The Three Musketeers (BBC 1966 - Complete Series)

Alexandre Dumas's oft-adapted novel comes to life once again in this 10-part black-and-white BBC miniseries that originally aired in 1966. As the story goes, the young D'Artagnan leaves home to become the fourth member of the Three Musketeers, a trio composed of Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Their subsequent adventures have them crossing paths with King Louis XIII of France.

Director: Peter Hammond
TV Adaptation: Anthony Steven

Athos: Jeremy Young
Porthos: Brian Blessed
Aramis: Gary Watson
D'Artagnan: Jeremy Brett
Cardinal Richlieu: Richard Pasco
Louis XIII: John Carlin


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240301/

CHANNEL: BBC
AIRDATE: 1966
SOURCE: DVD Rip
CODEC/FORMAT: DivX/avi

Review (adapted from Amazon.com)

In 1966, BBC unveiled The Three Musketeers, a television mini-series shown in 10 black & white episodes, each about 24 minutes long. This full-screen dvd release is certainly worth a look for all swashbuckler fans and, specifically, for readers of Alexandre Dumas.

This BBC mini-series sticks pretty closely to Dumas's classic tale of love, honor, and swordplay. In ten chapters, we get to witness the high points of the book: our young Gascon, D'Artagnan, on his way to meet M. Treville in hopes of becoming a Musketeer, initially ruffling the feathers of Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, and consequently scheduling dueling appointments with them on three successive hours; D'Artagnan meeting and falling in love with Constance, the lovely but married seamstress and confidante of the Queen, who, unwisely but very Frenchlike, engages in secret liaisons with the Duke of Buckingham; D'Artagnan's heroic mission for his queen and his friends' noble sacrifices along the way so that D'Artagnan's mission is successful. And so on...

Athos, Porthos, and Aramis are respectively and vigorously played by Jeremy Young, Brian Blessed, and Gary Watson, who are all very, very good and passionate in their roles - in particular, Jeremy Young, whose tortured character has always stood out in my eyes. Unfortunately, Constance remains a tepid character, much like in the book. The villains are done a good turn by the wickedly good performances of Mary Peach, as the cunning and vindictive Milady de Winter, and of Richard Pasco, who plays Cardinal Richelieu with icy reserve and Machiavellian menace.

But, most of all, we get to experience a D'Artagnan who is disarmingly portrayed by Jeremy Brett. D'Artagnan, in Brett's hands, is earnest, noble, spiritedly idealistic, and fiercely brave. This is a very fine performance by Brett, who displays the intensity and class arrogance he would later hone to perfection as Sherlock Holmes. But, back in 1966, he was young enough that he was able to bring zest and youthful energy into his iconic role. When his father advises him to "never fear quarrels, but seek adventures" and to "fight on all occasions,"
we know Brett is up to the challenge.

Showcasing ferocious, energetic sword fights, ensemble acting done with panache and conviction, and a sincere commitment to do right by Dumas's greatest work, BBC's The Three Musketeers is an honest and true adaptation. With a budget commensurate to television, the production is modest but, nevertheless, admirable. The costumes, the settings, the texturing of the show are all done exceedingly well.

EPISODES:

Name................:The Three Musketeers_01_Enemies.AVI
Filesize............:344,692,436 bytes
Runtime (hh:mm:ss)..:24:36.990 (44265 fr)
Video Codec.........:XviD ISO MPEG-4
Video Bitrate.......:1634 kbps
Frame Rate..........:29.970 fps
Audio Codec.........:0x2000 (Dolby AC3) AC3
Audio Bitrate.......:224kbps(2 channels) CBR
Frame Size..........:720x480 [1.500:1]

Name................:The Three Musketeers_03_Peril.AVI
Filesize............:259,172,506 bytes
Runtime (hh:mm:ss)..:23:47.073 (42769 fr)
Video Codec.........:XviD ISO MPEG-4
Video Bitrate.......:1220 kbps
Frame Rate..........:29.970 fps
Audio Codec.........:0x2000 (Dolby AC3) AC3
Audio Bitrate.......:224kbps(2 channels) CBR
Frame Size..........:720x480 [1.500:1]

Name................:The Three Musketeers_05_Scandal.AVI
Filesize............:286,995,394 bytes
Runtime (hh:mm:ss)..:24:28.849 (44021 fr)
Video Codec.........:XviD ISO MPEG-4
Video Bitrate.......:1330 kbps
Frame Rate..........:29.970 fps
Audio Codec.........:0x2000 (Dolby AC3) AC3
Audio Bitrate.......:224kbps(2 channels) CBR
Frame Size..........:720x480 [1.500:1]

Name................:The Three Musketeers_07_At Night All Cats Are Grey.AVI
Filesize............:198,509,360 bytes
Runtime (hh:mm:ss)..:23:06.299 (41547 fr)
Video Codec.........:XviD ISO MPEG-4
Video Bitrate.......:913 kbps
Frame Rate..........:29.970 fps
Audio Codec.........:0x2000 (Dolby AC3) AC3
Audio Bitrate.......:224kbps(2 channels) CBR
Frame Size..........:720x480 [1.500:1]

Name................:The Three Musketeers_08_The Cardinal.AVI
Filesize............:225,947,102 bytes
Runtime (hh:mm:ss)..:24:02.822 (43241 fr)
Video Codec.........:XviD ISO MPEG-4
Video Bitrate.......:1020 kbps
Frame Rate..........:29.970 fps
Audio Codec.........:0x2000 (Dolby AC3) AC3
Audio Bitrate.......:224kbps(2 channels) CBR
Frame Size..........:720x480 [1.500:1]

Name................:The Three Musketeers_09_Assassin.AVI
Filesize............:259,037,302 bytes
Runtime (hh:mm:ss)..:24:31.318 (44095 fr)
Video Codec.........:XviD ISO MPEG-4
Video Bitrate.......:1175 kbps
Frame Rate..........:29.970 fps
Audio Codec.........:0x2000 (Dolby AC3) AC3
Audio Bitrate.......:224kbps(2 channels) CBR
Frame Size..........:720x480 [1.500:1]

Name................:The Three Musketeers_10_Walk To The Scaffold.AVI
Filesize............:332,497,834 bytes
Runtime (hh:mm:ss)..:24:01.821 (43211 fr)
Video Codec.........:XviD ISO MPEG-4
Video Bitrate.......:1612 kbps
Frame Rate..........:29.970 fps
Audio Codec.........:0x2000 (Dolby AC3) AC3
Audio Bitrate.......:224kbps(2 channels) CBR
Frame Size..........:720x480 [1.500:1]

I must be fair and admit that this is not originally my upload. I just downloaded this series, a very long time ago from another website.


Enjoy and Seed!!