The Man in the Iron Mask (1998 film)
Encyclopedia
The Man in the Iron Mask is a 1998
British/American historical action film
directed
, produced
, and written
by Randall Wallace
. It uses characters from Alexandre Dumas
' D'Artagnan Romances
, and is very loosely adapted from some plot elements of The Vicomte de Bragelonne
. It also bears several similarities with the 1939 film version
. The movie centers on the aging Musketeers Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan and the reign of King Louis XIV of France. It attempts to explain the mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask
, using a plot most similar to the 1939 film
.
Despite receiving a rather mixed to negative critical response, scoring a 33% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
, it was successful financially.
is under the reign of the militaristic King Louis XIV (Leonardo DiCaprio
), who is bankrupting the country with his unpopular wars. When starving peasants in Paris
start to riot for food, he responds by ordering his chief advisor, Pierre (Hugh Laurie
), to send them rotten food - although he later orders Pierre executed for this and all rioters shot dead. Meanwhile, the King wallows in hedonistic luxury and seduces a parade of women. The legendary Three Musketeers have retired from their posts: Aramis
(Jeremy Irons
) is now a priest of the Society of Jesus
; Porthos
(Gérard Depardieu
) is a frequent visitor to Parisian brothel
s; Athos
(John Malkovich
) has a son named Raoul (Peter Sarsgaard
) who is just back from the war and ready to marry the girl he loves, Christine Bellefort (Judith Godrèche). At a festival, the two lovers are greeted by an older D'Artagnan
(Gabriel Byrne
), who is still in the service of the King as Chief of the Musketeers, striving to retain the esprit de corps of the old days. D'Artagnan wishes Raoul and Christine luck, but just before Raoul can propose, the King's eyes fall on Christine. He arranges for Raoul to be returned to combat, where he is killed in a suicidal charge. This puts a severe strain on Athos's friendship with D'Artagnan, who he now sees as a traitor for siding with his son's killer.
In the wake of Raoul's death, Louis invites Christine to the palace where she sleeps with him, grateful for the medical assistance his doctors have given to her mother and sister. When Louis orders the death of the secret leader of the Jesuit order, Aramis initiates a plot to overthrow the King with the help of his old comrades for he is the secret leader of the Order of Jesuits. Only Athos and Porthos agree to the plan; D'Artagnan refuses to betray his oath of allegiance. The three Musketeers sneak into an island prison and arrange the escape of a mysterious prisoner: a man in an iron mask. They replace him with a corpse in a matching iron mask and burn it so the guards will not know. They take the young man to a safe house in the countryside and unmask him: he is Philippe (Leonardo DiCaprio
), the identical twin of King Louis. While he is identical to his brother, Philippe is compassionate and gentle. Aramis reveals that Philippe was sent away by his father, King Louis XIII, to save France from dynastic warfare. Later, when Louis discovered Philippe's existence, he was too superstitious to have his own brother murdered, so instead, he devised a way to keep him hidden: hence, the iron mask. Aramis was the one who took Philippe away to prison, an act which has haunted him ever since.
Meanwhile, King Louis succeeds in seducing Christine completely, claiming that he ordered Raoul to be placed far from the battlefront. Later, Christine receives a letter from Raoul, predicting his death and saying that he forgives her for becoming the King's mistress. Whilst in bed with Louis, Christine admits that she still loves Raoul and that she is not in love with him. Devastated, Louis forsakes Christine.
Athos, Porthos and Aramis teach Philippe how to act like royalty, so he may replace Louis as King. Together they abduct Louis during a fancy dress ball. Before his absence is revealed, Philippe takes his place. However, Philippe's good nature gives him away as he helps a lady up from the floor when she falls over, and spares Christine's life when she storms in and openly accuses him of murdering Raoul (having learned this from a letter from Louis' General), promising to make amends for wronging her. D'Artagnan realizes something is amiss and forcibly escorts Philippe outside. They arrive at the docks just as Athos, Porthos and Aramis are about to sail for the Bastille with Louis. The men collectively decide to make a trade for the brothers' lives; however, Philippe is re-captured in the ensuing struggle.
