Choose your wepons, gents...................

[Dave:Blackeye15]

Can I have Bio-Booster Armor? That makes my strengh super powerful and I can also have this blades come out of my elbows so it can be Swords but I would be able to shoot lasers and blasters so I can be guns also. (Damn cold medicine is making me insane.)

-the first rule of fat club-

[The Burgomaster]

When I think of brutal swordfights, movies like CONAN THE BARBARIAN and EXCALIBUR come to mind. On the other hand, I think THE MASK OF ZORRO had some nicely choreographed "precision" swordplay.

As for guns, I'd have to go with THE WILD BUNCH, THE KILLER, HARD BOILED, and DESPERADO for all-out, over-the-top mayhem.

[Fearless Freep]

I guess I think it would be cool to see a sword fight where it looked like one swordsman was actually trying to hit the other, rather than just hitting each others blades in the middle.

I think I read somewhere that swordfights between people who really know what they are doing are actually over fairly quickly

[Conrad]

Equilibrium!

No?

Okay, okay, I'll get my coat ...

[AndyC]

Yeah, we mostly see stage swordfights, the way they've been done in the theatre for centuries. That is a skill in itself, and very entertaining, but not an accurate portrayal of swordfighting. We've gotten something of a romanticized view of swords.

The best demonstration I've ever seen, one that really drove home the brutality of swordfighting, was on Connections, a show that used to be on TLC. To give viewers a realistic picture, the host, James Burke, picked up a sharp broadsword and started swinging it at a side of beef hanging in front of him. Even in the hands of a middle-aged historian, this thing was cutting huge, deep gashes, and making the most disgusting noise every time it hit the meat. I've never seen that kind of realism in a movie.

As for movies that portray gunfighters as skilled warriors, I'd have to list The Last Man Standing as one of my favourites.

[Flangepart]

I saw that Connections, AndyC. Perfect example of what a sword or other sharp blade does to meat. And as Burke said, "To a sword, thats all a man is!"

[Fearless Freep]

Ah.. "Connections"...loved that show!

[Susan]

Swords are primal, they are far more threatening. I once housesitted for my brother out in the country and his wife gave me the machette, she said it was far more menacing for a stranger to try and attack you if you are holding a giant blade than if you were holding a gun. I think guns have been overdone that those massive shootouts don't raise much of an eyebrow anymore.

There is honor in hand to hand combat than using a gun at a safe distance. I think anyone who used this close form of contact in a battle or duel was far more braver than someone with a gun could ever be.



Post Edited (10-06-03 21:42)

[devil clown]

sowrds are so much better you can slice and dice with one were a gun just punches holes out of the bad guys. blade fights look better  as well its alll up close and personal

[thefeen]

Say what you like about swordsmen being graceful and honourable, people with guns kill people with swords. John Matrix armed to the teeth would blow Conan's melon off - no matter how barbaric he was.

'Your blade may cut deep, but mine fires 500 rounds per minute'

[Flangepart]

Hummm....
It would seem there is something to be said about the effect of production technology here.
Once, swords were hard to make, espchualy the good ones. ( Katana anyone?)
Now, the standard has changed.
Good serviceable knives and swords are easy to get, and so are guns.
So, why are guns the prefered wepon of choice? Because, in all honesty, they even the odds.
At least, up to a point....
Shooting skill is different then sword play. More abstract, so to speak.
But, both require the same focus and courage if your going to survive. Its just expressed in many different details.
Sight picture, breath control and fne motor skills apply to the shooter as well as the swords man. The bullet extends the reach, as does an arrow, but it still takes concentration of effort to get the job done.
In short....AIM!...yeah, Imp Stormtroopers, i'm lookin at you!...ya putzes...
Swords blocks sword? Well, stone wall blocks bullet. Camo allows a close approach to the prime kill zone. Bullets run out, but swords break.
How many swords strokes go amiss, as bullets do?

No. Neither requires the less of its user.  The tactics differ, but the courage is the same, i think.
Think Phasers. Insted of ripping a mans body apart with kenitic energy applyed to a piece of metal, you apply the energy directly.
In short, its scary to be on the recieveing end of any wepon....

But....i'd still rather be shot, then see that piece of steel with my name on it....

[BoyScoutKevin]

Interesting discussion an interesting topic. Let me peg it here, until I can give it some thought.

[Scott]

The whip is my weapon of choice. This saddistic weapon has been used in many of my favorite films. Nothing like a good whipping or flogging. This is so much more than a weapon.

Mutiny on the Bounty
One Eyed Jacks
Django
Bloody Pit of Horror
Blood Sucking Freaks
The Ape Man

[Funk, E.]

"Equalibrium" has a "gun kata" that they demonstrate a number of times that might fit the bill.

[BoyScoutKevin]

Here is my thought on the subject. It depends.

If I ever was in a duel, I am so bad at duelling, the best I could hope for is a draw; therefore, I would choose a gun over a sword, and a shotgun at that. I may not walk away, but, I am going to make sure my opponent does not walk away either.

On the other hand . . .
If I had to chose to see something on the screen.

Exciting Gunfights
Alias Jesse James
Dick Tracy
How the West Was Won
Logan's Run
Rough Night in Jericho

Exciting Swordfights
Black Swan
Candleshoe
Four Musketeers
Lionheart (1987)
Parent Trap (1998)
Pirates of the Caribbean
Princess Bride
Quentin Durward
Scaramouche
Siren of Baghdad
Zorro (1977)

Thus I find swordfights more exciting then gunfights.

On the other hand . . .
If I was someone else and had to participate in some battle from the past (at least from those depicted on film) these would be my choices.

Swords Only. No Guns
Siege of Orleans (The Messenger)

Both Swords and Guns
Waterloo (Waterloo)
The Battle of the Alamo (The Alamo)
Assault on Fort Wagner (Glory)
Iswandhala (Zulu Dawn)

Guns Only. No Swords.
None

If the study of warcraft generates any interest, then for me, it would be that time when the gun began to supercede the sword, but had not totally replaced it.

As for how long a swordfight lasts, it would seem to me it would depend upon the skill or lack thereof of the participants, what is considered the conclusion, and the sword used.

Two opponents of equal skill would seem to last longer, then where one opponent is far more skilled then his or her opponent.

Is the conclusion, the first drawing of blood, which would last less long, then a fight to the death, as a person can take alot of damage, when they are fighting for their lives?

A fight with a large, heavy sword would seem to take a shorter time, as it would do more damage, then a small, light sword, unless a killing thrust could be gotten in.

As for length of time, and this would be with a large, heavy broadsword, without any timeouts, rest periods, and continuous combat, I have heard the maximum is twenty minutes for the average man, before he would become too exhausted to wield it any longer.

And, ending on a personal note, I have found the sword to be more personal then a gun, because, usually, one has to get closer to one's opponent to stick 'em, then shoot 'em.