Andrei Pavlov Quite fortunately I've found the official DVD with this trilogy in one of our stores for a very funny price. It is one of my most successful buys to be sure.The film itself is brilliant. It connects the power of music, singing, costume design, and powerful performance of all the actors. As far as I remember the original book, our production follows the novel in a very strict and attentive manner (e.g. the scene of the execution is here - compare to the lame American Walt-Disney version where the woman - you should know who - is jumping off the cliff instead of being beheaded).The songs are so memorable that I cannot just wash them from my memory - and I don't want to.The range of the emotions in this movie is simply vast: from silly clownish slapstick to tragic anxiety and woe. The songs and music never interfere but help the action to go smoothly and delicately. The whole story may seem a bit childish (the main characters survive in any situation and kick villains' asses quite often) but it never gets pathetic. And this is a sign of quality.The film is free from blood (though I like the punched and scratched look of D'Artagnan's face in the beginning of the film - right after his foolish and cocky running-about) and there is no other mature material. At the same time the content is very serious and not to see that solemn layer below the music and lyrics is a rude mistake.Mr Mikhail Boyarsky is the best D'Artagnan (I don't give a damn about the "notorious" age inconsistency). Just have a look at the drastic change of his character after the second episode. Mr Venyamin Smekhov is the best Athos and so on and so forth. Everybody is in the right place playing the right role and doing it rightly. And, just to add, I like the depiction of Cardinal Richelieu - he's simply amazing. While this position (Cardinal) was never intended in Christianity, it deserves such witty mockery. Bravo to Mr Aleksandr Trofimov! I wish such masters as Mr Charlie Chaplin, Mr Buster Keaton, and Mr Norman Wisdom could have seen this movie. I am quite certain that they would have loved it. One of our unbeatable classics. Right now I'm humming the melodies of this adventure gem...10 out of 10 - the best musketeers ever. Thank you for attention.

Leon aka Pretender To put it simple, from my point of view this is the best A.Duma's / 3 Musketeers adaptation on screen ever, of course if you like musical.This movie seamlessly blends the action and adventure of historical movies, with great spirit of classic 'D'Artagnan's ' tale and great, great taste of music and songs which blend in.You get a movie with unexpectedly fresh and charming characters, lots of fun and humor and great songs.This is one of the best movies of the Russian 'Soviet' era.Of course a non-Russian speaking person (even with subtitles) would be hard to get a full at this movie, but the only with I have is that somebody actually do release this on DVD with English dubbing and subtitles.People who love music movies and movies like ORIGINAL CHARLIE AND CHOC FACTORY etc - most probably be able to enjoy it....Really a cult classic.

lenkam99 I love this movie. Ever since I was a kid in Russia, I enjoyed watching this movie. Now, I really want to own a copy but can't find it anywhere. Although I am not a fan of musicals, the songs from this movie really take me back to the fun times of childhood. I haven't met a person yet who hasn't enjoyed this movie. It is a classic, and other Musketeer movies don't match it.

SMalamud I am not a huge fan of musical comedies, musical action films or musical romances, and this movie is all of it in one. One should expect the characters to break into a song at any time during the movie as it is basically a filmed operette, loosely wrapped around the famous novel by Alexandre Dumas. Think 'The King and I' in Russian. Nothing unusual, however, for many Russian movies of the time. Songs were probably the only and the best sound effect available to Soviet directors back then.However, in this particular movie everything fits in pretty nicely. Boyarsky's good looks (I dare anyone to find a better D'Artagnan in any film), Tabakov's silliness as Louis XIII, even Terekhova's acting as Milady. Credit is due to Yungvald-Khilkevich for putting it all together. The songs, written just for the movie, fit perfectly into the plot, and have become Russian classics, instantly recognized by anyone even now, 20 years later (pun intended).The action sequences are quite good, the cinematography is beautiful, Porthos is lovable, Constance is a knockout. What else do you want from a musketeer movie?