# Great Movie Sword Fights **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2017, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535 "2017-10-11T02:45:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/41 "2017-10-11T19:30:18Z")
Not a movie, but the Bronn v Ser Vardis Egan swordfight in the first season of Game of Thrones was pretty great (and, in my understanding, actually pretty realistic as screen sword fights go). I also loved the (incredibly brutal) Hound + Arya vs a handful of Lannister soldiers fight in the inn (season 4, I think). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/42 "2017-10-11T19:32:31Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I always had the feeling Guy Williams (John Robinson [Lost in Space]) was the last of the classically trained movie swordfighters; they were constantly trying to cram a sword fight into LiS. Often with hilarious results. He, of course, played Zorro in the Walt Disney series of the same name back in the '50s. Erroll Flynn’s _ **The Adventures of Robin Hood** _, _ **Captain Blood** _, and _ **The Sea Hawk** _ are the Holy Trinity of movie swordfights, giant shadows on the wall and all. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/43 "2017-10-11T19:32:38Z")
The first 1:30 of [Covington Cross](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n89R6rQll0w) was kind of fun. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/44 "2017-10-11T20:00:28Z")
Perhaps not the most realistic, but certainly unexpected and entertaining - the re-animated corpse sword fight from [Stardust](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkdrbg4EwGA). ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/45 "2017-10-11T20:19:58Z")
It was my understanding that Basil Rathbone was very disappointed when he had to lose a duel, as he was an excellent swordsman. I submit Ronald Colman vs. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in The Prisoner of Zenda. [The Prisoner of Zenda(1937) - Rassendyll vs. Rupert of Hentzau - YouTube](https://youtu.be/iEYpwrWRiQU) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/46 "2017-10-11T20:35:43Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > In addition to the several badass sword-fights mentioned above, I would like to add: Vincent Price vs. Ian Hendry (or at least their stunt doubles) in _Theatre of Blood._ It’s a fun movie all around, and you can tell VP is just having the best time. The sword fight in the gym, with the combatants bouncing off trampolines at each other, is a highlight. Is that the one with the poodle heads sticking out of a pie? > [@silenus](#): > > The first 1:30 of [Covington Cross](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n89R6rQll0w) was kind of fun. I was ninja’d on _Covington Cross_? I’ll go stand in the corner. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/47 "2017-10-11T21:29:34Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It felt authentic to me because of its intensity, brutality, and the way MacGregor becomes so utterly exhausted by the end. Most sword fights are too “pretty.” Even if one participant has been injured, they are both dancing around at the end as vigorously as they were at the beginning with no hint of being winded. I can’t say anything about how accurate the technique was, but it seemed to me that’s what a real sword fight to the death would be like. On the complete other end of the realism scale are the various duels between Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Ziyi Zhang, Maggie Cheung, and Tony Chiu-Wai Leung in _Hero_. Completely unrealistic - flying through the air, dancing over the still surface of a lake; almost completely in the mind, for the sword/spear fight between Nameless and Sky - but visually stunning. _Hero_ is proof that a piece of totalitarian propaganda can be nonetheless be an amazing film. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/48 "2017-10-12T03:25:43Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Not a movie, but the Bronn v Ser Vardis Egan swordfight in the first season of Game of Thrones was pretty great (and, in my understanding, actually pretty realistic as screen sword fights go). I also loved the (incredibly brutal) Hound + Arya vs a handful of Lannister soldiers fight in the inn (season 4, I think). I haven’t watched GoT. is this the Bronn vs Egan fight? [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NN30YMzja6Y](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NN30YMzja6Y) That’s a tough scene. The guy in the helmet was swinging for the fences every time while the other guy patiently waited for a chance to hit the weak spots (underarm, behind the knee). Pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/49 "2017-10-12T03:32:36Z")
> [@Marine\_One](#): > > Prince Valiant (1954) > > The sword fight at the end between Robert Wagner and James Mason. They really go at it and there isn’t any music to mute the heavy breathing as they fight. The sound of the swords as they ring sounds real. Love the use of the sheild as a bludgeoning weapon! [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tZPpPrbDkw) ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/50 "2017-10-12T03:46:48Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > _[The Duellists](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOBTFfHJjV8)_ has a [couple](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aflbDR6NIUg) [good](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2KWTEhyVX8) ones. I associate Harvey Keitel so strongly with crime movies. It’s weird to see him in a period piece. Cool fights, though, and I wasn’t expecting that last one to end so abruptly. ---
