[Kenneth Armstrong]

In your opinion, what is the best movie that is relatively accurate in historical content with decent battle sequences (swordfighting in particular).

Totally inaccurate, but I have always loved the battle sequences in Braveheart.

[Nathan Robinson]

You might consider checking out this topics:

any good medieval or fantasy dvds to watch?

More movie talk...

[Mikko Kuusirati]

Rob Roy would be the best I've seen, and since you liked Braveheart I think you'd enjoy this one as well. It's also set in Scotland albeit centuries later, deals with the same kind of themes though on a more personal level, is far more historically accurate, with far more believable fights, and far better written, too, IMO.

The final duel is pretty much my personal benchmark for realistic and dramatic swordplay in film.

[George Hill]

[Allen W]

While Brave Heart is much better viewed as fantasy I find the fighting quite good (Though not reflective of the specific battles they were supposed to portray). The opportunistic aspect of it is very similar to what one reads in various sagas and chronicles.

[Edward Hitchens]

I'm definitely with you guys on Rob Roy. That's certainly one of my favorites.

"Aye, one might have hoped that a field so regularly plowed might have yielded one good crop..." Now that's what I call a metaphor!

Pardon me for saying so, but I've come to notice that topics like these yield disagreements on what is historical and what is not. Someone will note that the fight scenes in (let's say) Braveheart are historically accurate. Later, someone else will respond and say how totally inaccurate it was: "How can a film based on history be that inaccurate ... blah blah??" That, in turn, will spawn a sub-debate on defining and identifying historical record and the like. Perhaps we can disallow that from repeating here . I apologize for bringing up something irrelevent to Kenneth's question; I'm just suddenly having flashbacks of the Kingdom of Heaven topic from awhile back.

But to answer Kenneth's question, I'd say Rob Roy.

[Henrik Bjoern Boegh]

Another cheer for Rob Roy!

I love all the swordplay in that film. The tecniques look good, rapier VS. broadsword fights are very interesting, because there are mostly duels in the film you aren't distracted as much as in the more "epic"-styled filmes with great battles. Also the way fatigue is used as a weapon by the evil-yet-clever Cunningham (now that's the word; cunning )I find interesting.
The costumes are good (well, appart from the no-coat issue ), the weapons look good, the acting is great, the dialogue is amusing at times and all in all well written!

The sword fighting in Erroll Flynn films is very entertaining and dynamic. Robin Hood from 1938 which he stars in have some of the most entertaining swordplay I've ever seen in a film. Though this is not historically accurate
Master and Commander has some good scenes...

Cheers,
Henrik

[Laurie W]

An earlier cunning use of "fatique" and even being "older" was highlighted in the "13th Warrior's" Holmgang (duel) scene. The Viking Holmganga was a set duel with very laid out rules of engagement. First time I had seen this in a movie.

You can thank William Hobbs for the Rob Roy fighting. Great stuff!

[Jean-Carle Hudon]

I enjoyed the duel in Rob Roy, and I agree that Master and Commander is good, but for swordplay, get The Duellists by Ridley Scott, on a Joseph Conrad story set in the Napoleonic era, two military men who know what they're about who face off at every chance, with a much younger Harvey Keitel as the psychopath... the underlying history is very good, with the triumphant french hitting a wall in the retreat from Russia, Waterloo, the divided loyalties and finally the restauration... Most know Scott for the Gladiator, but I really think that myArmoury readers can appreciate the swordplay done in the Duellists.
Jean-Carle

[Bryce Felperin]

[Eric Myers]

Yes, The Duellists is great. Queen Margo is also quite good.

