France, 17th century, during the reign of Louis XIII. When a dear friend, the Duke of Nevers, is treacherously assassinated by a powerful relative, a skilled swordsman, the noble Henri de Lagardère, seeks his rightful vengeance as he tries to protect the innocent life of the duke's last heir.
Stunts
Pre-CGI sword fights that actually look dangerous and delicious
Costume
Velvet, capes, and Fabrice Luchini's smug little goatee
Acting
Auteuil's committed chaos versus Luchini's delicious villainy
Director
Philippe de Broca
Daniel Auteuil
Lagardère
Fabrice Luchini
Count Gonzague
Vincent Perez
Duke of Nevers
Marie Gillain
Aurore de Nevers
Yann Collette
Peyrolles
Jean-François Stévenin
Cocardasse
Didier Pain
Passepoil
Claire Nebout
Blanche de Caylus
Philippe Noiret
Duke Philippe d'Orléans
Charlie Nelson
Esope
Jacques Sereys
Baron of Caylus
Renato Scarpa
Paolo Campagnoli
Ludovica Tinghi
Ornella
James Thierrée
Marcello
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was director Philippe de Broca's final film, and he went out swinging—literally—with a budget that let him build entire 17th-century villages for about twelve minutes of screen time.
The 'La fille de d'Artagnan' novel source material had been adapted twice before, but this version invented the hunchback assassin entirely—because apparently 1997 France needed more disability-coded villains.
FR
