THE DUELLISTS (1977)
Label: Imprint FilmsRegion Code: Region-FREE
Rating: M
Duration: 100 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 & LPCM 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel, Albert Finney, Tom Conti
Set during the era of the Napoleonic Wars this period film stars Keith Carradine (Southern Comfort) and Harvey Keitel (Two Evil Eyes) playing officers in Napoleon’s army — D’Hubert and Feraud. The pair meet when D'Hubert while carrying out his military duties insults Feraud in the process, who then demands a sword duel to defend his honor. At first D'Hubert refuses the request, but when his own honor is called into question he submits. The pair face-off with swords and D'Hubert is injured, and as dueling etiquette dictates, the duel is postponed until such a time as he can properly finish the duel.
What follows is a quietly epic sixteen year long dueling obsession that consumes both men, who continue to spend their off-hours challenging each other to bloody duels. The span of time between duels can range from weeks, months and even years. Through the passage of time the men continue to inflict incapacitating wounds on one another and fight their ways through various Napoleonic campaigns, including the ill-fated Russian campaign. After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo the rising ranked D'Hubert ends up joining the army of Louis XVIII, while Napoleon loyalist Feraud is sentenced to be executed, but D'Hubert steps in and speaks to the Minister of Police (Albert Finney, Wolfen) to free him from his death sentence, unbeknownst to Feraud.
Sometime later the obsessive Feraud hears of his nemesis's promotion in the new French Army and sends a pair of loyal former officers to his estate to challenge him to yet another duel, sixteen years after the first. This time the contest to be fought with dueling pistols, the event is to take place near a ruined chateau in the picturesque hills surrounding his estate, with both men embarking on what will be their final duel.
This tale of honor-bound obsession is a gem in the catalog of Ridley Scott's, a gorgeously filmed period set story that is minimalist but thematically deep and painterly in it's lensing, languidly examining what makes these men of honor tick. Keitel's character is the obvious instigator, an intense hot-head from lowly beginnings with a fervor for dueling, he's relentless and really keeps fanning the flames of the sixteen year-old skirmish. Carradine is more refined in nature, having come from aristocratic stock, he's not a man prone to outbursts, or many words ever in fact. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth he's driven by his desire to not play things safe, to prove his courage and honor, even though he loses much along the way because of it. He loses military rank as a direct result of it, he's gravely injured multiple times, and he loses the love of a woman (Diana Quick, The Big Sleep) who despite yearning for his commitment also doesn't wish to stay and see him die in duel either.
It's a great little film that shows that Ridley Scott was hot stuff right out of the gate, and while the film didn't go onto do a lot of business at the box office it has becomes a bit of a cult item, making it a fun little discovery for those coming to it for the first time, usually at the behest of a cinema loving friend, which is how I first came to it.
Audio/Video: The Duellists (1977) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Imprint Films, the new prestige arm of Via Vision Entertainment, licensed from Paramount. The 1080P image is framed in 1.78:1 widescreen, slightly opened up from the original 1.85:1. The image has a natural lighting look to it, heavily influenced by Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975). The baroque and pastoral French-set imagery looks organic and filmic, though a bit soft by design, and the depth and clarity doesn't reach the levels you might be expecting on a home entertainment set-up.
Audio on the disc comes by way of English LPCM 2.0 or DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles. The surround opens it up a bit but I still prefer the 2.0 stereo option, dialogue is easily discernible and the classical score from composer Howard Blake (Amityville 3-D) sound marvelous, and can be enjoyed courtesy of an uncompressed
isolated score track.
Extras look to mirror the now out-of-print Shout! Factory release from 2103, we get an archival interview with director Ridley Scott from the 2002 DVD reminiscing about the making of his first film, covering many facets of the film, from how it came to be, casting, the budget and beyond. There's also a second commentary with composer Howard Blake who between bits of score talks about creating the classical score that adds so much to this period-set film.
We also get an archival 30-min interview between director Ridley Scott and super-fan Kevin Reynolds (Waterworld), you can see that Reynolds is such a fan of the film, and Ridley is game to entertain his questioning of budget, costuming, setting up shots and more, it's a fantastic interview. During it there are also behind-the-scene clips of the making of the film, as well as an archival interview with writer Gerald Vaughan-Hughes.
Another great extra is 26-min interview with star Keith Carradine who talks about the production, what it was like working with Ridley Scott on his first film - even then being in complete command of the process, the relatively tiny budget, his character's motivations, and some of the casting choices. Extras on the disc are buttoned-up with an uncompressed isolated score, a 3-min trailer for the film, 1 5-min gallery, and a brief Imprint Films promo reel.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Director Ridley Scott
- Audio Commentary with Domposer Howard Blake
- Isolated Score (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
- Interview with Actor Keith Carradine (27 min)
- Duelling Directors: Ridley Scott and Kevin Reynolds Interview (29 min)
- Photo and Poster Gallery (2 min)
- Trailer (3 min)
- Imprint Films Promo Reel (1 min)
- Limited Edition slipcase on the first 1000 copies
The Duellists (1977) is a interesting meditation on honor and obsession during the Napoleonic era, it's got great period set design and costuming, painterly and elegant lensing, gorgeous French locations, and intense lead performances, plus the dueling scenes are quite gripping, it's got a lot going for. Glad to see Imprint Films bring this back into circulation on Blu-ray for fans and cool cinema-seekers, a definite recommend.
More Screenshot from the Blu-ray:
