Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, John Malkovich, Jeremy Irons, Gabriel Byrne, Gerard Depardieu, Hugh Laurie, Anne Parillaud, Brigitte Auber, Hugh Laurie, Edward Atterton, Francois Montagut, Laura Fraser, Judith Godreche, Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Morris, Leonor Varela, Hugh Laurie, Cecile Auclert, Sonia Backers, Karine Belly, Brigitte Boucher, Jean-Pol Brissart, Christian Erickson, Emmanuel Guttierez, Olivier Hemon, Michael Hofland, Matthew Jocelyn, David Lowe, Vincent Nemeth, Emmanuel Patron, Joe Sheridan, Andrew Wallace

Director: Randall Wallace

Summary: France 1660. Louis XIV is on the throne but his disinterest in affairs of state finds a group of musketeers planning to change the present king for his twin brother.

With a cry of "All for one and one for all!" the Musketeers return to correct the injustices perpetrated by spoiled monarch Louis XIV, whose misdeeds include imprisoning his twin brother on an island and encasing his visage in the titular mask. Teen idol Di Caprio assays the dual title role, while writer-director Wallace goes for the jugular with plenty of pomp and pageantry.

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Footnotes in film books are likely to reduce this swashbuckling adventure down to a simple description: it was the first movie to star Leonardo DiCaprio after the phenomenal success of Titanic. As such, The Man in the Iron Maskautomatically attracted a box-office stampede of Leo's young female fans, but critical reaction was deservedly mixed. Having earned his directorial debut after writing the Oscar-winning script for Mel Gibson's Braveheart, Randall Wallace wrote and directed this ambitious version of the often-filmed classic novel by Alexandre Dumas. DiCaprio plays dual roles as the despotic King Louis XIV, who rules France with an iron fist, and the king's twin brother, Philippe, who languishes in prison under an iron mask, his identity concealed to prevent an overthrow of Louis' throne. But Louis' abuse of power ultimately enrages Athos (John Malkovich), one of the original Four Musketeers, who recruits his former partners (Gabriel Byrne, Gérard Depardieu, and Jeremy Irons) in a plot to liberate Philippe and install him as the king's identical replacement. Once this plot is set in motion and the Musketeers are each given moments in the spotlight, the film kicks into gear and offers plenty of entertainment in the grand style of vintage swashbucklers. But it's also sidetracked by excessive length and disposable subplots, and for all his post-Titanicstar power, the boyish DiCaprio just isn't yet "man" enough to be fully convincing in his title role. Still, this is an entertaining film, no less enjoyable for falling short of the greatness to which it aspired. --Jeff Shannon

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen, 16:9 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Commentary By The Director, Chapter Search, Original Theatrical Trailer
Subtitles:	Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
Year:	1998
Release Date:	February 1, 2000
Runtime:	135 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	16196 D V D
Keywords:	Man, Action, Iron, General, Wide, Screen, Mask, Adventure
Genre:	Action/Adventure