The Man in the Iron Mask Poster

The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

Action | Drama 
Rayting:   6.5/10 157.5K votes
Country: France | USA
Language: English | Italian
Release date: 26 March 1998

The cruel King Louis XIV of France has a secret twin brother who he keeps imprisoned. Can the twin be substituted for the real king?

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PLRD 25 July 2002

We didn't expect much here, so it was one of these experiences where you are pleasantly surprised. I would mention Irons and Depardieu first because they are just great. I suppose Depardieu has performed in comic roles before but I don't recall them and so was quite pleased and amused with his grace and charm in such a role. Irons is imposing and has more gravitas that anyone else in the film. Byrne is strong and a pleasure to watch. These top performers take this material and make it delightful. DiCaprio is a talented young man, I suppose, but my personal demographics are in the periphery of his fan base (wrong sex, wrong age). I'm no Malkovich fan, but he was not a sufficient detraction to me to offset my enjoyment of the others. Over all, the film is a lot of fun--a really nice film.

gsholette 6 April 2006

Fmovies: Who the heck is Randall Wallace if not one of the greatest comic filmmakers of our time who apparently does not know where his true talent lies? This film offers a prime example of the man's inborn grasp of gut-wrenching hilarity dolled up as piously dull and historically ignorant entertainment. In other words for those willing to forget the serious intent of the movie it is a guaranteed laugh riot from the start to finish. This absurd remake reveals Mr. Wallace is not only a multi-talent-less director, writer, and producer, but he is also someone with an uncanny knack for transforming mature but nonetheless top talents –– Gerard Depardieu, Gabriel Byrne, Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich in this case –– into automaton-like hacks. To be fair, these otherwise fine actors must have been paid handsomely before they agreed to take part in such drivel even as they appear to be thumbing their noses at this inane production by reading their ridiculous lines ice cold as if off of a teleprompter. In truth the actors seem to be desperately holding back either tears of hilarity or tears of abject humiliation. Still, the real question here is this: does this man even know what a ridiculous hoot he has given birth to? The answer is: certainly not. In sum, you should spare yourself if at all possible. However, if you must indulge, then the best thing to do is to watch this defectively fitted costumed comedy with Mr. Wallace's senseless "commentary" turned on as background sound effect. I promise instant spasms of watery-eyed laughter as he piously defends the serious intent of his efforts. In all honestly, the clearest assessment of Mr. Wallace's version of the Man in the Iron Mask is best summarized early on in the film by the loud and resounding flatulence hilariously delivered by Mr. Depardieu's character. If only the rest of the film lived up to that exceptional moment of innovation.

wolfie-8 16 February 1999

I almost don't know where to start in criticizing this film. Nearly everything about it--I am not exaggerating--is utterly terrible.

DiCaprio, for example, offers one of the finest examples of miscasting I have ever seen. Not for one instant does he come across as a monarch, let alone Louis XIV, one of the most adamant believers in the divine right of kings who ever lived. He has literally *no* royal presence. DiCaprio not only looks far too young (he looks like a boy who would still be at the girls are "icky" stage of life, not seducing everyone at court), he makes no attempt to speak like anything but a young, modern American male--at one point, his Louis actually finishes a sentence with "huh?"

But perhaps I should not assume that DiCaprio slipped that in on his own. Given the bargain-basement level of the rest of the dialogue, I can easily believe that writer-director Randall Wallace penned that "huh" himself. Top-notch actors like Jeremy Irons, Gabriel Byrne and John Malkovich must have been choking on their lines; Malkovich's flat performance does make it seem like he was bored out of his mind. I can only hope that the French members of the cast, including Gerard Depardieu, didn't realize just how bad their dialogue was.

My personal favorite was Byrne's statement to Queen Anne (Anne Parillaud): "I know that to love you is a crime against France, but not to love you is crime against my heart." I literally rolled off my chair laughing. That isn't even historically accurate: at that point, the Queen was a widow and no one would have cared a whit if she was sleeping with everyone in the court.

Such overblown statements and actions are rampant throughout the film. Rioting peasants toss an apple at D'Artagnan; he not only slices it with his sword, he catches it on the blade and deftly takes a bite. The scene is so ludicrously melodramatic, it must be seen to be believed.

