10 Best Swordfighters in Cinema

Nerd Bastards has their list:

1)Darth Maul
2)The Bride-Kill Bill 1 and 2
3)Aragorn- Fellowship
4)Count of Monte Christo (2002)
5) Achilles- Troy
6) MadMartigan- Willow
7) Wesley- The Princess Bride
8) Maximus- Gladiator
9) Prince Nuada- Hellboy 2
10) 13th Warrior

I am shocked to see no mention of Zorro! Not one! And no Errol Flynn? I told The Younger Son about this list, and he wrote up one of his own before looking at it. His list (in no particular order):

Zorro (Tyrone Power)
the cast of The Seven Samurai
The Bride (Kill Bill)
Darth Vader
Keith Carradine (The Duellists)
River Tam (Serenity)
Rochefort (Christopher Lee)
King Leonidas (300)
Rob Roy (Liam Neeson)
Chow Yun Fat (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)

HT: The Zeray Gazette

Lugh

Today The Younger Son and I attended Lugh. This is our second time to attend Lugh and our 3rd local event. We hadn't intended on attending Feast because we had thought it was scheduled for late in the afternoon, but it turned out to be planned for 1. The Younger Son won the rapier tournament, and so he was invited (I was included in the invitation) to sit at the head table with Their Excellencies the Baron and Baroness. They were most gracious hosts and made us feel quite welcome.

I didn't see any notice of presentations by the Herbal Guild today, so I've given in and requested to join the Yahoogroup they use. There aren't many posts at the group site, but I am interested in learning about them and may have better luck there than at events.

I saw some beautiful garb at the event. It makes me wish that I either could sew or had lots of money.

Lugh

The Younger Son and I went to Lugh today, a one-day event -our first SCA event- hosted by the Barony of Grey Niche. It was held out at the St. Columba Conference Center.

Nobody laughed at my pitiful attempt at "garb" -at least not where I could hear them- which was an even greater relief than I had realized it would be. We got to stay for the feast when someone at Troll said they had extra feast gear we could use. People could not have been more welcoming of us as newcomers and strangers. Baron and Baroness of Grey Niche Their Excellences Dagan al-Mahdi ibn Yusuf ib Hilal & Mahseed Leily (I got the names off the Grey Niche web site. It's still Greek to me.) were gracious and even commented to The Younger Son on how well they thought he had done. We were very impressed.

The Younger Son got qualified in rapier and won 3 of his fights. The rapier champion is a man who is regular at the weekly fighter practices and so is known to us. He and his Lady got to sit at the head table during the feast and were to be presented at the court to be held at 5:30 this afternoon. We were sorry to miss Court. The Younger Son got a chance to fight with 2 fighters from outside our Barony, one of whom was also a mat fencer, which was great fun. We saw the youth fighters' event. I attended the presentation on period shoes, which was fascinating.

If I could have changed anything about the event I'd have had everything announced loudly by the herald. I missed the talk on herbs, not realizing anything had started yet.

This was a great event, and it's interesting to me beyond just what it takes to support The Younger Son in his rapier involvement. I've always had a particular interest in medieval history, especially the pre-1400 part. There doesn't seem to be much local interest in music on its own, though I've heard some talk of dance events, and I haven't seen any mention of church history or pilgrimage topics, but there does seem to be some local interest in herbalism. There are weekly meetings alternating business meetings with Arts and Sciences topics. I went to their last meeting, which dealt with how to navigate all the issues around Troll-ing for an event. I'm planning to go to the meetings for a while.

7/15/2008:
Someone else who was there has written about it.

How to Make a T-Tunic

I don't sew, don't have a sewing machine and had to buy thread 'cause I didn't have black, but I made a tunic that'll do (oh, I do hope it'll do!) for The Younger Son to wear tomorrow. I adapted this pattern, leaving out the keyhole at the neck and not sewing all the way down the sides. The shirt we ordered hasn't come yet, so this will hopefully get him through tomorrow. Lugh will be our first event to attend since he began fencing with the Society for Creative Anachronism about a year ago. He's hoping to get authorized to fight in rapier events, and Alyssia has offered to meet us early so she can observe and test him.

I'm thinking that since it's a Roman-themed event I'll wear a sheet and dare them to laugh. Well, I'll hope they don't laugh loud enough for me to hear.

With the Marines at Tarawa

Coffee Coffee and More Coffee has inspired me to watch With the Marines at Tarawa in honor of Memorial Day:

That 18 minute film, With the Marines at Tarawa won the 1945 Oscar for Best Documentary short subject. Two marines in the photographic unit died filming the battle, while Captain Hayward, who was on the beach as well, was awarded the Bronze Star. For me, it seems more appropriate to remember Louis Hayward on Memorial Day, than to watch war films starring actors who chose to stay at home.

