The Most Realistic Sword Duel in Movie History
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It has a very solid, authentic fight choreography brought to live by skilled and convincing actors. It's rare to find such an accurate portrayal of real-life dueling in the 17th century.
HEMA instructors in a saber sparring match (with 1st person view):
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#Film #Fight #Analyzed
I'm a simple Turk when i see Poland I run. (from Turkey with love)
Please don't! Bring some raki, we will prepare pierogi ruskie, and we can have a party. :)
Atatyurk disappointed with you efendii-balam
@@paunitka7 two empires indeed :) With Greek drink and Ukrainian dish, lol :-)
@@Zvenygora All the best to Greeks and Ukrainians! I hope they come to that party too. :) Love and peace!
You are not a Turk. Just stalked your Channel, you are definitely not. And you bitch know that a Turk would never say that hahaha.
For all those who played the Witcher 3 Hearts of Stone. The quotes "Would you wait, sir, for dribble to subside" and "You don't strike sir, you flail" come from this movie. Geralt vs Olgierd fight is literally a reference to the duel between Kmicic and Wołodyjowski.
Was gonna comment this myself, beat me too it :) A fantastic link between two fantastic fights.
Movie? More like books. The Sienkiewicz trilogy is one of the most well known books in Poland
@@brakdanych4329 Yes movie, as in books as far as I remember there is no rain during the duel.
@@kamilszadkowski8864 I needed to check it in my book, yes there was no rain in the book
@@brakdanych4329 Sienkiewicz? Well, i have forgotten a lot! His books, translated into estonian, were one of my favourites some ...25 years ago. Thanks for reminding me to do the re-reading :)
7:10 - switching hands is explained in the novel. Wołodyjowski quickly discovered he was a better fencer and started mocking Kmicic. 7:50 - spinning cuts. It is a movie version of displaying Kmicic's desperation. He knew he was losing and was desperate. Movie is following novel pretty precisely in this moment.
Well the style that they fought with, quite accurately shows their characters too. While Wołodyjowski was calm and collected army officer, Kmicic was mainly a rowdy troublemaker, making ruckus here and there.
No fencer while still alive and regardless of skill level should be mocked or taken for granted. Many great sword masters in other centuries paid the price by as simple and old timey mishaps as sliding or being thrown glass in the face. Died while fencing by unconventional mishaps thrown at, that fencing could not save you off, and increasingly by pistol fire that took lives of many more at short range before even engaging close for swords to make contact. Fencing was becoming a dying Art, like duels themselves, as a way to clean offence taken to extremes off Legal Courts
@@pendragonU Wołodyjowski has something to prove here. At this point of the book, Kmicic is the infamous leader of an outlaw band. He's got a lot of blood on his hands and is a kind of brigand during wartime. Wołodyjowski, even though he is very honorable, must bring the man down in front of his men like an animal in order to make a point. Oh, and Kmicic is also a complete douche before he finds out that he's going to get his ass handed to him.
@@marcinmisiak1752 oh, so there was a method to his madness to be so reckless in appearance. i could not understand how a fence expert could be that "mindless" Even in Dumas, when his famous swordmaster PRETENDED to be mocking his opponent by distracting conversation which was annoying and insulting from someone so young, he did so with such intent to fract their concentration, but immediately on wounding Chevalier noble behavior and respectful propriety gallantries would be restored. His Aramis character would even offer prelate duties if in risk of Death, and had Convent connections to deliver the wounded off Danger to be taken care. All astonishingly, written in the early 1800's about events 160 years earlier, where such fencers code of ethical rules or more, Nobility was disappearing.
@@pendragonU The entire point in this fight is that Wołodyjowski massively outclasses Kmicic, he knows it, and one of his goals is for Kmicic to come to the realization midfight of just how fucked he is. Wołodyjowski is portrayed in the novels as being the best swordsman in the country by a comfortable margin, and he's supposed to be shown as not being in any actual danger whatsoever here.
"I'm not going to spoil who won this fight" proceeds to talk about how one guy is waaaaaay better than the other for 11 minutes straight.
It’s a movie, I bet the worse guy wins in a plot twist
Being better doesn't mean you win, there are tons of ways someone who is less skilled than you wins a fight. It only takes one mistake to lose.
