Does anyone have any info on what the two swords used by mason and wagner in the final duel were made of. Those were two of the biggest broadswords I have ever seen, and for them to be wielded about the way the were leads me to believe that they were of some very light material and the sound effects were dubbed in.
shareI honestly never thought of that before. It looks cool anyway.
No arguement. It is very well done. I kind of got hooked into "how did they do that" after talking to a fencing instructor who was aware of how scenes in a few other swashbuklers were made. Also in doing renaissance faires myself and seeing jouster at work, I think back to scenes from Ivanhoe and El Cid and I have been trying to figure out how those were done. Possibly executed at normal speed and then speed up the camera. Joust a thought. I know that was bad, but they get worse.
shareThey were Made out of lightweight aluminum, and the ringing "Clang" noises were foleyed in later. This was commom practice in swashbucklers of the day. Look closely at "The Adventures of Robin hood" and you will see bent swords in several scenes, as the aluminum did not have the tensile strength of steel. The swords in "Prince Valiant" were so massive that they were hollow, as well, so they dented easily and had to be replaced frequently.
shareAlmost certainly correct.
This was also the case in The Adventures of Robin Hood.
It's really the only way they could have swung anything so heavy.
On the Blu-ray edition, they look pretty second hand at the end of the fight and you can see a lot of nicks in the edges.
To be more precise I believe they were made of Duraluminum. At least that's the name they gave in the featurette about the making of the Adventures of Robin Hood. Even though they weren't steel I imagine they could do a lot of damage if not handled properly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duralumin
According to Wikipedia it's first use was in rigid airships which I guess makes sense since you want to have strength and yet keep the weight down in such craft as the Hindenburg.
Sean, Do you know if Mason or Wagner filmed their whole duel themselves, or did they have any stuntmen?
Stunt doubles were used for some of the more physical aspects of the stunts,such as falling over tables, etc., but for the most part, Mason and Wagner did the ballance of the sword weilding themselves. Mason was doubled slightly more than Wagner was out of consideration for his age. Impressive, eh? In real life, of course, Broadswords were so heavy that only unusually strong men - who made up the bulk of warriors - could heft them, even with two hands.
shareThis is the one scene that stands out in my mind. I have never seen such a fierce sword fight. They really looked like they were going for blood. It has been years since I last saw this film, but it is still the best duel I have ever witnessed in a film.
Waffles Anyone
rstory-3
http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
No, the shadows on the wall duelling in The Adventures of Robin Hood was the best. This one was pretty good though, very savage. But a knight of Sir Brack's calibre wouldn't have left himself open to the final sword thrust like that. Still, loads of fun.
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