Question: Why was Cardinal Richelieu's costume changed from red to purple?
The Three Musketeers (1973)
1 question
Directed by: Richard Lester
Starring: Christopher Lee, Charlton Heston, Faye Dunaway, Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, Raquel Welch
Continuity mistake: At one point D'Artagnan reaches the Duke of Buckingham, who is on a hunt. He has just killed a stag and his hands are covered in blood. D'Artagnan rides up and offers him a note from Queen Anne. He wipes his palms with a cloth before he takes the note, but his hands are still covered with blood up to and above the wrists. When he reads the note, he and D'Artagnan take off on foot for his castle where they go into a private room behind the walls. Suddenly it is apparent that his hands are perfectly clean right down to his scrubbed fingernails and, without explanation, the plot-heavy sequence continues.
D'Artagnan: Now, that man in his time has insulted me, broken my father's sword, had me clubbed to the ground, laid violent hands on the woman I love! He is inconvenient.
Trivia: Oliver Reed almost died when he was stabbed in the throat during filming of a swordfight scene.
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Answer: Red is the "color" of the holy church; purple is the "color" of royalty. Richelieu aspired to royalty, not piety.