By the Sword

Plot synopsis:
Alexander Villard is 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".
Max Suba is an ex-convict who introduces himself as a fencing instructor. Villard initially gives him a job as a janitor. With time, Suba recovers his lost form and shows that he can fence. Villard has Suba spar with an ambitious student to demonstrate a point. Villard is "arrogant but not unkind", and eventually gives Suba a chance to teach, assigning him the beginning students.
While Villard takes a ruthless approach, encouraging a student to injure an opponent to win, Suba takes a subtler approach, encouraging students to turn their own weaknesses into strengths. Following this advice, one of Suba's beginning level students scores against Villard's prize fencer during an in-school competition. Flashbacks further develop the conflict by revealing how Suba had killed Villard's father in a fencing duel. The film climaxes in a dramatic duel between Villard and Suba.

Tags: cult, action, revenge

Review:
The movie is "not" about fencing, if it were we would all be asleep in 10 minutes.
I have fenced on and off for over 30 years so I know a little bit about it.
I would rather watch something like this than any fencing bout ever put on.
Eric Roberts plays a skilled but haughty owner of a fencing school, just like his dear old (deceased) dad.
F. Murray Abraham is the mystery man, who is apparently making a new start in a new town and who applies to be a fencing teacher at the school.
Although Roberts quickly discerns that Abraham is not "up to snuff" for a teacher and hires him as a janitor, Roberts fails to recognize the inevitable result of years away from a sport that requires daily attention.
Over the course of the film, Roberts & Abraham flesh out their characters nicely as the viewer discovers who Abraham really is while watching Roberts' character discover himself and finally learn a lesson that was stunted by tragedy in his boyhood.
Like any movie about a sport, I'm sure there were fencing "flaws," but it was believable enough to me to make watching it intriguing (and sometimes tiring!).
I thought this movie was very good for several reasons.
The first was that the plot was woven very well around a sport that does not receive much attention, fencing.
I know very little about fencing but this was a good introduction.
The supporting cast was merely there to add to the plot and to help develop some atmosphere.Without giving too much away, this is a movie about revenge that chips away at the start through flashbacks but builds to an inevitable but pulsing showdown.
Eric Roberts plays the part of an egotistical past fencing champion and present training supremo.
F Murray Abraham is a man with a hidden past, linked to fencing that you feel must come out sooner or later.The action scenes involving fencing were admirable and while people take acting for granted, for both the afore mentioned actors to handle foils as they did would indicate they had some previous understanding of the sport.I don't think I am giving too much away by saying F.
Murray Abrahams character Max, in addition to attempting to break in as a fencing instructor is also taking cautious steps in trying to establish relationship ties after being incarcerated for a very long period.All in all a very pleasing time filler, that also exhibited the hustle and bustle of the city it was filmed in, despite most of the action taking place inside the training school for aspiring fencers..
No, the film was not representative of Olympic sport-fencing, now or then, but it was never promoted as, or intended to be a "How to Fence" movie.
The film itself is a great story, it moves quickly, and has plenty of little quirks to make you say "Oh..."  It was never 'predictable,' and the plot developed at a satisfying pace.
There is exactly one group of people who will watch this film more than once:  fencers.
F. Murray Abraham and Eric Roberts gave outstanding performances.
The skills of a contemporary fencer are unmatchable; but the will to kill is something you cannot pick up in a fencing salle.This difference plays a role in the story, as characters come to grips with their personal traumas and inner demons.
Die by it .....The folks who pule and whine about the "safety" issues in this film are as confoundingly ignorant of the definition of "metaphor" as are the historical purists who insist on mewling about the Russian roulette sequence in "Deer Hunter." This is not a documentary, so it simply beggars the imagination why anyone would be so ruthlessly misguided as to hold it up to documentary standards of factual accuracy.This movie is a classic morality tale -- and a nicely crafted one at that -- told within the strictures of a fencing salle.
The movie, for all of its obvious mythological framework, offers some nice insights into the reality of fencing.
For example, when was the last time you saw an Errol Flynn movie devote so much attention to the *footwork* of sword play?
(And for you non-fencers out there, here is a clue: fencing is *ALL* in the footwork; the sword is just there to let the other person know that they lost the bout.) At the level of world-class competition, the differences between life/death and win/lose engagements blur; personal trauma can blur them even more.
It is a pretty good film with good leading actors and altough previsible, it is a very good tale about the courage of a man who did something really bad, trying to heal himself and to heal the one he blessed most (the son of his victm), even if this blessed man is not aware of that.
Normally, I like Leonard Maltin and can sympathise with his reviews but he seems to have watched a different film here entirely.
The leads do an excellent job of portraying antagonistic personalities coming slowly to the boil in the claustrophobic world of the fencing salon as the characters evolve.
