Rating: 
Summary: Scott's Napoleonic Epic is a must see.
Review: Ridley Scott made this film in the mid-70's prior to going into the big time with such hits as "Alien." While obtaining film making experience by making commercials, he learned to visually pack an image and do so with exciting details. "The Duelist" was made on a shoe string, but looks like it cost 10-20 times as much. Every dollar is on the screen. The sets and costumes are excellent. The camera style--dramatic and romantic-- often captures scenes that looked like they have been painted by David, a major French painter of that period. Exteriors show period chateaus in early morning light under blue skies, while the interiors are bathed in candle light. The sword play is wonderfully visualized as both men fight each other in a series of duels over many years. Both Carradine and Keitel are excellent as two officers serving under Napoleon that must live by a code--no matter how that severe code of honor affects their lives in war or peace time. This excellent action film is a jewel. See it. Hopefully, it will come on DVD soon.
Rating: 
Summary: VISUAL FEAST -
Review: I enjoyed this film because the producers have captured the era magnificentley with respect to period detail as well as the language and of course the mood of the time.I was captured by the opening scene and wasn't released till the end,as the story appealed to my interest in history in general and the film certainly fulfilled this aspect as well. The question I asked myself after seeing this film was "...why can't they make films like this anymore?..." as I learnt of the paltry budget this film was produced from. Instead of overdone special effects and mindless violence which assaults us today more often than not, this genre/style of film is appealing and should be copied with more frequency. Superb Keitel and good solid performance by Carradine.
Rating:
Summary: Stunningly Beautiful Film
Review: Director Ridley Scott (Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Alien) made his directorial debut with this overlooked gem - THE DUELLISTS, based on a story by Joseph Conrad. Released in 1977, the movie didn't make much of an impact in the US, although it was nominated for the Golden Palm at Cannes and won Scott the coveted Best First Work at that festival. The movie chronicles the long-lasting feud between two French officers, the hot-headed Feraud (played by Harvey Keitel) and the more even-keeled D'Hubbert (played by Keith Carradine), during the Napoleonic wars. The feud has murky beginnings, but it lasts for decades due to the lead characters' desires to avoid losing their "honor." As they cross paths during various parts of their lives, they duel. The duel scenes are well-filmed and add a great deal of excitement to the plot. The main story is also interesting, as the men's duels forge an unlikely relationship between them. The lead actors do a passable job in their roles, although they seem out of place amongst the largely British supporting players; Keitel actually seems more at place in the film, despite his eastern accent. Finally, the cinematography is stunning, and it's one of the most beautiful looking films of its period; the look of the film is a bit like "Barry Lyndon," although the tone is warmer. Overall, this film is an intriguing part of the Ridley Scott canon; it stands among his best works and one of the most overlooked films of the 70s. DVD extras: director's commentary with Ridley Scott, and director Keith Reynolds also interviews Scott.
Rating:
Summary: The Duellists
Review: Ridley Scott's award winning debut film 'The Duellists' remains one of his best films and still his most beautifully photographed. This 1977 film based on Joseph Conrads 'The Duel' had a budget of just $900,000, but you would never know it by looking at it on screen. The plot is regarded by some as weak and I somewhat agree. But ultimatly I watch this film because I love period pieces and it's some of the best cinematography i've ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: A marvellous war tale
Review: Keith Karradine (Armand D'Hubert)and Harvey Keitel (Gabriel Feraud)are two officers of the proud hussars of Napoleon's Grande Armee during the epic sweep of Europe in 19th century. Because of a misundestadning regarding a lady, captain Feraud challenges D'Hubert to a duel with all the formalities and witnesses but this fight is not conclusive and so the two opponents will meet again during the next 15 years fighting many other duels and suffering grevious wounds in the process. It is a wonderful story about the morals of the era and the character of the soldiers who gave Napoleon such shattering victories over his enemies. The most interesting part of the movie is that it is based on real facts. The Grand Armee had indeed a renowned duallist among its ranks, someone named Fournier, who was a choir boy from Alsace and later turned a fanatic Jacobine. A rather psychopathic personality, Fournier used to insult the wives or lovers of other officers and then, accepting their challenge, to kill them in duels. Finally he found his match with someone "Dupont" with whom he duelled in various occasions from 1794 to 1813 and the finale of this vendetta is exactly the same that is presented in this film (except that Fournier is called Feraud). The costumes, the weapons, the surroundings and the military composure of the actors are really excellent.
Rating:
Summary: A movie worth watching!
