I have finally seen "Die Another Day"

[Peach]

I used to teach science to children. One of the things I had to get through their heads was that movies do not tell the truth. They tell stories.

Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics is an enjoyable site for those who like to know how much movies display deliberate ignorance of reality.

I often try to avoid watching movies where I know a lot about the context, because it tends to interfere with my enjoyment.

[Feanor]

Peach,

That website has now become one of my favorites of all time! *Laughing*

Thank you for posting that! and I thought _I_ was bad about movie realism! The writers at that site are nuts over details!

Have a good one!

Feanor

[Peach]

Glad you enjoyed it! It's one of my favorites too.

[Philistine]

Nice site.

I also like Bad Astronomy, they do similar things for astronomy in movies, TV, news etc.

--Philistine

[Indy4ever]

urgh, i went to the physics site and as soon as it started quoting equations it was my fifth form physics class all over again. the horror... the horror....

[Maeve_Mari]

Oh, don't be so pompous and righteous. If the fencing in the movie Die Another Day had to be choreographed to exact techniques and strategies you all would be still be arguing over the inapproprate timing of a parry during a leap over the leather chair! Give it a rest and be happy that fencing got a big shot in the arm to the lay people. The inclusion in the movie added some excitement, maybe got a few people interested enough to join a club.

Enjoy it. Add more hours to your club times. Post flyers at the local video shop. Find new members, then teach them how to put a jacket on correctly.

[Feanor]

Pompous and Righteous? Not at all Actually one could argue that your response was pompous and righteous

No offense though... I think what I and a few others were merely trying to point out was the disconnect between movies and life, not to insult movies OR life, but merely to point out how often humorous the distances between the two become.

Pompous would be more like this: "James Bond couldn't be anything but a British Agent because Americans are so boorish and socially inept!" THAT would be Pompous, and righteous would be: "Bond girls represent NOTHING more than the exploitation of women! There is NO value to having them in any bond movie of any type and the studio that produces the film should be sued and THEN burned to the ground and all the people involved in the movie killed outright!"

So, I think that the distinction between Pompous, Righteous, and merely informative are rather well defined

Have a good one!

(Hasn't there been anything in movies that you were familiar with that didn't make you roll your eyes and go "Yeah right" *smile* That's all we're talking about...)

[three_hundred_fifty_five]

Originally posted by rukovsoft
this epee match was so unrealistic that it was pathetic

Yeah, it's called stage fencing.

[three_hundred_fifty_five]

Originally posted by Peach
I used to teach science to children. One of the things I had to get through their heads was that movies do not tell the truth. They tell stories....

WHAT! Movies do not tell the truth? Oh, but they do. They tell the truth through stories. Just watch Rocky, Caddyshack, Cannonball Run, 9 to 5, White Men Can't Jump, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Car Wash, Return of the Dragon, Cool As Ice, Meatballs, D.C. Cab, Tango & Cash, Breakin', Baseketball, Raw Deal, Air Bud, Vice Academy I and VIce Academy II.

[rukovsoft]

Originally posted by three_hundred_fifty_five
Yeah, it's called stage fencing.

nope..that's called bad stage fencing.(for the 2nd part of the bout)
And i was talking of the first part of the bout which is not meant to be stage fencing, but supposed to be a realisitc bout...

[three_hundred_fifty_five]

Originally posted by rukovsoft
nope..that's called bad stage fencing.(for the 2nd part of the bout)
And i was talking of the first part of the bout which is not meant to be stage fencing, but supposed to be a realisitc bout...

It's a movie, not an instructional video. I'm sure you were the only one complaining in the theater that Luke Skywalker should have easily been killed by Darth Vadar when he did his spin move.

[edew]

Originally posted by three_hundred_fifty_five
Yeah, it's called stage fencing.

(In response to rukovsoft's claim that the epee bout was so unrealistic to be pathetic.)