However, D'Artagnan is stunned to learn that Philippe is Louis' brother and pleads with Louis to spare his life. Louis at first refuses, but Philippe bluffs that he is more terrified of the iron mask than death itself, begging to be executed rather than sent back to prison. Therefore, Louis orders him placed in the Bastille and once again in the mask. In the meantime, Christine is found having hanged herself from her bedroom window.
Athos, Porthos and Aramis brush off their old Musketeer uniforms and with D'Artagnan's help, break into the Bastille prison and escape with Philippe. Louis, however, has prepared an ambush. Fortunately, the narrowness of the corridor and the guards' respect for D'Artagnan, their captain, prevents them from overwhelming the four Musketeers with their numbers, although they eventually end up trapped in the corridor corner with no way out. Determined to save his friends, Philippe offers to give himself up in exchange for their lives. D'Artagnan refuses, explaining, to everyone's horror, that he is actually the twins' father, having had an affair with Queen Anne (Anne Parillaud
), and that it was out of fatherly devotion that he served Louis, not loyalty. He adds that Philippe has made him feel pride as a father for the first time.
The four Musketeers and Philippe then charge at Louis's front line. The soldiers are so amazed by their "magnificent valour" that they close their eyes before firing their muskets. The smoke clears to reveal the five men still standing; all the shots, barring a few flesh wounds, missed.
An enraged Louis lunges toward Philippe and tries to stab him. However, D'Artagnan jumps between them and is fatally wounded. Philippe knocks Louis down and begins to strangle him, but D'Artagnan, with his dying breaths, reminds Philippe that Louis is his brother. Philippe embraces his father for the first and last time as he dies, commenting that D'Artagnan was the one wearing the mask all along. D'Artagnan's right-hand man, Lieutenant Andre (Edward Atterton
), furious at Louis for killing D'Artagnan, orders his men to leave and swears them to secrecy. By the time another battalion breaks in via another door, the three Musketeers and Lieutenant Andre have made Louis and Philippe swap clothes and locked Louis in the iron mask. Philippe introduces Athos, Porthos and Aramis as his royal council and truest friends. Posing as the King, Philippe orders the guards to take Louis and lock him away.
Philippe, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and Queen Anne attend D'Artagnan's funeral, in which the three Musketeers are finally redeemed. After the funeral, Philippe asks Athos to love him like a son and Athos accepts and kisses Philippe's chest. With Louis (whom Philippe, for the sake of their blood relation, granted a royal pardon) now living in a house in the country, France is at peace under Philippe's rule.
. Figure skater Alexei Yagudin
became a gold medalist skating to this music in the 2002 Winter Olympics
. He won with the program The Man in the Iron Mask, based on the movie soundtrack.
In Dumas' The Vicomte de Bragelonne, although the plot to replace King Louis XIV with his twin brother is foiled, the twin brother is initially depicted as a much more sympathetic character than the King. However, in the last part of the novel, the king is portrayed as an intelligent, more mature and slightly misunderstood man who in fact deserves the throne - and the Musketeers themselves are split, Aramis (with assistance from Porthos) siding with the prisoner, D'Artagnan with King Louis, and Athos retired from politics entirely. In the 1929 silent version, The Iron Mask
starring Douglas Fairbanks
as D'Artagnan, the King is depicted favorably and the twin brother is depicted as a pawn in an evil plot, so the plot being foiled by D'Artagnan and his Three Musketeer friends seems more appropriate.
But in the 1998 version, the King is depicted very negatively while his twin brother is portrayed with considerable sympathy, with the plot to switch the two brothers being presented as an attempt to save France from a bad king by replacing him with the one man in France who has an equal claim. D'Artagnan finds himself torn between loyalty to his King and loyalty to his Three Musketeer friends; the way in which this conflict is resolved provides much of the dramatic tension in this version.
Furthermore, it is revealed that D'Artagnan himself is the actual father of the twins, as well as being dedicated to the interests of France. His paternal feelings therefore complicate his dilemma, as he hopes that his son will one day prove himself worthy of his role in life, admitting at the end that it is only when meeting Phillippe that he felt true pride as a father.
The film is also inconsistent in its treatment of Alexandre Dumas' fictional universe: the plot reveals that d'Artagnan was Anne of Austria
's lover (and hence the father of Louis XIV and his twin brother), while none of Dumas's works even remotely implied such a relationship.
