THE DEATH RAY OF DR. MABUSE On Blu-ray From Eureka

 

So we finally come to the very last entry of the 1960s German film series detailing the nefarious activities of super villain Dr. Mabuse. This one is called THE DEATH RAY OF DR. MABUSE, and it was made in 1964. (The German title of this film is DIE TODESSTRAHLEN DES DR. MABUSE, and it is also known as THE SECRET OF DR. MABUSE and THE DEATH RAY MIRROR OF DR. MABUSE.) 

Bondmania hadn't reached its full heights yet, but DEATH RAY has a very distinct 007 flavor. Once again Peter van Eyck plays a British secret agent (as he did in the Mabuse film before). This time he's called Major Bob Anders, and he's sent to the island of Malta to protect the inventor (O.E. Hasse) of a--you guessed it--death ray that can affect the stability of the entire world. Mabuse (still controlling the physical being of Prof. Pohland, played by Walter Rilla) wants the infernal device, and, as Anders discovers, it appears every citizen of Malta is working for the diabolical doctor or for the British Secret Service. 

DEATH RAY has more of a Eurospy feel than that of an urban, noirish Krimi. Much is made of the sunny locations (most of the film was shot in Italy) and there's a lot of underwater sequences. The entire movie could have easily been remade in the 1970s as one of Roger Moore's Bond outings. DEATH RAY is more lighthearted than the rest of the Mabuse series, and Bob Anders gets to deal with three different beautiful women (Rika Dialina, Yvonne Furneaux, and Yoko Tani). Unfortunately Peter van Eyck doesn't have the natural charm and screen presence that Roger Moore had. (For those that might think DEATH RAY was a lower-budget copy of THUNDERBALL, it has to be stated that the former film was completed before the latter movie was even put into production.) 

Rika Dialina steals the film as Judy, Bob's ditzy girlfriend (he takes her along to Malta as a cover story that he's on vacation, but everyone he meets knows who he is and what he is doing there). Dialina winds up working for British Intelligence--they set her up in a brothel!--and her relationship with Bob reminds a viewer of the Bond-Mary Goodnight byplay in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. While Judy's antics are entertaining, they are also a far cry from the shadowy, conspiratorial world of Fritz Lang's original conception of Dr. Mabuse. 

The supporting cast of DEATH RAY is augmented by British character actors Leo Genn and Robert Beatty, and while the death ray inventor's laboratory isn't on a 007 level, it's still impressive nonetheless. This movie was directed by Hugo Fregonese, a Hollywood veteran, and he keeps things moving along, although some may wish certain plot details had been made a bit clearer. 

Speaking of that, the disc in Eureka's MABUSE LIVES Blu-ray box set that DEATH RAY appears on also has a longer cut of the film, an Italian version called I RAGGI MORTALI DEL DR. MABUSE. It's 17 minutes longer, in fact, and it clears up some of the story confusion, and it also has more footage of Rika Dialina as Judy. It also has a lot more underwater scenes, and they always bring the movie to a screeching halt. In the extras Tim Lucas and David Kalat both state that they prefer the Italian cut, but I have to disagree--I think the Italian version has a tendency to drag. It is still a major plus that Eureka made it available on this set. 

THE DEATH RAY OF DR. MABUSE gets its own disc in the MABUSE LIVES! set, and the standard version of the movie looks fantastic (surprisingly it was filmed in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio). As with the other Mabuse films in this set, both German and English voice tracks are presented, along with English subtitles. The Italian version of DEATH RAY has of course an Italian voice track with English subtitles, and the extra footage it contains is shown in SD. 

Once again Tim Lucas introduces the feature, and he points out its similarities to the Bond series, and he tells a long story about a real-life con artist who used the film as a basis for his schemes. David Kalat returns with another new audio commentary, and he also delves deep into the movie's connections with the Bond series. Kalat also spends a lot of time going off course and talking about such subjects as Claude Chabrol. 

THE DEATH RAY OF DR. MABUSE brings an end to the series produced by Artur Brauner's CCC company--or maybe not, depending how you feel about THE VENGEANCE OF DR. MABUSE, made by the notorious Jess Franco, a movie that I haven't seen, and ironically will be released on Blu-ray later this summer by Kino. Overall the films in the Mabuse series are above-average adventures that will appeal to film geeks and to those looking for something a bit different. 

