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CAST & CREW
Daniel Auteuil, Fabrice Luchini, Vincent Perez
Directed by Phillippe De Broca
more...
SYNOPSIS
This superb swashbuckler stars Daniel Auteuil as Legardere, a swordsman in 18th Century France who befriends his fellow fencing student, the dashing Duke de Nevers (Vincent Perez), only to wind up on the run and accused of his murder. more...
MPAA RATING
Not Rated
RUNTIME
2 hours, 8 minutes
RELEASE DATES
Theatrical: Oct 18, 2002
RELEASE COMPANY
Empire Pictures
GENRE
Foreign Films, French, Action, Epic
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SUBMIT/EDIT ARTICLE
SUBMIT USER REVIEW
FORUM
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 "The French are rather good at this kind of thing, unlike the Americans, who have a passion for Musketeers, only to spoof them."
-- The Wolf, IOFILM.CO.UK
"Old-fashioned but thoroughly satisfying entertainment."
-- Doris Toumarkine, FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
"Vastly enjoyable--a stylish, affectionate, old-fashioned swashbuckler...staged with such elan that the result is completely winning."
-- Frank Swietek, ONE GUY'S OPINION
"Though it lacks the utter authority of a genre gem, there’s a certain robustness to this engaging mix of love and bloodletting."
-- Brent Simon, ENTERTAINMENT TODAY
"A pure delight."
-- Jonathan F. Richards, IN THE DARK
"For both the artsy foreign-film crowd and the blue-collar action-movie fans"
-- Marty Mapes, MOVIE HABIT
"De Broca (who also co-wrote with Jean Cosmos) gives it a frisky energy."
-- Evan Henerson, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
 "Too silly to take seriously."
-- Hazel-Dawn Dumpert, L.A. WEEKLY
"classic cinema served up with heart and humor"
-- Laura Clifford, REELING REVIEWS
"Turns out to be a nifty swashbuckler whose plot easily could have been lifted from a number of Douglas Fairbanks silent pictures."
-- Jeffrey M. Anderson, SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
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"In the spirit of Voltaire and Molière, On Guard volleys great wit and deadly gestures in a milieu of lush apparel, landscapes, captivating music and 18th-century lacy sleeves."
-- Anita Schmaltz, METRO TIMES
"Wonderful fencing scenes and an exciting plot make this an eminently engrossing film."
-- Michael Phillips, CITYSEARCH
"One of the most splendid entertainments to emerge from the French film industry in years."
-- Wade Major, BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE
"This rip-snorting period yarn from France wisely follows two important rules of swashbuckling adventures: It never lets the action overwhelm the plot, and it never, ever takes itself too seriously."
-- Ken Fox, TV GUIDE'S MOVIE GUIDE
"Touché!"
-- Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, THEMOVIECHICKS.COM
"“On Guard!” won’t be placed in the pantheon of the best of the swashbucklers but it is a whole lot of fun and you get to see the one of the world’s best actors, Daniel Auteuil, have a whale of a good time."
-- Robin Clifford, REELING REVIEWS
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FRESH 86%
Avg. Rating: 7.2/10 |
"Sometimes, nothing satisfies like old-fashioned swashbuckling. And in this regard, On Guard delivers."
-- Doris N. Truong, DALLAS MORNING NEWS
"A splendid entertainment, young in spirit but accomplished in all aspects with the fullness of spirit and sense of ease that comes only with experience."
-- Kevin Thomas, LOS ANGELES TIMES
"This far-fetched adventure tale might be old-fashioned, but it's also one of the best swashbucklers in movie history."
-- Charles Taylor, SALON.COM
"It has a dashing and resourceful hero; a lisping, reptilian villain; big fights; big hair; lavish period scenery; and a story just complicated enough to let you bask in your own cleverness as you figure it out."
-- A.O. Scott, NEW YORK TIMES
"The film's frenetic action takes place across beautifully rendered landscapes, and the ever-lunging ambitiousness and ingenuity in its wordplay justifies the fencing term employed for the film's release in America."
-- Andrew Sarris, NEW YORK OBSERVER
"Despite its postdated irrelevance and its dopey title, this Daniel Auteuil vehicle is ludicrous fun."
-- Wesley Morris, BOSTON GLOBE
"It's a tale well told and nearly irresistible."
-- John Monaghan, DETROIT FREE PRESS
"This is, not to put too fine a point on it, a swashbuckler, a costume drama. If you love that old story form, you will be in old-fogy heaven, as it is nearly a perfect example of a genre that died out years ago."
-- Stephen Hunter, WASHINGTON POST
"The sword fighting is well done and Auteuil is a goofy pleasure."
-- Desson Howe, WASHINGTON POST
"A big, gorgeous, sprawling swashbuckler that delivers its diversions in grand, uncomplicated fashion."
-- Edward Guthmann, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
"Boasting the best sword-fighting sequences to hit the screen in many years, it is so enjoyably old-fashioned it even looks as if it were made in the '70s."
-- Jonathan Foreman, NEW YORK POST
"An awkward and indigestible movie."
-- Allison Benedikt, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"The cast has a high time, but de Broca has little enthusiasm for such antique pulp."
-- Michael Atkinson, VILLAGE VOICE
Click to read the article.
-- Robert Denerstein, DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
-- Click to read the article.
-- HOUSTON CHRONICLE
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* Who are the Approved Tomatometer Critics?
* Mouse over a tomato icon for a publication's original rating. Original rating not available for every publication.
* In fairness to critics whose last name begins with a letter at the end of the alphabet, certain pages are sorted in reverse order, z-a.
* Certain "On Guard!" article data provided by the Movie Review Query Engine.
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