The Man in the Iron Mask is a 1998 American action drama film written, directed, and produced by Randall Wallace. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio in a dual role as the title character and the villain, Jeremy Irons as Aramis, John Malkovich as Athos, Gérard Depardieu as Porthos, and Gabriel Byrne as D’Artagnan. Some characters are from Alexandre Dumas’s D’Artagnan Romances and some plot elements are very loosely adapted from his 1847-1850 novel 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. It explores the mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask, with a plot closer to the flamboyant 1929 version starring Douglas Fairbanks, The Iron Mask, and the 1939 version, directed by James Whale, than to the original Dumas book. The film received mixed reviews but was a financial success, grossing $183 million worldwide against a budget of $35 million.
via Wikipedia
When I bought my first DVD player, I bought this copy of The Man in the Iron Mask. It is my first DVD and I still own it. I know I’ve been going overboard with nostalgia from my childhood, and this is a continuation into my young adult years. Yes, I did consider Leonardo DiCaprio serious eye candy at the time.
This is some fun history from France, ladies in waiting, knights in armor, princes, queens, and lots of action. There is some basis in history for this movie, but it was more of a rumor, and based on a single line of text from a prisoner log in the Bastille.
This movie is also based on some books about the three musketeers, from the author Alexandre Dumas.
It’s a fun, action adventure, through historic France, with lots of eye candy, an aging Pothos, and quite a bit of romance.
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Fellowship of Filming(s) 
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