Amazon.com

Richard Lester's 1975 sequel to his romping Three Musketeers--released the year before--reunites his swashbuckling cast for a decidedly less happy and more somber experience. This time, D'Artagnan (Michael York) and his Musketeer mentors (Richard Chamberlain, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay) have a tougher fight against their old enemies, and the adventure is not without its casualties. But the film is highly entertaining, filled with that same loony air that makes most films by Lester (How I Won the War, A Hard Day's Night, Help!) so much fun. The actors are with him every step of the way: Reed, Chamberlain, Finlay, and York are a heroic version of the Marx brothers, Raquel Welch was never better, and Charlton Heston clearly enjoys playing the evil Cardinal Richelieu.--Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (9)

The Revenge Of Milady
Immediately following the events of the previous installment, Rochefort kidnaps D'artagnan's lover Constance. D'artagnan, unconscious after fighting the kidnappers, is taken in by the seductive Milady who is used by the control-hungry Cardinal Richelieu to distract him. With France at war with Protestants, The Duke Of Buckingham plans to send ships to aid the rebels. The Cardinal is going to have Milady assassinate The Duke by any means necessary. The Musketeers must prevent this for the sake of the Queen who is having an affair with the Duke. Not only this, but the Musketeers must also protect D'Artagnan and Constance from Milady (After Constance is rescued from the place where she is held), for she plans to wreck horrible revenge on both for humiliating her in the previous film.

This is not a sequel; it is merely different packaging since both film were supposed to be one. Aside from that fact, "The Four Musketeers" is an incredibly good continuation of the story. While it manages to blend slapstick and swashbuckling action well, the slapstick is less goofy and the action is more brutal (whether these are pros or cons I'll let you decide). Some may not enjoy the murders of many of the more significant characters, as they occur rather suddenly. The performances are very enjoyable, the humor is excellent, the final battles are intense towards the end, and the conclusion is extremely satisfying. See it!

Followed by: The Return Of The Musketeers.

Overall rating: 5 stars

Rated PG: contains brutal violence including a beheading, some language, adult themes, sexual encounters. However, I don't think many people will find this overly offensive.

A More Somber Conclusion...
Not nearly as much fun as the first film, The Three Musketeers, this conclusion to the story of D'Artagnon, Athos, Porthos & Aramis and their efforts to thwart the machinations of Cardinal Richelieu, de Rochefort, and Milady DeWinter, is much more plot-heavy and somber than the original, and includes some jarring assassinations and murders.

Benefiting greatly by having the same wonderful cast (both films were shot at one time), it continues where the first film left off, with clever and ironic period detail and wry observations, this time not only about the twit aristocracy, but about religious fanaticsm, persecution and wars (Protestant and Catholics)as well.

The wit and intelligence is still here, but some of the elan is missing. There is so much plot to be disposed of that the film seems more hurried and less relaxed than the first. There are some good fights, especially one clever and funny bit on an icy stream, and a brutal fight at the finale in a nunnery that climaxes with de Rochefort (the marvelously arch and disdainful Christopher Lee) and D'Artagnon (Michael York) dueling in the chapel. Again, the sword fighting is FIGHTING, using both hands and feet, and with the participants becoming exhausted by their efforts.

The cast, as mentioned, is superb, with Heston as the wily Cardinal, Jean Pierre Cassel as the dim King, Geraldine Chaplain the ninny of a Queen, a wonderful Raquel Welch as Constance, the aforementioned Chris Lee & Michael York, and the great Oliver Reed as the moody and explosive Athos, Richard Chambelain the aloof Aramis, and Frank Finlay the vain & pompous Porthos. I neglected to mention Roy Kinnear as the long-suffering servant, Planchet, in my review of the earlier film. He's wonderful, as he always was, and lost his life in making this film.

Full of wry bits of business and humorous asides, and ironic contrasts, the Four Musketeers has the great benefit of continuity of cast and style and tone, although the tone shifts much darker and more plot-driven here. Not as good as the first film, but well worth your while. Compared to the witless films that more often than not make up our present world, these gems seem better and better for their audacity and intelligence. 4-1/2 stars.

Great movie, Fox-Lorber has poor DVD version
This one was actually filmed back to back with the first movie, and was released in 1975. It features the same great cast and finishes up the story from the book "The Three Musketeers".

Same cast as before. Oliver Reed as Athos, Richard Chamberlain as Aramis, Frank Finlay as Porthos, Michael York as D'Artagnan. Christopher Lee, Raquel Welch, Geraldine Chaplin, Faye Dunaway. Again, just about every performance is amazing. And what's sort of sad is that the actors signed up for one "project" - so even though they put in enough material to do two complete films, they were only paid once. Ah well, we the viewers benefitted!

This tells the second half of the story from the book. The Queen was saved for ruin, and the musketeers are sent up to fight the Huguenots. The Cardinal is still after them, as is M'Lady. There are more battles, more attempts to kill the musketeers, more threats and plots. The mood turns darker in this one, as the fellowship runs into serious situations. The ending matches the book - not necessarily a "happy" ending but a satisfying one.

Again, the BIG WARNING. I wore out several copies of this video tape before getting this on the first DVD available. Fox Lorber put out the DVD version. I was thrilled to have it on DVD. I was less thrilled when I saw what they did to the movie!! They literally cut off ALL FOUR EDGES of the movie, losing quite a lot of the picture. The special features are completely missing. There is a new DVD version out which is a two-pack of "The Three Musketeers" and "The Four Musketeers" that has the special features and has the full version of both movies without missing content. AVOID THE FOX LORBER VERSION and get the other one.

NO Closed Captions or Subtitles !!!!
Since we have bought many DVDs and borrowed many DVDs and all of them have captions or subtitles, I was cheated with this DVD - it has no captions/subtitles and I cannot enjoy this movie. I am hearing-impaired. This is one of only 3 of many many DVDs that do not have captions.

The Sequel is as Good as the First-A Must See
This sequel is just as entertaining as "The Three Musketeers." The performances are again very strong. It has all the elements as the first movie, comdey, action, adventure, but wraps up the story from Dumas' novel.

The movie focues' on Milady and her revenge to have D'Artagan and his lover killed. This movie was film concurrently with the first, and it shows as the actors are in full form and do not miss a beat. The conculsion is great as it ends with D'Artagan fighting the Count of Rochefort (played by Christopher Lee) is a wonderfully cheographed sword fight (it is gritty and realistic looking) and then the pronouncment of death on Milady.

Another must see movie. These two movies would be followed up by the entertianing, (however, not nearly as good as these movies) "The Return of the Musketeers" where the four musketeers are re-united. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Another example of a great 80's horror film
The first Howling film was meant to be a serious, scary horror film, and that it was. I think however, the sequals were just meant to be wild and outlandish werewolf movies and this one really is. It has nothing to do with the original plot but that dosen't matter anyway because the other sequals don't either. This movie has a really cheesey plot, and the acting is horrible in it (except for Christopher Lee), but I love it because of it's extreme 80's horror film charisma. The special effects are really good in it to.

Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf
I really don't know why everyone trashes this movie so much.This is definetly not the worst sequel made.I admit the special effects suck and the gore is way overboard.The dialogue is cheesy and the acting sucks.But the thing that matters the most; the plot is very interesting.The characters are also pretty cool.I don't care if anyone says I'm crazy because I had a good time watching it.I liked the score and one song they played alot during the movie.The werewolfs are much better looking in this one then the 3rd one.I also liked some of the mythology they added to the werewolf genre.Any lover of the genre will like this.If your an average viewer you may not be as impressed, but you might want to check this one out when you have the time.Convinced that his sister has been victim of a brutal murderer, Ben, an out-of-town law officer is determined to bring her killer to justice. Ben is approached by an expert on the occult who believes his sister has been the victim of a werewolf cult.To put an end to the evil perpetrated by the werewolves, Ben and his sister's best friend travel to the "Dark Country"-Transylvania- to a decaying palace where torture, death, chaos, and destruction reign supreme.(6/10)

Bottom line: This is not a a scary film
While The Howling II has elments of a horror film, the truth is, its graphic sex scenes and multiple orgies make the horror element mere trappings for what it really is: soft core. Not even a b movie, really. I'll never forget seeing this film at a friend's sleepover birthday party when I was in junior high. We were a bunch of girls who wanted to be scared, and get a good adrenalin rush or two. It started out promising enough, with a woman in a black dress who turns out to be a werewolf who you think is going to be taken advantage of by a couple of sleezebags. We were impressed by that, and the architecture -- but one can only take landscape and architecture so far in this context. Instead we blushed and made jokes about the sex scenes. The idea of summoning the Queen of the Werewolves was good, but they didn't look like werewolves -- they looked like even hairier versions of Big Foot. And that's neither attractive or enthralling to watch in any way.
We didn't even finish watching it. If hormonal pre-teens who are looking for an adrenalin rush didn't go for this movie, I have to say watch out. We couldn't go back to the video store so we ended up watching Pee Wee Herman's big adventure a couple of times -- that was much scarier than the Howling II!

Watching brings headaches...
First off this film is total garbage...(Sorry Christopher Lee) I love horror films and Mr. Lee's are some of my favorites, but even Peter Cushing couldn't have saved this with the help of Vincent Price. Note....this film has been cut to pieces, a late night version came on skina-max several years back (at least 10) and it was unrated.(a must for Sybil Danning fans)It contained a much more sex driven version of the film. If that version was released on DVD I would at least consider it for rental. I have a very old version on VHS, probably a original video release copy....and even that one is rated R. (want werewolves check out Dog Soldiers...awesome)

Poor sequel to the Howling
Doesn't have anything to do with the original.Very slow and very boring. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

ALL FOR ONE AND ALL FOR FUN
Richard Lester's refreshingly breezy adaptation of the Dumas classic is one of the best interpretations of this venerable classic. He combines the elements of swashbuckling swordplay with the satirical buffooneries of the Pink Panther movies. Michael York, scrawny yet efficient, plays D'artagnan with a youthful exuberance. Raquel Welch is hilarious as the bumbling, accident prone Constance, and Spike Milligan is likewise a hoot as her aging and lustful husband. The Musketeers are played by Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay and Richard Chamberlain, and are dashingly heroic, if a little out of shape? Faye Dunaway is cold and calculating as the Lady DeWinter while Geraldine Chaplin is quite coquettish as the Queen. Rounding out the marvelous cast are Charlton Heston, Christopher Lee, Simon Ward and Jean Pierre Cassel. Lester filmed this and its sequel (The Four Musketeers) at the same time, but the studio opted to go with a sequel as the whole movie would have been too long. They are both fine films, although the follow up is a little darker in tone. Well worth viewing for a good time.

A Spectacular Action/Adventure-Comedy- A Must See
This movie has it all: action, adventure, comedy. The cast is outstanding and it brings out some of the best performances in some individuals careers like Michael York, Rachael Welch, and Richard Chamberland. The direction by Richard Lester is excellent.

Based on the Alexandre Dumas novel, this film is the best adaptation ever. It is so far superior than the "brat pack" version with Sutherland, Curry, and Sheen, that one wonders why another version was even attempted.

The story begins with D'Artagnan setting off to be a musketeer. He ends up being an embarrashment and has three duels, with the The Musketeers, played by Oliver Reed, Chamberland, and Frank Finely (Finely, in my opinion, gives the best performance in the movie). Because of the Cardinal's guards, the four unite and soon, they are friends going off to England to save the Queen's honor and stop the evil plot of Cardinal Richelieu (played by Charleton Heston).

This movie is a true blast and is followed up by "The Four Musketeers" where Milady (played by Fay Dunaway) tries to bring the ruin of D'Artagan.

The Three Musketeers
Set in 1500's France, a young Gaston named D'Artagnan (Michael York) leaves his family with hope of becoming the king's musketeer. After facing humiliation in his daily exploits, he inadvertently offends three musketeers at different times and each force him to duel to the death the next day (the musketeers: Athos is Oliver Reed, Porthos is Frank Finlay, and Aramis is Richard Chamberlain). However, they all form an alliance after being forced to fight off the Cardinal's authority. Soon after, D'Artagnan falls in love with his landlord's beautiful wife Constance (Raquel Welch) and finds that the Duke Of Buckingham (Simon Ward) is in love with subtly somber The Queen Of France (Geraldine Chaplin). When the Duke and the Queen meet, the Queen gives the Duke her diamond necklace so he can remember her. A spy is pertinent, sees their exchange and reports it to Cardinal Richelieu. Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston), a delicately ominous figure, wants nothing but to take control of France from the King, and the queens missing diamonds are a good opportunity for him to cause the king trouble. It's up to D'Artagnan and the musketeers to return the diamonds to the queen by traveling to England. The obstacles to reaching the destination is easily offended and violent men with varying political views, bandits, the skilled and deadly Rochefort whom D'Artagnan encountered several times (Christopher Lee) and the cardinal's covert agent Milady (Faye Dunaway).

This film version of Alexander Dumas's masterpiece story is filled with incredibly enjoyable elements. There is much slapstick humor that is never forced, pretentious or overly distracting; there is a good amount of swashbuckling action; the performances (especially by Roy Kinnear as the abused servant) are well done and amusing; and the sets are extremely memorable. See it!

Sequel: The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (which was originally going to be utilized as footage for this film)

Overall rating: 5 stars

Rated PG for violence, and some restrained sexual innuendo.

Great Fun & The Best Version so far.....
Richard Lester & his screewriter, George Macdonald Fraser (of Flashman fame), made the best & most complete version of the Dumas tale with great flair and wit, seasoning the old story with satiric touches, irony and outright slapstick. Working with a dream cast, Lester shot this and the sequel (The Four Musketeers) all at once (ala Lord of the Rings) allowing him to tell a bigger story without the distractions of aging or changed cast members. It is great fun.

Since everyone knows the story I want to point out some of the wonderful qualities of the flim. First,there are the terrific fight scenes staged by Wm. Hobbs, who has his swordfights as exhausting affairs, full of sweat and effort, with no rules, no balletic dueling, but rather FIGHTING, with both hands and feet and anything that can be of use. These are set amongst blowing sheets, in tub rooms, and one especially clever night fight with lanterns blinking on and off. Oliver Reed as Athos especially convinces you that he is FIGHTING, not waltzing about.

Next, the wonderful cast, including: Michael York as an enthusistic and eager D'Artagnon; Raquel Welsh as D'Artagnon's paramour, Constance Bonancieux, bountiful and endearingly clutzy; Spike Milligan as Msr. Bonancieux, Raquel's addled and horny husband; Charlton Heston as the shrewd and ruthless Cardinal Richelieu; Christopher Lee, an arch & dignified villain as Rochefort, Richelieu's "blade" (and possibly illegitimate son); Faye Dunaway as the beautiful and treacherous Milady De Winter; Geraldine Chaplin as the ninny of a Queen; Jean Pierre Cassel as the dim and indifferent King. And then, of course the 3 Musketeers: Oliver Reed as a moody & temperamental, but powerful Athos; Richard Chamberlain's refined and aloof Aramis; and Frank Finlay's vain & pompous Porthos. Terrific all!

