The Duellists (1977)

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:

Sword Fight | France | Napoleonic Wars | 1810s | Duel

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 | 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

Trivia:

The swords were hooked up to batteries to produce the sparks, and Harvey Keitel said he was heavily shocked more than once.

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 'Kingdom of Heaven': Interactive Production Grid (2005) (V)

One of the few great, timeless movies.

Often, when you watch a movie, you can tell when it was made.

It deals with the mores and prejudices of the time it was made. The costumes are done without attention to detail or the hair-styles of the leading actors don't belong to the time when the movie is supposed to be taking place.

Not this movie.

It deals with timeless themes: courage, fate, inevitability,

honor. The costumes are impeccable, and even the hair-styles change as time progresses, exactly as the fashions changed during the times of the Napoleon. Without knowing the actors (though the cast is composed of excellent, justifiably famous artists), there is no way to tell it was made in 1977. It might have been made yesterday, or it might have been filmed on the spot.

If you enjoy a movie where attention was paid to every detail to make it a true piece of art, if you enjoy dramatic photography thoughtful themes, and just the barest suggestion of dry humor, this is the movie for you.