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Plot:
D'Hubert (Keith Carradine) and Feraud (Harvey Keitel) are officers in Napoleon's army who challenge each other to a series of bloody duels. In the final clash -- which comes after many years of fighti...( read more 
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:July 20, 2008
The Napoleonic Wars are hardly the place I'd've imagined the man who gave us Alien and Bladerunner would have started, but then, he has gone on to make period films like Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven, so I'm probably coming from a bias of preference for the more fantastic (in the subject matter sense) films. Nor, particularly, did I expect to find Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel in a period piece, or in a Ridley Scott film in general. Admittedly, I have little experience with Carradine (having more with his brothers, and possibly even his father)--primarily his role in Walter Hill's The Long Riders, wherein he was simply "one of the Carradines." I attempted to watch this film a few weeks ago whilst in a state of personal frustration and could not deal with the pacing or deliberate dialogue--sounding very faithful to the original writing of Joseph Conrad, which the film is allegedly (I've not read the story)* extremely faithful to. I set it aside, plowed through some television series and returned to it, from the beginning, tonight. Certainly what stands out in any and all Ridley Scott films I've seen is the cinematography and framing. Many of the duels take place with an entire horizon in view in background, the men duelling dwarfed by the world around them, open fields broken only by a single building in each case, and masses of trees in the distance, afternoon light causing a warm glow over scenes of intense fighting for survival against inarguable persistence and obsession. This was something I saw even when I did not have the patience for the film--the majesty of these images instantly reels you into the beauty of their own images.
Feraud (Keitel) is an officer in what became La Grand Armée, first seen duelling viciously with a civilian man near a mill, running him through after an intense build up of otherwise nearly absent music, creating a very thorough and palpable sense of dread at the approaching and inevitable violence. One of his superiors hears of this event and angrily asks for what other officers are familiar with Feraud. No one responds except D'Hubert (Carradine), who says he has met with him before. When D'Hubert requests Feraud leave the presence of Mme. de Lionne, he begins to see the probable reason he was the only one to respond to his superior's orders--from the moment of his arrival, Feraud clearly has it in for him--not necessarily him in particular, but insisting that he begin another duel, trying to find any reason he possibly can for a duel with D'Hubert. Eventually, D'Hubert recognizes the futility of his refusal to fight and participates in a brief duel with Feraud. From here, Feraud holds on with unimaginable tenacity to the perceived insult of the more truly honourable D'Hubert, who attempts to avoid or sidestep the endless duel at whatever time he can, but again and again over the years--1806, 1812--they cross paths and Feraud inevitably points events toward a duel.
An unusually introspective film for Scott--again, in terms of what I have seen--this film follows very closely these two men and looks almost exclusively at their own varying interpretations of life and honour. Certainly, Alien was claustrophobic, and Blade Runner dealt with some of the tunnel visioned nature man sometimes exhibits, but none seemed to magnify the personalities, philosophies and lives of two men so fully. D'Hubert is a man of reason, quiet grace and calm, able-bodied both physically and socially, no matter what the state of, well, the state. Under Napoleon he is a well-regarded and decorated officer. After Napoleon's defeat, he is a man of some standing and title, living on a magnificent estate with his sister. Feraud is a bulldog of personal insecurity, bottled yet unrestrained anger and obsessive pursuit of bettering himself by bettering others in combat. He will not look to reason, reacting purely through instinct and emotion, not acknowledging anything that conflicts with his desire for combat. It's unusual, but definitely shows the spark that indeed opened wide the gates for Scott's later work, with an absolutely stunning closing shot, leisurely paced but drawing the eyes to every detail in its staggering natural beauty and carefully orchestrated, albeit minor, movements.
*The Duel, also the inspiration behind Steven Spielberg's film, which originally had a man duelling sabres with a diesel-powered 18-wheeler, this concept abandoned when they couldn't determine how to make the truck hold any kind of sword, let alone nimbly fence with a sabre. -
MCT:July 8, 2008
An absolutely gorgeous film with a nice evocative storyline. The pace of the film, however, seems to be sorely lacking, but I don't think it's the editor's or even Ridely's fault. The story deemed that it be told slowly. I really enjoyed seeing what Ridley got to do with his first feature. An extraordinary film.
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MCT:June 10, 2008I'm confused by the accents--they're in Napoleon's French army and yet most of the characters have English accents and the protagonist has an American accent... huh?
