44. THE DUELLISTS (drama, 1977) The time is France, 1800. During the Napoleonic Wars Lt. Feraud (Harvey Keitel) wounds a man after a duel. His superior dispatches Lt. D'Hubert (Keith Carradine) with a message that he's to be brought under house arrest, since the wounded man is cousin to a Major. Feraud takes offense at D'Hubert's "insult", and seeks his satisfaction in a duel. Feraud is furthered angered when he loses and wants a rematch. Disrupted by war, their own attrition spans 15 years becoming increasingly more personal and savage. The two are destined to meet in a final duel.

Critique: Ridley Scott's impressive directorial debut deals with the themes of honor, obsession and violence. However, more importantly, is the message that wars (be it personal or political) are ultimately futile and without merit. As the 2 'duel' they forget who is the aggressor and victim, the voice of reason or right. Battle lines and tactics are forsaken for the ultimate personal satisfaction, death.

Scott's direction is very good throughout; keeping us interested in the characters' resolution. The film's highlight involves the duels, which are meticulously staged and choreographed. Taking place in open, closed, wet, dry spaces, Scott has skill in creating a tense setting.

Production design is also superb. Street scenes and every day life are realistically captured. The excellent cast headed by Harvey Keitel is a standout as the 'bully', counterpointing Carradine's honorable constraint.

Based on Joseph Conrad's "The Duelists", the film won many awards including 'Best Debut Film' at the 1977 Cannes film festival. More importantly it launched the career of one of the most prominent filmmakers in cinema.

QUOTE: D'Hubert: "You have kept me at your beg and call for 15 years. I shall never do what you demand of me. I shall simply declare you dead."

The Duellists is really well shot, considering it was his first film. The zoom out shots remind me of Barry Lyndon. I liked the concept but couldn't connect to the characters. The narration felt cheap and unnecessary but I guess a lot of debuts have narration. The liked the ending very much, it left me thinking about honor, how we interpret it and is it worth fighting for.

A really wonderful movie that lives from the great script, the exceptionally good actors (from the major to the minor roles), the very well done directing and an outstanding score. The cast is really good, from the main actors to Diana Quick and to such interesting and sadly underrated actors as Morgan Sheppard and Liz Smith. This movie shows that, provided with a good script, Ridley Scott once was able to do really good movies. If you think this movie is heartless just compare this debut with the first movie done by Ridley's brother Tony, the hollow "The Hunger". The only drawback is his taste for sometimes overdone and unnatural photography. The script is surprisingly faithful to the original story by Joseph Conrad (that one really should read). If you are looking for a movie full of style and grace you will find it here!