The Duellists (1977)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers:

Joseph Conrad (story)
Gerald Vaughan-Hughes (writer)

Release Date:

31 August 1977 (France)

Genre:

Action | War | Drama

Tagline:

Fencing is a science. Loving is a passion. Duelling is an obsession.

Plot:

Set during the grand, sweeping Napoleonic age, an officer in the French army insults another officer and sets off a life-long emnity...

Plot Keywords:

Honor | Sword Fight | Duel | Reference To Napoleon | 1810s

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Keith Carradine	...	D'Hubert
Harvey Keitel	...	Feraud
Albert Finney	...	Fouche
Edward Fox	...	Colonel
Cristina Raines	...	Adele
Robert Stephens	...	Gen. Treillard
Tom Conti	...	Dr. Jacquin
John McEnery	...	Chevalier
Diana Quick	...	Laura
Alun Armstrong	...	Lacourbe
Maurice Colbourne	...	Second
Gay Hamilton	...	Maid
Meg Wynn Owen	...	Leonie
Jenny Runacre	...	Mme. de Lionne
Alan Webb	...	Chevalier

Also Known As:

Duel (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1987) | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Aquitaine, France

Company:

Enigma Productions

Trivia:

In the Notes for the liner of the soundtrack album, the writer states that both director Ridley Scott and producer David Putnam "were of the same mind about (composer Howard Blake's) score, and requested Blake to write a huge, almost Wagnerian closing composition for the film - stating they would adjust the length of the end credits to whatever Blake wrote."

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: The duellist demands satisfaction. Honour, for him, is an appetite. This story is about an eccentric kind of hunger. It is a true story and begins in the year that Napoleon Bonaparte became ruler of France.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Creating a Myth... the Memories of 'Legend' (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

Bist du bei mir

Terrific, beautiful film

Harvey Keitel's muscular sociopath Feraud is a real highlight in Ridley Scott's first turn as a feature director. The story concerns a fifteen year feud between two Napoleonic era cavalry officers. The other protagonist is D'Hubert, played by Keith Carradine. D'Hubert is an honorable soldier, but no lover of war and is persecuted by the ferocious Feraud. They fight a number of duels driven by Feraud's senseless hatred and the ridiculous conventions of the time. The more intelligent and rational D'Hubert is only a reluctant participant, fighting out of a sense of honor and duty. Keith Carradine is excellent as the humanist soldier forced to battle Keitel's raging Feraud, but the real star of this movie is the exquisite photography. The last shot in particular is one of the most stunning landscape sequences you could ever hope to see. 10/10.