Beyond the Roundels

(I found this lurking unposted on my Dreamwidth. I wrote it on April 1st; I don't know why I didn't post it. I suppose a Talking Meme would be no fun if it didn't take me all year to get through it!)

For the Talking Meme, from dimity_blue: What are your favourite Dumas film adaptations?


I thought this was pretty funny for a minute, as I have only ever actually watched one Dumas film adaptation, and then I eventually remembered that I have in fact seen the 2011 Three Musketeers as well. I suppose I could also count the endless 1980s cartoon version, Dogtanian and the Muskehounds, but it's obvious that there's no competition here. Also I've never seen a Dumas film that isn't The Three Musketeers, so it's really not as if I'm an expert.

Anyway, my favouite out of this *cough* wide line-up is clearly the 1970s Richard Lester films. When I saw them first, I'd just read the unabridged English translation instead of the cartoon and the abridged Puffin version and decided it was one of my favourite things ever after all and that I would never watch an adaptation because no adaptation would get the tongue-in-cheek attitude of the book, and then my Dad made me watch this and while it alters some things, it does indeed get the tongue-in-cheek attitude of the book exactly right, and the cast are hard to beat: Michael Yorke, Richard Chamberlain, Faye Dunaway, Oliver Reed, Racquel Welch, Roy Kinnear, Spike Milligan, Christopher Lee and Charlton Heston.

( Cut for graphic )

I have some quibbles about some things, maybe, and obviously it would have been nice if the director had actually paid the actors for two films instead of one, but it still wins easily out of all the three and a bit Three Musketeers adaptations I have seen.

Meme found in the wild: Make a list of all the characters in your icons. (Although you may have more than one icon of a single character, they only go on the list once.) Alphabetize it. Take the first two people on the list; that's your first pairing. Second two people; second pairing, etc. Treat us to some commentary once you're done.

I thought it'd be fun... I hadn't quite realised what a weird jumble of characters I have - some of them are there more for the action in the icon than the character. So, in most cases, let's say that instead of a commentary, a horrified silence might be more appropriate?

(Actually, it turned out better than I expected. For the first half of the alphabet, anyway.)

( 38 random pairings and an odd man out )

Here are some more I made earlier! Yes, as obscure as ever: icons from the 1973/4 Richard Lester films The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers. (I hear there are other versions, but I just don't want to know.) Featuring: Oliver Reed, Michael York, Richard Chamberlain, Raquel Welch, Faye Dunaway, Christopher Lee, Spike Milligan, Roy Kinnear, and Charlton Heston.

(Yes. It is awesome. Even with the whole dodgy bit where they didn't get paid for the second film.)

Teasers:

Total Icon Count: 58

( Icons Here! )

Usual rules apply: very little is mine anyway. Want, take, have, credit. Comments are ♥ and one for all and all for one.