The last fight in "By the Sword", by contrast, is the single most vicious fencing combat I've ever seen.
Excellent "life lesson movie" about redemption- almost.
Masterfully acted by F Murray Abraham (Amadeus) and Eric Roberts; this movie attempts to uncover one of the deep lessons of life.
When he gets out he feels driven to make amends and he goes straight to the place where he can do that- which is also the only world he still knows, the fencing school run by the son of the man whom he killed.When he confronts the man who he has come to redeem (Villard), he can only stammer "I have come to teach"- but his skills are so rusty he is offered only a humble janitor position.
It never explains why Suba must best Villard in combat in order to teach the lesson.That, is the critical failure of the movie.
If you are looking for a fencing movie, this is it..
How many films are about fencing?
How many films are about fencing?
This film is about sport fencing.
It is set in a real fencing club or salle, with the old school roll up grounded strips circa early 70's and includes many scenes of fencing, including group and individual lessons along with electric epee fencing.
If you are looking for a film loaded with fencing, this is really it.Sure, the fencing leaves something to be desired and the acting varies especially among the student fencers.
The fencing in the movie is fairly realistic.
Eric Roberts, a non-fencer, does a pretty good job anyhow even mixing French commands with English in his lessons.
F. Murray Abraham, who is in really good shape in this film, also impresses during a few scene where he is taking a saber lesson and epee fencing.
There are a few hokey scenes and two love stories tacked on, one of which is used to help show how one how the maestro, a former champion, is grooming his top student to become like him - driven to win at all costs with no feelings for others.
Corporal punishment for mistakes during a lesson got the point across quickly to the students.The fencing equipment and uniforms are correct.
F. Murray's fencing outfit is a bit dated.
Thereafter he is shown wearing the very old style Adidas fencing shoes in nearly every scene, even while he is just the janitor in the club and later when he is coaching the new students.It is a bit predictable with the final fight scene, but it ends well.
If you want a movie that is about the sport of fencing and a lot of it.
There is the foreign movie The Fencer that came out a couple years ago.
I should point out this was before the IMDB came online when all you had to do was type in a name into this website to their resume , but one helpful soul wrote into a publication I wrote for to explain that Eric Roberts was best known for a role where he starred opposite F Murray Abraham , the film was called BY THE SWORD and was about a fencing school .
Actually looking back now Roberts is best known for THE POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE and RUNAWAY TRAIN but that didn`t stop the person putting the boot into both Roberts and BY THE SWORD and his mind was made up that this American Master with his southern drawl was going to a debacle .
Strangely most fans were furious about Roberts playing the Master but after they saw the DOCTOR WHO TVM a great many fans ( Myself among them ) thought Roberts performance was the best thing about the disappointing American production Yeah I`m digressing but BY THE SWORD was a film that I wanted to see simply because it was the first time I`d heard the name of Eric Roberts but I didn`t get the chance to see it untill this weekend and I was fairly disappointed with it .
I don`t fence ) so I don`t know how accurate it all is , but as mentioned the film feels somewhat anachronistic even if you saw it on its release in 1991 , the hairstyles seem a few years out of date along with its mixed teenage cast doing a little dance routine that makes you wonder if it wouldn`t have worked a lot better if it`d had been produced by Jerry Bruckheimer in the mid 1980s .
You could argue this would have meant the relationship between Max Suba and Alexander Villard being off centre for most of the film but I wasn`t convinced about their love/hate relationship and Abraham and Roberts have given much better performances before and since BY THE SWORD.
It is a pretty good film with good leading actors and although previsible, it is a very good tale about the courage of a man who did something really bad, trying to heal himself and to heal the one he blessed most (the son of his victim), even if this blessed man is not aware of that.
It is a beautiful film, and with a good music too.
I don't know about the reality of the fencing scenes, but I've paid much more attention to the human conflicts, and for that I think it is a great film..
I don't know about the reality of the fencing scenes, but I've paid much more attention to the human conflicts, and for that I think it is a great film..
Bad Fencing Film?
Technically a fencing movie....
The sport is dummied down for the non- enthusiast and the drama behind the scenes is ramped up to soap opera levels.I actually thought there was some good acting here.
Eric Roberts is stretched to about his best work, probably by working with Abraham, and the "kids" in the supporting roles are at least intentionally amusing.The story, though, is a bit outlandish and gets predictable after about 45 minutes, but it's not a terrible movie.
With over-stylish flashback sequences, a typical revenge twist, a pointless romance between pointless supporting characters, and yet another thin romance, this is not at all a good film.
Although perhaps inserted just for show, the fencing fight sequences are quite interesting, as is the limited insight provided into the sport.
F. Murray Abraham is able to provide a reasonably earnest performance too, and together with some notable camera-work, there is enough in the film to bring it up to scratch.