10:02 "people make mistakes" or just something else could happen and no1 win? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ofcourse I saw this movie few times so I know what happened 😛
Kończ waść, wstydu oszczędź
Bro Cleary you have never been in a real fist fight or any kind of fight in a real fight anything can happen stories have been passed down in my family of grand warriors passed from father to son now I pass it to you Long time ago in a small village outside of old London before it sacked and burnt to the ground a young man was born his father was soldier in his kings army as was all the other men he grew slowly but firmly trained by his father the boy had a natural talent for killing it came easy like breathing the boy took his first like when he was only 9 a Norseman entered his family's hut raped and murdered his mother in front of him the the northern had no idea of the little eyes upon him as the boy grabbed the iron poker out of the fire to attack the northman after he killed him the boy walked outside and was ran down by a horse or so the story goes for you see the boy may have or may not of ever existed but the lesson rings true look both way before leaving your tent lmfao if your still reading this congrats this is all bullshit although I assume things like what I just wrote were an everyday occurence in the old world
I'm a simple Hungarian I see Poland I hit like.
Teddy Molnar it works in reverse too :)
Polak, Węgier, dwa bratanki, i do szabli, i do szklanki :D
Likewise Brother :)
Is there a special reason you Hungarians and Poles are besties? (Wish we Germans had something like that too)
@@Jorakful a bit. Starting from the fact that we and Madziars (as some of us in Poland caled Hungarians) historicly started our countris in the same time, had few mutual kings and queens. Than they come XVII century when we basycli take many of military secrets from Hungarians (the historical first polish sabre, Batorówka, is oficialy know as polish-hungarian sabre). We use it to fight Otomans, who were opresors of Hungarians. Than there was XIX century and mutualy fighting for our freedom (as You can hear about it in this awsome song kzhead.info/sun/ZKuvhZ2JfoOqqK8/bejne.html ), and XX century mutualy fighting to kept it. For example dooring Germany invasion of Poland in 39, Hungary was ally of Hitler, and he wanted them to join fighting. Hungarian prime minister, or president told to painter that "he will sooner blow up his own railways, than send one soldier to fight agains Poles" (so basycly F.U.). Also many Hungarians help us dooring the war, to escaple, save Jues and other staff (i heard about Hungarian military saing to wermacht that if Germans will try to atack polish civilians, they will slother them). The sad part is, that i thing that us, Poles did not doo anything for our brother in the last century, not realy :( P.S. are'nt You Germans have similar realtionship with Danes or Austrian?
In those times in Poland every actor needed to know how to ride hourse, fight with sword etc. They were a big part of phisical education in Polish acting schools.
This comment just made me think of Kurosawa's actors, with Toshiro Mifune being a martial arts adept as well, which helped him in many iconic roles.
When i was a kid, we went as school class to a acting workshopson which a guy told us what the acting school looks like. On that workshops he taught us a fight scene with a saber. That was a half of 90's. :) Cool stuff.
@Wow Whoa lol. These schools have internet sites..most prabobly in Polish and in English .
The same in Romania.
@@mostlykendo3988 That's a good call. The rain also make the scene similar to Kurosava's movies.
As a Polish man reading the comments, thank you all. We are all beautiful countries, and we all have amazing histories, and culture. Never forget that.
Second that
I feel that essentially the worst side effect of communism was the lack of cultural exchange. Can you imagine Stanisław Bareja directing a few episodes for Monthy Python? I can.
@@LMB222 Do you know Tomasz Bagiński and Netflix Witcher? Now there is an exchange, and this is just one case from Poland ;)
@@AdamKopec84Too bad that netflix witcher is absolute shitshow.
You Welcome!!! But You need more learn about Polish history, is very very...creazy. Do You be live - Japan katana in XVI age in POLAND KINGDOM ? Go to Częstochowski Klasztor Muzeum. Japan and Polish swords - that is a long story...realy. Hejka !
