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What is it about a huge sword?

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Author	Topic: What is it about a huge sword?

PeterK FishChip	Powerful and dramatic scores come about just about everytime a huge sword is unsheathed. Just going by OST artwork, I have a list here of scores I've listened to on many more than one occasion: The Beastmaster Clash of the Titans Conan the Barbarian The Count of Monte Cristo First Knight Hero Kill Bill King Arthur Kingdom of Heaven Legend of Zorro Merlin The Messenger Pirates of the Caribbean The Prisoner of Zenda Spartacus The Sword and the Sorcerer The Three Musketeers Troy The Yakuza Point out the glaring omissions, or praise up your favorite shining sword score. Touche! [Message edited by PeterK on 01-26-2006]
posted 01-26-2006 10:26 PM PT (US)

Lou Goldberg Standard Userer	In her book, The Chalice and the Blade, Raine Eisler discusses the history of cultures and civilizations that follow matriarchal & patriarchal lines. She notes that the blade is a key symbol of masculine values: power, force, dominance, competetion & warfare, defense of private property, independence, and individuality. You don't slice what you are connected to and the blade cuts off men from all other men. Of course, the blade can be seen as a Freudian symbol for phallic potency, but it goes way beyond that. That's only one aspect of the overall range of patriarchal values the blade is the main symbol for. In fact, in all of the soundtrack covers, poster art, and the films themselves mentioned above, the blade tells you immediately what values the film is going to promote. Blade-reverence can be traced back to antiquity (as can penis-worship). One interesting aspect of blade worship comes from the history of Japan. Swordsmiths considered the blades they made as having spirits & personalities. When pounding the blades, they noticed the metal's "desire" to naturally curve. The smiths could have made straight swords by forcing the curve back but they did not not want to go against the metal's own inclinations. Although modern weapons were introduced to Japan, the Tokugawa Shogunate in its period of isolation banned them. To be a samurai was to carry a sword not a rifle.
posted 01-27-2006 12:19 AM PT (US)

Camillu Standard Userer	Return of the King
posted 01-27-2006 01:38 AM PT (US)

The_Mark_of_Score-O Non-Standard Userer	What is it about a huge sword? Freud had several thousand well-chosen words addressing this very subject.
posted 01-27-2006 01:46 AM PT (US)

Lancelot Standard Userer	Curiously enough I have a genre-filing system, wherein I place music according to a type (e.g., "drama", "sci-fi"), though I have a particular division that is listed "<=====]==o", which, of course, is my iconic notation for "sword-fightin' movie"... Among the noted, I have included many of the ones listed above, as well as: The 13th Warrior The Adventures of Robin Hood Alexander Nevsky Attila Brotherhood of the Wolf Dragonheart El Cid Henry V Man in the Iron Mask Kull the Conqueror (although, yes, he preferred an axe) Ladyhawke Legend Masters of the Universe Mibu gishi den The Musketeer The Princess Bride Rob Roy Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Scaramouche Willow So, in conjunction with Peter's list, that's a (hopefully) diverse selection, and certainly not everyone carries the same kind of sword...Some of them are of the two-handed hack-and-slash variety, and some are of the more nimble fencing types. I find I enjoy movies with even just a bit of sword-fighting. And, yes, while I feel Freud is at least symbolically applied in many of these selections--e.g. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves ("I shall never fear my father's sword") and Ladyhawke, (a father's sword with two jewels on it.) - sometimes a sword is just a sword, and mostly it's just a pretty good excuse to have some clanging metal and exciting sword-fighting/battle type music. [Message edited by Lancelot on 01-27-2006]
posted 01-27-2006 04:48 AM PT (US)

Widescreen Standard Userer	Lou, there's some resonance in film to the book you reference; I note the opening of Conan The Barbarian from its opening titles where the sword is made to the opening speech by Conan's father about steel. If not a direct reference itself, I'm sure it's a nice coincidental echo.
posted 01-27-2006 06:51 AM PT (US)

John C Winfrey Standard Userer	LOL. All the way to the top.
posted 01-27-2006 08:24 AM PT (US)

sean Standard Userer	The Scorpion King!!! by John Debney
posted 01-27-2006 09:29 AM PT (US)

joan hue Standard Userer	I really don't think women suffer from "sword envy." But sword movies do have some great music in them. [Message edited by joan hue on 01-27-2006]
posted 01-27-2006 10:17 AM PT (US)

nuts_score Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by sean: The Scorpion King!!! by John Debney You're so ghey Sean; now defend yourself! Anyways, I love me a good sword and sandal - or scorcery - movie and score; I'm really big on the adventure aspects of the story. But my all time favorite has to be Poledouris' Conan the Barbarian for the pure ecstasy of that glorious, heroic score. And let's not forget ZImmer's King Arthur; another spectacular one and my second fav next to Conan (score that is, the movie is disasterous ). Shore's scores for LotR are entities in themselves, but I prefer the darker, more avant-garde side to Shore that gave us his Cronenberg collaborations and Se7en and Silence of the Lambs; but to each his own is the saying.
posted 01-27-2006 10:54 AM PT (US)

shrubber Standard Userer	Surely Hawk the Slayer has got to be in there somewhere. One of the finest swords ever unsheated on celluloid (OK, admittedly a long way behind the one from The Sword and the Sorcerer) and some very 'distinctive' music [Message edited by shrubber on 01-27-2006]
posted 01-27-2006 02:25 PM PT (US)

sean Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by nuts_score: You're so ghey Sean; now defend yourself! AH! I'm being attacked from enemies on all sides! I one corner the deformed and demented Sabbath-maniac, Ryan Keveaney, and in the other, the son of Crom, crazy_(frog)score. I have no defence against these odds, except of course one I've been saving for a rainy day: The Quest For Camelot by Patrick Doyle.
posted 01-27-2006 03:41 PM PT (US)

John C Winfrey Standard Userer	LOL, Joan. J.
posted 01-29-2006 11:48 AM PT (US)

John C Winfrey Standard Userer	Not with REd Sonya and her slicing off the guys heads huh, Joan? LOL>
posted 01-29-2006 11:49 AM PT (US)

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