The Man in the Iron Mask
1998  PG-13  DRAMA  2h 12min
CAST— Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu, Gabriel Byrne, Anne Parillaud, Judith Godreche
MUSIC— Nick Glennie-Smith  DIRECTOR— Randall Wallace  BASED ON— The Vicomte de Bragelonne (story), by Alexandre Dumas

     Another fine film adaptation of a classic Alexandre Dumas adventure. The famed Three Musketeers have retired. France is ruled by the tyrant Louis XIV. Aramis devises a plan to replace the king with a lookalike. But where to find this replacement? It seems as though the king is actually a twin; six years ago the king discovered the existence of his brother, Philippe. Fearing for his throne the king had Philippe locked away in a remote dungeon; seeing as how Louis and Philippe are identical the king had his brother’s face covered by an inescapable iron mask. Now the Three Musketeers rescue Philippe and train him in the ways of royalty, soon to replace the dastardly king. A mix of touching drama and exciting heroics, this film is sure to satisfy.
OUR RATING— ***
ORIGINAL— The Iron Mask (1929), The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)