The character of Christine is comparable to the historical Louise de la Vallière
, a mistress of Louis XIV's who, in Dumas's novel, is also loved by both the young king and Raoul.
based on the number related to his namesake found at the Bastille.
1998 in film
-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
British/American historical action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, and written
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Randall Wallace
Randall Wallace
Randall Wallace is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and songwriter who came to prominence by writing the screenplay for the 1995 film Braveheart. His work on the film earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and a Writers Guild of America award for Best...
. It uses characters from Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
' D'Artagnan Romances
D'Artagnan Romances
The d'Artagnan Romances are a set of three novels by Alexandre Dumas telling the story of the musketeer d'Artagnan from his humble beginnings in Gascony to his death as a marshal of France in the Siege of Maastricht in 1673....
, and is very loosely adapted from some plot elements of The Vicomte de Bragelonne
The Vicomte de Bragelonne
The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later is a novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is the third and last of the d'Artagnan Romances, following The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After. It appeared first in serial form between 1847 and 1850...
. It also bears several similarities with the 1939 film version
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 film)
The Man in the Iron Mask is a 1939 American film very loosely adapted from the last section of the novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père, which is itself based on the French legend of the Man in the Iron Mask....
. The movie centers on the aging Musketeers Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan and the reign of King Louis XIV of France. It attempts to explain the mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask
Man in the Iron Mask
The Man in the Iron Mask is a name given to a prisoner arrested as Eustache Dauger in 1669 or 1670, and held in a number of jails, including the Bastille and the Fortress of Pignerol . He was held in the custody of the same jailer, Bénigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars, for a period of 34 years...
, using a plot most similar to the 1939 film
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 film)
The Man in the Iron Mask is a 1939 American film very loosely adapted from the last section of the novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père, which is itself based on the French legend of the Man in the Iron Mask....
.
Despite receiving a rather mixed to negative critical response, scoring a 33% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, it was successful financially.
Plot
FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
is under the reign of the militaristic King Louis XIV (Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
), who is bankrupting the country with his unpopular wars. When starving peasants in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
start to riot for food, he responds by ordering his chief advisor, Pierre (Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
), to send them rotten food - although he later orders Pierre executed for this and all rioters shot dead. Meanwhile, the King wallows in hedonistic luxury and seduces a parade of women. The legendary Three Musketeers have retired from their posts: Aramis
Aramis
C. René d'Aramis de Vannes is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père...
(Jeremy Irons
Jeremy Irons
Jeremy John Irons is an English actor. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and has since appeared in many London theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the...
) is now a priest of the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
; Porthos
Porthos
Porthos, Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers Athos and Aramis are friends of the novel's protagonist, d'Artagnan...
(Gérard Depardieu
Gérard Depardieu
Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu is a French actor and filmmaker. He is a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite and has twice won the César Award for Best Actor...
) is a frequent visitor to Parisian brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
s; Athos
Athos (fictional character)
Olivier d'Athos de la Fère, Comte de la Fère is a fictional character, a Musketeer of the Guard in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père....
(John Malkovich
John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
) has a son named Raoul (Peter Sarsgaard
Peter Sarsgaard
John Peter Sarsgaard is an American film and stage actor. He landed his first feature role in the movie Dead Man Walking in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films Another Day in Paradise and Desert Blue. That same year, Sarsgaard received a substantial role in The Man in the Iron...
) who is just back from the war and ready to marry the girl he loves, Christine Bellefort (Judith Godrèche). At a festival, the two lovers are greeted by an older D'Artagnan
D'Artagnan
Charles Ogier de Batz de Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard and died at the Siege of Maastricht in the Franco-Dutch War. A fictionalized account of his life by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras formed the basis for the d'Artagnan Romances of...
(Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
), who is still in the service of the King as Chief of the Musketeers, striving to retain the esprit de corps of the old days. D'Artagnan wishes Raoul and Christine luck, but just before Raoul can propose, the King's eyes fall on Christine. He arranges for Raoul to be returned to combat, where he is killed in a suicidal charge. This puts a severe strain on Athos's friendship with D'Artagnan, who he now sees as a traitor for siding with his son's killer.