As for Eureka's MABUSE LIVES! box set, it's a great compilation, and you certainly get your money's worth, with six different films, an informative booklet, and a boatload of extras. (Consider that right now, the MABUSE LIVES! set can be had for a lower price on Amazon than any of the recent new special editions released by Hammer, which contain only one feature.) I'll be doing blog posts on the individual films in Eureka's TERROR IN THE FOG Krimi set very soon. 

DON'T BET ON BLONDES

 

If any movie deserves the appellation "Snappy little programmer", it's DON'T BET ON BLONDES, a fun 1935 Warner Bros. production. The story revolves around "Odds" Owen (we never find out his real first name), played by one and only Warren William. Odds is the biggest bookmaker in NYC, but he's getting tired of all the underhanded activities involved in the gambling racket. Odds decides to imitate Lloyds of London by starting up a business that will insure just about anything, such as the voice of the world's greatest husband caller. 

A Southern Colonel (Guy Kibbee) takes out a policy to insure that his daughter, a young attractive stage actress named Marilyn Youngblood (Claire Dodd) doesn't marry--the Colonel is afraid that if she does, she'll quit performing and also quit paying all his bills as well. Odds and his motley associates take great pains to make sure that they don't have to pay off all the various strange policies, but in the act of making sure Marylin stays single, Owen starts to fall for her. Marylin discovers what her father has done, so she takes it upon herself to play up to Odds and then pull the rug out from under him.....but in usual early 1930s Warners fashion, all sorts of crazy complications pop up. 

DON'T BET ON BLONDES was helmed by Robert Florey, but this isn't a director's film--the movie succeeds due to the personalities of the cast and the momentum of the story. Warren William is his suave, sneaky self as Odds, a distinguished looking gent who thinks he knows the angles on everything until he meets up with Marylin. Claire Dodd is a great match for William, due to the fact that in her screen career she played as many chiselers as he did. 

Warren William calculates the odds with Claire Dodd

Guy Kibbee steals the film as the mint julep-sipping Colonel, who is writing a book on how the South actually won the Civil War! Vince Barnett, William Gargan, and Spencer Charters are the gang that put Odds' schemes into motion, and a clean-shaven Errol Flynn, in one of his very first film roles, plays an unsuccessful suitor of Marylin. 

The whole idea of an insurance company that underwrites weird policies is an intriguing idea--I think it would make a great TV series. If anything DON'T BET ON BLONDES doesn't give that idea enough coverage--the movie is only 59 minutes long. It's very rare that you watch a film and, at the end of it, you wish that there was more to it, and that you could spend more time with its characters--but DON'T BET ON BLONDES fits that bill. 

THE SHIELD OF HONOR

 

THE SHIELD OF HONOR is a 1927 silent film produced by Universal, available on DVD-R from Alpha Video. The movie deals with Los Angeles police officer Jack MacDowell (not the former White Sox pitcher), played by Neil Hamilton (best known for his role as Commissioner Gordon on the 1960s BATMAN TV series.) 

What makes MacDowell stand out is he's the first "Air Patrol" officer in Los Angeles--he has his own plane (which, perhaps not coincidentally, resembles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis). Jack is also the son of longtime patrolman Dan MacDowell (Ralph Lewis). Dan has just turned 65, which means he must retire, a situation he isn't happy about. Jack develops a relationship with Gwen O'Day (Dorothy Gulliver), the daughter of a rich jeweler. A number of jewel thefts have been traced back to the O'Day store, and both MacDowells get involved in the case, since Dan becomes a security guard at the store. The main culprit is Chandler (Nigel Barrie), O'Day's manager, and the MacDowells use their skills--and Jack's plane--to put an end to the crimes. 

The main reason I had any interest in THE SHIELD OF HONOR was due to the fact that Thelma Todd, in one of her first screen appearances, has a small role in it. The movie itself isn't anything spectacular, but it does what it was designed to do--be an entertaining (if predictable) adventure that also serves as kind of a advertisement for the Los Angeles police force. (The film opens with two different dedications to the policemen of America.) 

THE SHIELD OF HONOR was directed by one Emory Johnson, a former leading man for Universal who made a number of similar action-filled movies during his career. SHIELD moves along very well (it is only about an hour long), and while nothing really stands out about it from a cinematic point of view, it's a capable good guys vs. bad guys story that takes advantage of the then-current aviation craze due to Lindbergh's famous flight. 

