One of the best Directing Debuts in cinema!

I have seen some really impressive film directing debuts and Ridley Scott's 'The Duellists' is no exception. Cinematographer Frank Tidy ('Under Siege', 'Hoodlum') worked with Ridley on many commercials before they shot this stunning historical drama. 'The Duellist' is quite epic as far the scope of years that it covers. The story is based on Joseph Conrad's short story. Ridley says on the excellent commentary on the special edition dvd that the script was 'elegant' and 'sparse'.

I was wondering how can one make a film about two men dueling for a whole film and keep it interesting. Since the film covers many years (early 1800's to late 1800's), you get to see how these two men (played wonderfully by Keith Carradine and Harvey Keital) move up in the ranks and while one becomes more wealthy than the other, you get to see the toll this mancho, competitive combat takes on both men and the cost of it.

Ridley's commentary on the dvd is so informative, so encouraging and rewarding because here is someone who makes some of the biggest films in modern cinema and he's sharing how he carried his first feature along the way in a very professional and proficient way. Ridley operated the camera, they shot it all on location in France and London for 58 days, small crew and they came in on schedule for $900,000. Incredible!

The duel begins over a petty situation which then ends up being forgotten about as the years pass by. The story is about honor and pride.

Sure there are mishaps in the film but that's okay, because in the end it's the story that matters and what it conveys.