The Duellists

The Duellists (1977) was Ridley Scott's first feature film, based on the Joseph Conrad short story "The Duel". Set during the Napoleonic Wars, it features two French Hussar officers, D'Hubert and Feraud (played by Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel). Their quarrel over an initially minor incident turns into a bitter, long-drawn out struggle over the following fifteen years, interwoven with the larger conflict that provides its backdrop. The Keitel character is painted as an allegorical representation of Napoleon, and Carradine is a representation of the countries which opposed Napoleon. At the beginning, Feraud is the one who jealously guards his honor and repeatedly demands satisfaction anew when a duelling encounter ends inconclusively; he aggressively pursues every opportunity to locate and duel his foe. As the story progresses, D'Hubert also finds himself caught up in the contest, unable to back down or walk away. The film's cinematography has been compared to that of Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon.

» more