A loose adaptation of elements from the novels of Alexander Dumas (more closely adapting previous film incarnations of the same name), "The Man in the Iron Mask" was released in the spring of 1998 by MGM. Screenwriter Randall Wallace, of "Braveheart" fame, chose this project as his directorial debut. The film tells the story of young King Louis XIV of France, and his twin brother Philippe, who was locked in a dungeon in an iron mask to hide his existence from the world. The aging Musketeers serve the crown, but when they learn of Philippe's existence, and see the cruelty of Louis, they hatch a plan to release Philippe and swap places on the throne with his tyrannical twin. The film received fairly negative critical reviews, though it was a success at the box office. The film was a childhood favorite, one of those repeat Blockbuster rentals, and I loved the swashbuckling intrigue and period setting.
Joining the adventure was English composer Nick Glennie-Smith. In the 80's, Glennie-Smith was a performing artist, on keyboards and guitars, touring with many of the most popular artists of the day. He later became friends with Hans Zimmer and became a regular part of his Remote Control Productions team, as a conductor, orchestrator and additional music writer. His first major score as a featured lead composer was two years earlier for "The Rock", and although he never had the mainstream success as many other RCP veterans, he remained an integral part of the team, even performing on stage with Zimmer's live global concert series in the last decade. Thanks to the success of this film, he also went on to have a long collaboration with director Wallace. For this score, the composer brought to bear his classical education, composing period-accurate music for many of the French court scenes, not just as source music, but tying memorably into the underscore. Glennie-Smith however didn't want to limit himself to strictly period sounds, and so his score often ventures into more modern styles, with electric guitar and synth additions on top of the classic orchestra, especially for the action scenes. The score is heavily melodic, featuring a memorable heroic main theme, a swashbuckling fanfare, a more reflective piece for Philippe, and a romantic melody for Christine. Overall, despite the anachronistic elements in the music, for me, it is likely Glennie-Smith's most successful score overall, one that maintains his sense of adventure and lyricism, blending a rich musical history with a modern rock-and-roll sense of playfulness, and with plenty of heart to sell the nobility at the heart of the story.
The original soundtrack album was released on CD by Milan Records, featuring fifty minutes of music, though the full score features about another forty minutes. I decided to tackle this project in memory of the composer, who passed away a few weeks ago, in August of 2026. I present a total of six custom covers, all based on available marketing material.
Cover 1 is an alternative to the main album cover, using the central poster. I never liked the text treatment on the original, nor the murky quality to the image. Though nothing radically different, I hope this version breathes a little life back into the artwork. Sadly, I couldn't find a very high-resolution version of this poster, so I had to enhance the image, and tweak the colors a bit.
Cover 2 uses an alternate poster, which I could only find in a very small size, again forcing AI enhancement, it doesn't look perfect, but its passable, and I liked the design overall.
Cover 3 uses newer artwork from the Blu-Ray release. I brought up the soldiers at the bottom and the sword hilt up significantly, and then had to shift and re-blend all the blade elements to fit the new crop.
Cover 4 uses a teaser poster, again, only found in a minuscule size. To try to add a bit of texture back into it, I overlaid a few aged metal textures over the helmet portion.
Cover 5 uses an alternate to the main poster, used for early home video release. I shifted the composition around a bit, as there was too big of a gap in the original, with Philippe floating far up in the clouds. I enlarged Louis and the Musketeers and shifted them over to the left, with Louis now anchoring as the central weight point, and then blended everything back in together.
Finally, Cover 6 uses a more recent piece of artwork, created for the 20th anniversary Blu-Ray edition put out by Shout Factory. Sadly, I couldn't find the name of the artist for the piece listed on their website. But the piece is a dramatic and moody addition to the collection, for those that don't prefer the "floating heads" poster style.
Hope you enjoy, and may Nick Glennie-Smith rest in peace, thank you for sharing the gift of your music with the world.
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