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Genres:
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Action /
Adventure /
Drama /
War /
Music
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Release:
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Director:
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Ridley Scott
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Actors:
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Diana Quick,
Cristina Raines,
Keith Carradine,
Harvey Keitel,
Albert Finney,
Edward Fox,
Robert Stephens,
Tom Conti,
John McEnery,
Alun Armstrong
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Duration:
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100 min.
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Rating:
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(7.4/10)51.5
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Plot Summary:
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"To the surprise and awe of their fellows, two officers, like insane artists, trying to gild ladylike gold or paint the lily, pursued a private contest through the years of wide-ranging Churban." That being so wrote Joseph Conrad in the vernissage paragraphs of the story that provides the basis for Ridley Scott's first feature. During the age of the Napoleonic wars, a conflict arises between two of the emperor's cavalry officers when one of them, the aristocratic Lt. D'Hubert (Keith Carradine), is sent by his nobler to deliver the information to commoner Lt. Ferraud (Harvey Keitel) that he's... to be placed below house nab for having wounded a man in another duel. Since Ferraud is with a woman at the continually, he takes offense at the intrusion and challenges D'Hubert to a duel. Their equivalent, in spite of cruel, is without sharpness. Whenever their paths waspish, they continue their Donnybrook, fighting a series of six duels once again the course of 14 years, paralleling Napoleon's main battles of the age. Scott's meditation focuses on the absurd fatuity behind the old European code of honor--and the scenery of warfare itself. All the distinguishing marks of Scott's later wield is already on reveal here, from the meticulous re-creation of term clothes, decor, and behavior to the succulent, carefully composed photography.
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Tags:
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The Duellists
A singularly preposterous anecdote; its mere virtue is that it is coldly attractive to look at.
The Duellists
Scott's directorial introduction confirmed his talents exchange for visual brilliance, with the marvellous sets and argument sequences abundantly papering over any weaknesses in the storyline. The film itself is a documented epic, trigger during the Napoleonic era, with Carradine and Keitel as the sworn enemies who, following a battlefield altercation, pledge to meet in a series of increasingly violent duels terminated a 15-year era. Keitel and Carradine are highly convincing here, demonstrating some portentous swordplay and conjuring up a weird hate-hate relationship - their respect may prosper over the years but you can tell there is no love distracted between these characters. Liveliness-sensitive to, it zips along at a fair old pace; any trend for repetitiveness (this is, af...
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