It is 1800 in Strasbourg, France. Lt. Armand d'Hubert (Keith Carradine) of the 3rd Hussars is dispatched to place Lt. Gabriel Feraud (Harvey Keitel) of the 7th Hussars under arrest for grievously wounding the mayor's nephew in a duel. Feraud takes offense at d'Hubert's handling of his arrest and challenges him to a duel. Feraud will not take no for an answer and a duel if fought but it ends inconclusively. Throughout the Napoleonic Wars, the two meet repeatedly but Feraud is never satisfied with the result.
The first feature film by Ridley Scott, it is based on a short story by Joseph Conrad which itself is based on a true event. The movie includes 6 duels over a 16 year period whereas the historical figures fought 30 duels over 19 years.
Harvey Keitel is very good as the unhinged hyper-aggressive duelist. He exploits the rules of honor to satisfy his desires. He was entirely willing to repeatedly provoke d'Hubert until his duel challenge was accepted, hardly the actions of an honorable soldier. Keith Carradine is passable but just didn't seem French. His creaky voice that is perfect for a Western singer or an American cowboy seems entirely out of place for a French Hussar.
It is an excellent movie and, unlike some of Scott's more recent movies, doesn't rely on the characters' abysmal stupidity to advance the plot. Also noteworthy is that this is the first of his many historical epics but cleaves closest to actual history. Robin Hood (2010), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), and Gladiator (2000) all made substantial revisions of history.
No comments:
Post a Comment