttierez King's Friend

Christian Erickson Ballroom Guard

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External critics' reviews

A mish-mash of accents (buffoonish Depardieu's French, somber Irons' British, and DiCaprio and Malkovich carrying the same voices they use for every project) are vaguely unsettling, and there seems to be too little swashbuckling for characters who are synonymous with the term. more

An unusually sober and serious-minded telling of Alexandre Dumas' classic tale, this handsome costumer is routinely made and comes up rather short in boisterous excitement. more

Wallace, unfortunately, writes lazy, anachronistic dialogue, and the picture is abysmally shot (by Peter Suschitzky), with a prosaic, low-budget look that never allows you to experience the enraptured majesty of a fairy-tale historical setting. more

I could see how, with a rewrite and a better focus, this could have been a film of "Braveheart'' quality instead of basically just a costume swashbuckler. more

The problem with this movie is that Wallace has attempted to squeeze a 500-page book into a 130-minute motion picture, something that can't be done without major sacrifices. more

The result is the kind of picture you can sit through quite contentedly, the cinematic equivalent of an innocuous seatmate on an airplane trip -- it neither bores nor insults you, and, when the ride's over, is promptly gone and forgotten. more

Heavy on swordplay and spectacle, it's so intent on reviving the costume epics of the past it doesn't realize it's trying to be too many things to too many people until it collapses under its own weight. more

Beyond its persistent coarseness, Wallace's story often trades yesterday's inspiration (Dumas) for today's (Simpson-Bruckheimer). more

Viewers expecting rip-roaring, chandelier- swinging swordplay adventure are likely to be disappointed by the measured tone and portentous verbal interplay. more

Leonardo DiCaprio? Excuse me, Leonardo DiCaprio? I know he makes teenaged girls cry, but, I mean, Leonardo DiCaprio? more

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