[Sean Flynt]

The Mission

[Daniel Staberg]

My personal favourites are the Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974) directed by Richard Lester with a cast that included
Michael York as d'Artagnan
Oliver Reed as Athos
Frank Finlay as Porthos
Richard Chamberlain as Aramis
Jean-Pierre Cassel as Louis XIII
Geraldine Chaplin as Anne of Austria
Charlton Heston as Richelieu
Faye Dunaway as Milady de Winter
Christopher Lee as the Count De Rochefort
Raquel Welch as Constance Bonacieux
Spike Milligan as M. Bonancieux
Roy Kinnear as Planchet

Good acting, great swordplay and a dose of earthy humour make these by far the best filmed versions of Dumas stories

[Henrik Bjoern Boegh]

Daniel,

Although I'm a great fan of both the books by Dumas and the 1973 and 74 films, I have to disagree a bit with you. The swordplay is great in the sence that's it's amusing and hugely entertaining! But it's not very good swordplay, I think. They are somewhat clumsy, and not masters of swordplay as Dumas describes them.
But, I do love the fighting scenes in those movies, and I think it's one of my all-time favourite films! Also I think the swordplay in these two films are far better than any of its' contemporary films; for instance The Man in the Iron Mask which also includes Richard Chamberlain.

I hope I didn't stirr up a heated debate with my little critisism :P

Cheers,
Henrik

[Nathan Hoin]

I agree whole heartedly with the Duellists, it is, in my opinion, the best historical film ever made. The smallsword duel seems very accurate to me and, as was already mentioned, the sabre duel is great as well. I'm glad Queen Margot was mentioned (I really love this film), which portrays the hopelessness of St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre very vividly. Very accurate in showing how hopeless street fighting can become, and there is an interesting hunting scene as well. The Three Musketeers is probably one of my favorite films of all time, great actors and characters, and the swordplay is amusing and reflects the characters involved, and with no pretensions to accuracy (which I think is commendable).

[Steve L.]

Don´t hit me: "Troy"

I´m an bronze age enthusiast and the fight between Eric "Hector" Bana and Brad "Achilles" Pitt is the best "reconstruction" of BA duell figthing i´ve ever seen. The BA weapons are made for an very quick combat, the pictures on minoan and proto-greece vases shows deep fighting stances - like the later asian fighting arts.

I hate this movie, but i like this fight!

Then follows Rob Roy...

And "the Jester" with Danny Kaye!

[Chuck Russell]

[Mikko Kuusirati]

On the off chance someone else here has seen it, what do you guys think of a little-known French film from 1997, Le Bossu? The title translates as "The Hunchback", but I think it was released in English-speaking regions as On Guard. It was based on a French novel of the same name, IIRC.

An intentionally - and very charmingly - old-fashioned swashbuckling adventure movie, I thought the fight sequences were quite nice and down-to-earth, except for "le Botte de Nevers" which I found a solid enough concept (a "secret" combo designed to set up and open an uninitiated opponent for an unavoidable finishing thrust) but ridiculous in execution (perhaps a little overly long and complex, the component moves weren't all that special and didn't actually set anything up as far as I could tell, and the finishing target was absurd). But the rest looked good enough, to my very-much-not-an-expert-on-the-era eye.

Also, Marie Gillain is heartbreakingly cute.

[Hugo Voisine]

I saw this movie a while ago... interesting one. Was the movie with Daniel Auteuil has Lagardère, right ?

I've heard once that the last half of the swords were CG.

[Vincent Le Chevalier]

Ah yes, "Le Bossu" is still one of my favourite among movies-with-swords

Though not necessarilly realistic, the fights are really entertaining and do not feature any "kung-fu moves" (flying kicks and the like), which I always found misplaced in such a context. I think I read somewhere that Michel Carliez, the fight director, had indeed studied period manuals (was it the one by Domenico Angelo ? I'm not sure now...). I think it reflects a bit in the action, but one must take into account that not all actors are great swordmen...

Concerning "la botte de Nevers", the idea is really taken from the book of Paul Féval that inspired the movie, and many argued that such an infaillible trick could not exist. It was made more complex in the movie, but I think it helps the spectator (not always an expert swordman either ) understanding what's going on. The finishing target is definitely in the book, it's a thrust between the eyes. It's said that Paul Féval was especially impressed by a similar strike he saw in a salle d'armes (he is a XIXth century writer, and fencing was quite common as a sport these days). I must confess I have a hard time understanding the move just from the description in the book though So I happily forgive the fight director...

And yes half swords were used indeed for safety reasons, a thrust to the eyes being clearly one of the must dangerous move to execute in a stage fight...

Regards