It seems to me that, much as I love fencing, ANY sport-centered movie has about the same plot.
This is possibly the worst fencing, sword-fighting, movie ever made.
You're better served with overblown swashbuckling movies like Zorro, Scaramouche, anything that has Basil Rathbone as the villain.
As a fencer myself I recognize the near impossibility of capturing fencing as a sport on film, but if it ever happens it's got to have fresher, better drawn characters and a plot with more depth..
It's the only movie that I've ever seen that's all about fencing.
First off, you'd really have to want to watch more than an hour and a half of fencing competition, because it is essentially the WHOLE movie.
This particular story is something like a martial arts cliché wrapped in the sophistication of 'fencing.' Eric Roberts plays a hardened fencing instructor.
F. Murray Abraham plays an ex-convict with a secret connection to Eric Roberts' character, although the latter doesn't yet know it.
It's also one of the few movies I haven't seen Eric Roberts do his 'Pope of Greenwhich Village' accent.
Good movie..
This movie is a good drama for those who can see beyond the fencing..
Bad Fencing, Bad Acting, Bad Story, Bad Movie.
Why is it that everyone who has seen this movie feels it is their responsibility to tell us whether or not they are fencers?
That point is completely immaterial to any argument to be made against this total dog of a movie.I think sports movies fall into two categories; well made movies about the human spirit and competitions, and `By the Sword'.Honestly this movie never could decide what it wanted to be, a touching drama for trying to be your best in life, an indictment of competitive motivation or a martial arts flick.
But putting bad fencing in a movie doesn't make it bad automatically.
I mean look at Star Wars (Episodes 4-6, good movies, bad fencing).
I liked those movies.
But when you put bad sports into a bad movie for some reason people think that it is only the purists that think it a lame effort.Don't be fooled by any comments on the smaller issue of fencing.
This is just a bad movie.
In the end, this movie has nothing for the fencing enthusiast or the movie buff or simply anyone with a pulse and three brain cells.When I see a movie and am forced to think, `Man, I wish I was watching the Mighty Ducks.' I know that it is time to bypass the argument with the theater manager to get my money back and see if there is anyone in the lobby that will somehow give me two hours of my life back..
Okay, so some scenes in this film might make a fencer cringe, but for the average viewer there is good entertainment to be had here.
The script allows for little character development for his fencing master portrayal, and I suspect he has simply done exactly what the director asked.
Good fencing wasted.
The fencing in this movie is quite good, which is not surprising, as the actors were coached by members of the U.S. national epee team.
Eric Roberts overacts, the fencing students underact, while F.
Murray Abraham does his level best to save the movie.
By the time the well-choreographed and well-fenced climax rolled around, they had lost all respect for the movie..
I wouldn't say this is a *bad* movie.
Unfortunately for me, I get the feeling that the more you know about fencing, the worse it gets simply due to the fact that it becomes totally unrealistic.
I've been fencing since i was 14 years old, and this movie portrays it very poorly.
F. Murray Abraham is good (and appears to have some fencing background), but most of the other actors--especially the students--just seem to be lost..
What a bad horrible, predictable movie.
And the students, they talked about fencing like they were talking about survival in a war or through a horrible disaster.
I mean, I've fenced, it's a fun sport, but I've never been that intense.
"By the Sword" has little to do with fencing technique, it's just a movie about people.
The whole cast did a good job and I do like the music and fencing too.
In total I like the film.
For those who prefer drama to action it's not a bad choice, for those who like perfect Eric Roberts - it's yes!.
I'm so glad somebody else took the time to comment on just how bad this film is.
Weak, hackneyed and predictable, along with awful haircuts, bad acting and even worse music.I watched it in the kind of late-night trance that forces you to see even the most dreadful film through to the end "just to see what happens".
It might be worth watching with someone else who likes to laugh at truly terrible films.
I'm an actual fencer: trust me when I say that this film's pretension of accuracy is just that.
This movie was completed in 1991 but released in 1993, which was about the same time I started fencing.
The fencing in this movie - somewhat dated and very classical – is still pretty good.
Plenty of formal fencing phrases that are often recalled by the Maestro, Villard, played cockily by Eric Roberts.
The movie begins with an older guy named Max Suba returning to an old New York Salle, for reasons quite unknown to the viewers.
The character of Max Suba is played by F Murray Abrahams and slowly exposes his past and the real reasons for returning to the Salle.
As we peel away layers, we see Max is getting his life and fencing back together after a long stay in prison for killing a man.(in a duel) Toward the end of the movie the revelation occurs.
The new Max Suba has assumed the name and come back to the place and family where his normal life came to an end many years ago.
It was the life of Villard's father(also a fencing champion) whom Max took with a sword in a duel.Now the point of the story some have missed.
In spite of his success on the fencing strip he's never really learned some of life's most important lessons.