The "weird" things Wołodyjowski does make more sense in a novel or if you are familiar with the context. You see, the entire premise of the duel is this: Kmicic is fighting for his life. He puts all the skill he has and all the effort there could be. For him that's life-or-death situation. And he's a nobody, a literal punk that just get into serious shit and tries to wiggle out of it by means of dueling and barely can fight in the first place (at least for the standards of the era). Meanwhile, Wołodyjowski is THE famous fencing master, renown for his skills all across the country and sole mention of his name is enough to get people back down when he steps in. So when he's facing Kmicic, he at first tries to amuse himself, then he's just bored with it. The book goes into lenght to describe him being progressively more and more bored with the whole situation, while Kmicic is in the same time more and more aware that his enemy is not only holding back, but DELIBERATELY drags the duel on to keep humiliating Kmicic and his ineffective fighting with switching hand to the left, constant disarms and standing still like a tree, while Kmicic jumps around from side to side to no effect. Hence the famous "Finish this, sir, and spare me (further) humiliation" (one of the most memetic lines in Polish and something people say to this day when they get owned), to which Wołodyjowski instantly strikes him with a finishing knock-out, something that he could done in the first 5 seconds, but that wouldn't be didactic for Kmcicic - and he wanted to teach the guy a lesson, rather than kill him on the spot. So whenever Wołodyjowski does something ineffective or that looks phoney, that's part of the deal - he does even more of this stuff in the book. On the flip-side, when Kmicic does something ineffective or stupid, that's to show how incompetent he really is (remember the number of close-ups to footwork?) and noted as such in source material - including his erratic, chaotic movement, just trying to power-through early on and then realising his opponent parries without a flinch all his "trademark" lounges, leaving him with nothing for himself. Also, a side-note: prep and filming for this scene took over 3 MONTHS. That's a time you can film a feature-lenght movie. The duel itself lasts slightly below 3 minutes.
Great post! You nailed it..
He is said to be a good soldier and he is a colonel, so he is not a "nobody".
@@MichaRabiej Yep. Colonel Gaddafi was really Someone.
@@peterhagen8908 You realize we speak if guy was someone _in _the _novel_? Put your brain to use before you type somehting. Being "noone" means being anonymous, low status. Clearly being a country leader (even a bad one like Khadaffi) does not qualitfy as being noone.
@@MichaRabiej Anonymous or low status? Put your brain.
Fun fact that makes you appreciate the actors even more: this movie was based on a book, and the book was so popular that literally everybody in Poland had read it. It's author, Henryk Sienkiewicz, described his protagonists fighting styles in great details, so the actors didn't only had to learn to fight but they had to learn to fight in the styles of the characters they were playing. Small movements, spinning cuts and changing hands that you mentioned were taken directly from the book
I was told by a polish person that at one point the Colonel plainly tells his opponent that he is a bad fighter because he repeats himself too much and is too flamboyant with his movement.
Rafael Andrade Yeah, and then he says: "End it! Spare the embarrassment!" *the sickest burn in history*
@@the_neon_dog Kmicic says that when it is shown that Wołodyjowski is supperior and he is playing with him.
@Pijawek your comments needs to be upvoted to the uppermost front to get Skall to read The Book. :D
"literally everybody in Poland had read it" I hadn't. I had read only the first book from the series: "With Fire and Sword".
"I nearly got my skull caved in, so I needed a breather. Then we resumed the filming the movie." - Polish dude
@R A you go under every comment and say this, you are such a sad soul He deleted it but he said: "Polish people are pussies"
@@sushisushi7077 more like sad insecure maggot lmao, only insecure twat would do that
@R A just stand alone face to face with a typical Polish pussy ;) and you'll feel what means Polish pussy.
I thought for a second, "What's the big deal? It's not sharp!" and then I remembered, it's still a steel bar being swung at your head.
@@marcinzochowski7279 his probably sad because one on those pussies kicked his ass when he was trying to mess with her :D
Kmicic's strange movements perfectly reflect the description in the book. This man was so sure of his abilities that when he confronted Wolodyjowski, who was far superior to him in abilities, he flew into a rage, started to hover and jerk irrationally.
I'm impressed how well you've described behavioural and psychological traits of these characters merely observing their fighting style :D
Yes, Geralt of Rivia vs Olgierd von Everec duel was based on this movie.
Did not know that fight was based on something. Cool
The dialogue even.
Wait, what? This video is about realistic sword duels. There is very little that is realistic about the fight in TW3.
@@its2eezy personally, I always got a Cossack vibe off Olgierd.
@@brokennative2098 Olgierd's followers always reminded me the Cossacks.
