It is the story of the movie that embodies two Napole D'Hubert and Feraud officers. They both fell into fierce duels in a 16-year-old series of violent sword and pistol duels. It seems that after every shift, things turn worse and worse than before.
Keitel struggles gamely against a wooden Carradine, but the American influences further dislocate a script that delivers little observation, psychological or social, on their running feud.
the film improves with multiple screenings, as a viewer becomes less concerned about the outcome of each engagement, and more interested in the passion that is driving it.
Parallax View
March 24, 2013
... one of the most strikingly pictorial movies ever made.
Keitel is jaunty and menancing and Carradine more determined and a bit troubled but also caught up in this strange need of one to prove honor and the other slaking a twisted nature.
Scott's approach to his material seems essentially a stylistic one; it imposes itself upon the story rather than visa-versa, giving an account of the Napoleonic wars that lacks passion and depth, despite the expert visuals.
It is precise, intelligent, civilized, and because it never for a moment mistakes its narrative purpose.
Chicago Reader
January 01, 2000
The film comes closer to working than it has any right to, given the curious casting (Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel) and director Ridley Scott's inability to sustain dramatic tension or build a coherent scene.
A magnífica fotografia, a bela direção de arte e as ótimas atuações se transformam em meros detalhes frente à impressionante estréia de Ridley Scott na direção de longas.
Empire Magazine
June 03, 2012
The richness of Scott's visuals, the excellence of the performances and the depth of the themes combine to make a minor masterpiece.
Scott gets strong performances from his supporting cast (Quick is sensual and effective) and is able to salvage the movie through the alchemy of the striking visuals.
