QUOTE (HK 47 @ Dec 31 2004, 05:58 AM)
Anyway njamilla I wanted to ask you, do you have any examples of brilliant and realistic japanese swordplay in movies? Which are, by the connaisseurs, considered to be the best?
Brilliant Japanese swordplay? My criteria for judging a sword fight in a movie is how it works in the film, and then I go for the technicalities and style. If I want real fencing I go to a salle d'armes or a dojo. If I want good fighting in a movie, it's got to help tell the story and not detract from it. I find all the attack parry sword play boring. My preference is for realistic blood scenes so that people understand that sword fighting is not just fun and games. Obviously, Hollywood and most film makers (as well as many sword fight choreographers) want the romantic flare. And funny as this may seem, I'm not at all versed in sword fights in samurai movies. I'll watch almost any movie at least once for the sword fight, but I'm not by any means a connaiseur.
But, here's my short list of recent films off the top of my head of movies that impressed me in some way that it's worth making a comment. It's not a list of tecnically good swordfighting, however. And please to don't string me up for omitting some movie.
Princess Bride: Great duel between Wesley and Ingo. Trampoline part was fake, but everything else, especially the references to fencing manuals, was part of a well choreographed duel. The two men's technical deficiencies are far outweighed by the feel for the fight.
Bourne Identity: There's no sword fighting, but a great way to show effective techniques. You don't need to see the techniques, simply to allude to them. The choreographer, who was also mentioned in that newspaper article, did those fights.
Lord of the Rings: I finally figured out the block and slam away technique that is the core of the sword fight training for the extras (but also seen in the principals choreography). I'm more enamored of the mass battles because I'm fascinated by Swiss pike formations.
Duellists: I love the realism of the fights as the protagonist and antagonist engage in duels through their life times. Great choreography which shows the tension.
Troy: Loved the scene in the first battle -- 1 hit one strike. That's authentic sword fighting in the sense, that the purpose of the fight is to get the job done. Duels only exist when there is a parity in fighting ability. Achilles dispaches people left and fight, which is very true of real sword fighting. It's ability (as well as some luck) which allows swordsmen to survive battles. Most people on a battle field have basic training, but the best swordsmen survive. That's why the nobility remained dominant in Sparta, Japan, and in Feudal Europe. Guns, which could kill the best swordsmen with no training, allowed plebians to take over.
OK, that's it for now. I could spend all day writing this. Would love your opinions. BTW, I just read John Clements "Renaissance Swordsmanship." Great book, from my point of view. He's pretty succinct in his explanations and drawings, which are all obvious to me because of my background.