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Swashbuckler films are an action-adventure subgenre often characterised by swordfighting and adventurous heroic characters, often set in Renaissance Western Europe with appropriately lavish costumes. Morality is often clear-cut, heroic characters are clearly heroic and even villains tend to have a code of honour (although this is not always the case). There is often a damsel in distress and a romantic element. The genre sometimes overlaps and interlinks with the sword-and-sandal genre.

Right from the advent of cinema, the silent era was packed with Swashbucklers. The most famous of those were the films of Douglas Fairbanks, which defined the genre. The stories came from romantic costume novels, particularly those of Alexandre Dumas, père and Rafael Sabatini. Last but not least, triumphant, thrilling music was an important part of the formula.^[1]

There were three great cycles of swashbuckler films: the Douglas Fairbanks period of 1920-1929, the Errol Flynn period of 1935-1941, and a period in the 1950s heralded by films such as Ivanhoe and The Master of Ballantrae and the popularity of the British TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood.^[2]

Swashbucklers

The term Swashbuckler originates from boisterous fighters who carried a sword and buckler (a buckler being a small shield).^[3] "Swashbuckler" was a putdown, used to indicate a poor swordsman who covered his lack of skill with noise, bragging, and clamour. Novels, and then Hollywood, altered the word's connotation to make "swashbuckler" mean a loudmouthed but good braggart, and the hero of the plotline.^[1]

Fencing

Fencing was always a mainstay of this genre, and a dramatic duel was often a pivotal part of the storyline. Nowhere else is swordplay more apparent than in the swashbuckler film. Famous fencing instructors included Henry Uyttenhove, Fred Cavens, Jean Heremans, and Ralph Faulkner. They all had additional long careers in sport fencing.^[4]

Swashbuckling TV

The British TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood had produced 143 episodes by 1959 and became an outstanding success both in Britain and America. UK TV production in the genre was prolific, and included The Buccaneers (1956–57), The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956–57), Sword of Freedom (1958), The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel (ITV, 1956), ITC's The Count of Monte Cristo (ITV, 1956) and George King's Gay Cavalier (ITV, 1957), Quentin Durward (Studio Canal, 1971),Sharpe (ITV, 1993–present), and the part UK production Queen of Swords (2000–2001).

Notable swashbuckler films

The Mark of Zorro (1920)
The Three Musketeers (1921)
Robin Hood (1922)
The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
The Black Pirate (1926)
The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
Captain Blood (1935)
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
The Sea Hawk (1940)
The Mark of Zorro (1940)
The Black Swan (1942)
The Exile (1947)
The Pirate (1948)
The Three Musketeers (1948)
Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
Patala Bhairavi, a Telugu film (1951)
Scaramouche (1952)
The Golden Blade (1952)
Ivanhoe (1952)
The Master of Ballantrae (1953)
Aayirathil Oruvan
The Three Musketeers (1973)
The Four Musketeers (1974)
The Princess Bride (1987)
The Three Musketeers (1993)
Le Bossu (1997)
The Mask of Zorro (1998)
The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
The Musketeer (2001)
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Casanova (2005)
The Legend of Zorro (2005)
Alatriste (2006)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Stardust (2007)
1612 (2007)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
The Three Musketeers (2011)

Notable actors and actresses

References

^ ^a ^b Foster on Film
^ Screen Online
^ Embleton, Gerry. The Medieval Soldier. Windrow and Green, London. ISBN 1 85915 036
^ Classical Fencing

External links

[foster-1] Foster on Film

[2] Screen Online

[3] Embleton, Gerry. The Medieval Soldier. Windrow and Green, London. ISBN 1 85915 036

[4] Classical Fencing

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