The Return of the Musketeers is a 1989 film adaptation loosely based on the novel Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas, père. It is the third Musketeers movie directed by Richard Lester, following 1973's The Three Musketeers and 1974's The Four Musketeers. Like the other two films, the screenplay was written by George MacDonald Fraser, famous for his Flashman series.
The character of Mordaunt, Milady de Winter's son in the original novel, is replaced by Milady's daughter, called Justine de Winter.
Several cast members from the original two movies reprised their roles in this film. Jean-Pierre Cassel, who played Louis XIII in the original movies, has a cameo appearance as Cyrano de Bergerac. Also Rochefort, despite being killed in the previous movie, returns in this film.
Character actor Roy Kinnear died following an on-camera accident in which he fell off a horse. His role was completed by using a stand-in, filmed from the rear, and dubbed-in lines from a soundalike.
Plot
20 years after the events of The Four Musketeers, the new cardinal, the greedy Mazarin, has imprisoned the Duke of Beaufort. Mazarin hires d'Artagnan to bring together the other three musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, to work for him. Porthos accepts, but Athos and Aramis decline. By this time, Athos has a son named Raoul.
Milady de Winter's daughter, Justine, beheads the headsman that the musketeers hired to kill her mother, after finding out from him that "Comte de la Fere" (Athos) sentenced her to death. Raoul, who was in love with her before witnessing this event, secretly leaves her and tells d'Artagnan, Porthos, and Athos that Justine wants to kill them.
Count de Rochefort helps Beaufort escape from his prison, and is subsequently arrested by Mazarin, who then sends d'Artagnan and Porthos after Beaufort, but he escapes them due to interference from Athos and Aramis, who are working for Beaufort. This starts a fight between them, ending with d'Artagnan slicing Aramis's hand. Aramis breaks his sword and runs away. d'Artagnan and Porthos are fired by Mazarin for not catching Beaufort.
Rochefort goes into hiding until he finds Justine, and tells her the names of d'Artagnan, Porthos, and Aramis, revealing to her that Comte de la Fere is Athos.
King Charles is to be sentenced to death, so Queen Anne of Austria sends d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Raoul to rescue him. They attempt a rescue by knocking out the headsman, however, Justine takes the role of headsman and executes him.
The musketeers have several encounters with Justine, one of which Raoul's true allegiance is revealed to her, and another of which, on their way back to France, Justine and Rochefort attempt to kill them by blowing up their ship with gunpowder, but in the battle that follows, the musketeers escape and the ship is blown up, killing Rochefort, however Justine escapes the explosion.
Justine attempts to kill King Louis XIV, but is stopped by the musketeers, and their battle concludes with Justine jumping out the window into the water, never to be seen again. Aramis rejoins the musketeers, and they force Mazarin to sign several forms in favor of them, such as to make Porthos a baron, Aramis a bishop, and Raoul commissioned in the guards. The film ends with the Four Musketeers riding together again for the first time in 20 years.
Cast
See also
External links
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The films of Richard Lester |
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