Fencing in Hollywood
Shanghai Knights and the latest Zorro movie is proof that Hollywood is taking yet another martial arts discipline and making it hokey.
"It never got weird enough for me." - Hunter S. Thompson
True--they make all the moves big and dramatic for the audience to get into, but if you tried that in a real duel, you'd get hit immediately. One film that I really like that has fencing is 'The Princess Bride'. The duel on top of the Cliffs of Insanity is very well done.
share Absolutely; the swordplay for film and for stage has to be choreographed completely different from the way it would be done in a real fight. For that matter fencing and the art of kendo are far removed as well. It is still fun to see good swordplay. "The Princess Bride" has some excellent scenes, and I thought Liam Neeson and Tim Roth in "Rob Roy" demonstrated some nice work as well. And the "Kill Bill" films, while over the top in some ways, demonstrated some fine kenjitsu, especially in the intimate scenes as opposed to the big production numbers.
But perhaps some of the most realistic staging of swordsmanship, I believe, is demonstrated by Hiroyuki Sanada and Min Tanaka in "The Twilight Samurai". I highly recommend this movie for sword lovers, though if you're expecting the typical chambarra flick you'll be disappointed.
What really makes all of these movies worthwhile is the reflections on what the sword represents--truth, honor, strict committment to an ideal, and the courage one has to put one's life in the balance to assert these. "The Duellists" is such a movie, and in this one the better man does win. Albeit with a pistol.
The newer version of "The Count of Monte Cristo" has the best fencing/swordfighting scenes I've ever seen. Highly recommended.
shareThe newer version of "The Count of Monte Cristo" has the best fencing/swordfighting scenes I've ever seen. Highly recommended.
True, but the movie itself is not very good. The first half is okay, but after that it has nothing to do with the novel, and it's a real shame...
Remember the King! share
Uh, remember, it's entertainment. Different types of films call for different types of fencing. The Mask of Zorro had some great fencing scenes. There were great fights in old movies, as well as bad ones; the same as today. Shanghai Knights is a comedy, why should it take martial arts seriously? If you want serious, watch Red Belt.
shareActually, I thought the movie was damn good, but the fight scenes left a lot to be desired. In the duel at the end, the antagonists are using small swords, which were dedicated thrusting swords with almost no ability to deliver serious cuts, yet the two actors mostly use them to slash like broadswords.
A real duel with such swords would be a lot more like the second fight between d'Hubert and Feraud in "The Duellists." The combatants would keep their points directed toward the opponent at all times, using small economical movements to parry thrusts, beat, or disengage the opponent's blade, followed by lightning fast ripostes. The big, circular arm movements and slashes we see in the latest version of "The Count of Monte Cristo" would be a recipe for suicide in a real duel. Those extravagant slashes would leave one wide open to a simple stop thrust, and even if they landed, with those light, stiff, thrusting blades, would do almost no damage.