I was channel surfing late the other night and saw this title on STARZ. I guess I read the title too quickly and thought I was tuning into Ridley Scott's 1977 film, The Duellists. Instead, I saw a film set in Imperialist Russia. Very stylish- pretentious, overwrought, and with a somewhat confusing narrative structure, due to flashback sequences that have no transition queues. Early on in the film, you cannot recognize the flashback sequences because they are seamless, just appear to be new scenes. I had to watch the film twice to fully appreciate it. Then again, I didn't have the benefit of first viewing the trailer below.
Despite what my comments may lead you to believe, I enjoyed this film.

Thanks. Looks damn good.

It is on amazon prime, starz channel. I put it on my list.

After watching it the second time the back flashes fell into place - good movie. So tired of the same old shit on week after week!

Well, it is definitely not the "same old shit", that's for sure. The makers of this film certainly do not talk down to their audience. Instead, they seem to assume that their viewers are fairly sophisticated.

Lovely eye candy, this film. I think the director must be influenced by Kurosawa- motion in almost every shot.

I added it to my list. The wife and kiddo's will be out visiting family tomorrow so this may be what I fill my alone time with.

Also, I have to say that the protagonist of this film is one BAMF.

When I said I'm tired of watching the same old shit I wasn't talking about the duelist, I was speaking of the same old movies being shown again and again, the duelist was a refreshing break from the same repeats

quote:

Originally posted by swani:
When I said I'm tired of watching the same old shit I wasn't talking about the duelist, I was speaking of the same old movies being shown again and again, the duelist was a refreshing break from the same repeats

I knew exactly what you meant. I was agreeing with you.

BTW, the film is set (primarily) in 1860. A revolver which appears in some scenes is referred to as a "six shot Francotte revolver" but this is not correct.

Since they are using metallic cartridges in the scene, I assume- given the time frame- they are referring to the Francotte revolver which used the Lefaucheux pinfire system, but the actual revolver used in these scenes looks nothing like a Francotte pinfire. The revolver in the film is a C.S. Pettengill double action revolver, either the Belt (Navy) Model or the Pocket Model. However, the Pettengill was a percussion design but the revolver used in the film has been modified to fit metallic cartridges which load from the front of the cylinder. These are not pinfire cartridges of course, but rather they appear to be primed at the base, just like modern metallic cartridges, so my feeling is that this is simply a movie armorer modification. The Pettengill is an interesting choice for this. Not a lot of them were produced. In all my decades of film watching, I don't recall ever seeing a Pettengill revolver, nor would I have expected to see one.

If you want a pretty good look at the revolver and its cartridges, you can see it in the Russian roulette scene. Yes, there is a scene where two characters actually play Russian roulette.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: parabellum,

Now I want to see this.

I just noticed that the revolver appears in the trailer, at 1:21. You can see our protagonist dumping cartridges from the cylinder then loading one cartridge back in (from the front of the cylinder) in order to start the game of Russian roulette.

I caught this on a plane ride, great movie. As para said it breaks the usual formula. I have to watch it again.

Clearly, the revolver was modified for use as a prop. In the frame capture below, the revolver is being loaded with a cartridge, but this appears to be a rimmed cartridge that's being loaded backwards, with the primer facing away and the bullet facing the shooter. Talk about Russian roulette!

At any rate, it is just so neat to see such an obscure firearm make its way into a film.

Below the enlarged frame, you can see the full 2.2:1 aspect ratio of the 70mm print. I'll bet this film was spectacular in its IMAX presentation.

Just finished it. Great movie. Thank you for the suggestion.

I saw most of this movie yesterday and enjoyed it. It was intense. It requires the viewer to pay attention (as in a Christopher Nolan movie). I liked the sets and cinematography. I too would like to see it on IMAX or similar large screen.

I missed the first 15-20 min. Can someone explain a few things?

SPOILER ALERT

Why did the Kolyshevs do to Beklemishev to earn his disdain and stripping their family of their nobility?

What was the explanation for Yakovlev/Kolyshev's supernatural abilities to heal from injuries and shoot firearms? He was like a 19th Century Russian Deadpool.

What is toad the magic word to endure punishment?

The initial transgression for which the protagonist of the film refused to duel was never explained.

The Aleut Indian err Native American shaman who came to him on the rocks where he was abandoned after running the gauntlet said something like "Now you cannot be harmed. You are under my protection."

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
Why did the Kolyshevs do to Beklemishev to earn his disdain and stripping their family of their nobility?

To more fully answer your question- our hero refused to duel the bad guy (screw these Russian names) and the bad guy hired someone to rape our guy's mother. His mother could not stand the shame and she committed suicide. Our guy found the rapist and shot him dead but with no demonstrable proof that he was guilty.

Back to the top, since this film is again making its rounds. Starz is airing it.

Need to check that out.

I recently saw The Duellists. Kind of petered out near the end, but it was so visual and intense. And I'd been meaning to see it for years, if not decades...