Neil Hamilton makes a dashing hero--he looks quite good in his police uniform, and a present-day viewer can see why he was a leading man during the silent era. (Ironically, if a Batman movie had been made during the 1920s, Hamilton would have been an excellent choice to play the title role.) Ralph Lewis does what is expected with the "Despondent Middle-Aged Man Forced Into Retirement" part, while Dorothy Gulliver is a rather generic leading lady. 

Perhaps Gulliver would have made more of an impression if Thelma Todd wasn't in the production. Thelma plays Mr. O'Day's secretary, a young lady who also happens to be Chandler's girlfriend, and is involved in all his schemes. Todd gets a fantastic introduction--as Chandler and his gang are plotting their latest heist, Thelma is sitting off to the side, legs crossed, while languidly smoking a cigarette and looking as glamorous as possible. The camera tracks in on her, making sure the audience gets a good look. Thelma doesn't have much to do after that, but one has to assume that Emory Johnson realized how much screen presence this young actress had by making her the recipient of such a attention-getting moment. 

Thelma Todd's introduction in THE SHIELD OF HONOR

The Alpha Video presentation of THE SHIELD OF HONOR isn't very impressive--the print isn't in very good shape, even though it's watchable, and the music accompanying the film seems to have been cobbled together from about a half-dozen different sources. There are better looking versions of SHIELD one can find available to watch on the internet, but at least I got the Alpha DVD-R at a cheap price. It's a decent enough movie, notable mainly for Thelma Todd and its account of the future Commissioner Gordon's early police activities. 

THE RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS

 

My recent purchase of Criterion's Blu-ray set of director Richard Lester's THE THREE/FOUR MUSKETEERS inspired me to seek out this sequel, which I had never seen. THE RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS was made in 1988 by Lester, and it reunites most of the same cast, and it was even shot mostly in Spain, as were the first two films. 

If you were not aware that there was a later sequel to the Lester MUSKETEERS films, don't feel bad--when it was originally released in Europe in 1989, it didn't do much at the box office. In fact, it didn't even get a theatrical release in the United States--it made its American debut on the USA TV cable channel in 1991. 

Another reason the movie has faded into obscurity is due to the tragedy that happened during its filming. Actor Roy Kinnear, reprising his role as D'Artagnan's comic servant, fell off a horse during a sequence and died the next day. This event cast a pall over whatever reception the film might have gotten, and it was a major reason why Richard Lester never directed another feature film. It's hard to watch THE RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS without constantly thinking of Kinnear's untimely demise. (Kinnear still appears in the film, and in some sequences he is doubled by another actor who never shows his face--a very distracting process.) Christopher Lee, who returns in this film in his role as Rochefort, was even quoted as saying that it would have been better if the film had been shut down after Kinnear's accident. 

So, how is the film itself?? It's much better than I thought it would have been, but it isn't on the level of the first two of Lester's MUSKETEERS films. RETURN tries to recreate the dash & panache of the earlier entries, but there's a sense of something missing. It may have been that the main actors were a bit older--although, looking at it from a 21st Century perspective, they weren't really that old when this movie was made. Certainly Kinnear's death must have had a major effect on the production, but one gets the feeling that the final result wasn't what Lester and screenwriter George MacDonald Fraser intended. 

The movie is well-made--the Spanish locations are very striking, and the production design and costumes are at the same level as the first two films. The film is based on Dumas' TWENTY YEARS AFTER, so it's not as if this was just a random attempt to squeeze more money out of a long-ago franchise (which is now standard operating procedure in today's cinema). A number of elements of Dumas' book are actually used in Fraser's screenplay. 

If RETURN has a major fault, it's that the fine line Lester and Fraser drew between high adventure and slapstick comedy in the first two films veers too much into humor in the sequel. There's a lot of background detail in RETURN concerning the political situation in France, and there's also a subplot dealing with Oliver Cromwell and the execution of England's King Charles I, but most of this will go over the heads of any viewers, since it is the comic elements that are emphasized. 

It is nice to see Michael York, Richard Chamberlain, Oliver Reed, and Frank Finlay reunited, and the four still have an easy chemistry with each other, although they almost never appear all together at any time in the film. Geraldine Chaplin returns as Queen Anne, and as mentioned Christopher Lee comes back as Rochefort (although the actor gets very little to do). Jean-Pierre Cassel, who played King Louis in the first two Musketeer films, gets a very silly cameo here as Cyrano de Bergerac (a cameo I believe the film would have been much better without). 

