The Best Is Yet to Be

I cried when I read this book. I’m a wreck now I’ve seen it brought to life in film. Here are just some of the beautiful and inspiring messages in it.

Life can be hard but never forget how special and loved you are. Sending love and hope to anyone who needs it right now 💖

@pscentral event 09: comfort  // @lgbtqcreators creator bingo: adaptations

The Princess Bride (1987) dir. Rob Reiner

The funniest sword fight scene in the history of cinema. 

BEST. SWORD FIGHT. EVER.

Let’s be honest, this is how I would sword fight.

@warmageragnar Lewis Vs Otranto, a realistic version.

#what on earth is this?

The Court Jester starring Danny Kaye, Basil Rathbone, and the amazing Glynis Johns, and Angela Lansbury and it is all around a fun time.

All kidding aside, watch Basil Rathbone’s foot work. He knows fencing, and sets up the form even though he’s still playing up the stage blows for Danny Kaye to flail at for comedic effect.

Okay, but I need to talk about this because it’s even funnier if you know the context... Basil Rathbone was one of the greatest swordsmen in Hollywood history.  Which is why he almost never won any of his onscreen fights–he was good enough that he knew how to effectively make the other guy look even better.  That’s why the swordfight in The Adventures of Robin Hood looks so awesome even though Errol Flynn is nowhere near Rathbone’s level.

But this fight, right here?  Was one of the only fights where he needed a stunt double.  Because while he was able to keep Danny Kaye from being seriously injured, Rathbone himself nearly got skewered a few times by Kaye’s flailing around.  So in a bizarre way, this is probably the closest to an even match Rathbone had in his career… just not for the reasons you’d expect.

The origin of a saying I’ve seen quoted in various works of fiction - “The best swordsman does not fear the second best, he fears the worst since there’s no telling what that idiot is going to do.”

I’ve seen this in action. My son plays competitve soccer, on a decent t team. For Ottawa. But they compete in Montreal and Toronto, where the skill level is 50 times higher. And they regularly win. Sometimes the entire tournament. Because they’ve never learned set plays and these amazingly gifted kids they play against are like “WTF? You can’t pass the ball like that! Where are you…? Like, get back here where you’re supposed to be!”

It’s really funny to watch.

There were three locomotives used in the film: one as “The General”, one as “The Texas” and one for a spare. The spare engine had been originally intended to play The Texas, but the engine that ultimately got that role was found to be in better condition. The spare engine played the role of the Union engine up to the bridge scene, where it played The Texas as it crossed the bridge.

For the scene in which The Texas crashes through the bridge, Keaton spared no expense, using six cameras and thousands of local extras. It cost nearly $50,000 at the time and was the most expensive single shot of the entire silent movie era. The Texas itself remained in the river until WWII, when it was salvaged for scrap iron. 

In the train crash a dummy was used as the engineer. The looks of shock on the faces of the Union officers were real, because the actors who played them were not told what was going to happen to that train.

The General (1926) dir. Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman

Vincent Price, 1950s

Christopher Lee photographed in 1950s

crepesauce:

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946). As Americans were still picking up the pieces from WWII, director William Wyler presented this enduring masterpiece about three soldiers trying to resume their lives, including a remarkable performance by a soldier who lost both hands in an explosion. The film won Best Picture at the 1947 Academy Awards.

Boris, via monstercrazy { i’m back! ;) }

Gene Tierney & Vincent Price in “Dragonwyck”

Bob Anderson was a highly respected sword trainer, a former Olympic fencer, and highly sought after in film circles. His first film was “The Master of Ballantrae” with Errol Flynn in 1953. He was working up until his death in 2012. These are some of the famous fight scenes he was involved in.