Louis Hayward was a British actor (The Man in the Iron Mask, And Then There Were None) who enlisted in the marines after Pearl Harbor and served in the photographic unit documenting the war.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

We went to the mall theater to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull after church and a quick burger this afternoon. I had read such scathing reviews from disappointed viewers that I went in with low expectations. The few positive reviews I had seen were an encouragement to me, but still... I dreaded another Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, second in the series and the one I never forgave them for.

I liked this one. I think it's not as good as the original film but every bit as good and probably better than the third one. It is fun and action-packed, but the best thing about this installment is the return of Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood. She's wonderful, with that beautiful smile, and I can believe in her full and happy life as Marion Ravenwood Wilson between movies 1 and 4.

There are some really cool scenes, including fencing scenes that The Younger Son says are about the best he's seen in modern movies. I'm not impressed by the monkey scene. That's the one scene I'd cut if I were given the choice, but then, what do I know. Some seem to like that scene.

I'm glad I went and will buy the DVD when it's available.

trailer:


Reviews:

Roger Ebert
Cinematical has a review and bunches of links.
/Film has links to early reviews.
NYTimes
Rolling Stone
Salon.com
CSMonitor
Variety
wired.com
Slate
scifi.com
Slant Magazine

Locus:

... there's still enough of the old magic, and heart, left in to leave no doubt that this was a film that everyone involved really wanted to make for the characters and story, not just for the paycheck. That, among many other virtues, is what elevates Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull above the vast majority of would-be blockbusters this and any other summer.

6/3/2008:
SFSignal has a review. He doesn't mention the return of Karen Allen.

Old Nuns Fencing

Click here to see actual photos of nuns on walkers waving rapiers. More photos here and here.

The photo is from Michael Heilemann's Flickr page.

The Speed of Dark

What a wonderful book! I remember my first book by Elizabeth Moon -Remnant Population. I thought it was wonderful, too, and still remember it with joy. Then I read Trading in Danger. It was ok, but the further away from it I got the less willing I was to invest in the rest of the series.

The Speed of Dark won the 2003 Nebula, which is really the reason I bought it. I don't know what I expected given the 2 Moon books I had read, but this is a thought-provoking work.

from the back of the book:

Thoughtful, poignant, and unforgettable, The Speed of Dark is a gripping exploration into the world of Lou Arrendale, an autistic man who is offered a chance to try a brand-new experimental "cure" for his condition. Now Lou must decide if he should submit to a surgery that might completely change the way he views the world - and the very essence of who he is.

To top it off there is fencing. Lots of fencing.

from the InfinityPlus review:

Every now and then -- and it's extremely rare -- a book comes along that is so very, very good that one's actually slightly nervous of reviewing it, in case, crazily, the clumsiness of one's review will somehow mar the integrity of the novel itself.

The Speed of Dark is one such book.
...
The Speed of Dark is one of those exceptionally rare novels that has the power to alter one's entire worldview, and reading it is a profoundly rewarding and enriching experience. It is impossible to avoid superlatives when speaking of it

from the SFSite review:

It's taken me more than two months to write the review for Speed of Dark. It shouldn't take this long to write a review. It is not for lack of trying, I can assure you. But every time I set fingers to keyboard, something freezes up.

It's not that I don't have anything good to say about the novel -- far from it. Speed of Dark is easily the most powerful thing I've read this year.
...
It doesn't lend itself to easy categorization, defies snappy summation. It's challenging and accessible at the same time, and easily surpasses Moon's previous high water mark, the Hugo-nominated Remnant Population. At worst, Speed of Dark is a magnificent character study. At best, it's the most powerful book you'll read this year.

The SciFiDimensions reviewer says:

It's one of the most emotionally resonant and philosophically intriguing SF novels in recent years. I give it my highest recommendation.

from SciFi.com:

All in all this is a well-crafted, captivating novel that science-fiction lovers will enjoy and can then pass on to their mainstream-reading friends.

There is a reading group guide here and a blog here.

The Student of Prague

The Student of Prague is a 1926 silent remake of a 1913 film by the same name. Conrad Veidt stars in the title role.

A poor student trades "anything in this room" to a money lender for a fortune with which to court a rich heiress. The money lender takes the man's reflection in the mirror, his "second self". There are a few scenes of fencing bouts in this film, especially in that second part, so let me know how their form is, ok?

"The deeds of ... lost reflection." Indeed.

1000 Misspent Hours says, "Though it very closely resembles the 1913 interpretation directed by Stellan Rye, it is a much more mature film, and it benefits from reuniting the actors who had played the two memorable villains in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari."

Youtube has this online divided into 9 sections, all of which are embedded below:

part 1:

part 2:

part 3:

part 4:

part 5:

part 6:

part 7:

part 8:

part 9:

R.I.P. Jan Romary, fencer

Janice-Lee Romary, Olympic fencer, died on May 31.

HT: BlogOfDeath

The Fencer Lunges

And what a lunge!

HT: O'DonnellWeb