The actor Tadeusz Łomnicki who played Mr. Wołodyjwski was well trained by Witold Woyda - Polish fencer who won four Olympic medals in the foil between 1964 and 1972.
It is very interesting! Tell me please how prononced L in Tadeush familiename.
@@user-xh4nl5bs7v like "w" in "water", so something like wom-knee-ts-key
@@Cassiopeia7o7 thank you!
@@user-xh4nl5bs7v Ł not L , that does not appear in English
@@user-xh4nl5bs7v yeah, polish "w" is pronounced like English "v" and ours "ł" is English "w". It's complicated
I saw this video of yours a long time ago but finally went and saw this film, Potop. It's one of the best films I have ever seen, genial. You can get subtitles fairly easily, it's really a beautiful film with an amazing script too. Thanks for the tip!
Im from.the US but I've met great mates from Poland virtually. The country has an amazing culture and history with great people to back it up!
Funfact: the actor playing Kmicic, Daniel Olbrychski's grandson is Antoni Olbrychski, who is currently top 10 on HEMA Ratings in both longsword and saber, and fought in Swordfish Longsword final last year :)
We might add that around 1990 Daniel Olbrychski disarmed a mad-man who was trying to hijack an airliner. Olbrychski is a skilled fighter and horse rider.
@@allaboutpoland6773 disarmed? All I heard is he beat a man down with his fists after said man punched two stewardesses and before he could get into the cockpit where he allegedly planned to bring the plane down.
Hi I'm from Poland and I don't know if you've seen the whole movie, but Wołodyjowski didn't want to kill Kmicic, just humiliate him
That's what he said ;)
well, a good way to humiliate someone is to kill him in a saber duel ;>
@@pawelniesporek7 Yeah, but dead man can't be ashamed of poor duel's performance.
He can also read the book.
Koncz wasc wstydu oszczedz... he asked him to finish and spare him a humiliation
Andrzej Kmicic and Michał Wołodyjowski, one of the most epic fights in Polish cinematography
fun fact: later in the movie you see both these characters training together and becoming friends. after that at the battlefield you can see Kmicic (the guy with a shirt) fighting better than in the scene mentioned in the video, quite a nice detail in a quite old movie.
What does the age of a movie have to do with anything? 'Potop' is top tier historical movie. The newly produced garbage can lick boots of Kmicic in this fight scene.
Well, that's the idea from the book. The first of three volumes is Kmicic going down and down, a reaching new lows. That is until Wołodyjowski spares his life because he's desperate for recruits in the war, and he trains him. The book is basically about a low-tier bandit-nobleman, who goes all the way down, but eventually becomes a hero.
@@piotrmalewski8178 proszę zobaczyć kim był i jakie role spełniał chorąży w 17 wiecznej Polsce bo nawet Sobieski przez pewien czas pełnił ten urząd bo często był to urząd państwowy cywilny powiązany ściśle z wojskiem w czasie wojny a sam Kmicic miał pod swoją jurysdykcją powiat Orszański, dzisiejsza Białoruś. Pozdrawiam serdecznie z Warszawy ❤🇵🇱❤️
I don't think even polish people speak polar. That's a bear dialect
We do. Actually we speak most of the bear dialects but how fluent is in direct proportion of how much mead was consumed.
More likely how many vodka you have drinked ^^`
@@pawestefanczyk1113 true 😂
@@pawestefanczyk1113 I don't drink anything. Sometimes wine or freealkohol beer
Read about "Baśka Murmańska", polar bear in polish army or "Kapral Wojtek, who fought in Monte Cassino with polish soldiers.
After watching this I still believe the most realistic sword fight scene ive ever seen is the one where king Arthur fights the black knight in Monty Python and the Holly Grail.
"Have at you!"
Tis but the flesh wound!
'tis but a scratch!
Underrated comment of the day
:DDDDD This is also my favorite fight scene ever.
Kmicic is young, brash, stubborn, and full of himself (and drunk a lot of the time) at that time in the story (he has a redemption arc). He has also been winning easily up until that duel, since he was mostly surrounded by people less inteligent or less skilled. So his style of fighting fits perfectly. I love this movie. I wish we were still making them like that...
Hello, I'm half Polish, living in Poland. I wanted to thank all the other nations for liking us so much. Sending love to all ♥️ Poland sending cheers to all Europe, Africa, Asia, North and South America! 😁
Forgot Antarctica!
