captscurvyscrew Posted November 18, 2003 Posted November 18, 2003 By the sword is a great book, I've used it for years as a means to introuce my students to stage combat. I do enjoy alot of the older movie scenes, it was just nice to see Hobbs choreography work again in a movie
XanderGrey Posted November 18, 2003 Posted November 18, 2003 I think that everyone is forgetting about The Mark of Zorro with Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone. The end fencing scene with Ty and Basil is the only fencing scene in movie history what was filmed without one step being choreographed. They set up the cameras and said "go to it boys". Tyrone Power was the only "swashbuckler" (besides Basil) that could actually fence. Ty's mother was a Master and taught her son well. Basil Rathbone is on record for saying that he was scared to death to fence with Errol Flynn because everytime he did so, he took his life in his hands. Watch The Mark of Zorro. The only thing choreographed was where Basil had to be when Ty "killed" him. Amazing scene...and the sweat stains under the arms are real
captscurvyscrew Posted November 18, 2003 Posted November 18, 2003 I have a lot of respect for Flynn. Some of hte best photos I've ever seen are of the fencing practices Flynn and Ratheborn used to have. It's funny to look at them, becasue in a lot of them you can see Flynn and Ratheborn smoking and drinking between practices. I used to be a proffesionla master fencer, but unfortunatlly I was hit by a drunk driver while I was walking down the street. I lost a few disk in my back and torn cartlige in both knees, so I can't compete the way I used to. I did find out that choreography was less pain on the knees, so now I do stage combat instead of classic fencing bouts. I do miss the days on the strip though.
John Maddox Roberts Posted November 18, 2003 Posted November 18, 2003 Actually, Tyrone Power and Rathbone weren't the only actors who could fence. Cornel Wilde and Tony Curtis were both Olympic-quality fencers. Problem was, they didn't look especially great fencing in front of the camera, whereas Flynn and Rathbone always looked great. Screen presence counts for a lot in that business.
Charlotte Doyle Posted November 18, 2003 Posted November 18, 2003 My favorite fencing/sword fighting scene will forever by the fight in "Pirates of the Caribbean," where Jack and Barbossa duel while crossing in and out of the moonlight, going from human to skeleton and back again . . . it's the neatest scene in the movie and definitely my fav swordfight. Of course, I am biased. ;-) I am now "Captain Charlotte Savvy." Sorry for any confusion -- I'll only be making this user-name change this once! :)
DuCouer Posted November 21, 2003 Posted November 21, 2003 While I have to agree that Hobbs Work in "The Count Of Monte Christo" is great I have to say that my favorite stuff is from the 1976 Richard Lester Films of "The Three & Four Musketeers". If you are a William Hobbs fan this is a must see..also a must see for Hobbs Fans is The Duelists"...The sword play is great and each "Dual" is in a different style.... Plus seeing Harvey Keital in Pig Tails is a scream)
captscurvyscrew Posted November 21, 2003 Posted November 21, 2003 Have to admit, Harvey was hilliarious in pigtails. The duelist is a great movie. I love the way hobbs mixes his fencing experience in with the drama of the stage.
Zorg Posted December 14, 2003 Posted December 14, 2003 Its a knowledgeable crew we gots ourself here. QUEEN MARGOT does have some amazing sword scenes, and I love the sheer brutality of the Rob Roy duel. Too many of these films is prissy and anaseptic. How bout some votes for the Worst film duel? Me vote is fer the astonishinly lame ICE PIRATES sword scenes, which they mustve choriographed fer all of fifteen minutes, though who knows what wound up in the editor's trashbin. Drop a kitten six feet, and she grins... Drop an elephant six feet, and ya gots yerself a mess ta clean up.... Sometimes bein' the biggest and most powerful is the LAST thing you wanna be..... Mad Ozymandias Zorg the Unsnottered
Longarm Posted January 5, 2004 Posted January 5, 2004 The best scene for me has to be The Duel In Rhyme in Cyrano de Bergerac with Jose Ferrer. I,ve seen other versions of Cyrano in film and stage but, Jose Ferrer will always be the best. Danny Kaye in The court Jester rates second. Because of his natural dexterity and timeing the fencing master, Ralph Faulkner, had to double for Basil Rathbone just to keep up and guide the routine. Errol Flynn was an indeferrent fencer and probably the first to admit it he just knew how to make it look good. Basil Rathbone was considered an excellent fencer and always had to hold back when faceing Flynn, which is why his villains seem so menacing and frustrated because he knew he could whip Flynns ass anytime he wanted. But the good guy has to win so Flynn got all the credit for his swordsmanship, and Rathbone was just the prop. Ain't that a b**ch. I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning. To me it smells like....PIRACY!
