The Man in the Iron Mask

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES ANYONE CAN WATCH AND BUY THE DVD ,IT IS WONDERFUL ACTION MUSIC PRINT B/W ALL VERY GOOD NO COMPLAINTS , GOOD STORY AND FAR BETTER THAN THE NEW VERSION THAT WAS RUINED IN THE MAKING NOT THE SAME MOVIE AS THE NEW ONE , SO GO FOR THIS ONE WITH LEWIS HAYWARD YOU WILL REALLY ENJOY IT . AN EXCELLENT MOVIE AND A WONDERFUL CAST THAT YOU WILL EVER GET IN ANY MOVIE PAST OR PRESENT IT IS 5 STARS ALL THE WAY NOTHING WILL EVER BEAT IT . BUY WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE . .I HAVE WATCHED IT MANY TIMES OVER AND OVER AGAIN ANOTHER GOOD ACTOR YOU WILL LIKE WARREN WILLIAM PLAYS AN EXCELLENT PART ITS A MOVE YOU JUST CANT FORGET AND I CANT COMPLAIN ABOUT IT THE NEW VERSION IS RUBBISH COMPARED TO THE OLD B/W WITH LEWIS HAYWARD. 5 STAR RATING ALL THE WAY .

A well acted, beautifully costumed, period piece. I agree with many of the other reviewers remarks. I will not comment on the historical accuracy. I loved the film, and have already watched it many times. However, there are a few glitches. In the scene where Maria Teresa steals the key to the mask, Louis's left arm flops high above his head, as he passes out. In the closer view, as she steals the key, Louis's left arm is stretched to his left side. The continuity specialist goofed. You will have noticed that I use a different spelling for Teresa. This is not an error. In Spanish, Teresa is not spelled with an "h". Therefore, when the princess signed the letter to her father, she would have signed it Maria Teresa, not Maria Theresa.

This is the much earlier version, but very well, written, beautifully cast and directed with lots of joy by James Whale. Louis Hayward is brilliant as the twin brothers, giving each character similarities and differences to confuse and anger, fall in and out of love. A real treat for anyone who loves a feat fencing story.

Beware! This is a wonderful film, not yet available on DVD, but at least one of the VHS versions being sold has been colorized--which is a hideous and disrespectful thing to do to a great old black and white film. It would be helpful if Amazon could include this information on its sale pages. Since they don't, before buying a VHS, if getting the original B&W matters to you (and I hope it does), then inquire carefully of your seller. I got a VHS from Video Treasures, it was colorized, and I returned it.

Other reviewers tell the basic story so I wont bother. Henstooth did a good job on this transfer both in video and audio. Perhaps they had better material (film) to use in making this disk. It is a pleasure to watch. I saw this movie over 50 years ago and am pleased to have it to watch again.

I recall seeing the movie as a child on TV (I'm not old enough to have seen it in the theaters upon release!). At the time I was fascinated by how they could have the same actor "speak" to himself!! Now, I'm grateful for having the opportunity to watch the film with a more sophisticated eye and simply enjoy a well-told story with a solid cast. In my opinion, Louis Hayward was underrated, Joan Bennett certainly a beautiful and talented actress, and Warren William a ham fit for roasting! It's also interesting for me to watch the actors in the background to catch other familiar faces. In this case Dwight Frye of "Renfield" fame from Bela Lugosi's "Dracula" was present, Lane Chandler ("The Lone Ranger" serial from 1938 and many, many TV westerns of the '50s and '60's), and I was surprised to see B-western villain John Merton serving as a coach driver. I'm confident you can espy others if you look closely.

I saw this movie in my youth. I still like it better than the newer version.

The dvd played well. The story is about a prince who learns of a twin brother, how he abducts, and conceals him from the world. Good story.

Ordered this dvd for my mum as she is a huge fan of this movie, service was prompt and i would order from Arco Celeste again, the quality of the dvd is really good and it can be viewed in both spanish and english, i had emailed the company before hand to ask this and i received an email back within minutes, so great feedback if your not sure of anything, big thumbs up to Arco Celeste for this dvd as i was searching for this movie for months, so thanks guys,

I first saw this movie when I was about ten, on movies shown on Sundays, "Adventures at Noonday". This movie actually started my love of history, and sixty two years later I still love history and can always learn something new. It was lovely to see the movie again,though, without fear of being found watching television when I was supposed to be outside on a nice summer day!

This a classic of its time with wonderful period film sword fighting and great panache. Is it historically accurate? No. Does it follow Dumas' oringal novel faithful;y? No, but it is a wonderful example of the swashbuckling film making of its time with some very good split-screen work for Louis Hayward to be able to face himself as the twins Louis and Phillipe, and is greatly enjoyable.

A movie by James Whale is always worth watching. His directorial style, brio and sheer audacity are a thing to behold. Great fun.

THIS IS NOT THE DICAPRIO VERSION! I was unaware that a previous black & white "Man with the Iron Mask" existed until I opened my package. But my Wife is a great Dumas fan and I did ordered it, though a bit hastily. So we bottled our expectations and plunged into it head first. We have no regrets. Though the story may be similar (it is, after all, the same title), there is a great deal here that was done differently. To begin with the "Man in the Iron Mask" himself which is portrayed as a much more heroic and willingly participating self than the 90s remake. There might even be a few historical details that were closer to the truth in the way they were rendered here. I can't tell for the fidelity to source material, since I haven't read "The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later" yet. However, I can say this was inspiring. All in all, it was still a very entertaining "cloak and dagger" movie. For those out there who like the romantic appeal of the silver screen and appreciate the era where acting was much more important than special effects; this is for you.