In the wake of Raoul's death, Louis invites Christine to the palace where she sleeps with him, grateful for the medical assistance his doctors have given to her mother and sister. When Louis orders the death of the secret leader of the Jesuit order, Aramis initiates a plot to overthrow the King with the help of his old comrades for he is the secret leader of the Order of Jesuits. Only Athos and Porthos agree to the plan; D'Artagnan refuses to betray his oath of allegiance. The three Musketeers sneak into an island prison and arrange the escape of a mysterious prisoner: a man in an iron mask. They replace him with a corpse in a matching iron mask and burn it so the guards will not know. They take the young man to a safe house in the countryside and unmask him: he is Philippe (Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
), the identical twin of King Louis. While he is identical to his brother, Philippe is compassionate and gentle. Aramis reveals that Philippe was sent away by his father, King Louis XIII, to save France from dynastic warfare. Later, when Louis discovered Philippe's existence, he was too superstitious to have his own brother murdered, so instead, he devised a way to keep him hidden: hence, the iron mask. Aramis was the one who took Philippe away to prison, an act which has haunted him ever since.
Meanwhile, King Louis succeeds in seducing Christine completely, claiming that he ordered Raoul to be placed far from the battlefront. Later, Christine receives a letter from Raoul, predicting his death and saying that he forgives her for becoming the King's mistress. Whilst in bed with Louis, Christine admits that she still loves Raoul and that she is not in love with him. Devastated, Louis forsakes Christine.
Athos, Porthos and Aramis teach Philippe how to act like royalty, so he may replace Louis as King. Together they abduct Louis during a fancy dress ball. Before his absence is revealed, Philippe takes his place. However, Philippe's good nature gives him away as he helps a lady up from the floor when she falls over, and spares Christine's life when she storms in and openly accuses him of murdering Raoul (having learned this from a letter from Louis' General), promising to make amends for wronging her. D'Artagnan realizes something is amiss and forcibly escorts Philippe outside. They arrive at the docks just as Athos, Porthos and Aramis are about to sail for the Bastille with Louis. The men collectively decide to make a trade for the brothers' lives; however, Philippe is re-captured in the ensuing struggle.
However, D'Artagnan is stunned to learn that Philippe is Louis' brother and pleads with Louis to spare his life. Louis at first refuses, but Philippe bluffs that he is more terrified of the iron mask than death itself, begging to be executed rather than sent back to prison. Therefore, Louis orders him placed in the Bastille and once again in the mask. In the meantime, Christine is found having hanged herself from her bedroom window.
Athos, Porthos and Aramis brush off their old Musketeer uniforms and with D'Artagnan's help, break into the Bastille prison and escape with Philippe. Louis, however, has prepared an ambush. Fortunately, the narrowness of the corridor and the guards' respect for D'Artagnan, their captain, prevents them from overwhelming the four Musketeers with their numbers, although they eventually end up trapped in the corridor corner with no way out. Determined to save his friends, Philippe offers to give himself up in exchange for their lives. D'Artagnan refuses, explaining, to everyone's horror, that he is actually the twins' father, having had an affair with Queen Anne (Anne Parillaud
Anne Parillaud
Anne Parillaud is a French actress, who has appeared in 30 films since 1977.She is best known internationally for her role as Nikita in the movie of the same name.-Biography:...
), and that it was out of fatherly devotion that he served Louis, not loyalty. He adds that Philippe has made him feel pride as a father for the first time.
The four Musketeers and Philippe then charge at Louis's front line. The soldiers are so amazed by their "magnificent valour" that they close their eyes before firing their muskets. The smoke clears to reveal the five men still standing; all the shots, barring a few flesh wounds, missed.
An enraged Louis lunges toward Philippe and tries to stab him. However, D'Artagnan jumps between them and is fatally wounded. Philippe knocks Louis down and begins to strangle him, but D'Artagnan, with his dying breaths, reminds Philippe that Louis is his brother. Philippe embraces his father for the first and last time as he dies, commenting that D'Artagnan was the one wearing the mask all along. D'Artagnan's right-hand man, Lieutenant Andre (Edward Atterton
Edward Atterton
Edward Atterton is an English actor.Atterton's first television role was in an episode of ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot in 1993. The same year, he was cast in the recurring role of Dr. Alex Taylor in the ITV drama series Medics...
