# A question about the movie Krull **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [April 4, 2022, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243 "2022-04-04T14:27:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/1 "2022-04-04T14:27:13Z")
They call that spinning weapon he uses a glaive. I always thought a glaive was a type of halberd. Is that really the name of that weapon or did the scriptwriter call it that and the name stuck? [![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ronF1r5XXC4/VDyYI5BrZ_I/AAAAAAAAA6o/pUskZhlXZ2c/s1600/images.jpg) ](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ronF1r5XXC4/VDyYI5BrZ_I/AAAAAAAAA6o/pUskZhlXZ2c/s1600/images.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/2 "2022-04-04T14:31:36Z")
A glaive is a type of polearm as is a halberd. But a glaive isn’t technically a type of halberd. A glaive can also be a short sword like the Roman Gladius. I don’t know of any non-Hollywood use of glaive for a throwing weapon. That was probably just an invention of a script writer. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/3 "2022-04-04T14:42:03Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Is that really the name of that weapon or did the scriptwriter call it that and the name stuck? The wikipedia article for ‘glaive’ claims, without citation, that _Krull_ was indeed the origin of this type of weapon being called a ‘glaive’ in fictional works. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > I don’t know of any non-Hollywood use of glaive for a throwing weapon. I can think of a number of video games that use it, though I assume you were using ‘Hollywood’ as shorthand for any kind of fictional/fantastical work. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/4 "2022-04-04T14:46:31Z")
Actually in this case, I just meant before Krull. As in that probably is the origin for glaive being used for a throwing weapon. I phrased it poorly. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/5 "2022-04-04T15:04:57Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I don’t know of any non-Hollywood use of glaive for a throwing weapon. That was probably just an invention of a script writer. That weapon would be almost totally worthless in reality, notwithstanding of how it could possibly be carried. Historical thrown weapons (spears, darts, throwing knives, small axes) have a single blade or point that can be directed into the target. That thing is just what some director thought would look cool even though it makes about as much physical sense as [the circular saw blade on the end of a rope that somehow cuts through wood.](https://youtu.be/2JqcDOr7kPQ&t=105s) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/6 "2022-04-04T15:09:52Z")
I forgot how truly bad the Bond franchise got under Moore. Not defending script writers, but _Throwing Stars_ work pretty well, I was pretty good with them at around the same time I was pretty good throwing darts. So that is one real world exception with 4-6 points. As I recall, I liked the 4 pointed ones better. ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/7 "2022-04-04T15:18:07Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > it makes about as much physical sense as [the circular saw blade on the end of a rope that somehow cuts through wood.](https://youtu.be/2JqcDOr7kPQ&t=105s) Your problem with that scene is the sawblade-on-a-rope, and not the _xenomorph facehugger_? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/8 "2022-04-04T15:19:10Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Not defending script writers, but _Throwing Stars_ work pretty well, _Shuriken_ (and the Chinese and Korean equivalents, because they are not unique to Japan) were primarily distraction weapons and despite what you see in film could not penetrate a skull or into the rib case sufficient to cause critical injury; at best they might take out an eye or become impaled in a hand or foot. They’re fun toys but mostly as much of a hazard to the user as the target. > [@blue\_infinity](#): > > Your problem with that scene is the sawblade-on-a-rope, and not the _xenomorph facehugger_ ? In a deleted scene we discover that the ‘octopus’ is actually a clever mechanism designed by Q Branch which uses a spring-loaded trap, adhesive, and a series of manifold connected needles to inject the target with ricin. Q himself snuck into Octopussy’s compound using the giant hot air balloon seen later in the film, using an early version of the magical cloaking technology integrated into Bond’s car in _Die Another Day_ and set the trap, having previously read ahead in the script to know the henchman would fall into the tank. In fact, Bond’s success at nearly everything is due to the tireless efforts of MI-6 operatives assuring that he drunkenly bumbles his way to inexorable success regardless of how much time he wastes banging cocktail waitresses and cheating at golf. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/9 "2022-04-04T15:33:49Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > That weapon would be almost totally worthless in reality, notwithstanding of how it could possibly be carried. Isn’t the Krull weapon a switch-glaive? ISTR the blades as being retractable, which would make it much easier to carry. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/10 "2022-04-04T15:43:10Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Isn’t the Krull weapon a switch-glaive? ISTR the blades as being retractable [![](https://64.media.tumblr.com/58a429b0341f9c968b9a7e72317921a7/tumblr_ou4ro8n3241sqf5tdo4_400.gifv) ](https://64.media.tumblr.com/58a429b0341f9c968b9a7e72317921a7/tumblr_ou4ro8n3241sqf5tdo4_400.gifv) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/11 "2022-04-04T16:01:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Isn’t the Krull weapon a switch-glaive? ISTR the blades as being retractable, which would make it much easier to carry. I think the blades just magically appear at the ends of a jeweled starfish. How you throw this thing with any accuracy is beyond me but I’m pretty sure in a real fight between Mythic Bronze Age warriors the target would deflect or dodge it, look curiously at it as wobbled its way to a stop on the desert sands, and proceed to cleave the thrower in two with his anachronistic Renaissance-era great sword. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/12 "2022-04-04T16:04:24Z")
Much like Captain America’s shield, fantasy glaives are not subject to physics and often boomerang back to the thrower whether they hit or miss. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/13 "2022-04-04T16:11:45Z")
How about those Indian throwing chakra? Could you fuck someone up with them if you were an expert? (In James Bond they can decapitate statues, apparently.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/14 "2022-04-04T16:12:37Z")
You think he said “to glaive”. But that’s not what he said. He distinctly said “to blave”, and, as we all know, “to blave” means “to bluff”, huh? So you’re probably playing cards… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/15 "2022-04-04T16:24:35Z")
Exactly. Mystical weapons usually have some sort of magical AI, not to mention the ability to tap into the ley lines for energy to overcome basic physics. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/16 "2022-04-04T16:33:25Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > How you throw this thing with any accuracy is beyond me but I’m pretty sure in a real fight between Mythic Bronze Age warriors the target would deflect or dodge it, look curiously at it as wobbled its way to a stop on the desert sands, and proceed to cleave the thrower in two with his anachronistic Renaissance-era great sword. Well, it’s literally magic - you throw it, then telekinetically control it to go where you want. But in fairness to the movie, it does turn out to be useless in-story. After failing to do anything useful in the one fight where it’s employed, it turns out getting married literally turns you into a flame thrower, so they just kill the monster with that instead. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/17 "2022-04-04T16:42:31Z")
And then apparently (according to the voiceover narration) there’s enough leftover juice to ensure their child is strong enough to conquer the universe, despite, ya know, the fact they seem to have medieval technology otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/18 "2022-04-04T17:06:31Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > strong enough to conquer the universe, despite, ya know, the fact they seem to have medieval technology otherwise. Well, then it’s a pretty small universe, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/19 "2022-04-04T17:20:59Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Historical thrown weapons (spears, darts, throwing knives, small axes) have a single blade or point that can be directed into the target. Not [necessarily](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mambele). ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/20 "2022-04-04T17:56:24Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > That thing is just what some director thought would look cool even though it makes about as much physical sense as [the circular saw blade on the end of a rope that somehow cuts through wood.](https://youtu.be/2JqcDOr7kPQ&t=105s) > > Stranger Are you claiming Arnold could not [really perform this craniectomy?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7HfrbxTVEg#t=40s) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243.md?page=2)