Review: I have to admit that I did not know what to expect from the film, but as it turns out it is a very pleasant and entertaining movie.
Times are changing; France is now in the hands of Napoleon, who as Emperor embarks on a series of wars in order to bring power and glory to the country. The Duellists, brings to the screen the story of two French officers in their pursuit of settling an old score through the use of duels, and while these wars are taking place.
Overall, the acting is very good, and the plot is definitely original.
The clash between Royalists and those loyal to Napoleon is fascinating and very well presented throughout the film.
On the negative side, Harvey Keitel's performance is just average. He seems to be missing that special something to make it extraordinary.
Moreover, the scene in Russia with the two driving away the Cossacks was unrealistic, as the latter would have cut down the former in an instant.
The setting, the music and the costumes are all wonderful!
History, Drama, and Swordfights are all about.
In short, though not a masterpiece, it is a movie worth watching!
Rating:
Summary: Talk About Stalking!!!
Review: This is an extremely entertaining film. Very, very unusual but it grabs you. It is definitely about a stalker and the initial offense that creates the circumstance for the ongoing harrassment for a period of 20 years is unbelievably obscure. I purchased this in VHS years ago when it was first released and I can't even fathom a guess at the number of times I have watched it. If you are a person who loves movies, all kinds of movies, you should definitely see this even if you do not purchase it. It is amazing how off-the-wall the "reasoning"?? is behind this ongoing assault. I think it's a winner.....
Rating:
Summary: Duellist Critics!
Review: It never ceases to amaze me how some arm-chair movie directors
have the audacity to nit-pick and find fault with an authentic
and beautifully crafted work of art, such Ridley Scott's film
The Duellists. Maybe these worldly critics of film would be less
harsh, choosing their words with more civility, in the face of one of Conrad's characters, from the film.
Rating:
Summary: Swords or Pistols Monsieur?
Review: Ridley Scott's film starring Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel explores the concepts of honor and belligerence in the context of 19th century France and the Napoleanic Wars.
Carradine and Keitel play the roles of two French officers in Napoleon's army who find themselves engaged in a perpetual series of duels lasting over 20 years. Their duels seems to reflect an ongoing thematic clash between belligerence and honor and how each seems to feed the other. Both characters mirror each other in how they develop throughout the story until the end. Keitel plays the role of the belligerent officer who seeks to establish his honor and importance by agression; no pretext is too small or absurd for a duel to the death. Caradine is his antagonist as one who will defend his honor to the last; even when the pretext of insult is so groundless as to be even too comical to fight over. Scott also seems to present an analogy between Keitel's belligerent nature and that of Napoleon's imperialistic ambitions. At the end of the movie, Keitel is interestingly the one who, in a wretched state of poverty, remains a loyal supporter of Napoleon to the last while Caradine has moved on to associate himself with the returned aristocracy and cozy entourage of King Louis XVIII. The last scene shows Keitel with his Napoleanic hat staring over a valley and green fields in an almost imaginary trance. This seems to parallel an image of Napoleon as he would have looked over the seas in either St Helen or Elba still inisting to be called emperor and imagining of his future conquests to come which, of course, would never come again.
As usual, Ridley Scott immerses the audience in a plush, almost dreamlike, imagery of the European landscape with all the pageantry of the Napoleonic era. All of his scenes are rich in color and mood. The movie almost becomes a little too slow in its transitions but this is minor. A good movie that has all of the right elements and appeals to all genders.
Rating:
Summary: Obsession
Review: The Duellists finally arrives on DVD. At long last Ridley Scott's first film is available to the public and it was well worth the wait. The skimpy $900k budget looks more like $60 million in the hands of Scott. Using only real locations and splurging on costumes, this Napoleonic epic looks as good as any other, if not better. This is an intimate story and not one of those sweeping, libertine war melodramas. The story and acting are good, but what really stands out about this picture is the jaw droping cinematography. Scott employed a special photochemical process to enhance the contrast of the film. This is most noticed in the velvety depths of the shadows, and darker tones. The end result is a film that, often, looks like a moving Rembrandt. The above average DVD transfer serves to preserve this. I may be crazy, but it seems to me that Scott may be trying to provide us with contrapuntal films to those of Kubrick. I think that, thematically and stylistically, the Duellists is simply a boiled down version of Barry Lyndon. I think that it could also be said that Alien was probably the reactionary product of 2001. Anyway, the DVD extras provide some interesting vantage into the making and history of this great film.
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