The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers 4K UHD (1973-1974) (Criterion Collection)

[MifuneFan]

Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974) will be released on 4K by Criterion in May. It will include a brand-new 2+ hour documentary, and Criterion have also confirmed the audio pitch issue that was present on the Studiocanal UK releases has been corrected as well (see below).

The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers: Two Films by Richard Lester 4K UHD

https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/79...richard-lester

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital restorations, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks
• In the 4K UHD edition: Two 4K UHD discs of the films presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the films and special features
• Two for One, a new documentary by critic David Cairns
• The Saga of the Musketeers (2002), a two-part documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew members
• The Making of “The Three Musketeers,” a 1973 featurette with behind-the-scenes footage of director Richard Lester
• Trailers
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by film critic Stephanie Zacharek

New illustration by Mattias Adolfsson

The Three Musketeers

Richard Lester’s spirited adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s timeless novel immediately distinguished itself from previous film versions with its irresistible lightheartedness. It follows the brash, young wannabe musketeer d’Artagnan (Michael York) as he travels from the French countryside to Paris and befriends Athos (Oliver Reed), Porthos (Frank Finlay), and Aramis (Richard Chamberlain), famed swordsmen whom he must help to stop the conniving Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston) and his plot to undermine the king. The Three Musketeers sweeps viewers away with its exquisite sets and costumes, chivalric romance, and breathless duels punctuated by the ingenious physical comedy that was Lester’s trademark.

The Four Musketeers

It may be “one for all and all for one,” but it took director Richard Lester two films to contain the sweeping spectacle of Alexandre Dumas’s swashbuckling adventure. This sequel—shot simultaneously with The Three Musketeers, since they were originally conceived as a single film—dials down the comic high jinks that distinguished the first installment in favor of a more somber tone, as our heroes are drawn into a deadly revenge plot orchestrated by the seductive Milady de Winter (a deliciously wicked Faye Dunaway). Upping the psychological stakes and deepening our sense of the characters, The Four Musketeers brings this beloved tale of honor and friendship to a close with a rousing emotional

The Audio pitch issue present on the international Studiocanal releases have been fixed. Credit to SpacemanDoug for the heads-up:

Thank you for writing to me and for your interest in our upcoming release of THE THREE MUSKETEERS and THE FOUR MUSKETEERS
https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/79...richard-lester

Our audio department investigated this and we can confirm that the audio pitch on our release is correct -- as a comparison, it is slightly lower than the StudioCanal 4K release version. The pitch of the audio that will be on our 4K releases matches the pitch of the 2003 DVDs, which you mentioned.

In short, we think you will be pleased with the final results.
Let me know if you have any further questions and thank you for supporting Criterion! Best,
Jon Mulvaney