This movie was completed in 1991 but released in 1993, which was about the same time I started fencing. So it's always been somewhat special to me. I just recently watched it again as I converted the old video tape to DVD. 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 dimly lit Salle with dueling pictures on the wall create good atmosphere and mystique to begin the story.
It's a clever story. Fencing as we know it today began in Europe as formal training to survive a duel. So it's only proper that this movie ends with a real swordfight. The movie begins with an older guy named Max Suba returning to an old New York Salle, for reasons quite unknown to the viewers. Villard(the proprietor) asks him "are you in the right place?" It's turns out he's come back to teach fencing, but fails to impress Villard with his old style and can barely remember the parries. Max takes a job there as a janitor instead. 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 real Max Suba died years ago. 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. Young Villard is obsessed with winning at all costs. He's laboring under the mistaken belief that his Father lost a contest when winning mattered most. (Max actually won the duel by an underhanded maneuver.) It's a mistake he doesn't intend to make or allow his students to accept, but it's all based on his altered view of what really happened. Villard's never been beaten in major competitions – an almost impossible achievement. He's a very cocky character that teaches ruthlessness to his students and criticizes their compassion for others. In spite of his success on the fencing strip he's never really learned some of life's most important lessons. That's due to the fact that we learn from our losses in life and not from our victories. Max on the other hand has learned a lot from his loses in life and clearly sees these deficiencies in Villard. He knows Villard must be beaten to ever have a chance to see his point of view. So these two men – each desperate in their cause must face each other in combat to bring this story to conclusion.
It's a clever story. Fencing as we know it today began in Europe as formal training to survive a duel. So it's only proper that this movie ends with a real swordfight. The movie begins with an older guy named Max Suba returning to an old New York Salle, for reasons quite unknown to the viewers. Villard(the proprietor) asks him "are you in the right place?" It's turns out he's come back to teach fencing, but fails to impress Villard with his old style and can barely remember the parries. Max takes a job there as a janitor instead. 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 real Max Suba died years ago. 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. Young Villard is obsessed with winning at all costs. He's laboring under the mistaken belief that his Father lost a contest when winning mattered most. (Max actually won the duel by an underhanded maneuver.) It's a mistake he doesn't intend to make or allow his students to accept, but it's all based on his altered view of what really happened. Villard's never been beaten in major competitions – an almost impossible achievement. He's a very cocky character that teaches ruthlessness to his students and criticizes their compassion for others. In spite of his success on the fencing strip he's never really learned some of life's most important lessons. That's due to the fact that we learn from our losses in life and not from our victories. Max on the other hand has learned a lot from his loses in life and clearly sees these deficiencies in Villard. He knows Villard must be beaten to ever have a chance to see his point of view. So these two men – each desperate in their cause must face each other in combat to bring this story to conclusion.