More Movie Clichés ... Fencing/Swordplay

 

• Duels usually have one scene where the actors go out of frame and you watch their shadows fighting.
• If the villain wounds the hero in his sword arm, one of three things will happen:
  • hero becomes ambidextrous and fights with sword in other hand;
  • hero finds something else to defend himself with (tapestry, chain, Mossberg 12-gauge) that can be used with the other hand;
  • hero's girlfriend/sidekick comes up behind villain and impales him, thus saving hero.
• If hero is disarmed by villain, one of three things will happen:
  • villain will show a trace of honour and allow hero to get his sword;
  • hero will make mad dash/leap over or around villain to regain sword;
  • just when it looks like the end, hero's girlfriend/sidekick throws a sword to him, which he manages to grab easily (for the _best_ send-up of this concept, check out ARMY OF DARKNESS where Ash jumps in the air and his chainsaw magically clamps back onto his wrist -- it's beautifully shot and extremely funny!).
• If there are stairs, the hero will be forced up them backwards by the villain, at which point the hero will either leap to the ground or swing from a rope/chandelier/tapestry to get away.
• If there is a tapestry or chandelier, the hero will cut it loose and drop it on the villain's henchmen _unless_ the movie is a comedy, in which case the hero will drop it on his own men by accident.