rob edwards

For a generation brought up on the 'flashing blade' - there is nothing like a good french swash buckler, and it's that time again. after Le Bossu and the Horseman on the rooftops, the genre is enjoying another revival after the recent Three Musketeers. The cinema is certainly the best place to see it, and it is engrossing , glorious scenery (takes you back to Manon de Source). And subtitles -Lord Halifax apart - means you actually concentrate on the tale. Great acting, classic tale, and minimal special effects mean a return to good old fashioned story telling. And three hours mean you get your money's worth - no intermission - so skip the drinks? Enjoy (Le Bossu still gets 5 stars for me - alongside a couple of Depardieu swashbucklers before he was cancelled)

well worth watching - a cut above the usual

great story, great acting and great production values. So true and so unpredictable - makes the sopranos look like minder in comparison. Nothing gratuitous, but you are left in no doubt as to the dangers attaching whichever side of the law you existed on. Wow!