Cap'n Slappy Posted January 9, 2004 Posted January 9, 2004 Basil Rathbone was one of the greatest of Hollywood's fencers! His fight with Errol Flynn in "Robin Hood" was tremendous! There was also some amazing sword-play in "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon." Good discussion! Cap'n Slappy My Webpage capnslappy@talklikeapirate.com
Nigel Posted January 10, 2004 Posted January 10, 2004 Me all-time fav'rit HAS to be the duel 'tween Inigo Montoya and the Dread Pyrate Roberts in "The Princess Bride". 'Tis a classic. Very campy, indeed, and more than a little tongue in cheek, and 100% fun! The timing with the music, brilliant! "You are using Bennetti's defense against me, eh?!" Me fav'rit Ren faire sword fight would have to be DonJuan & Miguel: "Oh look! A mortal wound!!!" Sir Nigel - aka "Sir Freelancealot"; aka "Ace of Cads"; aka "JACKPOT!!" (cha-CHING!) "Mojitos BAD!...Lesbians with free rum GOOD!!!"
BILLY BONES Posted January 27, 2004 Posted January 27, 2004 I don't know if this was mentioned, but the question was asked if any Musketeer movie ever showed them firing muskets. I believe the second Richard Lester Musketeers showed them briefly in combat firing muskets. regards, Brother Billy Capt. William Bones Then he rapped on the door with a bit of stick like a handspike that he carried, and when my father appeared, called roughly for a glass of rum. This, when it was brought to him, he drank slowly, like a connoisseur, lingering on the taste, and still looking about him at the cliffs and up at our signboard. "This is a handy cove," says he, at length; " and a pleasant sittyated grog-shop. Much company, mate?" My father told him no, very little company, the more was the pity. "Well, then," said he, "this is the berth for me." Proprietor of Flags of Fortune.
Mission Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 My favorite fencing/sword fighting scene will forever by the fight in "Pirates of the Caribbean," where Jack and Barbossa duel while crossing in and out of the moonlight, going from human to skeleton and back again . . . it's the neatest scene in the movie and definitely my fav swordfight. I have to agree with this one because... it contained skeletons! Then there is the original skeleton sword fight, of course from . Yeah, the stop-motion isn't up to today's FX standards and the music is just plain dopey, but... it's a sword fight with a skeleton! Even better were the multiple fights from . Impacted my life greatly, that last one did (made me love the idea of animated skeletons). Mycroft: "My brother has the brain of a scientist or a philosopher, yet he elects to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?" John: "I don't know." Mycroft: "Neither do I. But initially he wanted to be a pirate."
Swashbuckler 1700 Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 My favorite fencing/sword fighting scene will forever by the fight in "Pirates of the Caribbean," where Jack and Barbossa duel while crossing in and out of the moonlight, going from human to skeleton and back again . . . it's the neatest scene in the movie and definitely my fav swordfight. I have to agree with this one because... it contained skeletons! Then there is the original skeleton sword fight, of course from . Yeah, the stop-motion isn't up to today's FX standards and the music is just plain dopey, but... it's a sword fight with a skeleton! Even better were the multiple fights from . Impacted my life greatly, that last one did (made me love the idea of animated skeletons). I am happy to admit that I have seen at least Jason movie and some of those Sinbads I have nothing against animated special effects but I don't like the aditude that I have often encountered "it is good if it old" but I agree with you that those are good duels.... "I have not yet Begun To Fight!"John Paul Jones
CandyCotton Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 It's not a pirate movie, or even strictly "swords" but can I just say... Yoda vs. Count Dooku The first fight between Jack and Will in PoTC 1 was THE thing that hooked me on pirates. And it made me feel things that a lass of my tender age had no business feeling, lol
William Brand Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 The sword fight (and dialogue) between Stewart Granger and James Mason in The Prisoner of Zenda. Â Â Â
