# Watching Rob Roy (1995) after a long time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 23, 2012, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377 "2012-01-23T06:37:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/1 "2012-01-23T06:37:08Z")
When it first came out, I didn’t yet have the internet to research some of the words that whooshed past me and apparently didn’t have the inclination to head to the library. But watching it now with the web handy has remedied that for me. Most of the words I could glean from context but for pedantry’s sake… dirk (the back of a sword) breeks (trousers) tug the forelock (a salute, like tipping a cap) wheesht (quiet) bairn (child) Fun film. Better than Braveheart IMO, which was released the same year. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/2 "2012-01-23T06:45:53Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > dirk (the back of a sword) A dirk is a heavy [Scottish dagger](http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_euroedge.html#Dirk). ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/3 "2012-01-23T06:54:42Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > A dirk is a heavy [Scottish dagger](http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_euroedge.html#Dirk). Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/4 "2012-01-23T07:32:33Z")
Better than _Braveheart_? Hardly!! Just because Mel Gibson turned into a buffoon later in life doesn’t diminish the awesomeness of his greatest movie. \*Braveheart \*was the best successor yet to Orson Welles’ _Chimes At Midnight_. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/5 "2012-01-23T11:54:53Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Better than _Braveheart_? Hardly!! Just because Mel Gibson turned into a buffoon later in life doesn’t diminish the awesomeness of his greatest movie. \*Braveheart \*was the best successor yet to Orson Welles’ _Chimes At Midnight_. It’s an opinion, one I share from seeing both in their year of release. Nothing to do with the personal life of anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/6 "2012-01-23T12:54:01Z")
I thought it was better, also **standingwave** altho I like _Braveheart_ too. I’ve been reading a lot of Morgan Llewellyn again and her books are loaded with Irish words whose definitions are woven into the story. I say that because sometimes knowledgable writers don’t bother to explain. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/7 "2012-01-23T13:33:25Z")
Count me in as another one who thought Rob Roy was better than Braveheart, and I saw them both the year they came out. And I like Braveheart - a lot! But Rob Roy was just a better movie IMO. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/8 "2012-01-23T14:15:49Z")
I also liked Rob Roy more than Braveheart - it was a more tidy movie (and a good drink). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/9 "2012-01-23T14:46:18Z")
Rob Roy has probably the best most realistic sword fight on film. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/10 "2012-01-23T17:01:17Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > I’ve been reading a lot of Morgan Llewellyn again and her books are loaded with Irish words whose definitions are woven into the story. To be clear, the words and phrases mentioned by the OP are in the Scots language (Lallans), which is a Germanic language and is closely related to English (sometimes considered a dialect of English). Irish (Irish Gaelic, Gaeilge, Erse) is a Gaelic language. Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) is closely related to Irish, but both are Celtic languages, not Germanic like Scots and English. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/11 "2012-01-23T17:05:43Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Fun film. Better than Braveheart IMO, which was released the same year. +1 ---
**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:** [January 23, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/12 "2012-01-23T18:34:39Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Rob Roy has probably the best most realistic sword fight on film. And the better villian (vis a vis Mel’s vehicle). ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/13 "2012-01-23T18:54:56Z")
I loved _Braveheart_ in '95, and had barely heard of _Rob Roy_. I finally saw _Rob Roy_ on DVD in '02, and immediately thought that it is the better movie. Better villains, better story (just a tighter, more focused story; much less grand/sprawling than _Braveheart_). Tim Roth, John Hurt, and Brian Cox all take turns stealing the show in delightful wickedness. Plus, Liam Neeson is a much better actor than Mel Gibson, and Jessica Lange brought an earthy strength to _Rob Roy_ through-and-through, while Sophie Marceau’s Isabella in _Braveheart_ only really had the one “bad-ass” scene during Edward’s death. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/14 "2012-01-23T19:01:37Z")
Braveheart is more fun, Rob Roy is more historically accurate and better acted. ---
**Author:** ![Ura-Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Ura-Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ura-Maru)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/15 "2012-01-23T19:06:09Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Better than _Braveheart_? Hardly!! Just because Mel Gibson turned into a buffoon later in life doesn’t diminish the awesomeness of his greatest movie. And no one said it was a better movie than _The Road Warrior_, so I don’t see the relavance. – Or even the first two _Lethal Weapon_ movies. Maybe _Maverick_. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/16 "2012-01-23T19:57:58Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Braveheart is more fun, Rob Roy is more historically accurate and better acted. This is pretty much what I think, too. The teenager me that saw both movies at the time loved Braveheart far more, but it’s very easy to like – and at the time I thought it was terribly inspiring. The adult, more skeptical and slightly cynical me can’t appreciate Braveheart quite as much. Rob Roy is, in my opinion, pretty underappreciated. The casting and performances are really quite outstanding, Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange in particular, plus of course Tim Roth is an amazing villain. As a movie it oozes history in just the right way, without getting in the way of the story but without getting fanciful beyond reason the way Braveheart did. I still enjoy Braveheart but really, Rob Roy is, in nearly every way, the superior film. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/17 "2012-01-23T20:45:38Z")
Maybe historically more accurate but that’s relative. The part where RR jumps off the bridge and the rope loops around the bads guys neck is a little ridiculous. That would have broken his neck or cruched his larynx, if not pulled his head completely off. And grabbing a sword blade so tightly so that your opponent can’t pull it back? I don’t know about that, either. I did like it when RR whacked with the villian with his sword, practically cutting him in half. I could see that happening. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/18 "2012-01-23T20:58:50Z")
Well, he didn’t have an actual noose around his neck, just a couple of coils of rope. And people more often than not strangled by hanging than having a quick, clean, broken neck. So I didn’t find it entirely implausible in that scene. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/19 "2012-01-23T21:15:28Z")
I also liked \*Rob Roy \*better than _Braveheart_. Tim Roth was a great villian. Jessica Lange did a great job as well. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377/20 "2012-01-23T21:17:51Z")
The only inaccurate historical point was that the Scots all wore shoes, which most of them would have sneered at in real life. Other than that, damn near perfect picture. Full disclosure: I own one of the kilts worn in the movie. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-rob-roy-1995-after-a-long-time/610377.md?page=2)