), furious at Louis for killing D'Artagnan, orders his men to leave and swears them to secrecy. By the time another battalion breaks in via another door, the three Musketeers and Lieutenant Andre have made Louis and Philippe swap clothes and locked Louis in the iron mask. Philippe introduces Athos, Porthos and Aramis as his royal council and truest friends. Posing as the King, Philippe orders the guards to take Louis and lock him away.
Philippe, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and Queen Anne attend D'Artagnan's funeral, in which the three Musketeers are finally redeemed. After the funeral, Philippe asks Athos to love him like a son and Athos accepts and kisses Philippe's chest. With Louis (whom Philippe, for the sake of their blood relation, granted a royal pardon) now living in a house in the country, France is at peace under Philippe's rule.
Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprioLeonardo DiCaprioLeonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
as King Louis XIV/Philippe - Jeremy IronsJeremy IronsJeremy John Irons is an English actor. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and has since appeared in many London theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the...
as AramisAramisC. René d'Aramis de Vannes is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père... - John MalkovichJohn MalkovichJohn Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
as AthosAthos (fictional character)Olivier d'Athos de la Fère, Comte de la Fère is a fictional character, a Musketeer of the Guard in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père.... - Gabriel ByrneGabriel ByrneGabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
as D'ArtagnanD'ArtagnanCharles Ogier de Batz de Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard and died at the Siege of Maastricht in the Franco-Dutch War. A fictionalized account of his life by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras formed the basis for the d'Artagnan Romances of... - Gérard DepardieuGérard DepardieuGérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu is a French actor and filmmaker. He is a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite and has twice won the César Award for Best Actor...
as PorthosPorthosPorthos, Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers Athos and Aramis are friends of the novel's protagonist, d'Artagnan... - Anne ParillaudAnne ParillaudAnne Parillaud is a French actress, who has appeared in 30 films since 1977.She is best known internationally for her role as Nikita in the movie of the same name.-Biography:...
as Queen Mother Anne of AustriaAnne of AustriaAnne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth... - Judith Godrèche as ChristineChristineChristine is a horror novel by Stephen King, published in 1983. It tells the story of a vintage automobile apparently possessed by supernatural forces...
- Peter SarsgaardPeter SarsgaardJohn Peter Sarsgaard is an American film and stage actor. He landed his first feature role in the movie Dead Man Walking in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films Another Day in Paradise and Desert Blue. That same year, Sarsgaard received a substantial role in The Man in the Iron...
as Raoul - Edward AttertonEdward AttertonEdward Atterton is an English actor.Atterton's first television role was in an episode of ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot in 1993. The same year, he was cast in the recurring role of Dr. Alex Taylor in the ITV drama series Medics...
as Lieutenant Andre - Hugh LaurieHugh LaurieJames Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
as Pierre, Advisor to King - David Lowe as Advisor to King Louis XIV
Soundtrack
Music for this film was written by English composer Nick Glennie-SmithNick Glennie-Smith
Nick Glennie-Smith is a film composer whose most prominent work is a collaboration with Hans Zimmer on the score to the 1996 action film The Rock as well as work on the 1993 drama Point of No Return...
. Figure skater Alexei Yagudin
Alexei Yagudin
Alexei Konstantinovich Yagudin is a former Russian figure skater. His major achievements in his six years of eligible sports career include:*2002 Olympic Champion*Four-time World Champion...
became a gold medalist skating to this music in the 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
. He won with the program The Man in the Iron Mask, based on the movie soundtrack.
- "Surrounded"
- "Heart of a King"
- "The Pig Chase"
- "The Ascension"
- "King for a King"
- "The Moon Beckons"
- "The Masked BallMasquerade ballA masquerade ball is an event which the participants attend in costume wearing a mask. - History :...
