@@Rob-z7kAntonio Banderas was not a trained swords man, so they used stuntmen to pull that off. Power ( playing De la Vega\Zorro ) and Rathbone ( playing the villain ) were trained swordsmen both and they performed their sword fighting sequences on their own in this and every other movies where they had to perform one.
What's also fascinating about the scene is that this is one of the few times de la Vega showed his prowess as a fencer, rather than using his Zorro persona.
Loved how Diego took the sword when Estaban handed it to him.(Kept his fop persona to the end.) And Estaban's ever so tiny look of puzzlement (doubt?) when Diego sliced the candle.
When I took a fencing class in college, my instructor said that this was the most difficult duel ever filmed. My instructor was an alternate on the women's Olympic team in the 60's. She trained the college team, and they studied this duel. Tyrone Power's mother was an Olympic level competitor. Basil Rathbone was a fencing master and had training with the foil, Sabre, epee and could duel with weapons in both hands at the same time. His skill was what made others look good. When George Takei did some sword play in an early Star Trek episode, he studied with Craven, who choreographed this duel. Takei said the teacher told him that Basil Rathbone was a wild man with a sword, and that everybody was afraid of him, because he was so skilled.
Rathbone was a trained stage fencer. There were a few competitive fencers of Hollywood's golden era. The best of them was Cornell Wilde, a sabreur, who trained for the 1936 Olympics. The greatest fencer to ever appear in a Hollywood movie was Aldo Nadi, world champion and multiple Olympic winning foil fencer. Oddly, the film Nadi appeared in, he didn't fence. He played a crooked policeman in To Have and Have Not, starring Humphrey Bogart. There is footage of Nadi fencing in competition in the 1930s on RU-vid. Well worth checking out.
Whenever Basil Rathbone dueled Errol Flynn on the movie screen (twice that I know of) he went made sure that he made Errol Flynn look good. In this particular sequence Tyrone Power, an accomplished fencer himself, and Basil Rathbone did their very best to make each other look good!
Basil Rathbone said; “Power was the most agile man with a sword I’ve ever faced before a camera. Tyrone could have fenced Errol Flynn into a cocked hat.”
Born in 1963. Saw this as a kid. Was Zorro for several Halloweens. Whenever I was hit with a stick or a ball or a snowball or whatever it was always, "I needed that scratch to wake me up" and back into the fray redoubled. We can all learn a lot from Zorro. Especially mustache maintenance.
@FredCarpenter-pm8bf So you'd already been sword fighting for an year by the time @Greatbonestructure was born! Fantastic! You can legitimately say to him, "I was fighting duels while you were still in your nappies."
What makes this scene even more remarkable is the fact that Rathbone was born in 1892 so was 47 or 48 when this scene was filmed. Truly a great actor and swordsman.
Truly, one of, if not the greatest swordfight of all time! Tyrone died at 44,of a heart attack, after filming a swordfight, so it's amazing that Rathbone was 47, possibly doing this multiple times!
Another great feature about this sword fight is that it shows the actors, or stuntman's, entire body; similar to the way Fred Astaire used to show his entire body while dancing. The viewer gets to see how the players move. Unlike the majority of today's films which rely on fast editing, and one only sees parts of the actor's actions during a fight or dance scene.
Basil Rathborne, also did a super sword fight as Guy of Gisbourne in, "The Adventures of Robin Hood," 1938. He was 46 years old in that movie. Imagine, fighting so well against much younger actors, and the actors are, Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power, both lady's men, and both dying young about the age that Basil Rathbone is while playing this part.
Basil Rathbone and Tyrone Powell were both amazing swordmen. This was back in the time actors were "studio men", contractually attached to an studio, and trained whenever they were not filming.Basil Rathbone in particular was even an olympic fencer. For me, the best sword fight was the one in Robin Hood, with Rathbone playing Guy of Gisborne to Errol Flynn's Robin.
This one is the best for its technical skills. But there are many others great ones, ... the Sea Hawk with Errol Flynn, The Black Swan, Prisioner of Zenda, etc....
Americanized fight choreography for movies these days is horrid, always with the cuts to new camera angles at every attack, constant facial closeups, way too much shaking camera.