A light and infectiously joyful swashbuckler, Lester also has great fun displaying the extravagance and vanity of the Royals, idling away their time in ridiculous pursuits, completely impervious and indifferent to their servants and the lives of the common people shown in rough and coarse contrast. The King & Queen are clueless, Buckingham (Simon Ward) is a headstrong dolt, Richelieu schemes, and everyone else tries to survive their foolishness.

A rare mixture of genres and tones that really works, this witty romp must be seen with its concluding Four Musketeers where the tone shifts yet again. A treat for movie lovers.

Avoid this DVD Version! Get the newer release
Filmed in 1973, the one that began it all. The book was actually split into two movies to fit all the plot! This is the first half of the book. An amazing, star-studded cast, great attention to detail and it's funny to boot!

Let's see. Oliver Reed as Athos, Richard Chamberlain as Aramis, Frank Finlay as Porthos, Michael York as D'Artagnan. Christopher Lee, Raquel Welch, Geraldine Chaplin, Faye Dunaway. Just about every performance is amazing.

This has the REAL plot - not the entirely made-up one Disney foisted on us. D'Artagnan is cheating on his landlord with his landlord's wife. The Queen of France is cheating on her husband, the King, with the Duke of Buckingham. The cardinal is trying to gain power of France. The Musketeers gladly steal food and cheat when necessary. It's a rough world out there!

The attention to detail in the film is simply amazing. From the stunning costumes, to the silver-and-white ball at the end, to the interiors of the buildings, to the food they eat, wine they drink, games they play - it's all fully authentic. You could watch this in a history class and learn quite a bit.

And the swordfighting!! None of this pretentious sword-waving and back-flipping. These guys were professional soldiers. They fought to win. This involved rough-and-tumble brawl tactics at times. I compare Athos' fighting style to Aragorn's in Lord of the Rings. His aim was to stay alive and to keep his comerades alive, not to look pretty when he fought.

Now for the BIG WARNING. I wore out several copies of the video tape before getting this on the first DVD available. Fox Lorber put out the DVD version. I was thrilled to have it on DVD. I was less thrilled when I saw what they did to the movie!! They literally cut off ALL FOUR EDGES of the movie, losing quite a lot of the picture. The special features are completely missing. There is a new DVD version out which is a two-pack of "The Three Musketeers" and "The Four Musketeers" that has the special features and has the full version of both movies without missing content. AVOID THE FOX LORBER VERSION and get the other one. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Best filmization of Mark Twain's classic, so far!
This sumptuous retelling of Mark Twain's classic tale of two young look-a-likes who switch places to see who has the easiest life is rousing family entertainment. Mark Lester(of "Oliver" fame) is consistently appealing in dual title role, and he receives solid support from other stalwarts like Charlton Heston, Oliver Reed, George C. Scott, etc. This is the best filmization of Twain's novel by far.

The Prince and the Pauper
This is a excellent movie. It's a beautifull expression of human's behaviors. Through a wonderfull story, the most magnificent human qualities are expressed . Honesty, generosity and compassion are opposed to cupidity, malice and cruelty. This is the kind of movies that will make you again young in heart... if your not already. I recommend it to anybody that want to revive their humanity or rejuvinate a few year. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Comedy and the Concorde
This has got to be the funniest of the Airport series. The only cast member remaining on board was Geroge Kennedy, and personally I think he should have bowed out of it. I brought to an end a long running movie series from Producer Jennings Lang, an excellent disaster film producer, but I can understand why he left after this one. The effects are cheezy even for that time, as the F-4 Phantom II and the cruise(!) missile look like someting out of a 1950's serial.(How can a Cruise Missile attack an AIRCRAFT?????) Not to mention the barrier net sequence with the Concorde, looking for all like the glorified model it was, making you laugh out loud even in the theater during it's theatrical run! None of the cast members, sans Kennedy really seemed to take the film seriously, and it showed. I mean even TV shows at the time had much better effects and writing!

Now with the crash and sorrowful deaths of 113 souls in the Paris crash of the Concorde, I just bet the Hollywood Disaster Machine jumps back on board, call Mr. Lang and regurgitates this series, possibly with Bruce Willis or Keanu Reeves, in place of Kennedy.

And can anyone explain why this is the only one not avalible on DVD??????

everyone got it wrong... not the Airport series.
this show has nothing to do with the Airport series.
everyone is wrong.
this is just a 60 min. show about the first men to fly the Concorde.

The plane starts to fall apart, and so does the movie
For the first 20 minutes of this endless film, I thought this would be a good movie. Then the problems started. Basically, the plot revolves around a female reporter who stumbles upon some illegal arms selling done by an American company to terrorists. Documents in hand implicating the wrongdoers, she hops aboard the Concorde on its flight to Paris and then to Moscow for the 1980 Olympics (which the Americans boycotted, but oh well).

One problem with this is the "Love Boat" casting for the plane. There's Jimmie Walker! He gets high in the bathroom! There's Charo, on screen for 1 minute! There's Emanuelle from those soft-core porno films! There's Martha Raye! There's Cicely Tyson! Her son needs a heart transplant, and she's taking the Concorde, along with the heart, to deliver it to him. Shades of Airport 1975 much (with the kidney transplant)? There's an old lady who has to go to the bathroom when she gets nervous! Isn't that funny? There's Patroni (George Kennedy) who has appeared in every Airport film. He's the pilot of this one, along with Alain Delon. "You pilots are such men!" snips the stewardess. "Honey, that's why they call it the cockpit!" Patroni zings. Score one for the male chauvinists!

There's also a missile or something that's trying to shoot down the Concorde, but the Concorde evades it and lands in Paris but the movie STILL ISN'T OVER. There's another hour and another flight and another dangerous crash landing to get to. The movie doesn't know what it wants to be - glossy international drama? Comedy? Disaster film? It turns into an unintentional comedy, especially with the incredibly fake scenes of a toy model of an airplane flying against a blue screened in shot of a sky.

High camp comedy? Yes! Exciting film? No. I suggest watching this with a bunch of friends and proving your own running commentary over it trashing the film.

VERY BORING!!!
All I can say is that this is probably the worst disaster film of all time, what got me confused and annoyed at the same time was silly additonal chatacters such as the jive ass with the saxophone,"We're Triplets," and the woman with the small bladder, "The Bathroom's Broken." And of course, Charo, "My hands Cold." Even George Kennedy's acting was off, but none of his bad acting in other films will be as bad as his acting in Airport 75! I think the Airport series should have stopped with Airport 77, I feel so bad now for even watching this film once, I definetly think this is a disaster movie gone wrong!

The plane that carried the Pope and crashed outside Paris
The "white tail" Concorde that was loaned to the film company for the making of this motion picture, was later used to ferry the Pope around on one of of his tours. Sadly, it was also the aircraft that crashed on take off from CDG in 2000 with a full passenger load of German holiday makers.