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MCT:April 9, 2008My favourite Scott film (yes, more than Blade Runner) has Carradine spending his life facing duels with the previously insulted Keitel. A story about what is honour and responsibility, and also examines what it takes to be a man. A masterpiece.
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MCT:March 29, 2008
Quite good, especially considering the fact that this movie marked Ridley Scott's debut as a film director. Part from Harvey Keitel, most of the actors were pretty unknown to me, but I think that just made it better, since it gave the story a more genuine feel. Also, like in most of Scott's films, The Duellists featured commendable acting and writing, all set within an exciting period in history that I can't help but ever be fascinated by.
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MCT:February 15, 2008
Bloody personal combat with cold steel is the theme, adapted from a Joseph Conrad story ("Heart of Darkness" aka "Apocalypse Now") and masterfully arranged by Ridley Scott, you can't call yourself a fan of his work and have not seen this. Indoor and outdoor scenes are like the paintings of the Old Masters, and the swaggering Military Fashion of the era is painstakingly reproduced to the most minute detail. This goes for the ladies in the story also, who all are natural beauties. Scott balances visual beauty and violence with nary a slip. (In fact you can watch this one with your babe of choice and not get flak for it). Actor Morgan Sheppard puts in a memorable cameo as a fight instructor. A must see for the serious flimhead...
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MCT:August 16, 2007Great movie, Keitel is remarkable as usual and some scenes are aboslutely brilliant. This is such an interesting part in history, its too bad cinema doesn't exploit it enough.
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MCT:July 14, 2007Beautifully shot study of obsession that oozes period detail. A little lacking in plot, but a nice idea, well executed.
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MCT:July 12, 2007
This is a great film. One of my favourites. I always watch it with my brother. Its almost a tradition.
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MCT:June 23, 2007Nice looking film and characters are somewhat interesting, but their motivations become lost as it progresses and I didn't really care for them as it went on.
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MCT:June 4, 2007
Ridley Scott's first feature-length film is short, intimate, and tightly focused, but his camera is already capturing sweeping vistas and a subtle but rich palette of colors. His use of light is stunning. As always, William Hobbs provides fight choreography that is as gritty as it is authentic. The story is simple, but well-told and provocative, analyzing the senselessness of honor and the soul-consuming allure of violence. The only noticeable weak point is the way Keith Carradine's flat American accent distracts from some of the sequences of dialogue. When he's silent, however, he's superb. To compliment the acting of Harvey Keitel is redundant.
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MCT:May 3, 2007
Excellent sword fight sequences with quite minimal dialogue, but the story feels a little slow paced. Would also like to know more about Harvey Keitel's character as he seems a bit one dimensional.
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MCT:March 21, 2007
Ridley Scott's debut film as a director is technically great but sadly there isn't much in terms of script. Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel are okay but thier characters aren't very well developed and the story gets really repetitive after a while. On the other hand the sword fights are well staged and the cinematography is fantastic.
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MCT:December 30, 2006
A FANTASTIC MOVIE TRUE STORY AS WELL...HARVEY KEITEL IS MENACING AND THE FIGHTS ARE WELL DONE...TERRICFIC GEM AND ONE OF MY FAVS
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MCT:December 28, 2006
A director of fifty years would be lucky to make a film such as this, Ridley Scott's first. Keith Carradine is excellent and this is a very different Harvey Keitel than I'm used to. This is now my favourite of his performances, knocking Mean Streets off the top spot.
The Duellists is an absolutely beautiful film. That dumb old cliche about being able to hang any frame on your wall as a painting? This is that movie. And the score is perfect, one of the best I've heard in years. A great story and a great film. The most amazing debut film I've ever seen. -
MCT:December 6, 2006
Ridley Scott's first film has got very good performances from its cast and a look at its own. If you like Scott, you simply need to see this one.
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MCT:September 19, 2006
Every frame in this movie is like a painting. The story is pretty simple but you really have to let the pictures get into you.
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MCT:August 5, 2006
Ridley Scott's first film is a beutifully shot period piece that takes place during Napoleonic Europe. This film is a showcase of Scott's talent as a young filmaker. Carradine and Keitel give strong performances despite the fact that they didn't bother with French accents. Great movie!
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MCT:March 23, 2006
An atypical meditation on the Western (European) version of the Samurai obsession with honor as social form--empty, yet transcendent
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