Greetings, everyone,
I love movies with fencing scenes! Good old-fashioned fencing where the swordplay is fast and furious - hokey but convincing. It may not be real fencing but it looks great!
My favorites:
*The Mark of Zorro * (1940) - Tyrone Power takes on the legendary Basil Rathbone in what is undeniably the most dazzling fencing scene ever filmed. The fight is intricately composed and brilliantly executed. Plus, I suspect the camera was slightly undercranked to speed up the action and give the scene more energy.
Scaramouche (1952) - Stewart Granger and Mel Ferrer dispute every square yard of a huge, lavish set in the longest fencing scene ever filmed. Thrilling and exhausting.
*The Adventures of Robin Hood * (1938) - Errol Flynn in a classic showdown with Basil Rathbone (again). This scene, with its famous “shadow bit,” is pure Hollywood.
*The Court Jester * (1956) - Danny Kaye gives his all versus Basil Rathbone (yet again). This is actually a spoof, but the fighting includes some genuine razzle-dazzle.
I am also very fond of Disney’s old TV series “Zorro.” Admittedly, the swordplay is not very good, but Guy Williams is fun to watch.
Swashbucklers with good fencing scenes used to be a Hollywood staple but, alas, they seem to have been replaced by grade-Z fantasy epics in which two beefcakes ponderously belabor each other with improbably heavy weapons which they can barely lift and you can practically count the seconds between their swings. Eesh.
But I still love to watch great movie fencing. Any suggestions?
What is your favorite fencing scene in a film, old or new?
Respectfully,
I did film and stage fencing at college, and we were shown the sword fight from The Princess Bride as the example of the abolute zenith of such scenes. We were told that neither actor had ever fenced before, and they only had three weeks to put it together. Absolutely brilliant.
When I saw the thread title, Scaramouche was the first thing that came to mind, but I see that was covered in the OP. Stewart Granger and Mel Ferrer both move like dancers and look like they know what they’re doing.
I’d like to add either well-known version of The Prisoner of Zenda; either the great black-and-white version with Ronald Coleman and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (playing a villain!) or the color remake with Stewart Granger and James Mason. They’re both excellent, and have a great saber match at the end, in which both parties are not only trying to skewer each other, but to achieve an objective: to either allow or prevent the rescue of the eponymous imprisoned king.
How about the rapier duel at the beginning of The Duellists? There’s also a fine cavalry saber slash-fest a little later in the movie if that first scene was too tame.
My favorite also was Scaramouche, but nobody has yet mentioned the excellent, if brief, duel between Ross Martin and Tony Curtis in The Great Race. Pretty good stuff.
Another candidate (or two, depending on how you look at it/them): Richard Lester’s Three/Four Musketeers (1973-1974). Not so much of the extended swordplay à la Prisoner of Zenda or Princess Bride, but satisfying nonetheless.
(I’m particulaly fascinated by the slow motion / stop action duel between D’Artagnan and his father that takes place behind the first movie’s main title.)
This selection never gets enough mention, but I’d have to agree that it’s the best. Rathbone is alleged to have said that Power was the best duelling “partner” he ever had, and I think what really helps the scene is (1) there’s no music. All credit to Korngold, et al, but having only the duelling clashes of the swords heightens the suspense enormously, and (2) it’s in fairly close quarters, with the stunning B&W photography (courtesy of Arthur Miller) playing shadows that enhance the mood. Great selection!
I’d think yojimbo would have something to say in a thread like this. I used to think that it was funny that an Irish guy had a red-neck name like “Yo, Jimbo!” Then I was staying up late one night channel surfing and what do my naive little eyes see? I think you can guess.
I’d echo the Errol Flynn/Basil Rathbone show-down, but let me also give a plug for the Richard Lester THE THREE MUSKETEERS (the one with Michael York, Raquel Welch, et al). The opening credit sequence is an very tense, very intense bit of swordplay. The remainder of the film, the swordsmanship is pure fun, but that opening credit sequence had me on the edge of my seat – it delivers the message that this is real, these swords can cut and chop, they’re sharp and fast and there’s nothin’ funny about it.