My list of possible complaints is endless, but to wrap up with just a few: the cast members' accents are all over the place, the music overwrought and the entire film far too long. I sincerely advise all readers to avoid this movie, unless you're teaching a class on how not to make a film.

Geofbob 30 December 2005

The Man in the Iron Mask fmovies. This 1998 movie provides everything a swashbuckling cape-and-sword flick should - legendary heroes, a cruel villain, noble sentiments, touches of love and sex, some slapstick, picturesque scenery, sumptuous interiors and of course dashing swordplay (the last perhaps a little limited by the maturity of some of the principals).

It has also some reasonably intelligent dialogue, provided by writer/producer/director, Randall Wallace, and spoken in part by two of the finest voices in the business - Jeremy Irons (Athos) and John Malkovich (Aramis). Gerard Depardieu (Porthos) and Gabriel Byrne (D'Artangnan) are the other two of the original 3 + 1 Musketeers.

The villainy of the young King Louis 14 is provided by Leonardo DiCaprio, who may be too wishy-washy for some tastes, though he certainly has the veneer of elegance needed for the part. One niggle I have is, that it would have been better if he had been instructed to pronounce Athos either with a short a or a long a (preferably the former) and not alternate between the two.

The plot, like the Dumas novel on which it is based, has no less, and no more, credibility than is appropriate for this type of film - for anyone interested in the real events and rumours surrounding the Man in the Iron Mask, I recommend this website - http://www.royalty.nu/legends/IronMask.html

One aspect of the film I find amusing is that in this version of a quintessentially French story, the only French actor in the quartet of heroes, Gerard Depardieu, plays the part of a uncouth, lecherous buffoon; while an Englishman, an American and an Irishman provide the grace, heartfelt speeches and depth of character. I wonder how that went down with the audience in France.

blanche-2 28 March 2008

Leonardo DiCaprio is "The Man in the Iron Mask" and also King Louis XIV in this re-telling of the famous Dumas story. He is surrounded in a sumptuous production by a stellar cast that includes Gabriel Byrne, John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu and Jeremy Irons. The oft-filmed plot concerns the twin brother of the cruel, selfish Louis IV who is guarded loyally by D'Artagnan. Phillipe, the twin, was taken from his mother at birth and once found by the King, imprisoned and placed in an iron mask to hide his identity. When the poverty and the uprisings become too much, Aramis (Irons), who knows of Phillipe's existence, breaks him out of prison with the help of Porthos (Depardieu) and Athos (Malkovich) with the idea of having him replace Louis at an upcoming masquerade ball. It falls to Athos, who has just lost his son Raoul in war because of Louis' lust for Raoul's fiancée, to teach Philippe how to be king in a short time. Things do not go as planned.

This tremendous cast and huge production make for absorbing viewing, different yet as entertaining as the Richard Chamberlain TV version and the Louis Hayward version in the 1930s. Here the emphasis is on the old Musketeers, which works well - Porthos who feels his age and misses the old lusts, the grieving Athos and Aramis, given an impossible job by Louis, which means that Louis must go; and, of course, D'Artagnan, fiercely loyal to his King and insisting that he can be molded into a great ruler, despite evidence to the contrary. The acting is fabulous - there really isn't a standout among the four men as they are all so good.

Leonardo DiCaprio creates two completely different characters with Louis and Philippe and does an excellent job. Though he was trending toward matinée idol/chick flick territory, he pulled himself out to take on weightier roles - though there's no doubt this film was meant to bring in the teenagers. And what's wrong with that - a classic story once in a while won't kill them.

Entertaining viewing.

musicalfan 29 May 2004

The only problem with this movie that the plot is a bit implausible, but nevertheless, everything was great. I must say that I've seen this movie more times than any movie in the world and i still say it's great. It has a star-studded cast, and all of them did an excellent acting job (DiCaprio, Byrne, Malkovich, Depardieu and Irons). This is a perfect ensemble cast, it's as if the roles were written for the actors. The acting was just well done. The events are exciting and sometimes heart-wrenching, the music is great, and the dialogue is truly, truly exceptional. Trust me, after watching this movie at least 18 times, I've realized that the dialogue is just superb. I very much recommend the movie, however, the story is very, very far from the original book by Alexander Dumas.

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