The plane had been in storage for a number of years prior to 2000. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Nostalgic send-up of Bogart detective films of the '40s boasts a spot-on impression of the famous star by Robert Sacchi, who made a career doing mostly the same. (That's him in the Robert Zemeckis-helmed "You, Murderer" episode from Tales from the Crypt). The premise is that Sacchi plays a retired cop who gets plastic surgery to make himself look like Bogart, and then sets up shop as a private dick named Sam Marlow. But theplot is really just an excuse to pay tribute to Bogart's detective films. Sacchi's channeling of Bogie is so uncanny you'll be positively mesmerized for about 30 minutes. And that's the problem. While this amiable pastiche might help while away the evening in nostalgic reverie, it does a major disservice to the films it appears to idolize. That's the problem with nostalgia: it usually jettisons all the depth and complexity of the original, leaving an indistinct fifth-generation clone, a fuzzy Xerox of a Xerox of a Xerox. So when the novelty of the flick begins to wane, there's only the plot to fall back on for interest. And the plot is only there to havesomething upon which to hang references to Bogart flicks. The story largelymirrors The Maltese Falcon, with the great whatsit, the things dreams aremade of, being a pair of sapphires known as the "eyes of Alexander." The cast is composed of simulacra of past film greats: Gene Tierney (Michelle Phillips), Sidney Greenstreet (Victor Buono), and Peter Lorre (Herbert Lom)--notso successful, that last one. --Jim Gay ... Read more

Reviews (8)

OK Evening's Entertainment
Fun to see Mike Mazurky, Henry Wilcoxon, and George Raft in bit parts. Fun to see Robert Saachi do a spot-on impersonation of Bogart. The best unplanned fun is viewing the cheesy 70s TV-movie values that add to the nostalgia of the film.

This is bogart BUT the plot is silly and at times perverted
5 stars to the actor playing bogie,he has the voice,look, manors and style PERFECT. however the golden age of movies did not have curse words & naked women and i really doubt the real bogie would have lowered himself to this stupid script. If you are the ultimate bogart fan,like me, you can apprechiate just how good this actor plays him and at times there are a few funny sceenes like a car crash resulting from seeing bogie back from the dead.nice hearing the this actor relate everything to the "old days" as he visits certain streets and area's in this film where previous old movies were shot naming the stars who were in them, you can kind of picture it in B&W in your head if you saw the films. it is also kind of neat seeing a cameo by george raft an actor who played with bogie way back when in some of the classics but this is NOT a child safe movie. You can take most of the golden age movies and watch them with a family but not this trashy comedy too many uneeded sex implied scenario's that just dont fit with the real humphrey bogart films.

Enjoyable and lightweight...
Andy Fenaday's scipt follows self-employed detective (Scacchi, who's incredible) as he gets wrapped up in a MALTESE FALCON-type mystery. Heavy doses of amusing dialog, crammed with old movie references, this movie is better than FLETCH. A lot of fun and worth repeated viewings. A must for movie buffs. Good family viewing, with older kids. Rated PG for profanity, violence, and mild sexual innuendo.

A sweet bit of noir
Robert Sacchi attained minor celebrity in the 70's and 80's for his uncanny resemblance to Bogie and parlayed it into a career in TV commercials and cameo movie roles, most notably in Woody Allen's PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM. This vehicle is built around his unique "gift." It's an unremarkable but highly likable send-up of the great private eye flicks from the 30's and 40's - its most obvious inspiration being THE MALTESE FALCON, but there are allusions to THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI and other classics as well.It is chock full of hard-boiled banter and shadowy frames and shadowy characters and probably would have been better shot in black and white to capture the true ambience and ambiguities of the originals it seeks to imitate.

Same Marlowe is hired to find "the eyes of Alexander", sapphire replicas of Alexander the Great's eyes used in a bust of the conqueror, and during the search he runs into a snag of competing interests, all played by well-known character actors, Victor Buono and Herbert Lom among them. The plot, however, is superfluous, as it almost always is in detective films. The real point of the movie is to pay tribute to old time movie magic, and part of its fun is in the cameos. Apart from bit parts by the likes of George Raft, watch out for appearances by famed Hollywood reporters James Bacon and Robert Osborne as well (the latter now the host of cable's Turner Classic Movies).

Wonderful Spoof
Sacchi is the best Bogart impersonator ever... dry and droll as Sam Marlowe! The music from award winning composer George Duning [From Here To Eternity, Picnic, The World of Suzie Wong], the cinematography of perfect locations [including the famous Ambassador Hotel] are all right on target as famous tv director Robert Day [Kojak, Streets of San Francisco, The Avengers] guides the most endearing group of well-known character actors through a spoof of every dark detective film every made. See this if you loved all the old serious flicks... this one will make you howl. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Sidaris Keeps Sexploitation Genre Alive
God bless Andy Sidaris. While hardcore porn delivered a death blow (so to speak) to sexploitation films, Sidaris keeps the genre alive with his action-packed movies filled with Playmate stars wrapping their fingers around big guns and lips around double entendres. In this 1985 Sidaris movie, Cody Abeline (Darby Hinton) is an independently wealthy Texas-born P.I. who drives a Delorean, lives on a yacht (the titular "Malibu Express"), can't shoot a moving target to save his life, and can't seem to walk three feet without some babe opening her blouse and jumping into his arms. He's hired by "contessa" Sybil Danning (who, despite references to her being from Italy, speaks as if born and raised in California) to check out a the wealthy Chamberlin family, a member of which is suspected of being involved in selling computer secrets to the Russians (so much for glasnost). Overseen by a wheelchair-bound matriarch who barks orders through a bullhorn, the Chamberlin household is packed with such characters as a ditzy maid wearing a blond wig longer than her uniform; a closeted homosexual son who secretly performs in drag; and a nymphomaniac daughter-in-law who demands frequent servicing from the hunky ex-con butler/chauffer. Double crosses and double D's vie for equal screen time until someone winds up dead. Cody hunts for the killer with the help of his beautiful blond detective friend, but first he has to help her out of her clothes... Through it all, Cody provides expository narration to lead us through the dizzying, far-fetched plot twists.

"Malibu Express" is a Sidaris classic. Every other scene features bare breasts, simulated sex and/or gunfire. The movie also has a goofy sense of humor (Topless female racecar driver to Cody: "What do you think?" Cody: "They're great!" Driver: "I meant my driving."), a relentless country soundtrack and periodic appearances of the Buffingtons, a hillbilly family guaranteed to delight those who find the humor of "Hee Haw" too dry. You can rest assured that no one exhibits behavior likely to be found in real life. The acting? Well, Danning delivers one of the stronger performances if that tells you anything. Hinton can be summed up with the following equation: John Schneider + [Tom Selleck/2]-1/2 talent = Darby Hinton. However, Hinton does have a likeable screen presence and works well here. He's also featured in what's got to be Sidaris' first--possilby only--gratuitous male shower scene. Also look for sexploitation vet John Alderman in a small role and a cameo, of sorts, by Regis Philbin.

"Magnum T&A" is right (damn, I wish I thought of that line first). May Sidaris always stay true to his artistic vision.

Magnum T & A
Got this DVD in a 6-disc collection of Andy Sidaris bullets, babes, and bombs hokum. Watched the other 5 discs before this one for no other reason than I saw it starred Darby Hinton ("Israel Boone" from Fess Parker's old tv show) and I have never given a flying rat's patootie about Darby Hinton. I was never that impressed with "Israel" on tv, and later on I knew some folks who encountered Hinton at some some personal appearance function and who described him to me as a "self-absorbed little snot". From then on Darby Hinton did not show up on my radar.

