Review of The Duellists (1977) by Dan R — 19 May 2013

A forgotten addition to my Netflix queue that finally made its way to the top, 'The Duellists' was a pleasant surprise to watch. A visually enticing period piece backdropped by the Napoleonic Wars, the film pits Keith Carradine against Harvey Keitel in a complex personal conflict of their own making. Both French cavalrymen and occasional brothers-in-arms, Carradine's D'Hubert finds himself intermittently fighting for his life with Keitel's implacable Feraud, who bears a progressively growing grudge against the officer. By the film's end the trivial cause of the initial duel is lost, having taken on a broader political context.

The film has its casting surprises, as well, with Albert Finney, Alun Armstrong (pocky faced fellow who ought to have taken karate lessons in 'Get Carter'), Edward Fox, and even a lineless Pete Postlethwaite putting in appearances as the officers, friends, and seconds partaking in the film's grisly rivalry. Mildly distracting was the senseless podge of American and English accents, ultimately signifying nothing about the characters. However, Keith Carradine - who I laughingly recognised as the extremely irritating foil to Lee Marvin in 'Emperor of the North Pole' - held his own with Keitel, who I always enjoy watching anyway. In all, a recommendable watch.