The Sword Teacher

I recently obtained a copy of 1977's The Duellists, directed by Ridley Scott.  Here is a taste:



While the fight shown goes against every Hollywood cliche about swordfighting, it is interesting to note that the fight director, William Hobbs, is also responsible for another favorite film of mine, featuring, again, some unusual swordfighting.  Alas, no decent fight example exists on youtube; I have to leave you with this, which is fair but doesn't begin to compare with the best scenes from the two films, 1973's The Three Musketeers and 1974's The Four Musketeers.



Some old timers might remember the Sean Connery and Robert Shaw film from 1976, Robin and Marian.  I wouldn't count the film as a good one, and the fight scene needed some work, but I know you D&D players.  The scene gives a good sense of fighting with heavy weapons.  And yes, it is William Hobbs again:



There's a reason why I'm not linking Hobbs' name to IMDb, and some of you will have leapt there already.  If so, you'll have found this standard for D&D players, the swordplay of which most of you will be very familiar:



And yes, this sword fight too:



This one too:



Gets a little freaky, doesn't it?  According to his bio, William Hobbs began as an actor in London and was told by Laurence Olivier, "Give it up."  He stayed with Olivier's company, however, as a fight director, and became ~ in my opinion, because he won no awards ~ the best.  His belief, quoting from IMDb, was that "the actors have to be working mentally on a conscious level of coolness, with complete body relaxation and control, so that their acted aggression can be performed with conviction and at the same time in absolute safety."

After Ladyhawke, Hobbs worked on Willow and Dangerous Liaisons (among other movies I won't mention).  The fight scene between John Malkovich and Keanu Reeves is highly reminiscent of scenes I've just watched in The Duellist. 

That brings us to another brilliant fighting film, and excellent throughout, 1990's Cyrano de Bergerac, directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau.  If you haven't seen the version, shame on you; nothing else compares to this version of the story and no other version I've seen comes remotely close to the depth of the romance or characters.  But here's the highlighted sword fight for today's post:



Hobbs captures every nuance of the poetry and pacing, to perfection.  Sliced apart from the film, the viewer will fail to capture more than a quarter of the full emotion here; I saw it in the theatre in 1990 and was blown away.  If you can see this on a big screen, ever, treat yourself to it.

Hobbs was 50 when he did the work for Gibson's performance in Hamlet, which I've never seen (and won't) and for the obscure 1991 Robin Hood with Patrick Bergin and Uma Thurman, which I've never seen.  It's a bit sad to think he's the sword fight "arranger" for the Man in the Iron Mask, which is all flynning ... though I suppose there are some tight moments.  Interesting to think he was working with both Depardieu and Malkovich again.  That might explain an actual Frenchman's appearance in that movie.

After a series of so-so and meh films (and yes, I'm counting Shakespeare in Love in that number, a classic example of a Oscar Best Picture that retains absolutely no interest whatsoever for a modern audience), his last contribution was 2005's Casanova with Heath Ledger.  I saw that film; I cannot remember a sword fight in it.  But the film was pretty forgettable.

If you go looking up his IMDb listing, take note of his stunts, too.  Hobbs was a dedicated film artisan.

He passed away on July 10, 2018, just about a year ago.  The man brought me a lot of enjoyment over the years.

Last clip ... here's the man himself: