Douglas Fairbanks, The King of Hollywood, stars in two action-packed spectacles featuring him in the role he was born to play: Alexandre Dumas’ D’Artagnan! In THE THREE MUSKETEERS, we are introduced to the young D’Artagnan, a naïve and ambitious farm boy whose acrobatic swordsmanship earns him the respect of King Louis XIII’s elite regiment of guards, The Musketeers. Doug reprises his role in THE IRON MASK, which finds D’Artagnan and his fellow Musketeers under threat by the sinister Cardinal Richelieu and Count De Rochefort.

For the restoration of THE THREE MUSKETEERS, a full frame 35MM fine grain positive was scanned at 4K. At the suggestion of Fairbanks scholar Jeffrey Vance, the scan was done at an historically appropriate 21 frames per second. Following this, more than 150 hours of digital clean-up was completed at 2K.

THE IRON MASK was restored by Cohen Film Collection in association with Photoplay Productions. In 1999, Patrick Stanbury and Kevin Brownlow of Photoplay produced a photochemical restoration in association with the Museum of Modern Art and The Douris Corporation, using Douglas Fairbanks’ personal nitrate print. Picture restoration work was done at Cinema Arts, Inc and Haghefilm, creating a new 35MM negative. The sound sequences were copied from original discs held at the Library of Congress and digitally restored at Cedar Audio (London). Further digital restoration of the analog restoration elements were carried out in 2017 on behalf of Cohen Film Collection at Roundabout Entertainment. The 35MM full aperture negative of the 1999 restoration was scanned at 4K, with more than 160 hours of digital clean-up completed at 2K.

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Video Quality

The Three Musketeers and The Iron Mask make their Blu-Ray debut thanks to the Cohen Film Collection with a pair of great transfers from recent restorations. Both films were finished in 2K from a 4K scan with lovely black-and-white photography that sparkles in high definition with natural grain intact. The contrast is fairly well defined, even if you will still spot instances of flicker and specks of damage to the print. You will also find stray lines and small stretches of more intensive damage that make a quick appearance without ruining the overall look of the films. The transfers show off a significant amount of depth and enhanced detail within the composition of the films. There is a lovely amount of nuance present with nice textures on the period clothing and within the setting. Black levels present with acceptable depth and no unwanted occurrences of black crush or compression artifacts. The Cohen Film Collection should be commended for their work on these films.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray presents the films with both a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio track which delivers one heck of a sonic experience. Three Musketeers is graced with a score from Robert Israel, while The Iron Mask is provided with a score conducted by Carl Davis. Both of these tracks capture the spirit of the films with an adventurous tone that will rouse you from your seat. While these are silent films, meaning the music is usually the only element to contend with in these tracks, there is an added layer to The Iron Mask. There are brief sound sequences in which Fairbanks breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience up top and after the intermission. These moments have some source limitations, but they sound quite nice given the age. The scores show no clipping or age-related wear and tear. This audio experience adds a lot to the presentation of these films.

Special Features

There are no special features provided on this disc.

Final Thoughts

The Three Musketeers and The Iron Mask are another strong pair of titles from silent superstar Douglas Fairbanks. It is good to see both an earlier effort and its follow-up which caps off the silent era for its star, which is poetic in its own way. Fairbanks once again puts a lot of care into crafting these tales and delivering the most thrilling spectacle imaginable. The length proves to be a bit of an obstacle for The Three Musketeers, but all in all these both prove to be enjoyable silent-era tales. Cohen Media Group has released a Blu-Ray featuring a very good A/V presentation but no special features. If you are a fan of the era, this is a great restoration effort. Recommended

A Douglas Fairbanks Double Feature: The Three Musketeers and The Iron Mask is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Cohen Media Group has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.