# 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:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**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, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/21 "2022-04-04T18:02:13Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Are you claiming Arnold could not [really perform this craniectomy?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7HfrbxTVEg#t=40s) Well, it’s Arnold Schwarzenegger; we know he has escaped from a movie universe where physics doesn’t work as it does in our world and he can perform hand-to-hand combat while flying a Harrier in hover mode. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/22 "2022-04-05T01:21:00Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > 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… Hey, cards are dangerous. > **[Cards as Weapons](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1151248.Cards_as_Weapons#)** > > The author of the critically acclaimed Learned Pigs and… ---
**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 5, 2022, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/23 "2022-04-05T01:44:56Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Hey, cards are dangerous. _Oui, mon chere._ [![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ce432b1f9d2be000134d8ae/32d2aadc-c4e0-4018-8f22-13b74df18c2b/CP60_Gambit+Healthy_Carlos+Cabrera.png) ](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ce432b1f9d2be000134d8ae/32d2aadc-c4e0-4018-8f22-13b74df18c2b/CP60_Gambit+Healthy_Carlos+Cabrera.png) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/24 "2022-04-05T02:41:12Z")
As heroic quests go, _Krull_ has a lot going for it, but also is belaboured with a lot of flaws, and I ache to be able to remake it to paper over the cracks. The glaive is barely used as a weapon at all, its only real use in the movie is as a circular saw to get through a wall. Colwyn does attack the Beast with it, but it doesn’t kill him, so it has very little utility in the plot in the end. If it had been me, I would’ve used it as a frisbee in multiple battles before reaching the Fortress, bouncing it around like Captain America’s shield, but then defeated the Beast using the flame power that can only be wielded by the King and Queen of Krull together. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/25 "2022-04-05T07:50:25Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > If it had been me, I would’ve used it as a frisbee in multiple battles before reaching the Fortress, bouncing it around like Captain America’s shield, but then defeated the Beast using the flame power that can only be wielded by the King and Queen of Krull together. With 80s special effects? Doubtful. Remember, Cap’s shield is CGI basically every time it leaves his body. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/26 "2022-04-05T08:46:53Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > With 80s special effects? You can do a lot more without CGI than most people seem to think. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/27 "2022-04-05T08:57:17Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > You can do a lot more without CGI than most people seem to think. I’m not “most people”, and I know that some stuff you can, some stuff you can’t. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/28 "2022-04-05T10:29:21Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Not defending script writers, but _Throwing Stars_ work pretty well For their designated purpose of distraction and if lucky enough to get an eye serious distraction. For disabling, unless you get into the eye or a really good throat shot, not as much. “Ninja” weapons are actually more about distraction in the main, killing was done with more normal weapons [or poison, or fire] What we think of as the ninja uniform was actually Japanese theatrical stagehand clothing, real ninjas wore ‘regular’ clothing of whom they were imitating, field hand, servant, floating world. ---
**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 5, 2022, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/29 "2022-04-05T12:07:53Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > For their designated purpose of distraction and if lucky enough to get an eye serious distraction. For disabling, unless you get into the eye or a really good throat shot, not as much. “Ninja” weapons are actually more about distraction in the main, “Ninja _shuriken_ Scrabble – it’s all good fun until someone loses an _I_.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/30 "2022-04-05T15:51:44Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > What we think of as the ninja uniform was actually Japanese theatrical stagehand clothing, real ninjas wore ‘regular’ clothing Maybe so, but that’s how they were thought of in Japan at least as far back as 1817. See the top image in the wiki page. > **[Ninja](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja)** > > A ninja (Japanese: 忍者, lit. 'one who is invisible'; \[ɲiꜜɲdʑa\]) or shinobi (Japanese: 忍び, lit. 'one who sneaks'; \[ɕinobi\]) was a covert agent, mercenary, or guerrilla warfare expert in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu. Their covert methods of waging irregular warfare were deemed dishonorable and beneath the honor of the samurai... ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/31 "2022-04-05T15:59:29Z")
Actually, they call the weapon The Glaive, a unique magical weapon that can only be wielded by the right man, similar to Excalibur and the King Arthur mythology. There were 2 original draft scripts with the first being rewritten and incorporating some aspects of the second. It’s seems possible that the original mythical weapon was a glaive but evolved into the weapon seen in the film during the writing or pre-production process but the name remained. It’s also possible that the scriptwriter either “invented” the name or borrowed it… artistic license and all that. ---
**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 5, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/32 "2022-04-05T16:45:13Z")
Sort of the way BtVS got away with calling their mythic axe a scythe. [![](https://i.etsystatic.com/16962008/r/il/9b2893/3471605651/il_794xN.3471605651_a80f.jpg) ](https://i.etsystatic.com/16962008/r/il/9b2893/3471605651/il_794xN.3471605651_a80f.jpg) ---
**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 5, 2022, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/33 "2022-04-05T17:05:23Z")
That’s a…halberd? Really short poleaxe? A can opener for CONEX containers? An industrial cheese slicer? I’m not sure what you would do with that thing. 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 5, 2022, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/34 "2022-04-05T17:06:42Z")
Well, Buffy used the pointy end to kill Nathan Fillion. ---
**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 5, 2022, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/35 "2022-04-05T17:22:12Z")
It was a scythe for harvesting vampires? I borrowed that from someone. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/36 "2022-04-05T17:24:34Z")
Looks like it has a decent point. Could stand in for a tent peg. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/37 "2022-04-05T19:53:31Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > That’s a…halberd? Really short poleaxe? A can opener for CONEX containers? An industrial cheese slicer? More of a [bardiche](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardiche), I think, or possibly a [Lochaber axe.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lochaber_axe) . ---
**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 5, 2022, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243/38 "2022-04-05T19:56:27Z")
From that cite: > [@](#): > > While the image of a ninja clad in black garb (shinobi shōzoku) is prevalent in popular media, there is no written evidence for such attire.[[87]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_16-87) Instead, it was much more common for the ninja to be disguised as civilians. The popular notion of black clothing is likely rooted in artistic convention; early drawings of ninja showed them dressed in black in order to portray a sense of invisibility.[[55]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_17-55) This convention was an idea borrowed from the puppet handlers of _[bunraku](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunraku)_ theater, who dressed in total black in an effort to simulate [props](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prop) moving independently of their controls.[[88]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Howell_1999_211-88) Despite the lack of hard evidence, it has been put forward by some authorities that black robes, perhaps slightly tainted with red to hide bloodstains, was indeed the sensible garment of choice for infiltration.[[55]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_17-55) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-movie-krull/962243.md?page=1)