Revealing mistake: When the Three Musketeers are escaping into the river with Louis, Porthos throws another Musketeer into the stone wall. You can see the wall jiggle when he hits it.
The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
1 revealing mistake - chronological order
Directed by: Randall Wallace
Starring: Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gabriel Byrne, Gerard Depardieu
Factual error: 6 years in a mask and he's able to keep that lovely babyface with just a little bit of grime, which easily comes off? Of course it would have wrecked the whole story but still...
Athos: D'Artagnan, I have never known a finer man than you nor cared more for a friend, but if this king harms my son merely to take a lover, then this king will become my enemy. And so will any man who stands between that enemy and me.
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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.
raywest ★