New Film Opportunity

[Allen Johnson]

I just got cast in an inde Viking /Anglo-Saxon film. I also have recieved the position of fight choreographer for the picture. Needless to say, Im excited for this new challenge. All my leads are completley inexperienced and my extras are mostly SCA folk...so I got my work cut out for me. Any fun ideas? I dont have a completed script (kinda scary) but there will be about 4 duel situation as well as 2 battles/skirmishes. Ill be meeting the director tomorrow for lunch to discuss more in depth what hes looking for. Hopefully we can add another little drop in the bucket for accurate swordplay in film with this.

[JohnGallego]

May I suggest you take a look into the community's effort in recreating the early medieval large shield forms of combat. The last issue of Spada had a great article by Stephen Hand and Paul Wagner on just this subject.

It's not by any means definitive, but I think they did a great job using iconographic evidence as well as Talhoffer's commentaries on dueling shields to recreate a system for the large shield that actually works.

Good luck! And let us know if we can get our hands on the film somehow after release.

[Allen Johnson]

Thanks John. I have that and planned on giving it a read real soon here. The Viking/ Dark Ages is indeed one of those dark areas for swordsmanship where we dont have any outright "manuals" and have to rely on sagas (which are obviously imbelleshed ) and icon artwork which has its limitation and various interpretations.
Right now, I'm trying to explain to them that there was no plate armour...this could be a long production! <img src="/forum/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />

[John_Clements]

Allen,
Challenge their "core assumptions" and the whole theatrical combat mentality with its countesss idiotic cliches'. Reality is a far better and richer source for creativity than regurgitating the nonsense of the past 80+ years of pop culture visions of historical combat. Have them take a look at some of our clips here for ideals.

JC

[Matthew_Anderson]

Well, it would be nice to see a battle scene from that era that reflects what we do know about the tactics and techniques of the time. Tight shield walls opposing each other, spears as primary weapons, axes of realistic style and size rather than the huge, impossible to wield fantasy weapons often portrayed as viking era weapons. As for personal combat, a really down and dirty Holmgang as described by Oakeshot would be cool.

[Brian Hunt]

Hey Allen,

I would also suggest that you look at the book "The Anglo-Saxon shield" by I.P. Stephenson. You can get in at Amazon.com. In it they examine the way the sheild was constructed and used based upon 4 different types of evidence. Archaeological, representational, literary, and comparative. One other fine source would be the Bayeux Tapastry and If you can find anything online, this book from the British Library, "MS Cotton Cleopatra C VIII" has pictures of combat from the 10th to the 11th centuries in it. Iconographical evidence is a large part of the main evidence we have for how they may have used the sheild in combat. Plus I would reread the Viking Sagas, there is some stuff in there that one could extrapolate from.

hope this helps.

Brian Hunt.
GFS.

P.S. be sure to grill Casper about using the sword and sheild, having read his article on the Ogden groups website, he has some good ideas about this type of combat.

[M Wallgren]

One of the guys in ARMA Gimo, Mikael Lindqvist, is involved in a Viking Movie, He has a great deal of material on viking fighting.

An other good source of knowlage is Jeanry who frequent this forum alot...

Cheers

[Allen Johnson]

Thanks everyone. Had a great sit down with the director today and showed him alot of research and that really excited him- he had no idea this stuff was available. He's also asked me to help with some of the screenplay as well (screenwriting was one of my main focuses for my degree). So im excited about working some stuff in there. We decided to turn one of the duels into a knife (seax) fight, I showed him some of the dagger and grappling in Talhoffer and he got really excited about that. Granted the "blade work" is going to be a little different but much of the holds, grasps and throws would be the same. (Someone posted that Egyptian wrestling thing a while back and many of the techniques there are identical to our sources- so it seems its pretty univeral on how to break an arm and such)
Over the next few days I'll be inspecting some weapons, helmets and shields that are being made. I have enough material from excavations and such that I know the normal dimensions, but its always good to collect more research.
Thanks for all the comments and keep them coming! I'd like to keep the group updated through the production as its kind of a fun thing for us all. I mean let's be honest, most of us are here because we thought a swordfight in a movie was cool , arent we? <img src="/forum/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />

PS- I must have missed what "Holmgang" was?

[Jaron Bernstein]

Can you tell us the name of the movie or how to get a copy when it is released?

[Allen Johnson]

the title isnt finalized but its about King Alfred. I'm not sure what the distribution plans are but I'll keep everyone posted.

[Alfred Wong]

King Alfred? Whoa-ha-ha, I must see it when it release!

Is it about the English King Alfred in 10th century? Sounds like there would be really, really lots of shield-fighter.

Alfred

[Allen Johnson]

yep- thats the guy- it opens in 877 AD i think.

[JohnGallego]

... it opens in 877 AD i think.

Awwww, I thought you said we'd be able to watch it! Now, where's that time machine? <img src="/forum/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" />

[David_Knight]

You could have a scene where two left-handed Vikings are engaged in fierce sword-&amp;-shield combat; the dialogue would be as follows:

"You are wonderful!"
"Thank you, I've worked hard to become so."
"I admit it, you are better than I am."
"Then why are you smiling?"
"Because I know something you don't know."
"And what is that?"
"I... am not left-handed!"
"You are a amazing!"
"I ought to be, after twenty years."
"Oh, there's something I ought to tell you."
"Tell me."
"I'm not left-handed either."

I think that would be very clever, not to mention original! <img src="/forum/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" />

[Bill Welch]

I think the left handed bit was done in the Princess Bride.