Well, because modern sword fights choreography takes more precautions on actors' safety, which causes usage of strikes which are out of measure, mistakes are often fixed with cuts etc. Back in the day those sequences were made with one shot, but requires lots of swordsmanship skill and practice for particular scene, as a mistake with steel blade (even a dull one) might be fatal (especially with sabres, longswords and other swords heavier then the fencing foils used here). Your skull will break if hit by a sword, it's sharpness doesn't matter.
DAMN, this is good. I know that in real life, it's the fight choreographer who is the unsung hero of scenes like this, but what a job he did here, and what perfection both Rathbone and Power (and whoever doubled for Power in some of the parts - you can tell when Zorro has his back to the camera that it is not always Power) displayed! The whole key to scenes like this is that although the sword fighters are really "dancing" to the steps orchestrated by the fight choreographer, they don't LOOK like they are "dancing" - they really do look like they are fencing in earnest and that only one of them is going to emerge on his feet when it is over. It's like the "train fight" scene in From Russia With Love -- you really do suspend all belief and are "hooked" into the scene. Compare that with some of the sloppy fight choreography in so many modern "martial arts" films (including, IMHO, the boxing scenes in the "Rocky" franchise, none of which look like genuine boxing matches) -- totally over the top, looking more like jitterbug dancing than actual fighting.
It's a fantastic scene that is well executed, but is completely historically and technically inaccurate. In the same way that different countries in Asia had distinctive fighting styles, so did the Europeans. Spain had the most distinctive fencing style of all, with the fighters using extremely long rapiers, which weren't in use in others places by this time, but also they stood very erect. This looks like sport fencing of the time using extremely light thrusting weapons (which somehow cut even though they don't have a cutting edge.😂) Also, the reality of an actual fight is someone is going to be injured or killed way faster than this.
@@helifanodobezanozi7689 too bad they could record fencing how it was back in the day. At least with a camera. Real life fencing probably would’ve been something to see
@@eduardomagana3858 Well, there are plenty of historical manuals going back to the 1500's. There are also accurate modern reproductions of the weapons used. Martial arts from other parts of the world, which have been continuous use are also a practical resource. (Sometimes they either incorporated techniques from European fencing or developed countermeasures to defeat western fencers.) All that is need is to draw on these resources and practice. Plenty of historical fencers post here on RU-vid.
@@helifanodobezanozi7689 The notion behind the length of this duel -- aside from entertaining the audience -- is that both fencers are supposed to be so exceptional, they can avoid injuries and fatal blows that most mere men cannot.
@@danieldickson8591 I've watched many fencers over the past 30 years who are from various martial arts backgrounds (European historical fencers, Japanese martial arts practioners and Filipino martial artists.) Men and women with decades of sparing experience. I even met a few of the Filipino martial artist who had actual combat experience with knives and short swords. The simple reality is, real fights with swords or knives between 2 or more parties that REALLY want to kill each other only last a few seconds/ moves before someone is either dead or injured. But don't take my word for it, read the historical accounts of actual duels or battlefield combat.
Ive seen hundreds of duel scenes from both old and new movies. As a fencer, a despise most of the terrible hollywood choreography. This duel has to be one of my favorites. Its not perfect but its fast, well paced, no suicidal spinning. But best of all, each reposte tries to hit the open target. I absolutely love it
@ernestkhalimov7407 What's a fencer? Is it someone who mends fences? Why would a fence-mender be so interested in sword fighting? I really don't see the connection.
@@theminister1154 YES! And you were referring to The Deluge from 1974 (the Polish film). That famous sword fight was incredible & amazingly realistic. The film itself was meant to take place in the mid 17th Century during Poland's war with Sweden. That fight was indeed very epic!
The realistic bleeding pierce to the chest is the most remarkable thing in this scene. Must have been startling to audiences of the time, as they were accustomed even years after this to seeing nothing remotely realistic, no wound that looked like even the shirt was pierced, let alone the flesh. This was one of my earliest favorite movies as a kid, one of the heroes I loved pretending to be. It wasn't enough for Sir Guy to die in a swordfight with Robin Hood. He had to be reincarnated as Captain Esteban Pasquale so he could do it all over again in this fight with Zorro!
