The Man in the Iron Mask (1998 film)

The Man in the Iron Mask
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRandall Wallace
Screenplay byRandall Wallace
Based onThe Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later
by Alexandre Dumas
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPeter Suschitzky
Edited byWilliam Hoy
Music byNick Glennie-Smith
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • March 13, 1998 (1998-03-13)
Running time
132 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$35 million
Box office$182.9 million

The Man in the Iron Mask is a 1998 American action drama film written, directed, and produced by Randall Wallace in his directorial debut. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio in a dual role as the title character and the villain, Jeremy Irons as Aramis, John Malkovich as Athos, Gérard Depardieu as Porthos, and Gabriel Byrne as D'Artagnan. Some characters are from Alexandre Dumas's D'Artagnan Romances and some plot elements are very loosely adapted from his 1847–1850 novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne.

The film centers on the four aging musketeers, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan, during the reign of King Louis XIV. It explores the mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask, with a plot closer to the flamboyant 1929 version starring Douglas Fairbanks, The Iron Mask, and the 1939 version, directed by James Whale, than to the original Dumas book. The film received mixed reviews but was a financial success, grossing $183 million worldwide against a budget of $35 million.