The Duellists

1977
PG
1h 40m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

28K

YOUR RATING

From genre-defining films like 'Alien' and 'Blade Runner' to 'Gladiator' and 'The Martian,' we break down the cinematic trademarks of director Ridley Scott.

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Period Drama War Epic Drama War

France, 1801. Due to a minor perceived slight, mild-mannered Lieutenant d'Hubert is forced into a duel with the hot-headed and irrational, Lieutenant Feraud; their disagreement ultimately re... Read allFrance, 1801. Due to a minor perceived slight, mild-mannered Lieutenant d'Hubert is forced into a duel with the hot-headed and irrational, Lieutenant Feraud; their disagreement ultimately resulting in scores of duels spanning several years.France, 1801. Due to a minor perceived slight, mild-mannered Lieutenant d'Hubert is forced into a duel with the hot-headed and irrational, Lieutenant Feraud; their disagreement ultimately resulting in scores of duels spanning several years.

Director
- Ridley Scott
Writers
- Gerald Vaughan-Hughes
- Joseph Conrad
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

28K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Ridley Scott
Writers
- Gerald Vaughan-Hughes
- Joseph Conrad
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
- 2 wins & 4 nominations total

Videos2

Clip 1:40

A Guide to the Films of Ridley Scott

Photos126

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Ridley Scott said that after having directed anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 television commercials, he realized no one was going to approach him about directing a film, so he'd have to take the lead. Since his funds were limited, he used a public domain source for the story, and commissioned the script for this movie on his own.

Goofs
(at around 1h 23 mins) Faraud, loading his pistol, drops a ball into the barrel and then rams it into place. When the ball drops,a metallic sound is heard, indicating that there is no powder in the barrel.

Quotes
Armand D'Hubert: General Feraud has made occasional attempts to kill me. That does not give him the right to claim my acquaintance.

Crazy credits
Opening credits prologue: STRASBOURG 1800

Connections
Featured in Moviedrome: Double Bill - The Duellists/Cape Fear (1991)

Soundtracks
Bist du bei mir
(uncredited)
Music by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel
from "Notenbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach No. 25. BWV 508"
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach (uncredited)

User reviews148

Featured review

definitely worth watching

Seems this film has left most viewers with only positive comments to make (quite rare actually). I agree with most of them.

This is a very believable film and is beautiful to watch in parts thanks to Scott's eye for design and natural beauty, esepecially regarding the use of light.

I was mesmerised to know how it was all going to end. I was so sure it was going to end tragically but then was surprised and elevated by the ending that showed the richness & depth of the human experience. I believe there's some meaning for us all in this movie. And I got to hear about this movie by accident!

An amazing quality of a film overall when you read about it's history, which was almost not made!

8/10