Silent Film | The Three Musketeers

Whether the remains recently discovered in Maastricht really belong to D’Artagnan remains a mystery. What is certain is that Douglas Fairbanks made him immortal. On 25 September, we present the 1921 silent classic The Three Musketeers, introduced and accompanied live on piano by Daan van den Hurk of the Dutch Silent Film Festival.

Young D’Artagnan leaves home and travels to Paris with one ambition: to become a musketeer. Before he has properly arrived, he has already arranged three duels with Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Their quarrel does not last long. When Cardinal Richelieu’s guards confront them, the four men draw their swords together. From that moment on, they fight side by side against conspiracies, soldiers and anyone threatening the honour of the Queen.

Douglas Fairbanks was one of cinema’s first great action heroes and performed most of his own stunts. He races across tables, leaps over walls and turns every sword fight into an acrobatic performance. His most famous stunt in the film, a one-handed leap in which he propels himself from his sword, is considered one of the most difficult of his career.

With its enormous sets, hundreds of extras and elaborate costumes, The Three Musketeers was one of the great spectacles of its time. More than a century later, Fairbanks’ energy still leaps from the screen. The film proves that action cinema did not begin with digital effects, but with performers willing to make the jump themselves.

Film pianist and Dutch Silent Film Festival director Daan van den Hurk accompanies the film live. Responding in the moment to every chase, romance and sword fight, he gives this silent adventure a new and unique soundtrack.

A film from 1921, a piano in the room and 107 minutes of adventure that refuse to stay silent.