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| {{otheruses2|By the Sword}} | |||
| {{Infobox Film | |||
| | name = By the Sword | |||
| | image = | |||
| | image_size = | |||
| | caption = | |||
| | director = ] | |||
| | producer = ],<br />] | |||
| | writer = ],<br />] | |||
| | starring = ],<br />] | |||
| | music = ] | |||
| | cinematography = ] | |||
| | editing = ] | |||
| | distributor = | |||
| | released = | |||
| | runtime = 91 mins. | |||
| | country = | |||
| | language = | |||
| | budget = | |||
| | gross = | |||
| | website = | |||
| | amg_id = 1:131795 | |||
| | imdb_id = 0101524 | |||
| }} | |||
| '''By the Sword''' is a 1991 film starring ] and ] | |||
| as world-class fencers. Directed by ], this is the first | |||
| ] about ].<ref name="rosenbaum">{{cite web | |||
| |url=http://onfilm.chicagoreader.com/movies/capsules/1526_BY_THE_SWORD.html | |||
| |author=Jonathan Rosenbaum | |||
| |publisher=Chicago Reader | |||
| |title=By the Sword | |||
| |accessdate=2007-04-25 | |||
| }}</ref> Although some reviews of its 1993 U.S. theatrical release noted favorably | |||
| the lead acting and action sequences, the screenplay was considered "terrible".<ref name="canby" /> The film was rated R by the ]. | |||
| ==Plot== | |||
| {{spoiler}} | |||
| Roberts plays Alexander Villard, a former fencing champion who runs a | |||
| highly competitive fencing school. One of his students describes him as | |||
| "a freak who thinks he's living in the fourteenth century".<ref name="timeout">{{cite web | |||
| |url=http://www.timeout.com/film/68687.html | |||
| |publisher=timeout.com | |||
| |title=By the Sword | |||
| |accessdate=2007-04-25 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| Abraham plays Max Suba, who introduces himself as a fencing instructor. | |||
| Villard initially gives him a job as a janitor, but Suba demonstrates | |||
| that he can fence, and can teach. Villard is "arrogant but not unkind", | |||
| and eventually gives Suba his chance.<ref name="ebert">{{cite web | |||
| |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19930514/REVIEWS/305140301/1023 | |||
| |author=Roger Ebert | |||
| |title=By The Sword | |||
| |date=May 14, 1993 | |||
| |accessdate=2007-04-25 | |||
| }}</ref> Suba is assigned the beginning students. | |||
| As Suba's teaching style manifests itself, it conflicts with | |||
| the Maestro's unforgiving approach. The inevitable clash of egos, | |||
| and a shared past slowly revealed through flashbacks, | |||
| results in a dramatic duel between the two fencers. | |||
| {{endspoiler}} | |||
| ==Cast and crew== | |||
| In addition to F. Murray Abraham as Max Suba, and Eric Roberts as | |||
| Alexander Villard, the film credits ] as Erin Clavelli and | |||
| ] as Jim Trebor, both students at the fencing | |||
| school. Abraham had won an ] | |||
| for his work in '']'' in 1984, and Roberts had been nominated for | |||
| ] | |||
| in 1985. Mia Sara is best known for her role as Ferris Bueller's girlfriend in | |||
| '']''. | |||
| ] plays Rachel, Suba's romantic interest. ], | |||
| who has appeared in '']'' and '']'', | |||
| plays fencing student Danny Gallagher. Other students are | |||
| played by ] and ]. In her second film | |||
| appearance, Eve Kagan plays Villard's daughter. (Her first | |||
| appearance had been in 1989, in a film also directed by Kagan.) | |||
| ] composed the score. Conti had won an 1983 | |||
| ] for the score | |||
| to '']'', and is famous for the themes for the | |||
| movie '']'' and '']''. The score was | |||
| performed and recorded by classical Guitarist ]. | |||
| Jeremy Kagan was a prolific television director. For his work | |||
| with the ] episode ''Leave of Absence'', he won an | |||
| ] for ] in 1996. | |||
| ==Release== | |||
| Although made in the U.S., the film was released in France | |||
| under the title "Par l'épée" in October, 1992.<ref>{{cite web | |||
| |url=http://www.cinemotions.com/modules/Films/fiche/23002/Par-l-epee.html | |||
| |publisher=cinemotions.com | |||
| |title=Par l'épée | |||
| |accessdate=2007-04-25 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| It was shown in U.S. theaters in May 1993, and found its way | |||
| to ] in 1994 as a ] home video. | |||
| ==Reception== | |||
| The film has received nearly opposite reviews. ] says "the movie | |||
| adds some supporting characters in order to show us things about fencing | |||
| that we didn't know",<ref name="ebert" /> yet another reviewer finds the | |||
| minor characters "unnecessary" and "thinly drawn", so "the film suffers | |||
| whenever the plot focuses on them".<ref name="thespinning">{{cite web | |||
| |url=http://www.thespinningimage.co.uk/cultfilms/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=1010&aff=13 | |||
| |publisher=thespinningimage.co.uk | |||
| |title=By the Sword | |||
| |accessdate=2007-04-25 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| Although ] critic ] says the | |||
| film "suffers from overdone, mannerist performances by the two | |||
| leads",<ref name="rosenbaum" /> another reviewer says "the key to | |||
| this film resides in the performances by Eric Roberts and | |||
| F. Murray Abraham".<ref name="thespinning" /> The film | |||
| develops Suba's character in particular, revealing a | |||
| past that "he seems unable to completely let go of."<ref name="thespinning" /> | |||
| Ebert says of the lead actors: "they create characters much | |||
| more interesting and dimensional than this thin screenplay | |||
| really requires."<ref name="ebert" /> | |||
| The most consistent point noted in review is poor screenplay | |||
| and directing. ] critic ] calls | |||
| the screenplay "nonsense", saying bluntly: "the screenplay | |||
| is terrible, full of unfinished subplots and lines that appear | |||
| to announce its essential aimlessness."<ref name="canby">{{cite news | |||
| |author=Vincent Canby | |||
| |publisher=New York Times | |||
| |title=Review/Film; Fencing as Metaphor for Honor and the Lack Thereof | |||
| |date=October 22, 1993}}</ref> Regarding one of the more | |||
| important subplots, a critic wrote: "Sadly, Kagan a routine | |||
| television and film director adds nothing to the intriguing | |||
| notion of a man who's spent half his life in prison returning | |||
| to the scene of his crime."<ref name="channel4">{{cite web | |||
| |url=http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=101688 | |||
| |publisher=Channel4.com | |||
| |title=By The Sword | |||
| |accessdate=2007-04-25}}</ref> | |||
| Although one critic calls the many flashbacks "a further | |||
| directorial flourish", they are still at best an "interesting idea | |||
| that isn't really successfully pulled off."<ref name="thespinning" /> | |||
| While the action sequences are "well handled",<ref name="rosenbaum" /> | |||
| Canby says "the drama is fraught with anticlimax."<ref name="canby" /> | |||
| Overall, the plot is full of "sports clichés",<ref name="thespinning" /> | |||
| could "as well have been about croquet",<ref name="canby" /> | |||
| and is "a little too neat and obvious to really carry the | |||
| material."<ref name="ebert" /> As one review puts it: | |||
| "Right down to the painful fencing-to-disco-music routine, | |||
| this is embarrassingly fab."<ref name="timeout" /> | |||
| ==References== | |||
| <references /> | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:By the Sword}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 02:51, 2 May 2007
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0