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The Duellists Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 33 Reviews)

Wonderful!!
The period that is involved is factual as were the lovely uniforms. This is a very exciting movie and you will play it more than once.

Early Ridley Scott Greatness
This really is a good movie. As I watched, I was thinking that it was a little slow, but this whole movie really foreshadows the style that Ridley Scott became famous for in teh coming years of his success as a mainstream director. Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel (the awsome) are really really good actors. Harvey Keitel doesn't really have that many speaking lines compared to Carradine, but his presence is so ominous in the movie that he really comes off as a scary/psychopathic guy. Some of the cinemotography in the film is stunningly excellent and really stands out. The world created during this period is very believeable, not including the accents. Gladiator didn't have people speaking in any special accents but British either, so I don't see what the fuss about Keitel's accent is in this movie. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good period piece, especially if they're a Ridley Scott fan.

RECREATES A TIME AND PLACE IN HISTORY
Students of film history will want to check out this first effort by Ridley Scott (ALIEN, GLADIATOR). Mr. Scott's bent toward lush and fascinating sets is apparent early on in his directing career as THE DUELISTS is as much about the filming, costumes, props, scenery, lighting and staging as about character or plot. For students of the Napoleonic age, you need go no further than to see that world recreated for you before your eyes. Everything seems amazingly authentic from the cavalry uniforms, to the men's mustaches and girls hair-dos to horse-drawn carts and interior furnishings. The lucky viewer is immersed in a world of another time and place for two hours. Such is Scott's genius. A comparable visual feast would be THE GIRL WITH THE PEARL EARRING. But THE DUELISTS is not just a pretty picture. As with other Ridley Scott films, there is plenty of action. Harvey Keitel plays a touchy smaller man who takes offense at almost anything and demands satisfaction -- at sunrise with swords. Keith Carradine happens to trigger the enmity of the character played by Mr. Keitel and the two engage in duel after duel throughout Bonapart's reign. There may be some kind of analogy to the wider war in Europe at that time but I'll leave that to film critics to figure out. I just enjoyed a beautiful film with lots of action that recreates a time and place in history very well. Keitel and Carradine give excellent performances. Look for cameos by Edward Fox and Albert Finney. A must see.

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