But he DOES NOW!Why? Because this movie is FUNNY!This movie is a low-brow, sleazy, smarmy HOOT! (like "Animal House" or "Porky's" or "Cry Uncle" crossed with "Magnum P.I."). And Darby Hinton, as private eye Cody Abilene, a rich-kid gumshoe who lives on a cabin cruiser (the titular "Malibu Express") and who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a .44 magnum at ten paces, is a hoot IN it!!! He's got a "look", and a charm,and a grin (not to mention a beach-boy blonde "Magnum" mustache) that just WORKS. He plays this role to perfection and now I feel really guilty about dissing and disregarding him all these years (Darby!!! I'm SORRY, Dude!!!).
The "Story" line here is not...uh..."perfect"...but, hey!...it gets the job done! Cody Abilene is called in by the local CIA station chief (who is friends with Cody's dad and who shares the same marina with them) to investigate the illegal sale of high-tech computer technology to the Russkies. Looks to be going out through the household of a prominent society matron
(oh yeah, THAT makes sense!) and they want Cody to go in and investigate the matter undercover as a "home security expert". He is to work with...oh MY....SYBIL DANNING in this operation( a job I wouldn't mind undertaking MYSELF! WOOF!)

From day one hilarity reigns. There are prissy, lisping,transvestite husbands (NOT that there is anything WRONG with that, you understand!) to deal with; blackmailing, womanizing chauffeurs; inept, bumbling thugs; double-dealing housekeepers in little French maid uniforms;smarmy computer-nerd master criminals (Not!); and more hot-to-trot jiggly pulchritude than can be found in any THREE James Bond movies! And then there is also this BIZARRE family of redneck whackos who interrupt the story continuity periodically to challenge Cody to car races (part of an ongoing family feud, it seems).

The whole thing is utterly absurd, and yet you find yourself watching it and laughing. You laugh at the cornball puns, you laugh at the inane situations, you laugh at the gigantic lapses in logic, you laugh at the whole lunatic mess of it. Sidaris and company have made numerous T & A action flicks after this one, and they are all entertaining to one degree or another. but there is a formulaic sameness to the majority of his "L.E.T.H.A.L. Force" movies that gives them too much of a feeling of "been there, done that".

But THIS thing is different. This thing is more playful, more imaginative, more smart-alecky, and, yes, more CHARMING in its good-natured preposterousness than the other ones are. After seeing "Malibu Express", my first thought was "Man, why didn't you guys KEEP ON with this??? This was COOL!! You should have given ol' Israel a contract for AT LEAST two more like this!".
Why didn't they? You got me there, pardner. Don't have a clue.
They went into this "Molokai Cargo/LETHAL Force" cycle and never
looked back.

But I DO have a clue for YOU, though, compadres. If you only watch ONE lame-brained Andy Sidaris movie in your entire lifetime....THIS...my friends, is the ONE to go for. THIS is the best one. Far and away.

Oh...and one more thing. Darby Hinton, can I have your autograph?

Very Good and entertaining mid 80's,B-rate, T&A movie!
Movie strengths: One of the best and earliest Andy Sidaris films! Certainly entertaining, funny and well casted. Cool and realistic main character - Cody Abilene (Darby Hinton)- an Eastwood wannabe who doesn't have a prayer of shooting a moving target with his cannon of a gun. Good twisting plot (for a B-film) that at the least will keep you watching throughout the entire movie. Very cool cars (for the early 80's time period). The Buffingtons are absolutely HILARIOUS! They will make you laugh out loud with their wild, animated, simple-minded, hill-billy antics. Contessa Luchesi (Sybil Danning), June Khnockers (Lynda Weismeier), Maid Marian (Robyn Hilton), Beverly (Lori Sutton) and a host of other centerfolds make for a great 80's T&A cast. And an added bonus is that all of the eye-candy in this movie actually do reasonably decent jobs at acting their parts. Andy Sidaris throws in professional bodybuilders John Brown and Richard Brose (2 of 3 villains named Matthew, Mark, and Luke) to play the "muscle" of a computer smuggling ring. Entertaining stufff straight out of the shadows of Dukes of Hazzard lore!

Movie Weakness: Very few for a B-film! I know ol' man Sidaris would have loved to have had more than just 1 explosion.

Similar Movies: "Cannonball Run" (plus T&A), "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (minus the singing and dancing).

Carltonz Call: Good and funny film definitely worth watching! Just be mindful that it is a non-serious B-film. Definitely worth purchasing if you are a Sidaris fan!

Pretty good but not great, but then what did you expect.
This wasn't a bad movie but wasn't very good either. Sybil Danning looked great and the rest of the girls were easy on the eyes but the movie as a whole just seemed to drag on.

The disc on the other hand is nice, the movie looks good and sounds good, it also has some nice special features.

Action and Adventure-Malibu Style
This is a very entertaining and funny combo of action and comedy. The main guy is cool and the escapades he gets into is wild. While this is not a top notch movie,it does have a mystery like plot with a lot of action that is worth a 5 star. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Sybil Danning's Final Film is a Disappointment!
Sybil Danning plays the character of Ruger in this dull and depressing action film. Danning trying hard to live up to being the Female Clint Eastwood, plays a character who is silent, smokes cigars, and lives is a run down trailer. She is a Bounty Hunter who is seeking the man who killed her partner. Wings Hauser plays the villian Cavanaugh (who steals the only good scenes in the movie)with his demented, crazed, coke-dealing, psyco artist who is completely over the top and out of his mind. Since Sybil only has about 4 lines in the movie and seems to have a bored expression on her face, she is not as fun to watch as she was in previous movies. It will pretty much disappoint her fans who are use to seeing her play sexy bad girls in some of the wildest costumes of all times. This was her final film, but not her best. This film could have been better perhaps if it would have had a bigger budget and better writing. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Funny movie
About 12 years ago, I was a university student. I saw this movie in the cinema. It was just limited version based on the press censorship. I thought this was a funny movie, some plots were ridiguculous. However, you can relax yourself. Don't think anything, just feel the interest. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Get your cheese right cheer!
Ahhh,the good ole days of 80's exploitation films;gratuitous nudity,lots of lingerie,lesbian overtones,tons of bleached blond cuties with mile high hair.It all comes together in this absurd spoof of bad girls in prison.The movie never pretends to be anything more than what it is,which is a total goofoff.From the cruel,grotesque,300lb whopper head guard(Pat Ast)who delights in torturing the helpless girls to the androgynous S&M inclined warden;to the 35 year old teenager(Wendy Williams);to the good girl who made a mistake and landed in the slammer(Linda Carol)this flick has more cliches than you can count.But the cliches are apparent early so that an annoying plot line doesn't distract you from checking out all the cleavage and barely there outfits.The film even includes a branding scene in a bathroom and of course,wrestling and fights.For those who can take this type of cinema for what it is it will definitely prove delightful.

A definite women prison of the 80's!
At first, this movie was very forced and contrived, but cameo actress and Andy Warhol film graduate, Pat Ast,(who I first spotted in a Motley Crue video "Smokin' in the Boys Room"; whose character in the movie is very similar), really gets the film off the ground with her terrifying performance that is cold and evil! It also features rocker Wendy O' Williams who committed suicide years later as a lesbian tormenting her cell mates. Linda Carol plays an innocent teenager sent to prison, Sybil Danning from the motion picture "Chained Heat" plays a bitchy warden. The movie heats up towards the end, which all action fans would enjoy if they start falling asleep half way through. I liked this movie, the only thing I didn't like about this is when Pat Ast crushes a kitten to death - Yuck!!! Linda Carol starred in an awful, soft- core porn dud "Carnal Crimes", which went straight to video; she was better in this one.