**Author:** ![Sasquatch\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@Sasquatch\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sasquatch_1)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/51 "2017-10-12T04:31:34Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It felt authentic to me because of its intensity, brutality, and the way MacGregor becomes so utterly exhausted by the end. Most sword fights are too “pretty.” Even if one participant has been injured, they are both dancing around at the end as vigorously as they were at the beginning with no hint of being winded. I can’t say anything about how accurate the technique was, but it seemed to me that’s what a real sword fight to the death would be like. I always kind of thought MacGregor realized the other guy was too quick, so he overplayed his exhaustion to sucker him a bit. Walking forward dragging your sword on the floor is way over the top. Playing out like a man who’s given up and walking in to death. Cunningham should have just stabbed him in the neck from the side as soon as MacGregor dropped - stopping to gloat, and even taking his eyes off target are a definite no in the evil overlord list. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/52 "2017-10-12T04:40:47Z")
> [@Sasquatch](#): > > I always kind of thought MacGregor realized the other guy was too quick, so he overplayed his exhaustion to sucker him a bit. Walking forward dragging your sword on the floor is way over the top. Playing out like a man who’s given up and walking in to death. > Cunningham should have just stabbed him in the neck from the side as soon as MacGregor dropped - stopping to gloat, and even taking his eyes off target are a definite no in the evil overlord list. That might be a potential strategy, but not to the point that Cunningham had his blade to his neck. Relying on your enemy to gloat before dispatching you might be a safe strategy for James Bond but for almost anyone else. And MacGregor had even let his sword out of his grasp. Far too chancy to take it that far. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/53 "2017-10-12T12:12:06Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I haven’t watched GoT. is this the Bronn vs Egan fight? [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NN30YMzja6Y](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NN30YMzja6Y) > > That’s a tough scene. The guy in the helmet was swinging for the fences every time while the other guy patiently waited for a chance to hit the weak spots (underarm, behind the knee). Pretty cool. Yeah, that’s the one! ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/54 "2017-10-12T12:55:13Z")
IIRC we’ve discussed this here before (in GQ I think)–how would a REAL sword duel, to the death, proceed between two highly skilled principals? On the one hand we have Olympic style fencing, but (a) the swords there are very thin and lightweight), and (b) there is no ultimate penalty to be paid if you lose, so it’s all about the offense and striking first. Which typically happens within 5 seconds after the starting signal… Would we indeed see a number of minutes of a chesslike sword match, each principal carefully trying to probe the defenses but always maintaining a defense first mentality? [Me I am specifically thinking of the duels in Roger Zelazny’s Amber series where he goes into a fair amount of detail w.r.t. the techniques and thought processes involved] Or would they be over almost as quickly as an Olympic duel? We would I suppose have to go back to the days of real duels for any direct examples. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/55 "2017-10-12T16:36:57Z")
Don’t know if it qualifies as “great”, but here’s one with Burt Lancaster: [The Flame And The Arrow](https://youtu.be/xUcsnbFLkrU). Burt and Nick Cravat did some really impressive acrobatic stunt work in those days. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/56 "2017-10-16T01:13:26Z")
Quartz: > [@](#): > > How about James Bond in Die Another Day? Great call. This movie gets, and deserves, a lot of criticism, but the swordfight scene is great action. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/57 "2017-10-16T17:36:45Z")
This might be a bit obscure, because the movie should be far better-known. The duel in Powell-Pressburger’s 1942 _The Life and Times of Colonel Blimp._ Lieutenant Clive Wynn-Candy (Roger Livesey) fights Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff (Anton Walbrook) over a perceived insult to the Imperial German Army officer corps during the Boer War period. Not only is it a great match, but the friendship that develops afterward between Clive and Theo, complicated by each loving the same woman and their being on opposite sides during WWI, followed by Theo’s abdication from 1934 Nazi Germany, is wrenchingly moving. Livesey and Walbrook were SUCH fucking good actors. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535/58 "2017-10-16T17:47:15Z")
(Most film buffs know the Powell-Pressburger masterpieces _The Red Shoes_ and _Black Narcissus_, but dig deeper. Pretty much every movie they made was solid gold) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movie-sword-fights/798535.md?page=2)