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The movie has been recentrly restored for a 4k release, and waow! Now it is finally possible to enjoy the movie the way it was intended, and maybe even better that in its original theater form.

Most of the previous reviews enphasize the bad dubbing and the poor quality of the print. I am French so I can fully enjoy the dialogues that do make a lot of sense especially when combined with the images in their whole glory with vivid colors.

All nouvelle vague masterpieces are getting restored, one after another and pretty much like Pierrot the fool, you have not really seen that movie if it is not from a 4k remaster.

The story about a young girl becoming suddendly so famous that she gets chased by paparazzis until she gets carried away, is very well executed and contrary to what some think, very plausible. It did happen many times even in Europe during the 60's.

Very recommended if you like nouvelle vague movies and is a fan a Brigitte Bardot.

French directors are famous for comedy movies that are usually a bit too suptile for the regular american comedy audience, in other words, a bit too elitist for foreign viewers. It is often really funny but you need to be used to the genre or born in the country to really appreciate them. Also, the government backed funding system has the perverse consequence to produce movies that can be easily labelled as "French" and anything that tends to imitate american gag comedies like the ZAZ ones are usually vividly critized.

So if you are looking for a very entertaining spoof comedy, regardless of its origin you are at the right place. You will have a good time and according to me that is the minimum a movie shall give to you. Now, it is not the century masterpiece for sure but so what?

The movie begins like many other low budget french comedies: unoriginal story, bad acting, unfunny jokes, terrible photography, same worn out french actors. And then the story takes off at the same time as the main character. The movie turns into a simple and humble love comedy, full of neat ideas. I think Jerome Commandeur should stick to comedy scripts only and find other people to direct and act. Definitely not the next film of the year award flick, but should be good enough to make you smile a few times. If this was (re)made by an Hollywood studio with a few big names, I can easily see it turn into a commercial success.

Reading the other reviews, I tend to agree to what other IMDb users say.

The film is indeed timeless. Average directors usually try to stick to the trendy cinematography tricks of the moment. Great directors try to invent the next trendy tricks! Apart from a few very 70's- cliché zoom-ins, photography, transitions, and actor direction could easily stand with today's standards.

One reviewer compared this movie to other UK's legendary director Stanley Kubrick timeless masterpiece: Barry Lindon. They both share the same main theme (honor during Napeleonian wars). They do have a lot in common, Barry Lindon was produced 2 years earlier than this film, so you can easily believe that Scott "borrowed" a few "ideas" from his mentor.

So, why just a 6 out of 10 then? Well, the script is poor and a bit boring. Blade Runner was inspired by a short novel, so was this movie, but unlike Blade Runner and Barry Lyndon, Duellists did not succeed in transcending its original medium.

In a nutshell, an enjoyable film to watch, strong recommendation to all Ridley Scott's fans, but a very optional view for regular moviegoers.