There have been several movies entitled The Man in the Iron Mask, all based on the final section of the novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, which was itself based on the 18th century myth of the Man in the Iron Mask. The plot involves D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers and an identical twin brother of King Louis XIV of France. The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later (Le Vicomte de Bragelonne ou Dix ans plus tard) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. ... Alexandre Dumas redirects here. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... For the computer game, see Myth (computer game). ... The Man in the Iron Mask was a prisoner believed to have been held in the Bastille prison from an unknown date to his death on November 19, 1703. ... Charles de Batz-Castelmore, Comte dArtagnan (c. ... The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. ... (Louis-Dieudonné) (September 5, 1638 – September 1,rance]] and King of Navarre from May 14, 1643 until his death. ...

Movies

1929

The 1929 silent version, titled The Iron Mask, was the last silent film produced by, and starring, Douglas Fairbanks It starred Fairbanks as D'Artagnan, Marguerite de la Motte as his beloved Constance (who is killed early in the film to protect the secret that the King has a twin brother), Nigel De Brulier as the scheming Cardinal Richelieu, and Ulrich Haupt as the evil Count De Rochefort. William Bakewell appeared as the royal twins. A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ... Douglas Fairbanks (May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer, who became noted for his swashbuckling roles in silent movies such as The Mark of Zorro (1920), The Three Musketeers (1921), Robin Hood (1922), The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and The Black Pirate (1926). ... Cardinal Richelieu was the French chief minister from 1624 until his death. ...

The original 1929 release, though a silent film, actually had a soundtrack: several short narrations delivered by Fairbanks (in a rather orotund manner -- it was no wonder he was much less successful in "talkies" than he had been in the silent era), and a musical score with a few sound effects. In 1952 it was reissued, with the printed intertitles removed and a narration voiced by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. added. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. ...

In 1999, with the cooperation of the Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art, Kino Video released a DVD of the 1929 version. No film copy with the soundtrack of the Fairbanks speeches existed, but phonograph records of them did exist, so using digital techniques the sound from these was synchronized with film footage. For this reissue, a new score was commissioned from composer Henry Sharp. The Kino disk also includes excerpts from the 1952 version, some outtakes from the original filming, and some textual background material from the program for the 1999 premiere showing of the reconstruction. Library of Congress, Jefferson building The Library of Congress is the unofficial national library of the United States. ... General Electric GE90-115B fanblade, on display at MOMA. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. ... Kino International is a film and video distributor, based in New York City that specializes in art-house films, such as low-budget current films and classic films from earlier periods in the history of cinema. ...

1939

The 1939 film was directed by James Whale. It starred Louis Hayward as the twins. This is a page about the film director James Whale. ... Louis Hayward, born Seafield Grant, (March 19, 1909-February 21, 1985), was a British actor born in Johannesburg, South Africa. ...

1977

A 1977 television movie starred Richard Chamberlain as the twins, Patrick McGoohan as Fouquet, and Louis Jourdan as D'Artagnan. George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor who first came to prominence in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare. ... Patrick McGoohan (born 19 March 1928) is an American-born Irish actor who starred in the 1960s television series Danger Man (renamed Secret Agent when exported to the US) and cult classic The Prisoner. ... Louis Jourdan (born June 19, 1919) is a French actor, known chiefly for his suave manner and good looks. ...

1998

The 1998 movie was written and directed by Randall Wallace. Its cast included Leonardo DiCaprio as the twins, Gabriel Byrne as D'Artagnan and Anne Parillaud as Anne of Austria. The three musketeers were portrayed by Jeremy Irons (Aramis), John Malkovich (Athos), and Gérard Depardieu (Porthos). Randall Wallace is an American writer, producer and director who is most noted for his work on the following films: 2002 - We Were Soldiers 2001 - Pearl Harbor 1998 - The Man In The Iron Mask 1996 - Dark Angel 1995 - Braveheart 1990 - Broken Badges 1988 - Sonny Spoon 1986 - Starman, Stingray 1984 - Hunter... Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (born Monday, November 11, 1974), is an American actor. ... Gabriel Byrne (born Friday, May 12, 1950) is an actor born in Dublin, Ireland. ... Anne Parillaud (born May 6, 1960 in Paris, France) is a French actress. ... Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (September 22, 1601 _ January 20, 1666) was Queen Consort of France and Regent for her son, Louis XIV of France. ... Jeremy Irons (born September 19, 1948) is a British actor. ... This article is about the fictional character. ... John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953 in Christopher, Illinois) is an American actor, producer, and director. ... Athos is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père. ... Gérard Depardieu (born December 27, 1948;  pronunciation) is a French actor. ... Porthos - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

In this version the "man in the iron mask" is introduced as prisoner number 24389000 based on the number related to his namesake found at the Bastille.

Differences between versions

The novel and the filmed versions of the tale have some very interesting differences in how they portray the Royal Twins and in how the present the plot to switch them. It is well worth renting both the 1929 silent version and the 1998 remake, as well possibly as the 1977 television version, and contrast them with the novel and with one another.

In Dumas' original novel, although the plot to replace King Louis XIV with his twin brother is foiled, the twin brother is depicted as a much more sympathetic character than the King. In the 1929 silent version starring Douglas Fairbanks as D'Artagnan, the King is depicted favorably and the twin brother is depicted as a pawn in an evil plot, so the plot's being foiled by D'Artagnan and his Three Musketeer friends is made to seem condign.

But in the 1998 version, the King is depicted very negatively while his twin brother is portrayed with considerable sympathy. So the plot to switch the two brothers is presented as an attempt to save France from a very bad king, by replacing him with the one man in France who has an equal claim. D'Artagnan finds himself torn between loyalty to his King and loyalty to his Three Musketeer friends; the way in which this conflict is resolved provides much of the dramatic tension in this version.