To compliment all the veterans in RETURN, there are two major roles for then-young actors C. Thomas Howell and Kim Cattrall. Howell plays Raoul, the adopted son of Oliver Reed's Athos. Cattrall gets the showiest role of all as Justine, the daughter of the diabolical Lady de Winter. Cattrall plays it to the hilt, and she winds up making the biggest impression. (I wonder if Lester was setting up Howell and Cattrall to be the stars of any later future Musketeer adventures.) 

Overall I would say that THE RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS is an above-average film, and it's certainly worth seeing for the cast alone. Like so many other sequels/remakes/reboots/reworkings, RETURN suffers from the "We've all seen this before and in a much better context" disease. If Lester had really tried to make a faithful adaptation of TWENTY YEARS AFTER--a story concerning the trials and tribulations of four old friends who now find they are past their prime, and the regrets and longings they have--that would have been something unique. (I'm thinking something along the lines of Lester's ROBIN AND MARIAN.) But it appears that the money men behind RETURN wanted something entertaining and lighthearted, basically more of the first two films. Roy Kinnear's on-set death has given THE RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS an unsavory reputation, but I don't think it's a film that should be put on the shelf. 

SCOTLAND YARD HUNTS DR. MABUSE On Blu-ray From Eureka

 

The fifth film in Eureka's MABUSE LIVES! set is 1963's SCOTLAND YARD HUNTS DR. MABUSE (original German title SCOTLAND YARD JAGT DR. MABUSE, also known as SCOTLAND YARD VS. DR. MABUSE). 

The preceding film in Artur Brauner's Mabuse series for his CCC production company, THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE, detailed how the criminal mastermind (played by Wolfgang Preiss), shut up in an asylum, used his malignant life force to possess Professor Pohland (Walter Rilla), the scientist who was studying the villain. In SCOTLAND YARD HUNTS DR. MABUSE, Pohland takes on the mantle of the mad doctor, and with the help of his associates, steals a device that can control people's minds. Pohland/Mabuse switches his base of operations to London, where he attempts to take over the British government with the unwitting help of a member of the Royal Family named (believe it or not) Princess Diana!! Facing off against Mabuse is an English secret agent named Bill Tern (Peter van Eyck) and a German police inspector (Werner Peters). 

SCOTLAND YARD HUNTS DR. MABUSE presents a shift in tone to the Mabuse series. It has more espionage adventure than noir-infused paranoia (it was made when the James Bond fad was starting to heat up). In the earlier films Mabuse was a sinister, shadowy barely-seen presence, but here he's very up front and real. 

This film's story was based on a Bryan Edgar Wallace novel titled THE DEVICE, and the MacGuffin here is a contraption that is shaped like a handheld camera. The mind control can be wiped away by a good night's sleep, and the device's effects can be warded off by wearing a hearing aid, meaning that once again Mabuse's grandiose schemes fall very flat. 

SCOTLAND YARD HUNTS DR. MABUSE has a more lighthearted air than the earlier entries as well--Bill Tern is a playboy bachelor who lives with his elderly eccentric mother (Agnes Windeck), and that character happens to steal the film--she's the one who figures out what is going on most of the time, and she even shows up to help save the day during the climatic battle. SCOTLAND YARD also has more open-air, daylight scenes than one usually sees in a typical Krimi movie. It was also filmed in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio, which makes it seem less grand, and it was directed by Paul May, who was not a Krimi veteran. 

One big advantage this film has is the appearance of Klaus Kinski in a supporting role as a member of Scotland Yard. If you find it rather improbable that Kinski could be an English defender of law and order, the actor himself seemed to have the same thoughts, for he has a surly, suspicious expression on his face throughout. Kinski's character eventually gets taken over by the mind control device, which is rather fitting. 

As in the other films included on Eureka's MABUSE LIVES! set, SCOTLAND YARD has a choice between German and English voice tracks, with English subtitles provided. SCOTLAND YARD shares a disc with THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE, and the disc also includes a featurette called KRIMINOLOGY, by David Cairns and Fiona Watson. This runs about a half-hour, and it discusses elements of this unique genre. Tim Lucas provides an introduction to the film, and he points out how it was influenced by the burgeoning James Bond phenomenon. Lucas also talks about the novel on which SCOTLAND YARD was based. 