My dad used to LIVE for these old movies especially when sword fighting was involved. He loved Basil Rathbone and Tyrone Power lol I miss hearing him talk about these kinds of scenes.
Master swordsman Fred Cavens choreographed this fight. His son Albert doubled for Tyrone Power to perform the more difficult and dangerous swordplay. Basil Rathbone won the British Army Fencing Championship twice, and thus needed no double. He was an expert swordsman that helped train Errol Flynn & Tyrone Power. The only actor equal to Rathbone for loveable bad guys is Alan Rickman, may they dine forever in Valhalla! The Albert Caven scenes: 1:43 to 1:50 2:00 to 2:09 2:40 to 2:50 3:18 to 3:32
What did I just witness then? Absolute perfection. The hours Messrs Rathbone and Power must have put in to get that right must have been immeasurable. In these days of CGI, this is harks back to the golden days when everything was done by pure skill. Excellent. 👍👍
It helped that they were world class swordsmen in real life! Basil Rathbone was a renowned swordsman with every class of sword!!! There were some movies where he actually forgot the script and demolished his co star!!! If there was a movie in that age that needed an evil baddie it was Send for Basil!!!!
It helped that they were world class swordsmen in real life! Basil Rathbone was a renowned swordsman with every class of sword!!! There were some movies where he actually forgot the script and demolished his co star!!! If there was a movie in that age that needed an evil baddie it was Send for Basil!!!!
What makes this fight so real is also the sound effects. Not sure if they were from the raw recordings on set but unlike most movies were the sword sounds sound grand and polished with the metalic tangs, each crossing of swords here are less a tang and more a WHACK! Any of those contacts could kill you making the fight so much more deadly.
Very astute. In fencing, we have tac parries and opposition parries. The consensus is that tac is from the sound of a beat. In general, swords don't clang.
Not sure if it was the case here, but on other sword-fighting productions, swords that look like sabres were actually epee blades with sabre grips. Modern sabres are actually very light and flexible; so they wouldn't bend and whip round in the air potentially injuring an actor, they put epees, the heaviest and stiffest of the blades, in the sabre grips. That might account for the good, solid sound as they clash (though it is likely that they dubbed the sounds in at least partially, I doubt the mics would have picked them up clearly enough)
The sound almost certainly would have been done in Foley, ie faked after the filming by Foley artists. The microphones and electronics they had in those days were very poor for getting live sound, a lot of times even the vocals would be dubbed later to match the video.
@@fionatsang9353 They actually appear to be sabres (but acting as sort of rapiers). The sabres of the late1800s to the early 1900s were very substantial. My classical fencing club uses replicas of them (and ours aren't even quite as beefy). At the time, they were considered heaviest of all three. There were still plenty around during Hollywood's golden age. However, most of the old "rapier" fights used theatrically hilted epee blades. I still use them for the stage quite often. On stage, the sound of clashing blades definitely works! No clang either! 😏
@@zulkifliali8832 Tyrone Power trained hard for the film, including under Basil Rathbone, but still needed a double for the most difficult passes. Rathbone needed no double.
Basil Rathbone had good form. He was always great at making the heroes look good. If you watch carefully, you can see the hero "search for the blade." Rathbone puts his blade in line, where the hero can find it. Other films featuring him also show this trait.
This is at 1:45 right? It looks like they pause the blades come together and it sounds almost like a tuning fork while it pauses stops and then the action restarts? And I saw it again at 2:04
The duel was staged by the great Fred Cavens. He made sure the actors worked out and were well-rehearsed. Cavens wanted his fencing scenes to look like fights and not choreographed routines, hence no jumping on furniture or spinning around. Power was doubled by Albert Cavens (Fred's son) in the flashier moments such as the shot where Don Diego's saber crashes through the bookcase.
In fact all those shots from Diego's back where the swordplay became dizzying were Albert. Some of the long shots and of course that final series of disengages ending in Estaban's death (where we don't see Diego's were as well.
