The Duellists

[Madeleinewith3Es]

What we may have gained in special effects skills(none of which are needed in this film) and trailer making skills (I'm so glad we don't use these voice-overs in trailers, and the scenes in here don't do justice to the beauty of the film) we have lost in film making and acting skills. More movies should be like this. And before someone says I'm old and need to keep up with whatever dreck they like, I'm a college student. I love this movie and loved it when I first saw it in my mid teens.

[jackass326]

Haha was Keitel really best suited for this? I couldn't help but smile at everything he said in this trailer. Everything's a big, manly yell. Haha... I still want to see this though, even if it's kind of a stylistic rip off of Barry Lyndon.

Now, Barry Lyndon. That's a fucking film. Kubrick for life.

[SuperZerodotcom]

Best Movie I've ever seen. The Book was actually written by a Pole who learned english to perfection and changed that language abit by writing in it...blablabla....Am I Clear Enough now?

[SuperZerodotcom]

@SuperZerodotcom oh yes...remember it's just a movie to me...not speaking riddles now (je vous promet)!

[LovelesOne]

Brilliant film, I'll never forget that ending shot of Keitel dressed like Napoleon on the cliff. 

[spartanlazy]

Nice

[nickstace1]

any other films like this about

[TrueGoth1]

@nickstace1 Try watching Scaramouche, the only film I know of with real fencing.

[TheMotherEagle]

I just watched this movie. It is a masterpiece. I sat there watching as the duels became increasingly violent. While it did seem like Keitel played a mad man I loved the honourable way the duels were conducted.

[ExtremeBogom]

Jonathan Ross at 2:37 lol

[ajarman123]

Just saw this movie. Well made, stylish and oozing with class and rock solid, intense performances. When I saw the trailer I thought Carradines character would be a pompous idiot who deserves being brought down to earth by keitels's character. I was wrong - Keitel is so impetuous and ill mannered, and downright bullying in his juvenile nature. Carradine is a paragon of civility and dignity throughout whilst Keitel is utterly consumed by bitterness. Fantastic character studies. thumbs up!

[TheBarbahaba]

WOW look how young albert finney is here :) will watch this movie

never knew ridley made movies so early oh wait alien was when 1976 no?

ok nvm

[hendrikmarine]

IF IRON MAIDEN MADE A SONG ABOUT THIS, THAT'S ALL I NEED TO KNOW TO LOVE IT ^^

[catshumpcats3]

@hendrikmarine they did.

[augusto72191]

una de las mejores peliculas que he visto junto a blade runner

[manweller1]

I saw this film back in the mid 90s fell deeply in love with it. Still in love with it even now.

[larcm3]

I saw this movie 10 years ago and I just loved it.

[LouReedsBooks]

Barry Lyndon anyone?

[Clinton0707]

@LouReedsBooks haha it's so similar eh?

[8nwidth]

This movie - along with FMJ - should be shown to all Officer Cadets.

[MrJtorg]

This looks awesome. I've yet to find a copy of it, though you'd think that they'd release all of Ridley Scott's stuff without delay... must be a copyright issue. I'm a big Barry Lyndon fan and I'm guessing this was made with a lot of love towards it, but man, the quality of the cinematography considering the low budget--it's impressive and inspiring.

[ExtremeBogom]

Jonothan Ross at 2:38 !

[87TheProdigy87]

@ExtremeBogom lmao does a bit

[seattlejohn01]

Ridley Scott made this film in 1977 for $900,000; that's all Paramount Pictures would give him. Hilarious; most movies have craft service budgets bigger than that. He didn't complain; he crafted a masterpiece out of pocket change. And, after having created a universally acclaimed film for basically nothing, how did Paramount Pictures reward him? By issuing only 7 copies of the film in the US, ensuring virtually no one would see it. No wonder filmmakers are independent these days...

[leuchtfeuer1]

One of the best films ever!

;o)

[leuchtfeuer1]

One of the very best filmy EVER!

How I love it...!!!!!!!

[SpartanDfnder]

i know ridley sccott is a genius of film but this movie look slow and melodramatic. Canm someone tell me what the movie can be compared to from a more contemporary film so i can have an idea?

[Graphic36]

This is on Netflix Instant Watch in HD right now.

[Baldenlong77]

My favorite period film.

[cmsahe]

If you haven't done so yet..You must watch this movie!! A Masterpiece.

[mesquiteguy1221]

One of my all time favs !! Loved the acting and musical score.

[fancytyme]

yeah basically this movie owns.

[Soilwar]

Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel?

A film made by Ridley Scott?

Well it must be a good one then :-)

[ChopstickBrando]

It is!

Slow, but beautiful. Like a moving painting.

[drcoxcentral]

I WANT TO SEE THIS SO BADLY!!!

[cljohnston108]

Yep, you can definitely see the Ridley Scott "look" being born here!

[roucala70]

...VIVE L EMPEREUR !!!!!!

[locoyogui]

estoy detras de esta pelicula desde hace rato alguien sabe de algun canal o alguien que le tenga en español....? contesten please

[bubukaka5]

A masterpiece of the genre and one of the finest films i have EVER had the pleasure of viewing many many many times !!!!!!!!! Gerald, Quebec city

[pinquifrustri]

Gran película, desgraciadamente poco conocida y valorada.

[Gehenna212]

Very good soundtrack

[aldebaran21]

Vive l'empereur ;) Superbe film

[roucala70]

film magnifique sur l empire,superbes uniformes et quelle epoque !

[paulianna1]

just as "i catched the ball"is associated with ignorance is actually a more proper english dating from the past(the insulation of the people of appalachia ensured they maintained a more archaic phrasing,not stupidity -- like when black folk might say "i axed a question" is phonetically african

[helmuthoorn]

One of the first masterpieces by Ridley Scott.

Sadly underrated.

[Lbtmia]

Very first one indeed

[samizdrama]

Mine, too. Gorgeous & intelligent.

"Next time with swords!"

[Lbtmia]

pistols ;)

[Gfive78]

Awesome movie, one of my favorites.

Sadly unknown

[ChildOfTheLifestream]

sweet! I fence like 24/7! there's actually a fencing movie? O.o

[BDK421]

Fantastic film.  Great (and fairly faithful) adaptation of Conrad's "The Duel." This is one of the first Keitel performances I ever saw. I've been a huge fan ever since.

[Robisos1722]

Good performance as usual by Harvey Keitel. My husband and I just rented this movie and really liked it.

[joaodefeliciano]

Great Great movie!

[goodsoninc]

The two leading characters are played by two american actors. They have american accent...

[kaa13]

and when you imagine they play french officers...

[goodsoninc]

I'm just talking about accent, not characters

[kaa13]

Yes, no problem, really... but what the difference does it make that they speak american english,or pure Oxford english ?

[goodsoninc]

A lot of difference. Pure english accent is colder than american accent. It could fit well to noble people or upper class gentlemen or maybe cold and fierce characters like in this case which used to make duels. The european contest of the movie had to request an english accent.

[kaa13]

Okay, thanks for the explanation. I can now better understand what you were meaning. Cheers.

[goodsoninc]

The movie was also taken by british writer's novel Joseph Conrad.

[mackotom]

not quite British. He was born Polish though he was writing in English only

[goodsoninc]

Yes, I know. He was polish-ucranian, but he served for british navy for almost 20 years. Conrad is one of my favorite writer. I love "The Shadow line", "Heart of Darkness", "Nostromo" and "Lord Jim". He was one of the greatest british novelist of XIX and XX century.

[tmkwdi]

Conrad did not sail with the British Navy, but the British merchant fleet. The wreckage of his final command, the Otago, remains on secluded bit of shoreline in Tasmania, where it was abandoned after final service as a coal barge. Parts of it have been recovered by the Maritime Museum in Gdansk, Poland.

[goodsoninc]

Yes of course.

[ishtarg8]

A coal barge? No shit. Was that at least  some of his inspiration for Youth?

Just can't get over what an awesome writer and prose stylist he was, particuarly when considering English was a language he learned as an adult.

Love the movie, too. It's one of my personal barometers. You don't like (or "get") this movie; I'm not likely to like you, either.

NEXT TIME, D'HUBERT!!!

[tmkwdi]

Conrad was long gone when the Otago was converted. He sailed on other vessels as first officer, but not as captain.

[pinquifrustri]

The novel's title is "The duelists", but Joseph Conrad was Polish, not British, even though he lived in Britain and wrote in English. Mi spiace.

[jeanvigo679]

Though of course American English is a development from the language of the common people of England in the 16th Century. To this today when you hear West country people pronounce certain words (i.e. in Devon or Cornwall) you detect the American twang. I believe this has been backed up by the examination of the accent of the people who live on that island near Virginia who still speak English as the first settlers did.

[samizdrama]

That's very interesting. I remember hearing (in a documentary about the evolution of English) that American phrases like "I guess" and "mad" (meaning angry) are remnants of Shakespeare's time, which had passed out of usage in England, but continued to be used here.

[waterloo2you]

This movie proves that you don't need a multi-million dollar budget to make a great film with superb direction, outstanding cinematography, wonderful acting, and excellent musical score. Hats off to the costumers too: The uniforms are spot-on historically accurate.

[Lbtmia]

in fact,  costiumes had consumed most of the budget

[mbabist01]

@waterloo2you Uniforms could have been better (the shakos didn't have the "cuckoo" in 1800, they had a cloth "wing"), but other than that, it was a darned good flick. The photography was much like "Barry Lyndon" (existing light), the direction and acting superb. For this Napoleonic Wars geek, it remains THE film.

[Nathan920]

@waterloo2you Well I think the other reason why this film is so good is because Ridley Scott directed it and I think that he happens to be elevated above that of mortal man

[dangerics]

@waterloo2you And the swordplay! William Hobbs is boss!

[Poejoy]

I loved this film too--wonderful scenes in it, great acting.

[mittROMNEY666]

LOL!

[b6gm6n]

nice light and shots :)

[ninelivecat]

Harvey Keitel was a real badass in this movie also in The Bad Lieutenant

[doctorcaligarissss]

Great movie!

[snakehissken]

Tom Conti FTW!!!!

[hypervyper76]

I saw this movie the other day. It was absolutely excellent. Feraud was such a jackass.

[Babakurt1071]

Saw it once in television than bought it recently, great film if ya like historian films

[roucala70]

superbe film

VIVE L EMPEREUR !!!!

[strawdogs111]

wonderful

[delbhoye]

A brilliant film. Good post !

[tjombom]

Where from can one take Howard Blake's Intro, please?

[cuerdaseca]

I love this film

[tjombom]

One of the best movies about the napoleonic era i've ever seen!

[patio87]

Go watch "Waterloo".

[Hygia]

Peliculón

[BunuelLastSigh]

Howard Blake's music for this film is absolutely superb

[fourplusseven]

It really is.

[Silberdachs]

A timeless classic and an all-time personal favorite. And produced for less than $1m. Bravo Sir Ridley, c'est magnifique.

[RoryBhoy1957]

Sir Ridley Scott's first movie, and one of his finest.

[NapoleonBonaparte26]

formidable film !

[wolfbiscuits]

One of the most under-rated movies of all time.

[keitel10]

This is one of my favorites. A great epic Story about obsessions and with wonderful performances. The photography is amazing and the final scene is hipnotic. Thanks for post it.