Audio problem: In the Bastille dungeon just after Phillippe knocked out the guard with the key we hear Athos say 'We feared the mask would destroy you', but his lips do not move in sync with this. It looks more like he originally said 'We thought you were dead'. (01:44:54)
Audio problem: At the mask-ball, when Louis is seeing iron masks everywhere and rushes out, the music suddenly stops, but in the background we can see the violinists still playing (moving their bows) - we don't hear any sound.
Answer: It is partially true. Author Alexander Dumas based his character on records that were recovered about an unknown prisoner whose identity was kept secret by a black cloth that constantly covered his head. The facts gradually changed as a myth grew up around this account, and the cloth mask was eventually said to be iron. This person, who is believed to have been of high rank, was incarcerated in several prisons, including the Bastille. Dumas adapted the legend for his novel and made the unknown man the twin brother of King Louis XIV. However, the man's true identity has never been discovered. The movie has also distorted historical facts about the Bastille. It was originally built as a fortress during The Hundred Years War, and only later was it used as a prison. (It only held about 50 people.) When it was stormed by French peasants in 1789, there were only seven inmates, and it is believed the rioters were actually looking for ammunition rather than attempting to free prisoners.
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