I just noticed that when Diego cuts the candle, that’s not a camera trick, or at least it doesn’t seem to be since if you look close you can see the cut in the candle. Tyrone Power really did cut the candle so quickly and smoothly that it didn’t go out or seem to move at all. All that and yet it’s Basil Rathbone, his opponent, who was unquestioned as the best fencer in Hollywood. God these two must have been something else.
I just watched some modern movie sword fight scenes. Troy, Gladiator, Spartacus, stuff like that, then checked this one out. So much more fun, and the end was truly shocking. Bravo.
As an actor, Basil Rathbone seems to have been an outstanding swordsman. He was likewise as awesome and believable in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" with Erroll Flynn. I would not have wanted to cross swords with him, even if it was all choreographed. Honestly, how do you choreograph something like this without both actors getting sliced up? Truly remarkable athleticism, skill and artistry.
Once again, Tyrone Power was not an expert. The great Fred Cavens who choreographed this and many of the best swordfights of the time, was. Of course, Rathbone was an excellent fencer but what makes Cavens so great isn't experts like Rathbone but making inexpert swordsmen like Tyrone Power look like experts!
@@robertmcpherson1617 You seem to be trying very hard to discredit Tyrone's skill with the sword. While he may not have been as good as Basil, one of the best in Holllywood, he WAS very good too. Basil said that he was a better swordsman than Errol FLynn also. You appear to have some bias against Tyrone and are spouting nonsense that is unsupported by facts.
@@SR-iy4gg I got my information from an excellent book by Jeffrey Richard's, film historian. I also observed his form. I have been a classical fencer for forty years and I have instructed in that art for about 37 years. I started choreographing fights for the stage about 35 years ago. A teacher spots things...such as the angle of Mr. Powers's hip and the lean into the sword. These are signs that one is not an expert swordsman but they are difficult for most to see. Once again though, it does NOT take an expert swordsman to look good in a movie swordfight; it takes an excellent actor. That, Tyrone Power was! My main point though is that these fights were largely the product of a fight choreographer! A side note, Tyrone Power himself once disputed claims of his sword mastery. Up until these films he wasn't even trained. I love Tyro e Power; I love this film and that fight is my favorite fight from the movies. I do apologize if I have offended anyone; it was never my intention.
Rathbone was a master fencer, and instructed and choreographed many sword fighting scenes. He taught both Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn, and stated that Power was a far superior fencer. Of course, since he usually played the villain, Basil almost never won an on screen sword fight
The only part of your post with which I disagree is your statement that Rathbone "usually played the villain." You seem to have forgotten that his best-known role was playing Sherlock Holmes, one of cinema's most iconic heroes. Of course, Holmes never had to fight with a sword, just a violin.
@@josephosheavideos3992 😂you are correct of course and I do absolutely remember his classic portrayal of Holmes. I should have clarified by saying in his roles before Sherlock Holmes
Basil Rathbone was one of the best swordsmen in Hollywood at that time. And he said Tyrone Power was an excellent fighter. If you can find other sword fights with Basil Rathbone I recommend viewing them.
His opinion in this has been called into question. Fred Cavens (you know, the choreographer) said virtually the opposite about Power. Another thing is that Rathbone wasted no words denigrating Errol Flynn, whom he found unprofessional and too idolized.
@@robertmcpherson1617 I'll take Basil Rathbone's opinion, that of an expert, over yours, some anonymous Tyrone Power basher, any day of the week. Basil actually knew how to swordfight and fought against Tyrone and others, so he had expert and first-hand experience.
@@kenchristie9214 I know Basil Rathbone was an Olympic-quality swordsman, and I've heard that although Danny Kaye didn't become a swordsman, he had enough aptitude that he could have become an excellent one.
It's impressive how fast and athletic these two men are, though not surprising considering that Rathbone is a real master with the sword. Actors these days depend on fancy editing and a shaky camera to look like they know how to fight.
@@superdicas7815 correct. Side note, Power was not all that athletic, certainly not with the sword! He was heavily doubled by the choreographer's son. There is actually a strong resemblance. Check out the 1950 Cyrano de Bergerac. Valvert is the guy who is doubling for Tyrone Power here.
