The Man in the Iron Mask (1998 film)

The Man in the Iron Mask
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Randall Wallace
Produced by	Randall Wallace Russell Smith
Screenplay by	Randall Wallace
Based on	The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later by Alexandre Dumas
Starring	Leonardo DiCaprio Jeremy Irons John Malkovich Gérard Depardieu Gabriel Byrne Anne Parillaud
Music by	Nick Glennie-Smith
Cinematography	Peter Suschitzky
Edited by	William Hoy
Production company	United Artists
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	March 13, 1998 (1998-03-13) (United States) March 20, 1998 (1998-03-20) (United Kingdom)
Running time	132 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$35 million
Box office	$183 million

Soundtrack
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Filmtracks	link

The Man in the Iron Mask is a 1998 American action drama film directed, produced, and written by Randall Wallace, and starring Leonardo DiCaprio in a dual role as the title character and villain, Jeremy Irons as Aramis, John Malkovich as Athos, Gerard Depardieu as Porthos, and Gabriel Byrne as D'Artagnan. The picture uses characters from Alexandre Dumas' D'Artagnan Romances and is very loosely adapted from some plot elements of The Vicomte de Bragelonne.

The film centers on the aging four musketeers, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan, during the reign of King Louis XIV and attempts to explain the mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask, using a plot more closely related to the flamboyant 1929 version starring Douglas Fairbanks, The Iron Mask, and the 1939 version directed by James Whale, than the original Dumas book. Like the 1998 version, the two aforementioned adaptations were also released through United Artists.

In 1662, the Kingdom of France faces bankruptcy from King Louis XIV's wars against the Dutch, which has left the country's agriculture impeded by a heavy tax burden and forced the citizens to live on rotten food. Though the country appears to be on the verge of a revolution, Louis continues to spend his time preparing the war and seducing countless women. The three musketeers have gone their separate ways; Aramis is now an aging priest, Porthos has become a womanizing drunkard, and Athos is retired and living with his only son, Raoul, who aspires to join the musketeers. The only one who has remained in the musketeers is D'Artagnan, who now serves as the captain.