" - "A Taste of Something"
- "Kissy Kissie"
- "Training to Be King"
- "The Rose"
- "All Will Be Well"
- "All for One"
- "Greatest Mystery of Life"
- "Raoul and Christine"
- "It is a Trap"
- "Angry Athos"
- "Raoul's Letter"
- "The Palace"
- "Raoul's Death"
- "Queen Approaches"
Differences between versions
The novel and the filmed versions of the tale have some differences in how they portray the Royal Twins and in how they present the plot to switch them.In Dumas' The Vicomte de Bragelonne, although the plot to replace King Louis XIV with his twin brother is foiled, the twin brother is initially depicted as a much more sympathetic character than the King. However, in the last part of the novel, the king is portrayed as an intelligent, more mature and slightly misunderstood man who in fact deserves the throne - and the Musketeers themselves are split, Aramis (with assistance from Porthos) siding with the prisoner, D'Artagnan with King Louis, and Athos retired from politics entirely. In the 1929 silent version, The Iron Mask
The Iron Mask
The Iron Mask is a part-talkie film adaptation of the last section of the novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père, which is itself based on the French legend of The Man in the Iron Mask...
starring Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro....
as D'Artagnan, the King is depicted favorably and the twin brother is depicted as a pawn in an evil plot, so the plot being foiled by D'Artagnan and his Three Musketeer friends seems more appropriate.
But in the 1998 version, the King is depicted very negatively while his twin brother is portrayed with considerable sympathy, with the plot to switch the two brothers being presented as an attempt to save France from a bad king by replacing him with the one man in France who has an equal claim. D'Artagnan finds himself torn between loyalty to his King and loyalty to his Three Musketeer friends; the way in which this conflict is resolved provides much of the dramatic tension in this version.
Furthermore, it is revealed that D'Artagnan himself is the actual father of the twins, as well as being dedicated to the interests of France. His paternal feelings therefore complicate his dilemma, as he hopes that his son will one day prove himself worthy of his role in life, admitting at the end that it is only when meeting Phillippe that he felt true pride as a father.
Historical and literary inaccuracies
All historical persons and events depicted in the film are heavily fictionalized (as mentioned in an opening narration with the voice of Jeremy Irons), even more than in Dumas' original works. Historical blunders also abound:- A portrait of Louis XVLouis XV of FranceLouis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
can be seen in Louis XIV's apartments: the film takes place about half a century before Louis XIV's great-grandson and successor was even born. - The fact that Louis XIV, after being replaced by his twin brother, was remembered as France's most generous king, is generally viewed as a huge historical error by French audiences. Louis XIV is considered by the general public in France as an authoritarian, heartless king, if a political genius.
- D'Artagnan's death is inconsistent with the actual character's biography: the real d'Artagnan died in battle at the siege of Maastricht, more than ten years later, as depicted in The Vicomte de Bragelonne.
- Louis XIV had, in real life, a brother called Philippe-the actual Philippe d'OrléansPhilippe I, Duke of OrléansPhilippe of France was the youngest son of Louis XIII of France and his queen consort Anne of Austria. His older brother was the famous Louis XIV, le roi soleil. Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans...
, who is not depicted in the film. He was not, however, the King's twin. - Set in 1662, the film implies that the king is unmarried; by then he had been married for some two years to Infanta María Teresa of SpainMaria Theresa of SpainMaria Theresa of Austria was the daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain and Elizabeth of France. Maria Theresa was Queen of France as wife of King Louis XIV and mother of the Grand Dauphin, an ancestor of the last four Bourbon kings of France.-Early life:Born as Infanta María Teresa of Spain at the...
- Although the original section of the Palace of VersaillesPalace of VersaillesThe Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
serves as a setting for part of the film (set in 1662), construction was not commenced until 1664. - Notwithstanding the peace and prosperity alluded to at the film's conclusion, Louis XIV spent most of the remainder of his reign at war.
The film is also inconsistent in its treatment of Alexandre Dumas' fictional universe: the plot reveals that d'Artagnan was Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...
's lover (and hence the father of Louis XIV and his twin brother), while none of Dumas's works even remotely implied such a relationship.
The character of Christine is comparable to the historical Louise de la Vallière
Louise de La Vallière
Louise de La Vallière was a mistress of Louis XIV of France from 1661 to 1667. She later became the Duchess of La Vallière and Duchess of Vaujours in her own right...
, a mistress of Louis XIV's who, in Dumas's novel, is also loved by both the young king and Raoul.
Production notes
In this version, the "man in the iron mask" is introduced as prisoner number 64389000Man in the Iron Mask
The Man in the Iron Mask is a name given to a prisoner arrested as Eustache Dauger in 1669 or 1670, and held in a number of jails, including the Bastille and the Fortress of Pignerol . He was held in the custody of the same jailer, Bénigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars, for a period of 34 years...
based on the number related to his namesake found at the Bastille.