The Man in the Iron Mask (1998/I)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Randall Wallace

Writers (WGA):

Alexandre Dumas père (novels)
Randall Wallace (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 March 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History

Tagline:

For the honor of a king. And the destiny of a country. All for one.

Plot:

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?

Plot Keywords:

Twins | Mask | Iron Mask | Musketeer | Twin Brother

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio	...	King Louis XIV / Philippe
Jeremy Irons	...	Aramis
John Malkovich	...	Athos
Gérard Depardieu	...	Porthos
Gabriel Byrne	...	D'Artagnan
Anne Parillaud	...	Queen Mother Anne
Judith Godrèche	...	Christine (as Judith Godreche)
Edward Atterton	...	Lt. Andre
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Raoul
Hugh Laurie	...	King's Advisor
David Lowe	...	King's Advisor
Brigitte Boucher	...	Madame Rotund
Matthew Jocelyn	...	Assassin
Karine Belly	...	Wench
Emmanuel Guttierez	...	King's Friend

Also Known As:

El hombre de la máscara de hierro (Argentina) (Peru) (Spain) [es]
Der Mann mit der eisernen Maske (Austria) (Germany) [de]
L'homme au masque de fer (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Demir maskeli adam (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
La maschera di ferro (Italy) [it]
Mannen med järnmasken (Sweden) [sv]
Moz z zelezno masko (Slovenia) [sl]
O Homem da Máscara de Ferro (Portugal) [pt]
O anthropos me ti siderenia maska (Greece) [el]
Omul cu masca de fier (Romania) [ro]
Rautanaamio (Finland) [fi]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and some sensuality/nudity.

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Peru:PT | Netherlands:MG6 | Iceland:12 | Spain:7 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Belgium:KT | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12/9 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Ireland:12 | Mexico:B | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Castle, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Seine-et-Marne, France

Company:

United Artists Corporation

Trivia:

MGM discovered the audience the movie attracted was "directly related to appeal of Leonardo DiCaprio", being 55% female and 46% under the age of 25.

Goofs:

Continuity: After rescuing Phillipe, when Porthos and Aramis are sitting on the wall talking, Porthos' hat brim is up on both sides, when Aramis walks away and a bird drops a "gift" on Pothos' hat, one side of the brim is now down.

Quotes:

Aramis: Why are you so glum?
Porthos: I expected action. There was no fighting, there was no killing. I was useless.
Aramis: Porthos, I grow tired of this attitude. You're surrounded by beauty, by intrigue, by danger. What more can a man want? The robins are singing, the pigeons are cooing. Can't you listen to their song?
[he walks off in disgust; Porthos takes off his hat when something falls on it to reveal it's bird-dung]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Little Thing Called Murder (2006) (TV)

A pleasant surprise!

When this film started playing in theaters in March 1998, I thought: this is going to be another overrated film that Leo Di Caprio is in...so I avoided going to see it. But I decided to rent it yesterday, since I was in the mood to watch a period film. Was I surprised! I really enjoyed watching this film. Although it did have a few flaws here and there, it is still a very worthwhile and enjoyable film. The costumes were nice, yes, but the sets were even better. The cinematography was outstanding. Who cares if it "was not true" to the Alexandre Dumas novel--film adaptions of famous novels never are true to the books. This film didn't do so well at the box office because it started playing in theaters at a time when all of the Titanic hype was still taking place. Perhaps The Man in the Iron Mask should've been released in the fall of 98--I bet more people would've gone to see it in theaters. If you haven't seen this film, rent it. It's both an enjoyable story and a visual wonder. See it at least twice!