Overall Score
Rating Summary
One of the goals I had in mind when I began looking back at some of the forgotten films of 1977 that were swallowed up by the cultural behemoth that was Star Wars was to find films that didn’t get their fair share of attention. What I did not expect to find was a film that would slowly start to creep its way up the list of favorite movies of all time. And as far as the films of Ridley Scott, my personal top five of his films has always been Ailen, Blade Runner, Themla & Louise, Kingdom of Heaven, Legend. But after seeing his first film from ’77, The Duelists, it looks like Tim Curry and his magic unicorn horn may have to move down a notch.
Set during the Napoleonic Wars the film opens with a duel between Lieutenant Gabriel Feraud (Harvey Keitel) and the nephew of the local cities mayor. After he wins the duel, Feraud goes back to mingling with the local wealthy citizens. Enter Lieutenant Armand d’Hubert (Keith Carradine) who is ordered to bring Feraud to answer for himself. Feeling embarrassed in front of his new rich friends, Feraud challenges d’Hubert to a duel. Reluctantly d’Hubert accepts the challenge, but they are interrupted mid-duel. Thus begins a decade plus meeting between the pair. From sabers in a barn, on horseback in the woods, to the winter of Russia. Every meeting of the pair outdoes the previous duel, leading to a face-off at an ancient castle with dueling pistols.
The Duelists is a phenomenal first film by a director that would go on to create not only classic films, but culture touchstones for the next four decades. You can see despite the low budget that the film feels historically accurate as it relies on the lush landscape of 1970’s France and Scotland countrysides which appear unchanged in the hundred plus years since. What also gives it that sense of authenticity is the sword fights throughout the film. Master Swordsman William Hobbs brings to stunning brutal life, epic sword fights and he would continue to do so throughout the 80’s and 90’s in some of my favorites: Excalibur, Willow, Rob Roy, and The Man in the Iron Mask. His last credit before he passed away in 2018 was in 2011 for Game of Thrones. Again each encounter involving Carradine and Keitel is as good or better than the meeting before. The saber fight in the barn is incredibly exhausting for the pair, you can smell the blood and sweat as they collapse on each other.
I would say that the only drawback to the film is there is not enough Keitel and too much Carradine, even if it does make sense for the story. Carradine is just a bit too stiff, even for an aristocrat. And Keitel is too quiet, even though he was already Martin Scorsese’s go-to guy, here he plays it very understated, but that could be just me, since I love the sound of his screaming dialogue. Although he has one really cool moment, where he says what he needs to say with a couple of hand gestures. There also may be too much attention paid to d’Hubert’s relationships as he is constantly increasing his station in life. Nothing however overshadows each and every duel as they differ in setting and outcome. Of course the best being the final one where the confrontation concludes in the best possible way leading to an incredible final shot.
With The Duelists you can see the hunger of a young Ridley Scott at the beginning of his powers, as he already knows where to place the camera and is self aware enough to create the proper amount of tension before each duel. I simply love this film for both its ambition and its simplicity in the wake of something as huge as the Napoleonic Wars. It wouldn’t take long for his talent to become apparent to all of Hollywood, and after close to 30 films later he still continues to show what began in 1977, that he is a brilliant filmmaker with the ability to meld the epic with the personal, one film at a time.
SOSW: Like most of the films released in 1977, being overshadowed by Star Wars did not stop Scott. He would actually take a page from Lucas as a matter of fact and head to the stars as well. But where Lucas brought that lived-in look in space, Scott would bring the blue collar worker into space, where no one can hear you scream. Alien would kick off almost as many ripoffs of it as Star Wars did after it came out. And while Scott would eventually make his way back to the franchise with mixed results, he honestly didn’t need it. He is, now and forever, without a doubt, a true legend.