Captain McCool Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 Wow! Now here's some thread necromancy! Haha... Well, I know it's not piratey in the least, but I believe my favorite on-screen duel of all time has to be the climactic fight between Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne in the old Errol Flynn "Adventures of Robin Hood." Talk about an amazing, classic fight! Right down to the shot of the two shadows dueling on the wall! Brilliant! I also love that the killing blow comes as a very well-timed (yet actually very simple) feint and lunge on Flynn's part, and not some huge, overly-dramatic gambit or trick of some sort. No chandeliers falling, no sand in the face (sorry Jack ), etc. Just one nice, clean lunge, and a tumble over the railing. Well played, Mr. Hood, well played Otherwise, pretty much the ENTIRE movie the Duelists is right up there, as well as the final fight in Rob Roy (strangely I haven't seen the movie, but I've seen that fight, and I friggin' love it). And okay, yeah, I do love the blacksmith shop fight from Curse of the Black Pearl. Like others have said above, it's definitely one of the things that hooked me on pirates at the get-go. Captain Jack McCool, landlocked pirate extraordinaire, Captain of the dreaded prairie schooner Ill Repute, etc. etc. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "That’s what a ship is, you know. It’s not just a keel, and a hull, and a deck, and sails. That’s what a ship needs. But what a ship is… what the Black Pearl really is… is freedom." -Captain Jack Sparrow
Mission Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 A guest was reading it (as I learned from wading into the current user list) and I thought it sounded interesting so... here it is again! Those guests uncover the most interesting topics (probably with the assistance of search engines.) Besides, as Duchess once said, I AM the Thread Necromancer Extraordinaire! Mycroft: "My brother has the brain of a scientist or a philosopher, yet he elects to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?" John: "I don't know." Mycroft: "Neither do I. But initially he wanted to be a pirate."
Capn Bob Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 The greatest fencing scene ever has actually never been filmed. It is between Cap'n Benjamin Avery (RN) and Bilbo the Black in the book, The Pyrates, by George MacDonald Fraser Damn, thats sharp!
Hawkyns Posted March 29, 2012 Posted March 29, 2012 I'd have to say the final fight in Rob Roy, with Liam Neeson and Tim Roth. Broadsword against smallsword, and again, choreographed by Bill Hobbs, IMO the greatest fight director ever. Cannon add dignity to what otherwise would be merely an ugly brawl I do what I do for my own reasons. I do not require anyone to follow me. I do not require society's approval for my actions or beliefs. if I am to be judged, let me be judged in the pure light of history, not the harsh glare of modern trends.
Bright Posted March 30, 2012 Posted March 30, 2012 (edited) Aye be a big fan of the Rob Roy fight, Broadsword against smallsword, ie cutlass and dock dandy savvy. But Twentieth Gentry fox has bought the rights to 2006 The Spanish historical film Alatriste were Viggo Mortensen plays El Capitan Diego Alatriste is a soldier in the service of King Felipe IV during the Eight Years War, by far the most real sword play I've ever seen caught on film. IMHO http://youtu.be/vAcrIr84OdQ Edited April 2, 2012 by Bright
peglegstrick Posted March 30, 2012 Posted March 30, 2012 The final fight in Rob Roy will do it for me............theScottish broadsword's last slash was awsome.......cleave to the bone
Jas. Hook Posted March 30, 2012 Posted March 30, 2012 Awwww come on, how can no one comments on the Swashbuckler, the dueling 'lesson' between Robert Shaw and Genevieve Bujold. Jas. Hook "Born on an island, live on an island... the sea has always been in my blood." Jas. Hook "You can't direct the wind . . . but . . . you can adjust the sails." "Don't eat the chickens with writing on their beaks." Governor Sawney
Grymm Posted March 31, 2012 Posted March 31, 2012 The duelling scene towards the end of Dangerous Liaisons in all it's ragged, ameturish, nastyness is the one that made me want to take up smallsword. For sheer fun the fight in the pub in Musketeers with them gathering food, flicking chickens to (The Late) Roy Kinnear. Lambourne! Lambourne! Stop that man pissin' on the hedge, it's imported.
Capn Bob Posted April 1, 2012 Posted April 1, 2012 I've got that movie (the absolute best version of the Musketeers, in my not at all humble opinion) on my list for birthday goodies. If I don't get it for me birthday (April 21), I'll be ordering it meself... While I have to agree that Hobbs Work in "The Count Of Monte Christo" is great I have to say that my favorite stuff is from the 1976 Richard Lester Films of "The Three & Four Musketeers". If you are a William Hobbs fan this is a must see..also a must see for Hobbs Fans is The Duelists"...The sword play is great and each "Dual" is in a different style.... Plus seeing Harvey Keital in Pig Tails is a scream) Damn, thats sharp!
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