Helping this scene along was the compressed space; most sword fights on film involved large areas and running from room to room -- but having them fight here, in close quarters, ratcheted up the tension and allowed them to use their skills to the fullest
Greatest fencing ever seen on film. I never knew that Rathbone was an Olympic fencer. He and Tyrone's swordplay in this movie was nothing short of absolutely awesome. Let's not forget master swordsman Cavens and his son Albert, beautiful work, hats off to all. I don't believe we will see the beauty of this art again in my lifetime. This was the work of true craftsmen at it's best. Peace
Definitely one of the best sword fights on film. I enjoyed the story over all how they established Diego as a well trained and seasoned soldier who has experience with one on one combat.
wow the choreography is incredible compared to modern sword fights... how did things regress so badly? nowadays its a bunch of silly twirling and hacking like they are swinging clubs at each other.
This is, IMHO, the Greatest Fencing scene in all of Cinema...I've seen "The Mark Of Zorro", a number of times & it's a "Classic"...Bravo to Tyrone Power & Sir Basil Rathbone for this magnificent performance!.. ******
As a fan of Basil Rathbone portraying the series of Sherlock Holmes, I never knew he was an excellent swordsman and in this movie! Great talent Mr. Rathbone and you will always be the best Sherlock Holmes!
@@rowanaforrest9792 Two times champion in millitary fencing and he used his fencing in real battle on the first wordl war, he even has a military cross medal.
@@vagiasthanasis I read here on RU-vid that Tyrone Power was taught fencing by his Mother . Is that true ? Or did he learn Fencing from another instructor ?
Wow! What a great sword fight! Basil Rathbone was a superb swordsman for real and said once in an interview that he was a much better fencer than Errol Flynn. This scene really shows how skilled he was, but kudos to Tyrone Power as well. Power really looked good! I'd love to know how long it took to choreograph this fight! It actually appears much more real and complex than Rathbone's fight with Flynn in Robin Hood, which is generally considered to be the best sword fight in cinema history!
Rathbone had a duel with Danny Kaye (their characters, that is) in "The Court Jester." I've read that although Danny Kaye didn't train as a swordsman, Rathbone and others said he showed such aptitude that he could have become a really good swordsman. Not something you'd expect of Kaye, who was mostly a comedian.
No. This scene is considered the best swordfight in movie history by those that know something of the sport. Rathbone said Flynn was lazy and not a good student. Power was trained early on, and for years by his mother, an Olympic fencer. Rathbone would always say Power was the most skilled screen swordsman he ever fought.
Basil Rathbone was an Olympic class swordsman who was also a member of the British Army fencing team. He could beat Errol Flynn with ease and he was also paid more than Flynn. The Robin Hood movies have plenty of great sword fights - and Basil let him!
@@davidthomas307 In The Adventures of Robin Hood? No, that was the Tasmanian Flynn. This video was Power, but the OP specifically name-checked the Robin Hood movie.
Their exchanges are insane. Steady cam, few to no cuts during the action. It's choreographed not unlike a stage play. If only we could marry this way of filming fights to more historical accuracy we would have awesome fights in films.
Are you sure the audience want historical accurate fights in the movies? Problem with the realistic duels is that they are almost always short and lack of dramatism audience could understand.
I must have seen this film about forty years ago. The one part I remembered well was the candle scene. Seeing this again - wow - amazing swordsmanship on display.
I clicked on this really bit ready for how good the fencing was actually going to be. And readable, too. So many fights scenes are either really bad fencing, impossible to read or both. Great scene.
Wow! No one? A lot of people don't know that Tyrone Power was an actual master swordsman and he was so good with a sword he actually cut that candle in half for real. My mother told me when I was little first watching the movie. If you slow it down to .25 speed you can see the blade going through the candle.
Rathbone was a participant in three of the greatest screen sword fight - Zorro with Tyrone Power, and Robin Hood and Captain Blood with Errol Flynn. Magnificent!
Don't forget his duel with Danny Kaye in "The Court Jester"! Though a comedy, Basil said Danny did remarkably well, esp. after being"bewitched" by Mildred Natwick!
