The Four Musketeers (1974) review

For this sequel to 1973's "reinterpretation" of the classic Dumas creation, d'Artagnan (Michael York) is knocked out and his love interest Constance Bonacieux (Raquel Welch) is kidnapped, Athos (Oliver Reed) reveals a secret affair that went sour, the Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward) is assassinated and then the entire group, including Aramis (Richard Chamberlain) and Porthos (Frank Finlay), band together to take on the evil Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway) and the Count de Rochefort (Christopher Lee).  It was shot simultaneously with the first movie - which was Lester's way of not compensating his cast for their labor (boo!) - yet it's considerably less rambunctious and the storytelling is sub-par: you'll get more details and enjoyment out of the novels themselves (unfortunately, they're missing the cleavage).  While he doesn't have a lot of screen time, it's worth taking a moment to sing the praises of Mr. Reed, who was one of the most unstoppable and memorable forces in the history of cinema: his Athos might be a heavy drinker, but he's also brave, loyal and resilient.  Casting him had to have been the easiest decision in the world.