The benchmark for women in prison films.
As a serious women in prison film collector, I can state that no other film than 'reform school girls' better epitomizes what the genre is about more completely.
It has all the humorous elements one would expect in a such a film; the wicked wardeness, the bad butch girls, the helpless girl, the kitten stomp, shower scenes, fights, brandings, DDT delousing and did I mention shower scenes? Where do girls in a juvenile facility get all that fancy langerie anyway?
Wendy O'Willimas puts in a convincing and moving performance as a wicked correctional official and seems to delight in her evil role. Sybil Danning makes an extended cameo that was mandatory for a film of this type in the 1980's.
Although it lacks the gladitorial competitions of 'Lust for Freedom' or the exploitative child birth scene of 'Bad Girls Dormitory', it is cheerful and builds up gradually to a frenzy of revolutionary fervor. This film will definitely not disappoint.
This is also a good film for those new to the genre and those who enjoy the excesses of the 80's.

Yow!
I watched this dvd last night and here are ten (10) observations:

1. This film is probably not going to inspire anyone to do anything. No one is going to say "Gee, seeing 'Reform School Girls' was the turning point in my life and that's why I'm so successful today." This is probably not likely, but who knows... Stranger things have happened.

2. There's not a lot to think about here. "Reform School Girls" is not exactly intellectually challenging. The best thing to do while watching this is to have a beer and maybe start doing the laundry.

3. The cover for the dvd shows Sybil Danning, but Wendy O. Williams got the top billing. I could care less about Sybil Danning. What I would have liked to see on the cover would have been Williams wearing shaving cream and electrical tape with a chain saw. That would have been a great cover.

4. Wendy O. Williams' acting ability was pretty one-dimensional, but that's okay because the film isn't supposed to make any sense anyway. I especially like the part where Williams gets on top of the runaway bus, because it absolutely made no sense at all.

5. The end title song, "It's My Life" was written by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. This is an example of how the ideas of Gene Simmons have systematically perverted the nature of our culture for years.

6. If you buy this dvd, watch the trailers first. They're funny.

7. The Commentary by director Tom DeSimone and humorist Martin Lewis is pretty good too.

8. If you're a Wendy O. Williams fan, this dvd is worth having. In the last part of the film, she basically goes nuts, and I think it's commendable that someone was able to capture that on film.

9. As spoof, "Reform School Girls" works pretty well, on a very simple level. Other than Williams, the characters really don't mean anything and the story could easily have been replaced with anything else about women in prison.

10. The bottom line is, "Reform School Girls" is a far more interesting and plausible story than "The English Patient".

Good babes!!
This movie it's really impressive, the girls are the most gorgeous I've ever seen in a female prison movie. Sybill Danning looks perfect, and Sherri Stonner with her babydoll face and innocence. The shower scenes are very gruesome. Unfortunately the medical check is short for a movie like this. But if you enjoy watching girls with few clothes and nice bodies, this is your film. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Exciting thriller to the eyes!
Nightkill is one of those kind of thriller that you dont normally see now a days. Actually, it has a very interesting and original plot that will suck your brain up to the last minute. The first half hour is the so-called "routine" check like all other thrillers but the last half hour is a nail biter.

This movie stars Jaclyn Smith, James Franciscus and veteran actor Robert Mitchum. This is also one of Jaclyn Smith's best performances. I mean, she's gorgeous in every angle, the camera just love her but she's also capable as a performer. Her shower scene is also the high point of this thriller -- see for yourself!

This is a five (5) stars, thumbs up rating!!!! Cant wait to see a re-make.

Murder In Arizona
Jaclyn Smith of "Charlie's Angels," stars a wife who's husband is then murdered and Jaclyn finds all kinds of things going on. What she doesn't know is that Robert Mitchum is the killer.

This excellent thriller should not be forgotten.
I have been searching for a long time for this movie. What a shame that it has been discontinued, because it is one of the best thrillers ever produced. I have never met anyone who has seen it which is so unfortunate - the acting is superb. Most young people today have never heard of Robert Mitchum. "Scream" in my opinion was a predictable piece of trash and look at the ratings it got - they even wasted more resources and came up with a sequel. Nightkill will leave you on the edge of your chair - I saw it by myself and was attracted to it because I read in the TV guide that Robert Mitchum was starring in it. I think it was one of his finest performances.

HAUNTING
I SAW THIS MOVIE SEVERAL TIMES AND EACH TIME IT GOT BETTER, I HAVE SEARCHED FOR THE VIDEO, BUT HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL. IF YOU WANT ONE THAT WILL KEEP YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT THIS IS THE ONE THAT WILL DO IT. MITCHUM IS SMOOTH & SMITH WELL, I HAVE TO SAY THIS IS ONE OR HER BEST YET. THE TWO ARE COMPLETE OPPOSITES THAT COMPLIMENT EACH OTHER TO THE MAX.IT'S DEFINITELY ONE I WANT IN MY COLLECTION.

"Heart-pounding thriller"
This movie was supposed to be Jaclyn Smith's first major feature film in the '80s. But due to some problems, it was largely unreleased in theaters and ended first on television. Good for us movie buff because this film is probably one of the best that I've seen and one of the most satisfying "thriller" in years. It doesn't have the same style of the current slasher/screamer films of late but it offers lot better. The last half hour is a nail biter especially the shower scene. Robert Mitchum's performance is top notch and actress Jaclyn Smith is terrific. I think this is one of her best performances. Her on-screen chemistry with actor James Franciscus is just great! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Director Richard Lester strikes the perfect balance between slapstick and swashbuckling swordplay in this whimsical adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's grand adventure. Michael York, all innocence and wide-eyed chivalry as young D'Artagnan, makes quite an impression on his first day in Paris: he challenges all three of the legendary Musketeers to a duel, then joins them in arms against the cardinal's soldiers. The worldly rascals, led by Athos (Oliver Reed), who hides his brooding past behind a sarcastic wit, adopt the young hero. Soon D'Artagnan is stealing hearts and stealing food with equal aplomb as he joins their campaign to defend the queen (Geraldine Chaplin) against a plot devised by the scheming cardinal (Charlton Heston) and his cold-hearted accomplice Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway). Richard Chamberlain's Aramis, the trio's Don Juan and resident man of God, and Frank Finlay's fun-loving hedonist Porthos round out the Musketeers, while Christopher Lee's sneering Rochefort executes the cardinal's wishes as commander of the church's soldiers. Other members of this talented cast include Raquel Welch as the beautiful but disaster-prone seamstress to the queen, Spike Milligan as the beauty's jealous husband, Roy Kinnear as D'Artagnan's bumbling servant, Planchet, and Jean-Pierre Cassel as the clueless king. George MacDonald Fraser's rollicking screenplay combines boisterous adventure and roguish humor with marvelous characters, and Lester's dynamic direction turns it into one of the greatest comic swashbucklers of all time. Followed by The Four Musketeers, which continues the story in a darker vein. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (22)

ALL FOR ONE AND ALL FOR FUN
Richard Lester's refreshingly breezy adaptation of the Dumas classic is one of the best interpretations of this venerable classic. He combines the elements of swashbuckling swordplay with the satirical buffooneries of the Pink Panther movies. Michael York, scrawny yet efficient, plays D'artagnan with a youthful exuberance. Raquel Welch is hilarious as the bumbling, accident prone Constance, and Spike Milligan is likewise a hoot as her aging and lustful husband. The Musketeers are played by Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay and Richard Chamberlain, and are dashingly heroic, if a little out of shape? Faye Dunaway is cold and calculating as the Lady DeWinter while Geraldine Chaplin is quite coquettish as the Queen. Rounding out the marvelous cast are Charlton Heston, Christopher Lee, Simon Ward and Jean Pierre Cassel. Lester filmed this and its sequel (The Four Musketeers) at the same time, but the studio opted to go with a sequel as the whole movie would have been too long. They are both fine films, although the follow up is a little darker in tone. Well worth viewing for a good time.

