The Mark of Zorro, definitely ranked as one of the best. Brilliant and realistic. Not that I can complain about Prisoner of Zenda or Princess Bride either. “I want my father back, you son of a bitch” was a great end-of-fight statement too. It summed up the whole of Inigo’s lifelong quest for vengeance perfectly - no quarter, no mercy, payback.
The Antonio Banderas flick Mask of Zorro actually has some nice fencing in it, as well.
The duel set to poetry in Cyrano De Bergerac was pretty cool, too, now that I think of it.
“And as I end the refrain. . .THRUST HOME!”
Rob Roy
I became a pretty good fencer because of those old Errol Flynn. I watched them in my youth and then took lesson after lesson when I got a bit older.
Some great ones mentioned - Robin Hood, The Great Race and Scaramouche were were especially well done.
May I add to the mix:
Against All Flags (both early versions, but espeically the one with Flynn.)
Captain Blood with Flynn.
An older version of the Three Musketeers that has some good fencing is the one with Gene Kelly - not a great plot, but some good fencing.
May I also mention another fun one. My Favorite Year with Peter O’Toole basically playing an aging Flynn/John Barrymore confronting a bunch of mobsters in a live television studio while the character is quite drunk.
TV
I hear the Princess Bride fencing was choreographed by the guy who did all the old Douglas Fairbanks swashbuckling movies (or was it some other swashbuckling actor from days of yore?). He also choreographed the fight scenes in the Lord of the Rings movies.
Oh, and I remember the swordplay in Yojimbo as being quite good.
Not from a movie, but the episode of Frasier where Niles thought that his fencing instructor was seducing his wife was a classic.
Bob Anderson. He worked with Errol Flynn in the twilight of Flynn"s career, and has since been swordmaster for just about every great swordfight you’ve seen since, from Star Wars to Princess Bride to Lord Of The Rings. Oh, and another vote for Flynn vs Rathbone in Captain Blood: “And that end a partnership that should never have begun!” I also liked the swordfighting in the recent version of The Count Of Monte Christo, mostly because it genuinely looked like they hated each other and were trying to kill each other with razor-sharp, heavy pieces of steel {ever hefted a foil? They ain’t light}.
Pretty much any movie that William Hobbs is the fight co-ordinator in is going to have some good fencing.
I’d forgotten Captain Blood - another classic.
The relatively recent **The Musketeer ** by Peter Hyams has some good fencing scenes, and an incredible finale in that vein.
Most the fencing scenes I recall seem to look more like they’re fighting against each others’ swords rather than the other guy. I like the swordfight from Princess Bride when Indigo kills the three men-at-arms in about a half second. It seems appropriately realistic.
I just have to say, as this thread grows and grows, that IMHO, there is no such thing as a “great fencing scene” - and there never will be.
I always liked the bout between Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood in The Great Race.
**Kill Bill Vol I ** (pretty much the whole movie)
I just watched The Hidden Fortress. It has a great duel with spears.
The Seven Samurai. I like the scene where the ulitmate master first fights a guy with a cane and the guy insists that he won so they go with swords and we see who the real winner was.
Oh and Pirates of the Carribbean when Jack fights Will Turner. “Pirate”
My warmest thanks to **Mr. Miskatonic ** for his link to the Legends site at http://www.legends.dm.net/index.html. That is a *gold mine * for fantasy lovers like myself. It makes the whole thread worthwhile. Bravo, sir.
What gets me is that the conversation they are having about tactics references several real renaissance fencing masters
My favorite, due to it’s downright reality, was the climax scene of The Count of Monte Cristo.
The flash and slash is nice, but I’m a former duellist, and that was “how it is in real life.”
I disagree. Foils are very light.
Epee’s are heavier, but still pretty light.
Rapiers, however, real killing steel, not practice blades, are relatively heavy, which is why balance is so important.
Shortswords (mini-rapiers) are lighter, but less effective.
Give me a rapier any time. 
SnakeS
Extra points for class and panaché!
A ballet, with swords. A favorite for sure.
Extra points for class and panaché!
A ballet, with swords. A favorite for sure.