The Duelist
The Duelist
R | 02 December 2016 (USA)
The Duelist Trailers

Returning to Saint Petersburg after a long exile, the dashing Yakovlev, a retired army officer, makes a comfortable living by winning other people's duels. An enigmatic, focused, and extremely skilled professional, he leaves a trail of dead bodies behind him as he swirls through polite society, frequently called upon to wield a pistol as a surrogate in duels at dawn. But when Yakovlev meets the naïve young Prince Tuchov and his beautiful sister, Princess Martha, the normally cold-hearted mercenary is surprised by hitherto undetected emotions. What transpires uncovers a series of revelations about his past and his present self.

Reviews
SparkMore

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

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Twilightfa

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

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Brennan Camacho

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

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Delight

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

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michaelnovi

This was one of the best period movies I have seen in quite a long time, if you are interested in Russian Culture or have been to St. Petersburg, speak Russian and German you may even like it more. I thought the movie was riveting, suspenseful, and engrossing. I found it hard to take my eyes off the screen, and will watch it again with my wife. The sets, costumes, locations, were as good as it gets. A must see for a foreign film.

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Jeffrey Burton

I really don't get why this movie is getting dissed and why it bombed so badly. I'm guessing people have an attitude because it's a Russian production (and subtitled). A long time ago that doomed the excellent period piece 'Waterloo'. The director, Aleksey Mizgirev, watched 'The Duelists' by Ridley Scott for preparation, another movie that is very underrated.I found this movie to be really engaging. The story never drags. It's beautifully shot with great production design and cinematography. It's an intriguing look at honor and nobility as interpreted by the Russian culture. The story is a bit reminiscent of Dostoevsky. There's a bad Count who had banished the duelist and as irony would have it, years later he employs the same man to fight duels to rid himself of enemies.The film is well acted. Pyotr Fyodorov is stoic and sort of badass as the title character. He really fills the role very well. Vladimir Mashkov is a commanding presence as the evil count. Yuliya Khlynina plays the easy to look at, in slightly over her head, Princess, who becomes the love interest of both the duelist and the evil count.I definitely recommend this movie for fans of period pieces.

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whatithinkis

A lush (but visually repetitive), naive, confusing and frequently tiresome, story about the 19th-century Czarist Russian Aristocracy solely from the perspective of violent duels to maintain honor. Peter Fedorov is the Russian Colin Farrell in a stunning similarity. Kept expecting him to speak Russian with an Irish accent. Teensy tiny bit of a love story . . . totally hokey, straight out of 1955. This is barely watchable.

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Kirpianuscus

it reminds the atmosphere of Imperial Russia. it gives a dark story, fascinating for the game of levels, using good cinematography, remembering Count of Monte Cristo and using a small love story as spice.the result - a beautiful show, not only as aesthetic product but for a story who, out its bloody dimension, remains seductive for the wise manner to mix the Hollywood standards with the Russian tradition. Pyotr Fyodorov did an admirable job and each new meet with Vladimir Mashkov, especially in a role who reminds Vicomte de Valmont from Dangerous liaisons , is a good thing. so, a beautiful film. maybe not at the high expectations of a part of public but decent and seductive.

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