Film Review: The Duellists (1977)

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The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars were an interesting time of immense social and political change and carnage that would not be seen again in Europe until the 20th Century. Those tumultuous events serve as a backdrop for a more personal conflict, which is the subject of Ridley Scott’s feature film debut, the 1977 period drama The Duellists.

The film is based on the story by Joseph Conrad, itself based on the real events concerning Pierre Dupont and François Fourier, two French cavalry officers who fought each other in a series of duels over two decades. The plot begins in 1800 Strasbourg, at a time when Napoleon took power in post-revolutionary France. Lieutenant Gabriel Feraud (played by Harvey Keitel) is an officer in the 7th Hussars Regiment, a unit whose members are known for great courage, but also immense arrogance and recklessness. Feraud is an accomplished fencer and has developed a reputation as an enthusiastic duellist. Following the latest duel, which left a relative of a local politician seriously injured, Feraud’s superiors decide to discipline him and send Lieutenant Armand d’Hubert (played by Keith Carradine), another Hussar officer, to bring the news. Feraud reacts by challenging d’Hubert to a duel, which d’Hubert, despite not actually wanting to fight, wins. Feraud is injured but demands a rematch at any cost, which would lead to a series of duels fought over the years in different countries with different weapons and methods. This continues even after Napoleon’s era ends, until d’Hubert and Feraud, who have both advanced to the rank of general, finally take a chance to settle the matter by fighting with pistols.

For his first feature film, Ridley Scott secured a budget that looks like pocket change in comparison with his later productions, but this doesn’t show on screen. This demonstrates that his talent can manifest itself in putting limited resources to good use, making this film feel much grander and more epic than it actually is. Scott, clearly inspired by Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon as well as paintings made during the period, invested impressive effort to recreate the early 19th Century through inventive use of cinematography and care about costumes, props, and period details. Limited locations in France and Scotland are also put to good use, convincingly passing for various locations in France, Germany, and Russia. Even the action scenes, which were never Scott’s forte, work well in this film, with each of the duels looking different from the others.

Not everything in this film is perfect. The American distributor forced Scott to cast Carradine and Keitel in the main roles, and their American accents sound odd in scenes they share with the British cast. On the other hand, the idea to pair Carradine against Keitel wasn’t unsound, and it could have helped with characterisation. Carradine, a member of a great acting dynasty, plays a member of the pre-revolutionary aristocracy still bound by the old ideals of honour; Keitel plays a commoner who was allowed to advance to an officer’s rank only thanks to the Revolution, and whose lack of finesse is matched by Keitel’s own reputation as a Method actor from the mean streets of Brooklyn. The script by Gerald Vaughan-Hughes could have made this concept more explicit, just as it should not have paid so much attention to d’Hubert’s romantic partners, played by Diana Quick and Cristina Raines. The last part of the film, set in the post-war period of the Bourbon Restoration, slightly lags, and viewers who aren’t familiar with that period of French history might be slightly confused. The Duellists nevertheless represents not only a very good debut for a director who would later go on to do truly great things, but can also be recommended to an audience that requires nothing more than a quality combination of action and period drama.

RATING: 7/10 (++)