Plot: In the 17th century various factions intrigue over the fate of the missing brother of the King of France, who is the rightful heir.The Man in the Iron Mask is one of those books that gets filmed over and over, often with no respect to the original work. This is one of the better adaptations. It's a TV movie but a high-class one, with an excellent lead in Richard Chamberlain, fresh from another Dumas adaptation - Richard Lester's Three Musketeers (and some of the costumes, notably in the dance scene, came with him).Clever camera-work makes the best use of the fabulous real life locations, with plenty of palaces, fortresses and beach side chases. There is a naturalism and a spontaneity in the film-making, making this very enjoyable. The cast is quite excellent and manage to take the film beyond its limited budget. The only real negative is the score, which is pounding and manipulative, straight-forwardly ordering the audience what they ought to be feeling.Of course ultimate credit must go to Dumas pere, whose varied characters, vivid imagination and knack for adventure are the foundations of the whole film. If you like adventure then this is a minor (and family friendly) treat.

A fantastic sword-fight TV-movie from the famous Alexander Dumas's novel. This great movie remind me to four years before Richard Lester Three Musketeers pictures not only for the presence of Richard Chamberalin. Lester movies had a more ironic and unconventional tone but the same cure for the customs and locations, here the director is talented Mike Newell (Dance with a Stranger, Donnie Brasco) that it was more careful not to betray the spirit of the novel. Together with fidelity to the novel, another aspect that make the movie truly agreeable and he approaches again to Lester movies was the rich cast. After the co-starring role as Aramis in The Three and The Four Musketeers, now brilliant Richard Chamberlain was the main character and he proved himself to be a fine actor because he plays very well two different roles: King Louis XIV and his long lost twin brother, Phillippe. It's Richard Chamberlain who carries the entire movie and he was astoundingly charming in his screen costume, oh my God that unbelievably handsome man....I confess not hardly I saw fine Richard to enter in scenes I fell in love lost of he, He was more sexy and seductive than Musketeers protagonist Michael York and also than Leo Di Caprio that impersonates the same character in the movie of 1998. There are others connections with Lester movies in the central characters and in the actors...Patrick McGoohan (Escape from Alcatraz) was delicious as villain Fouquet and remind me to Charlton Heston Richelieu for the same elegance. The wonderful Jenny Agutter as the movie heroine Louise de la Vallière was simply most beautiful; she formed with Richard a beautifulst couple on the screen; Agutter remind me to Musketeers heroine beyond compare Raquel Welch as Constance for her fine physiognomy, fabulous hair natural but amazing in both, for the simple but elegant costume and because both have been partners on screen of Michael York (Agutter in Logan's Run, Welch in The Three Musketters). Vivine Merchant in her last apparition as Queen Maria Theresa remand me to wicked Faye Dunaway as Milady in The Four Muscketeers in spite of the diversity of the two personages: Merchant was older but was and elegant queen while Dunaway under the gorgeous courtesan dress was a coarse whore, thief and murderess; watching the movie it's not possible not think to she because Merchant wears the same costume dressed from Dunaway in the final dance in The Three Musketeers and both have the same blonde wigs and similar make-up. Others the performances are strong all around (Holm, Jourdan, Richardson, Bruce as in The Musketeers are Reed, Lee, Chaplin and Finlay).

I had never read Dumas' novel, or made it through any filmed versions before, so only had the vaguest notion of what the story was about. What a sumptuous production it is. The scenes of the Sun Kings' soirées at his châteaux were splendidly staged and, one can only hope, historically accurate. Could he really have been so rude to his wife in public? It was so outrageous that 'you couldn't make it up'! So it must be true! The main attraction was of course McGoohan and he did not disappoint. I knew things were going to be good when he made no attempt at one of those dodgy accents he is prone to. His clipped, calculating tones were brilliant as the scheming Fouquet. For me, the first half of the production was by far superior. The scene between Richard Chamberlain and McGoohan in the coach was superb and only topped by the sequence of Chamberlain being fitted with his mask as McGoohan regards him like a cat does, its victimised mouse.I'm probably wrong but I also felt McGoohan must have had a hand in the terrific sequence of Chamberlain thrashing about in his cell, trying to reason why he was being picked on. The anguish of his Kafkaesque imprisonment was superbly executed and that shot of the departing boat through the squares of the barred window…..I expected to see McGoohan's stern face approaching at light speed with a clanging crash at any second! Lew Grade and Patrick McGoohan – funny how good they were together. It would be nice to think they did meet during the course of the filming process, even if Mr. McGoohan had to get out of bed at 5am to get to Lord Grade's office in time for his 6am appointment!

Pure excellence. Wonderful script. Production, directing and acting was superb. Great ensemble cast. What more can one ask from a made for t.v. movie? This one had all the qualities of a big budget film. Highly recommended.