TV, FILM & RADIO

Last man standing

The Last Duel / In cinemas from Friday 15 October

In 1977, The Duellists, a story of a bitter extended feud between two French Hussar officers set during the Napoleonic Wars, won the Best Debut Film award at the Cannes festival. The glittering feature career of director Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator), who had begun working in TV and advertising, was underway.

Now in his 80s, Scott shows few signs of slowing down and spent part of 2020 filming another tale of two men squaring up to each other, The Last Duel. Based on a 2004 book by Eric Jager, a professor of medieval literature, it tells the story of the last officially recognised judicial duel fought in France, in 1386.

It was fought between