A Spectacular Action/Adventure-Comedy- A Must See
This movie has it all: action, adventure, comedy. The cast is outstanding and it brings out some of the best performances in some individuals careers like Michael York, Rachael Welch, and Richard Chamberland. The direction by Richard Lester is excellent.

Based on the Alexandre Dumas novel, this film is the best adaptation ever. It is so far superior than the "brat pack" version with Sutherland, Curry, and Sheen, that one wonders why another version was even attempted.

The story begins with D'Artagnan setting off to be a musketeer. He ends up being an embarrashment and has three duels, with the The Musketeers, played by Oliver Reed, Chamberland, and Frank Finely (Finely, in my opinion, gives the best performance in the movie). Because of the Cardinal's guards, the four unite and soon, they are friends going off to England to save the Queen's honor and stop the evil plot of Cardinal Richelieu (played by Charleton Heston).

This movie is a true blast and is followed up by "The Four Musketeers" where Milady (played by Fay Dunaway) tries to bring the ruin of D'Artagan.

The Three Musketeers
Set in 1500's France, a young Gaston named D'Artagnan (Michael York) leaves his family with hope of becoming the king's musketeer. After facing humiliation in his daily exploits, he inadvertently offends three musketeers at different times and each force him to duel to the death the next day (the musketeers: Athos is Oliver Reed, Porthos is Frank Finlay, and Aramis is Richard Chamberlain). However, they all form an alliance after being forced to fight off the Cardinal's authority. Soon after, D'Artagnan falls in love with his landlord's beautiful wife Constance (Raquel Welch) and finds that the Duke Of Buckingham (Simon Ward) is in love with subtly somber The Queen Of France (Geraldine Chaplin). When the Duke and the Queen meet, the Queen gives the Duke her diamond necklace so he can remember her. A spy is pertinent, sees their exchange and reports it to Cardinal Richelieu. Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston), a delicately ominous figure, wants nothing but to take control of France from the King, and the queens missing diamonds are a good opportunity for him to cause the king trouble. It's up to D'Artagnan and the musketeers to return the diamonds to the queen by traveling to England. The obstacles to reaching the destination is easily offended and violent men with varying political views, bandits, the skilled and deadly Rochefort whom D'Artagnan encountered several times (Christopher Lee) and the cardinal's covert agent Milady (Faye Dunaway).

This film version of Alexander Dumas's masterpiece story is filled with incredibly enjoyable elements. There is much slapstick humor that is never forced, pretentious or overly distracting; there is a good amount of swashbuckling action; the performances (especially by Roy Kinnear as the abused servant) are well done and amusing; and the sets are extremely memorable. See it!

Sequel: The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (which was originally going to be utilized as footage for this film)

Overall rating: 5 stars

Rated PG for violence, and some restrained sexual innuendo.

Great Fun & The Best Version so far.....
Richard Lester & his screewriter, George Macdonald Fraser (of Flashman fame), made the best & most complete version of the Dumas tale with great flair and wit, seasoning the old story with satiric touches, irony and outright slapstick. Working with a dream cast, Lester shot this and the sequel (The Four Musketeers) all at once (ala Lord of the Rings) allowing him to tell a bigger story without the distractions of aging or changed cast members. It is great fun.

Since everyone knows the story I want to point out some of the wonderful qualities of the flim. First,there are the terrific fight scenes staged by Wm. Hobbs, who has his swordfights as exhausting affairs, full of sweat and effort, with no rules, no balletic dueling, but rather FIGHTING, with both hands and feet and anything that can be of use. These are set amongst blowing sheets, in tub rooms, and one especially clever night fight with lanterns blinking on and off. Oliver Reed as Athos especially convinces you that he is FIGHTING, not waltzing about.

Next, the wonderful cast, including: Michael York as an enthusistic and eager D'Artagnon; Raquel Welsh as D'Artagnon's paramour, Constance Bonancieux, bountiful and endearingly clutzy; Spike Milligan as Msr. Bonancieux, Raquel's addled and horny husband; Charlton Heston as the shrewd and ruthless Cardinal Richelieu; Christopher Lee, an arch & dignified villain as Rochefort, Richelieu's "blade" (and possibly illegitimate son); Faye Dunaway as the beautiful and treacherous Milady De Winter; Geraldine Chaplin as the ninny of a Queen; Jean Pierre Cassel as the dim and indifferent King. And then, of course the 3 Musketeers: Oliver Reed as a moody & temperamental, but powerful Athos; Richard Chamberlain's refined and aloof Aramis; and Frank Finlay's vain & pompous Porthos. Terrific all!

A light and infectiously joyful swashbuckler, Lester also has great fun displaying the extravagance and vanity of the Royals, idling away their time in ridiculous pursuits, completely impervious and indifferent to their servants and the lives of the common people shown in rough and coarse contrast. The King & Queen are clueless, Buckingham (Simon Ward) is a headstrong dolt, Richelieu schemes, and everyone else tries to survive their foolishness.

A rare mixture of genres and tones that really works, this witty romp must be seen with its concluding Four Musketeers where the tone shifts yet again. A treat for movie lovers.

Avoid this DVD Version! Get the newer release
Filmed in 1973, the one that began it all. The book was actually split into two movies to fit all the plot! This is the first half of the book. An amazing, star-studded cast, great attention to detail and it's funny to boot!

Let's see. Oliver Reed as Athos, Richard Chamberlain as Aramis, Frank Finlay as Porthos, Michael York as D'Artagnan. Christopher Lee, Raquel Welch, Geraldine Chaplin, Faye Dunaway. Just about every performance is amazing.

This has the REAL plot - not the entirely made-up one Disney foisted on us. D'Artagnan is cheating on his landlord with his landlord's wife. The Queen of France is cheating on her husband, the King, with the Duke of Buckingham. The cardinal is trying to gain power of France. The Musketeers gladly steal food and cheat when necessary. It's a rough world out there!

The attention to detail in the film is simply amazing. From the stunning costumes, to the silver-and-white ball at the end, to the interiors of the buildings, to the food they eat, wine they drink, games they play - it's all fully authentic. You could watch this in a history class and learn quite a bit.

And the swordfighting!! None of this pretentious sword-waving and back-flipping. These guys were professional soldiers. They fought to win. This involved rough-and-tumble brawl tactics at times. I compare Athos' fighting style to Aragorn's in Lord of the Rings. His aim was to stay alive and to keep his comerades alive, not to look pretty when he fought.

