What are some good fencing movies?
The following films involve some amount of swordfighting or
swashbuckling. They are rated on a four-star system, which is a
general critics' opinion of the film as a whole, not an indicator of
the quality or quantity of the film's fencing. Major actors and
occasionally the director (denoted by a '!') are named. Films with
2 stars or less have been omitted, as have recent films that have not
yet been widely released or reviewed.
The Adventures of Don Juan (1949, Errol Flynn, Raymond Burr, ***)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938, Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, ****)
Against All Flags (1952, Errol Flynn, Anthony Quinn, **1/2)
Barry Lyndon (1975, Ryan O'Neal, Patrick Magee, !Stanley Kubrick,
***1/2)
Black Arrow (1985, Oliver Reed, **1/2)
Black Pirate (1926, Douglas Fairbanks, ***1/2)
Black Swan (1942, Tyrone Power, Anthony Quinn, ***1/2)
Blind Fury (1990, Rutger Hauer, **1/2)
Bob Roberts (1992, Tim Robbins, ***1/2)
Captain Blood (1935, Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, ***1/2)
The Challenge (1982, Toshiro Mifune, Scott Glenn, **1/2)
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936, Errol Flynn, David Niven, ****)
Conan the Barbarian (1982, Arnold Scharzenegger, James Earl Jones,
**1/2)
The Corsican Brothers (1941, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, **1/2)
The Count of Monte Cristo (1934, Robert Donat, ***)
The Count of Monte Cristo (1975, Richard Chamberlain, Tony Curtis,***)
The Court Jester (1956, Danny Kaye, Basil Rathbone, **1/2)
Crossed Swords (1978, Raquel Welch, Charlton Heston, **1/2)
Cyrano de Bergerac (1950, Jose Ferrer, ***1/2)
Cyrano de Bergerac (1990, Gerard Depardieu, ****)
Dangerous Liaisons (1988, John Malkovich, Glenn Close, ***1/2)
The Duellists (1978, Harvey Keitel, Keith Carradine, !Ridley Scott,
***)
El Cid (1961, Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, ***)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, ****)
Excalibur (1981, Nicol Williamson, !John Boorman, ***1/2)
The Flame and the Arrow (1950, Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo, ***)
Flesh and Blood (1985, Rutger Hauer, !Paul Verhoeven, **1/2)
The Four Musketeers (1975, Richard Chamberlain, Michael York, ***)
Frenchman's Creek (1944, Basil Rathbone, Joan Fontaine, ***)
Glory (1989, Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, ***1/2)
Hamlet (1948, !Laurence Olivier, ****)
Hamlet (1969, Anthony Hopkins, ***1/2)
Hamlet (1990, Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, !Franco Zeffirelli, ***)
Henry V (1944, Laurence Olivier, ****)
Henry V (1989, !Kenneth Branagh, ***1/2)
Highlander (1986, Chistopher Lambert, Sean Connery, **1/2)
Ivanhoe (1953, Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, ***1/2)
Ivanhoe (1982, James Mason, **1/2)
Ladyhawke (1985, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, **1/2)
Long John Silver (1954, Robert Newton, Kit Taylor, ***)
Macbeth (1948, Orson Welles, Roddy McDowall, ***)
Macbeth (1971, Jon Finch, ***1/2)
The Magic Sword (1962, Basil Rathbone, **1/2)
The Man in Grey (1946, James Mason, Stewart Granger, ***1/2)
The Mark of Zorro (1920, Douglas Fairbanks, ***)
The Mark of Zorro (1940, Basil Rathbone, Tyrone Power, ***1/2)
Morgan the Pirate (1961, Steve Reeves, **1/2)
The Prince and the Pauper (1937, Errol Flynn, Claude Rains, ***)
The Princess Bride (1987, Mandy Patinkin, Cary Elwes, !Rob Reiner,
***)
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, David Niven, ****)
The Prisoner of Zenda (1952, Stewart Granger, James Mason, ***)
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939, Errol Flynn, ***)
Ran (1985, Tatsuya Nakadai, !Akira Kurosawa, ****)
The Return of the Jedi (1983, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, ***1/2)
Robin and Marian (1976, Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn, ***1/2)
Romeo and Juliet (1935, Basil Rathbone, Leslie Howard, ***1/2)
Romeo and Juliet (1954, Laurence Harvey, ***)
Romeo and Juliet (1968, Michael York, !Franco Zeffirelli, ***1/2)
Royal Flash (1975, Malcolm McDowell, ***)
Sanjuro (1962, Toshiro Mifune, !Akira Kurosawa, ***)
Scaramouche (1952, Stewart Granger, Janet Leigh, ***)
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1935, Leslie Howard, Merle Oberon, ***1/2)
The Sea Hawk (1940, Errol Flynn, Claude Rains, ****)
The Seven Samurai (1954, Toshiro Mifune, !Akira Kurosawa, ****)
The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958, Kerwin Matthews, ***)
Shogun (1980, Toshiro Mifune, Richard Chamberlain, **1/2)
Sinbad the Sailor (1949, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Maureen O'Hara, ***)
The Spanish Main (1945, Maureen O'Hara, Paul Heinreid, ***)
Spartacus (1960, Kirk Douglas, !Stanley Kubrick, ****)
Star Wars (1977, Harrison Ford, Alec Guinness, ****)
Sweet Liberty (1986, Alan Alda, Michael Caine, **1/2)
The Sword of Sherwood Forest (1961, Richard Greene, Peter Cushing,
**1/2)
The Three Musketeers (1935, Walter Abel, **1/2)
The Three Musketeers (1948, Gene Kelley, Lana Turner, ***)
The Three Musketeers (1974, Michael York, Raquel Welch, ***)
Throne of Blood (1957, Toshiro Mifune, !Akira Kurosawa, ****)
Tom Jones (1963, Albert Finney, Suzannah York, ****)
Under the Red Robe (1937, Raymond Massey, ***)
The Vikings (1958, Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, **1/2)
The Warriors (1955, Errol Flynn, **1/2)
Willow (1988, Val Kilmer, !Ron Howard, ***)
The Yakuza (1975, Robert Mitchum, Takakura Ken, ***)
Yojimbo (1962, Toshiro Mifune, !Akira Kurosawa, ****)
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985, Nicholas Rowe, **1/2)
Link to the next chapter: Is fencing going to be
eliminated from the Olympics?
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