D'Artagnan and Three Musketeers
A 1978 Soviet miniseries, one of many, many adaptations of the Alexandre Dumas novel The Three Musketeers. This particular version, however, is the most well-known and definitely the most iconic in the former Soviet Union. Executed as a low-budget semi-musical, with most of its songs becoming national classics, it consists of three episodes making 220 minutes in length in total -- a common practice in the country at that time.
The four lead actors -- Mikhail Boyarsky as d'Artagnan, Veniamin Smekhov as Athos, Valentin Smirnitsky as Porthos and Igor Starygin as Aramis -- became famous overnight in the Union after the movie's release, and "playing musketeers" quickly became one of the favorite pastimes of Soviet kids. They remained good friends after the filming, and were so enthusiastic about the project that they often assumed their character identities even off stage -- for example, when heading out to local bars in Odessa, having no time to take off their musketeer costumes because of the tight filming schedule.
The four later reprised their roles in three sequels, filmed after the Soviet Union fell: two based on Dumas' sequels to the novel (Musketeers Twenty Years After, 1992, and The Secret of Queen Anne or Musketeers Thirty Years After, 1993), and a fourth one in 2007, of which the less is said, the better.
- Composite Character: Felton is removed from the movie, and Lord Winter assumes his role.
- Crash Into Hello:
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La Chesnaye: First part of the Ballet of La Merlaison! |
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- Dawson Casting: Boyarsky was 28 at the time the movie was filmed, while d'Artagnan is 18 in the book. This made for some Narm in a scene when d'Artagnan states his supposed age.
- Gratuitous French: In the songs ("Paris needs money, c'est la vie"). Averted in regular dialogue, even though the setting just begged for it.
- I Have Many Names: Pointed out by Athos in a line absent from the book.
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Athos: Anne de Breuil, Lady Clarick, Charlotte Backson, Baroness of Sheffield, Comtesse de La Fère, Lady Winter. See — there are so many of you, and so few of me. |
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- Live Action Adaptation
- Mondegreen: Thanks to its large number of memorable songs, this was one of the richest sources of Mondegreens for its time. "Pourquoi pas" (French for "why not?") was interpreted variously as "pol-klopa" (Russian for "half a bedbug") or nonsensical non-words like "purklapa" or "kuklafa". Purely Russian lyrics weren't free either: "krasavitse i kubku" ("to the beautiful woman and the cup") is often misheard as "krasavitse Ikuku" ("to the beautiful woman Ikuku").
- The Musical
- Pragmatic Adaptation: Many of the less plot-important scenes from the novel were removed to make the whole story fit into 220 minutes. (And to make room for the songs.)