Actually, I thought the epee bout, the fencing portion, was rather realistic, for the amount of time and effort they put into it. First off, they used real fencers as doubles for both Bond and the other guy. They hit with the tips as they should. They bounced around like real fencers (because they were real fencers underneath the mask and jacket).

Ok, so when Bond hit the bad guy enough to cause pain. That's not realistic, to a degree. I've been hit many times where it caused pain (usually not on purpose of course, although Bond did do it on purpose), and I'm not villanous enough to ***** and moan and gripe about it.

(All right, sometimes, against some particularly obstinate newbie fencer who doesn't know better, I have done malicious things in response to poorly timed painful hits. I'll do "accidental" bad flicks, or punch my thrusts a little harder than usual, or miss the target and hit the mask rather hard or other not-too-nice things. I won't go find a claymore and chase the guy around the room of course, but then again, there's no plot to follow.)

In an nutshell, of all the sport fencing scenes I've seen in movies and TV, that little bit from Die Another Day ranks pretty high up there in regards to realism.

[edew]

Originally posted by three_hundred_fifty_five
Yeah, it's called stage fencing.

(In response to rukovsoft's claim that the epee bout was so unrealistic to be pathetic.)

Actually, I thought the epee bout, the fencing portion, was rather realistic, for the amount of time and effort they put into it. First off, they used real fencers as doubles for both Bond and the other guy. They hit with the tips as they should. They bounced around like real fencers (because they were real fencers underneath the mask and jacket).

Ok, so when Bond hit the bad guy enough to cause pain. That's not realistic, to a degree. I've been hit many times where it caused pain (usually not on purpose of course, although Bond did do it on purpose), and I'm not villanous enough to ***** and moan and gripe about it.

(All right, sometimes, against some particularly obstinate newbie fencer who doesn't know better, I have done malicious things in response to poorly timed painful hits. I'll do "accidental" bad flicks, or punch my thrusts a little harder than usual, or miss the target and hit the mask rather hard or other not-too-nice things. I won't go find a claymore and chase the guy around the room of course, but then again, there's no plot to follow.)

In a nutshell, of all the sport fencing scenes I've seen in movies and TV, that little bit from Die Another Day ranks pretty high up there in regards to realism.

[Swordmaster]

Seen it. Liked it. Thought that the fencing scene was a bit much, but hey, look at the publicity it has given the sport. I am sure there is not a single one of you on this thread who has not had some non-fencer come up to you - because everyone knows you fence, you can't shutup about it - and says, "Man that scene in the Bond movie was kwel! Is that what it is really like?" To which your response was probably *roll eyes* NO! It was so hokey! But you should have said , well some of it was, why don't you come by the club and let me show you real sport fencing?
I am sure that the Paul empire was real happy with the movie. Like Barry said, they had the check book. Did you notice the Leon Paul website got a major overhaul after the movie?
It is good for fencing. It is good for the fencing business!

[rukovsoft]

Originally posted by three_hundred_fifty_five
It's a movie, not an instructional video. I'm sure you were the only one complaining in the theater that Luke Skywalker should have easily been killed by Darth Vadar when he did his spin move.

well there was a similar thread on another fencing forum.
I agree it s a movie, it s good for business to have fencing..blabla.

but as a fencer, do you think that the first part was a realistic epee bout?

maybe in canada they find this realistic...i don t know. but i m not the only one questioning the "realisitc" aspect of the first part of the bout.

Since i m coachinbg too, if someone comes to me and asks "wow the bond fenciong thing was cool", i d say, yes it was....but modern fencing is not quite like that...

[Maeve_Mari]

Originally posted by Swordmaster
... but hey, look at the publicity it has given the sport. It is good for fencing. It is good for the fencing business!

My thoughts and intentions on the matter.

[three_hundred_fifty_five]

I have finally seen Die Another Day. I would like to apoligize to everyone. The fencing wasn't that good; however, it was realistic enough for the general public, i.e. white uniforms, equipment bags, blue and silver lames on extras, body cords, scoring machines, a director giving commands, etc.

If anyone else noticed, Bond is back in an Aston Martin after two movies in BMWs.