Now for the BIG WARNING. I wore out several copies of the video tape before getting this on the first DVD available. Fox Lorber put out the DVD version. I was thrilled to have it on DVD. I was less thrilled when I saw what they did to the movie!! They literally cut off ALL FOUR EDGES of the movie, losing quite a lot of the picture. The special features are completely missing. There is a new DVD version out which is a two-pack of "The Three Musketeers" and "The Four Musketeers" that has the special features and has the full version of both movies without missing content. AVOID THE FOX LORBER VERSION and get the other one. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Another example of a great 80's horror film
The first Howling film was meant to be a serious, scary horror film, and that it was. I think however, the sequals were just meant to be wild and outlandish werewolf movies and this one really is. It has nothing to do with the original plot but that dosen't matter anyway because the other sequals don't either. This movie has a really cheesey plot, and the acting is horrible in it (except for Christopher Lee), but I love it because of it's extreme 80's horror film charisma. The special effects are really good in it to.

Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf
I really don't know why everyone trashes this movie so much.This is definetly not the worst sequel made.I admit the special effects suck and the gore is way overboard.The dialogue is cheesy and the acting sucks.But the thing that matters the most; the plot is very interesting.The characters are also pretty cool.I don't care if anyone says I'm crazy because I had a good time watching it.I liked the score and one song they played alot during the movie.The werewolfs are much better looking in this one then the 3rd one.I also liked some of the mythology they added to the werewolf genre.Any lover of the genre will like this.If your an average viewer you may not be as impressed, but you might want to check this one out when you have the time.Convinced that his sister has been victim of a brutal murderer, Ben, an out-of-town law officer is determined to bring her killer to justice. Ben is approached by an expert on the occult who believes his sister has been the victim of a werewolf cult.To put an end to the evil perpetrated by the werewolves, Ben and his sister's best friend travel to the "Dark Country"-Transylvania- to a decaying palace where torture, death, chaos, and destruction reign supreme.(6/10)

Bottom line: This is not a a scary film
While The Howling II has elments of a horror film, the truth is, its graphic sex scenes and multiple orgies make the horror element mere trappings for what it really is: soft core. Not even a b movie, really. I'll never forget seeing this film at a friend's sleepover birthday party when I was in junior high. We were a bunch of girls who wanted to be scared, and get a good adrenalin rush or two. It started out promising enough, with a woman in a black dress who turns out to be a werewolf who you think is going to be taken advantage of by a couple of sleezebags. We were impressed by that, and the architecture -- but one can only take landscape and architecture so far in this context. Instead we blushed and made jokes about the sex scenes. The idea of summoning the Queen of the Werewolves was good, but they didn't look like werewolves -- they looked like even hairier versions of Big Foot. And that's neither attractive or enthralling to watch in any way.
We didn't even finish watching it. If hormonal pre-teens who are looking for an adrenalin rush didn't go for this movie, I have to say watch out. We couldn't go back to the video store so we ended up watching Pee Wee Herman's big adventure a couple of times -- that was much scarier than the Howling II!

Watching brings headaches...
First off this film is total garbage...(Sorry Christopher Lee) I love horror films and Mr. Lee's are some of my favorites, but even Peter Cushing couldn't have saved this with the help of Vincent Price. Note....this film has been cut to pieces, a late night version came on skina-max several years back (at least 10) and it was unrated.(a must for Sybil Danning fans)It contained a much more sex driven version of the film. If that version was released on DVD I would at least consider it for rental. I have a very old version on VHS, probably a original video release copy....and even that one is rated R. (want werewolves check out Dog Soldiers...awesome)

Poor sequel to the Howling
Doesn't have anything to do with the original.Very slow and very boring. ... Read more

Reviews (46)

Grand Entertainment on a large scale.
The Three and Four Musketeers I recommend to anyone who loves swashbucklers and the writings of Alexandre Dumas.These films remain pretty faithful to the original novel.Michael York does an excellent job as D'Artagnan.The musketeers excellently played by Oliver Reed(not as attractive as Athos in the book),Frank Finlay (not as tall or large as Porthos in the book or other screen versions),Richard Chamberlain (perfectly cast as Aramis).Raquel Welch did a great comedic turn as Constance but did not fit the characterization in the book.Faye Dunaway perfect in her acting ability as Milady de Winter.Christopher Lee and Charlton Heston great in their rolls as Count de Rochefort and Cardinal Richelieu.Simon Ward,Geraldine Chaplin,Jean Pierre-Cassel,Roy Kinnear and Spike Milligan also very good as the Duke of Buckingham,Queen Anne,King Louis,D'Artagnan's servant Planchet and Constance's cuckold of a husband Monsieur Bonancieux.The costumes,acting and scenery excellent for this period swashbuckler.I highly recommend it.Be sure to watch both parts to get the full story.Part 1 deals with D'Artagnan and the musketeers saving the Queen's honor from the machinations of Cardinal Richelieu and his agents "The bad and beautiful Milady de Winter and her lover Rochefort two birds of prey in fine feathers".Part 2 known as the Four Musketeers deals with the Cardinal and agents going for revenge against D'Artagnan and the Musketeers and viceversa.To fans of this version Ursula Andress was also considered for the part of Milady de Winter (an excellent choice,good actress and a real blonde beauty) and Charlton Heston was first wanted for the part of Athos but demanded the part of Cardinal Richelieu and got it.For those who love this version also be sure to see the sequel The Return of the Musketeers:The Musketeers 20 Years After.It has the same cast as the Three and Four Musketeers filmed 14 years later and also might add it has some new character additions.It's ashame that Oliver Reed and Roy Kinnear are gone.There could have been a fourth film about the Musketeers final days.If you want full film treatments of this novel I recommend The Three Musketeers-Gene Kelly version,The two part French version of 1961-62(quite similar to this one)the 1999 145 minute made for video stageplay and the Douglas Fairbanks 1921 version and its sequel the Iron Mask which not only deals with the Man in the Iron Mask Story but with the second half of the Three Musketeers novel (Fairbanks versions were Richard Lester's (Director of the Three,Four and Return of the Musketeers)favorites.If you've never seen these see them.If you have seen them and love them-BUY THEM!

ANCHOR BAY DOES IT AGAIN!!!
You can tell that the folks at Anchor Bay Entertainment love movies. It shows in every disc they release (like last years wonderful "MAD MONSTER PARTY" DVD). And this new release of director Richard Lester's delightfully enjoyable 70's comedy/ swashbuckler's "THE THREE MUSKETEERS" and "THE FOUR MUSKETEERS" in one 2-disc set is yet another example of their care and love. This is a wonderful release and a superior job over the DVD's Fox-Lorber have had on the market for the last couple of years. No one ever mentioned it (maybe nobody noticed it), but the Fox-Lorber DVD of "3 MUSKETEERS" was missing about 1 minute of footage in a scene between Charlton Heston and Christopher Lee. These new discs have the complete versions of both films and they look and sound great! For the first time they are presented in anamorphic widescreen in their proper aspect-ratio (full screen versions are also included but I haven't yet viewed them so I can't comment on them). The extras are also very nice. Two half hour documentaries on each disc includes interviews with stars Raquel Welch, Christopher Lee, Charlton Heston, Michael York and Frank Finlay and producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler. Trailers, tv spots, radio spots, photo & poster galleries and star biographies (that are actually informative and worth reading) round out this very pleasing package! Buy it, watch it and enjoy!

ALMOST PERFECT
Almost, but not quite. Too much unnecessary slapstick, especially in Part One, and the Spanish locales used in both films (well, three films actually, if you include THE RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS, 1989) cannot possibly pass for France. But still, very lavish, handsome and entertaining