David Kalat returns again for another audio commentary, and he also discusses the Bryan Edgar Wallace novel the movie is based on, along with some of the other Krimis CCC made based on the author's works. Kalat also points out how the Great Train Robbery influenced the film, and he mentions the grey-market home video copies of the Mabuse films that introduced the series to many American film buffs. 

SCOTLAND YARD HUNTS DR. MABUSE is more of a standard action-adventure tale than a Mabuse thriller, but it's still entertaining, especially for those who appreciate off-beat cinema. 

TERROR IN THE FOG--THE WALLACE KRIMI AT CCC

 

I still haven't written all the posts that I intend to on Eureka's MABUSE LIVES! Blu-ray box set, and the company's next major Krimi offering has already arrived. TERROR IN THE FOG--THE WALLACE KRIMI AT CCC is another sublime package, containing six mystery/terror/suspense films made in Germany during the early 1960s by producer Artur Brauner's CCC studio. 

The six films showcased in TERROR IN THE FOG were made as a response to the German Rialto Krimi series, based on the works of British thriller writer Edgar Wallace. The CCC company decided to base their Krimis on the writings of Wallace's son Bryan Edgar Wallace....despite the fact that the first film in this set, THE CURSE OF THE YELLOW SNAKE, was adapted from a novel written by the father instead of the son. 

Confused? It's easy to be when one delves into the world of Krimi cinema. The CCC Krimis used many of the stars (and even some directors) that participated in the Rialto series, and many assume that the CCC and Rialto Krimis were all made by one company (much like folks who can't tell the difference between a Hammer or a Amicus 1960s horror film). 

The movies included in the TERROR IN THE FOG set are THE CURSE OF THE YELLOW SNAKE, THE STRANGLER OF BLACKMOOR CASTLE, THE MAD EXECUTIONERS, THE PHANTOM OF SOHO, THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY, and THE RACETRACK MURDERS. Each film is in its original running time and aspect ratio, and each has German and English voice tracks. All the films look fantastic, with razor sharp black & white picture quality, and they even have their original color main titles--a striking element that adds to their unique nature. (I know someone out there is thinking "If the main titles are in color, why didn't they make the entire movie that way??" In the immortal words of Lon Chaney Jr., "You don't understand!!") THE PHANTOM OF SOHO is presented in SD, but it still looks great. 

Just like the MABUSE LIVES! set, TERROR IN THE FOG has a boatload of extras, including intros for each film by Tim Lucas, audio commentaries by the likes of Kevin Lyons, Jonathan Rigby, Kim Newman, and Barry Forshaw, original trailers, featurettes, and a 60-page booklet containing stills and info on the films in the set. The set comes with two disc cases, each with two discs. The case sleeves are reversible, and this Blu-ray set is for Regions A & B. 

Most of the films in this set I had already seen, due to their appearance on DVD from good old Retromedia. Needless to say, those DVDs can't in any way compete with the presentation given the movies by Eureka. I've managed to watch all the films in this set, and seeing them in their original versions makes one realize how well-made they are. Due to the rareness of the German Krimis in English-speaking markets, and their lackluster home video releases, many assume they were cheap & silly--but they are decidedly not. The CCC Krimis in this set are a bit darker and seedier than their Rialto cousins, and their constant mixing of various genres holds the viewer's interest. 

I intend to write blog posts on the individual films in this set--that is, once I finish with the MABUSE LIVES! box. All the films in the TERROR IN THE FOG and MABUSE LIVES! sets deserve much more coverage than they have already gotten--for classic horror/sci-fi movie geeks, the German Krimis are kind of a last frontier, an unexplored area that provides plenty of discoveries and food for thought. Eureka has done a brilliant job with both of these sets, and I hope they have more entries from CCC on the way (I'd love for the company's DIE NIBELUNGEN remake to get an official Region A release). 

THE THREE/FOUR MUSKETEERS On Blu-ray From Criterion

 

Richard Lester's two-part adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' iconic novel may not be considered the best cinematic version of the tale by some, but I believe it is the most entertaining. Both THE THREE MUSKETEERS and THE FOUR MUSKETEERS get the Criterion treatment, with each film getting its own disc. (Nearly the entire project was made during 1973.) 

What makes this version of the MUSKETEERS stand out is director Lester's unique & quirky presentation of the material, and the monumental main cast ensemble, one of the best ever gathered together for a feature film, with the likes of Charlton Heston, Raquel Welch, Faye Dunaway, Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chemberlain, Frank Finlay, Christopher Lee, and Simon Ward. 

Richard Lester and screenwriter George MacDonald Fraser had to straddle a fine line--if they injected too much comedy into the proceedings, audiences would not have taken it seriously, and if they had made a totally straight adaptation, it might not have found favor in the mid-1970s. THE THREE/FOUR MUSKETEERS are rollicking adventures, filled with panache, bravado, and plenty of Buster Keaton-like gags. 

The movies are also sumptuous-looking productions, and this Criterion release shows off their fine visual quality. Due to the mammoth cast and the swashbuckling humor, the work of cinematographer David Watkins and production designer Brian Eatwell haven't gotten the credit that they deserve. When one watches this Blu-ray, one notices the exquisite look of the overall films and the magnificent shot compositions. One also notices the Spanish locations, and the amount of detail that Lester in his crew put into the background of every shot. THE THREE/FOUR MUSKETEERS makes you feel as if you actually are in 17th Century Europe--there's a reality here that many "serious" historical films do not have. 

One also has to mention the many fight & stunt sequences (William Hobbs was the Fight Director). The sword fights have a raw, gritty, almost improvisational aspect to them (most of the main cast were injured at one point or another, and while watching the fight sequences, one understands why). The slapstick that sometimes comes out of the fights doesn't seem planned, it feels more like a natural progression of whatever is going on. 

Both THE THREE and THE FOUR MUSKETEERS are grand, epic, enjoyable classic adventures, and they both look and sound fantastic on this Criterion release. Both films are presented in their original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. 

The two main extras are a pair of multi-part documentaries on the making of the overall production. THE SAGA OF THE MUSKETEERS. which was put together in 2002, runs about 48 minutes, and it gives a decent account of how the films were put together, focusing on the recollections of many of the main cast members. The important thing about this documentary is that it provides on-camera interviews with a number of performers who are no longer with us, such as Raquel Welch, Christopher Lee, and Charlton Heston. 

The other documentary, by David Cairns, is titled TWO FOR ONE, and it is in four parts, and it runs about two and a half hours overall. It is more of a hardcore, inside baseball look at every part of the filming process for both features, and it's one of the best disc extras that I have seen in a while. It details the extremely complicated and grueling shooting schedule, a schedule compromised by the fact that most of the main cast were almost never able to be together at the same time. The documentary also features audio interviews with much of the major crew members, such as Lester himself, and it has plenty of behind-the-scenes gossip (needless to say, both documentaries provide plenty of anecdotes about Oliver Reed's off-screen behavior). 

The two documentaries also go into the then-controversial decision to divide the production into two separate films. This decision was not told to the main cast, and the result was that a number of agents and lawyers went after the Salkind family, the producers of the films. (The TWO FOR ONE documentary claims that releasing the project in two parts was something the filmmakers intended to do all along.) I can understand why the main actors wanted to get paid for two films instead of one, but looking at it from today's perspective I think having two films was the right choice. There's so many things, and so many little details, that need to be noticed in each of these films, and having everything be lumped together in a three-hour plus movie probably would have been overkill. Besides, each part of THE THREE/FOUR MUSKETEERS has its own proper beginning, middle, and end. (If this project had been released as one film, I'm sure a few things would have been edited out of it, so in a way you could say that Richard Lester got his own "director's cut".) The recent French-made MUSKETEERS big-screen adaptation is also in two parts, and it divides the story in almost exactly the same way as the Salkinds did. 

The two-disc set also comes with a booklet that has a very lengthy (and very well-done) essay by Stephanie Zacharek that discusses the overall project. An original trailer for each film is included, along with a very short promotional featurette from 1973 (the trailers and the featurette are not in very good condition). 

I was going to end this post by stating that THE THREE/FOUR MUSKETEERS are the types of films that just don't get made anymore....but I'm sure someone out there will counter that by asking "What about the all-star, multi-part Marvel films??" The difference between the MUSKETEERS movies directed by Lester and the Marvel Multiverse is that the latter has a corporate, assembly-line vibe to it, while the THREE/FOUR MUSKETEERS are fun-filled exciting romps that also have some very surprising dark aspects to them. If you want to know what crowd-pleasing, star-studded, big-time movie making was really like, watch THE THREE/FOUR MUSKETEERS.