In which Lise talks about her favorite Musketeers
So, as all y'all know, I'm writing a book which is a pastiche of The Three Musketeers. Like that's never been done by my favorite author, or anything. As a result--or perhaps because--I have possibly seen every English adaptation of this story made in the last fifty years.
I feel like this entitles me to tell you about my favorite versions of each of these characters. Starting, of course, with my favorite:
I love that hat. I want that hat for TBC.
My favorite Milady: is Faye Dunaway in the 1973 Three Musketeers/Four Musketeers duology. When it comes to smoldering, mature beauty, Milla Jovavich cannot compare, even with a tactical corset or ruff that converts to a hood. Rebecca de Mornay certainly can smolder, but the terrible costuming for her in the 90s version is so off-putting. She's also just so... slight. Like her body can't bear the weight of the role.
(As an aside, the 1970s version definitely wins in terms of costuming, too, although the 2011 is very good--I mean, it has all the steampunk accoutrements, but the costumer very clearly knew EXACTLY what 1620s costuming is supposed to look like, and then modified it from there. The 1990s version looks kind of like the costumer found a sale at a Ren faire and decided to call it a day).
Cardinal Richelieu: well, I certainly have to give a shoutout to Tim Curry, for being scenery-chewing evil, even though his Richelieu bears no resemblance to fact or Dumas' novel. But I love the quiet pragmatism of both Charlton Heston and Christoph Waltz; they are pretty much equivalent in my mind.
Buckingham: I don't think the 90s one even has Buckingham, so this isn't much of a competition, but Orlando Bloom still wins it, hands-down. The version in the 1970s version is perfectly good, accurate to the book (they even reference the whole thing about him and Aramis looking similar!) but there's not all that much of Buckingham in the book, is there?
And he's such a fascinating person, historically speaking. I mean, George Villiers was born a commoner and ended his life in the highest peerage in England, one of the most influential councillors of both James I and Charles I. He did that, as far as I can tell, mostly by schtupping powerful people--notably, some historians believe, King James himself. (There are some pretty incriminating letters between the two of them). He was also married and had tons of mistresses. I consider him one of my favorite historical bisexuals :)
So in brief, I love the expanded role for Buckingham in the 2011 version, complete with "I've got an airship!" and his fashion rivalry with Louis XIII. It is so over the top that it is completely in line with the real Buckingham.
And so when I write the character who is loosely based on Buckingham in Lioness, I may in fact spend some time ogling pictures of Orlando Bloom in this role ;) *shifty eyes*
Is this not the most beautiful man ever, wearing beautiful frockery?
Rochefort: I don't have a favorite Rochefort--all the ones I've seen are perfectly good. Actually, when I think about Rochefort, I think about shinyquill playing him in King's Musketeers, more than anything else ;)
I don't have any strong opinions on Louis XIII or Queen Anne, either.
... oh, I suppose I should actually talk about the Musketeers, should I? ;)
No Athos can compare in my heart to Oliver Reed. There is just something so incredibly hatefully brooding about his performance that neither Matthew McFadyen or Kiefer Sutherland can come close to matching.
I'm on the fence about my favorite D'Artagnan. There is nothing to particularly recommend Logan Lerman, so we can rule him out right away, but both Chris O'Donnell and Michael York are perfectly good at being ingenues. I guess I'd probably pick Michael York, in a final comparison.
Sadly, in most of these movies, Aramis and Porthos never rise above the level of tropes. So I will usually default to the 1970s versions of both, as they are the most accurate to the books. But I do have to give an honorable mention to Luke Evans at Batman!Aramis in the 2011 version, and to Gerard Depardieu as old!Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask.
I feel like this entitles me to tell you about my favorite versions of each of these characters. Starting, of course, with my favorite:
I love that hat. I want that hat for TBC.
My favorite Milady: is Faye Dunaway in the 1973 Three Musketeers/Four Musketeers duology. When it comes to smoldering, mature beauty, Milla Jovavich cannot compare, even with a tactical corset or ruff that converts to a hood. Rebecca de Mornay certainly can smolder, but the terrible costuming for her in the 90s version is so off-putting. She's also just so... slight. Like her body can't bear the weight of the role.
(As an aside, the 1970s version definitely wins in terms of costuming, too, although the 2011 is very good--I mean, it has all the steampunk accoutrements, but the costumer very clearly knew EXACTLY what 1620s costuming is supposed to look like, and then modified it from there. The 1990s version looks kind of like the costumer found a sale at a Ren faire and decided to call it a day).
Cardinal Richelieu: well, I certainly have to give a shoutout to Tim Curry, for being scenery-chewing evil, even though his Richelieu bears no resemblance to fact or Dumas' novel. But I love the quiet pragmatism of both Charlton Heston and Christoph Waltz; they are pretty much equivalent in my mind.
Buckingham: I don't think the 90s one even has Buckingham, so this isn't much of a competition, but Orlando Bloom still wins it, hands-down. The version in the 1970s version is perfectly good, accurate to the book (they even reference the whole thing about him and Aramis looking similar!) but there's not all that much of Buckingham in the book, is there?
And he's such a fascinating person, historically speaking. I mean, George Villiers was born a commoner and ended his life in the highest peerage in England, one of the most influential councillors of both James I and Charles I. He did that, as far as I can tell, mostly by schtupping powerful people--notably, some historians believe, King James himself. (There are some pretty incriminating letters between the two of them). He was also married and had tons of mistresses. I consider him one of my favorite historical bisexuals :)
So in brief, I love the expanded role for Buckingham in the 2011 version, complete with "I've got an airship!" and his fashion rivalry with Louis XIII. It is so over the top that it is completely in line with the real Buckingham.
And so when I write the character who is loosely based on Buckingham in Lioness, I may in fact spend some time ogling pictures of Orlando Bloom in this role ;) *shifty eyes*
Is this not the most beautiful man ever, wearing beautiful frockery?
Rochefort: I don't have a favorite Rochefort--all the ones I've seen are perfectly good. Actually, when I think about Rochefort, I think about shinyquill playing him in King's Musketeers, more than anything else ;)
I don't have any strong opinions on Louis XIII or Queen Anne, either.
... oh, I suppose I should actually talk about the Musketeers, should I? ;)
No Athos can compare in my heart to Oliver Reed. There is just something so incredibly hatefully brooding about his performance that neither Matthew McFadyen or Kiefer Sutherland can come close to matching.
I'm on the fence about my favorite D'Artagnan. There is nothing to particularly recommend Logan Lerman, so we can rule him out right away, but both Chris O'Donnell and Michael York are perfectly good at being ingenues. I guess I'd probably pick Michael York, in a final comparison.
Sadly, in most of these movies, Aramis and Porthos never rise above the level of tropes. So I will usually default to the 1970s versions of both, as they are the most accurate to the books. But I do have to give an honorable mention to Luke Evans at Batman!Aramis in the 2011 version, and to Gerard Depardieu as old!Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask.