The Duellists

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Zues

MemberOvomorphFebruary 02, 2012

3 of my top ten films of all time include Ridley Scott’s first 3 features.....being..... The Duellists Alien & Blade Runner .....anyway I haven't watched The Duellists for over 20 years having lost that VHS tape however due to the wonders of torrent downloads I watched it again last night and I thoroughly recommend it to all who haven't seen it. Scott really has a great feel and ability for the epic and historical, whether the past or the future, rather than for the more contemporary, or crime or thrillers ....stuff like Thelma & Louise, Black Rain & Someone to Watch Over Me.....just aren't as impressive...IMO. After watching The Duellists you will see why Scott was approached to direct Alien.......all the producers of Alien had to go on was this, his first feature. Apparently its two main characters and their story are based on fact ..........it has lush cinematography and a great eye for accurate detail...... i think nearly every single frame could stand alone as a stunning photo......and amazingly it was made on a budget of $1.2m .....and finally some Alien trivia......the source for The Duellists was a short story called "The Duel" by Joseph Conrad...........Joseph Conrad is generally known for his novel, Heart of Darkness, which inspired Francis Ford Coppola's, Apocalypse Now. Scott's love of Conrad is evident in the naming of the ship in Alien, as Nostromo, is also the title of a Conrad 1904 novel. Scott is a great director.......sometimes .......and it's clearly evident in his first film....a good watch.

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Frantz
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February 02, 2012

i did choose the place to live thanks to this movie :) every frame touched my soul .... my favourite part ....when hes alone ...in a wet morning ..eating a tangerine ... waiting for the last duel .... and he and us dont know if he will die or not .... great great movie .... surely in my top 3 movies of all time ( wonder who are the other two... )

alteredstate.
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February 02, 2012

the other thing is he produced financed directed and shot the duellists all from the profits of years in commercials and tv an incredible debut i think.

alteredstate.
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February 02, 2012

i have never seen someone to watch over me the only film of ridleys i have not seen is it any good ?

Frantz
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February 02, 2012

Someone to watch over me ,,humm i did watch it 20 years ago ...i remember that evening ...i thought it was pretty solid but nothing exceptional ..not a great cast in my opinion

alteredstate.
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February 02, 2012

not a recommendation then frantz .

alteredstate.
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February 02, 2012

I have to say i dont have a problem with the recent films that are considered by some average at best. I liked body of lies . American gangster was great in my opinion . recently seen a good year which was ok. and robin hood well its not bad but i was shocked to learn ridley was making it at the time because its been made so many times. and Matchstick men was great.

EGR101
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February 03, 2012

@alteredstate re: ROBIN HOOD This production was actually more turbulent than most would like to think. The original script was a revisionist Robin Hood where the Sheriff of Nottingham is actually the only good guy caught in-between greedy, buffoonish King John, and the boozing/womanizing Robin Hood (!). In this early treatment, Robin Hood was a rich spoiled playboy who robs the rich, yes, but does it to impress the chicks, LOL. King John is no better portrayed as a megalomaniac who competes with Robin Hood for the affection of the people. And the two become rivals in some kind of a medieval pageant contest. So Robin Hood is not a symbol of Socialism & Activism as in those earlier cinematic incarnations. No wonder Ridley was initially attracted to the project. But the studio decides not to kill a potential franchise and went back to the basic. You can see the final product is pure Ridley in terms of visual & production values, but it doesn't have a strong core, or a compelling plot. I really wish Ridley negotiated for lower budget & went for the revisionist treatment. The first draft of the screenplay was titled NOTTINGHAM.

alteredstate.
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February 03, 2012

yeah no problems with the look of the film engr and that was a different take on it but still i feel it was a strange choice for him but i enjoyed it, cant say its bad just not a great film in my opinion.

Frantz
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February 03, 2012

yessss i did heard of it too and i think it was a great idea ( the revisionist plot ) ... anyway it was one of those projected that smelled "failure" to me from the beginning .

EGR101
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February 03, 2012

@Frantz Whoa, I hope by "failure" you meant that it is not going to have full studio support right? You know in comic book world, they allow for some radical re-interpretation of famous superhero characters. There is a Batman mini series that is about Batman who is actually a descendant of a vampire cult. LOL! Now as much as I would love to see this alternative take on Batman mythology, Warner Bros would never ever produce, in their lifetime, lol, an R-rated Batman movie where the dark knight is really a knight of pure darkness, a vampire. Not when a Batman movie could earn a billion dollars in global box office. This twisted spin on the familiar tale is on spin-off DC label. The more conventional Batman series still continues of course. I love to see a talented filmmaker tackle that revisionist Robin Hood story. Just don't use the name Robin Hood in the script.

Frantz
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February 03, 2012

well i dont know the motivations that have carried Ridley scott to tell again a story that everybody know ... and that have made in 3948 different ways ....and that have some excellent or very fresh examples ( the very excellent Robin and Marian with Sean Connery , The one with kevin kostner , the walt disney one exc exc ...) .

Guest
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February 04, 2012

I saw the Duelists for the first time about a week ago, excellent movie. The cinematography is really nice. I was surprised that Harvey Keitel plays on it, he does a very good job of the bad guy on this one.

The Duellists

Zues

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