Lol
@Very Polite Duck PL Tak XD Nazi Poland in the XXIst century XD You wish! 😂😂😂
Poor Oceania T.T
Polish audience targeting, aprecciated :D
@Mein Führer But still cannot into space
Sure.
I'm here just to say big thank You to Skall, great job
Not only Polish audience. В Советском Союзе этот фильм тоже был достаточно популярен.
@@qVLowdash Skall doing what our politicians can't. Bringing Poles and Russians together ;)
I'm a simple Cuban. I see Poland I want to know more!!
Im a simple poland guy. I see comment like this I want to know why?
I’m actually half Cuban, half polish
@@mementomori2826 And this one leaves me with even more questions.
Wiktor Szymczak the majority of Cuba’s history is more recent, and doesn’t have an abundance of thing like sword duels
@@mementomori2826 i know but, you know, history of your parents is probably pretty intresting. Its just cool.
I am Polish, and this film series has always been a part of my life from childhood into adolescence. I've always admired how realistic the swordplay felt in these movies. Hats off to you for featuring a film on your channel that is such a huge part of preserving our heritage! 🇵🇱🍻
I m Russian and this book and movie were biggest hits in my childhood too
I'd never heard of this movie before seeing this video; I love when KZhead videos draw my attention to interesting movies/shows/books/music that I normally wouldn't hear about.
Have you seen the whole movie yet?
Wołodjowski was called First Saber of The Republic, Kmicic was arrogant troublemaker. From Wołodjowski point of view purpose of this duel was not to kill Kmicic, not even to physically hurt him, but to humiliate him in front of all men present. To theach him a lesson. Movie scene shows this perfectly.
Not the Republic, the Commonwealth
@@karoljarnuszkiewicz5451 These are synonyms. As you obviously know - judging by your name - commonwealth in polish is rzeczpospolita. Rzeczpospolita has the same meaning as latin "res publica" - or the aformentioned "republic". It's the same word and calling commonwealth a republic is not a mistake, simply a different/alternative translation choice.
@@samowar5203 You are right. However, I would recommend using "commonwealth", it is clearer and closer to the official name of the state in that period.
@@samowar5203 I do not think, because commonwealth is part of the official name. And it was used as a wholesome name, as in this movie no one spoke the Republic of Poland only Commonwealth or in polish "Rzeczpospolita".
But Tan Original name was Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów - Republic of Both Natiions. I’m aware of use of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth term, but this is description of this political entity, not translation of name. So French term is absolutelly correct. However I agree that using description Polish-Liithuanuan Commonwealth allows people ,who are not history geeks, to at least have a faint idea what the hell are we talking about. Republic of Both Nations doesn’t mean anything to most English speaking people. So this could make using descriptive name instead of direct translation of actual name more popular.
If there's anything to add for context (not a fencing expert, but it might explain some things about the fight): - The fight is about a woman, namely, about a woman whom Kmicic (very good pronunciation!) kidnapped and Wołodyjowski was tasked with getting back (not a love interest for him, but a love interest for Kmicic). - Both fighters were renowned for their fencing skills, but haven't met before. Kmicic is more of a rogue here, Wołodyjowski more a military type. So, in a way, one is a "self-taught" fencer, the other a professionally trained one. - Wołodyjowski clearly treats the fight as a teachable moment; he sees a rough-hewn, fiery-tempered brawler with some skill that is revered by his company. But Kmicic isn't yet a soldier, he doesn't know he's in way over his head. So, Wołodyjowski is showing it to him - I wouldn't say 100% to humiliate him, but the effect is clear. (Hence the bit where he whirls the blade around for, like, a full minute and comments "You're handling it like a flail.") - Part of the reason for the humiliation is that the longer the fight lasts, the more clear it becomes that Kmicic is actually at an end and that Wołodyjowski can pretty much do as he pleases with him. The fight ends with Kmicic lowering the blade and saying "End this, sir; spare me the shame," but the cut that Wołodyjowski applies is only enough to put Kmicic out of action, not enough to kill him. When Kmicic recovers, Wolodyjowski hands him the colonel's baton as both of them are assigned regiments for the war against Sweden. On a final note, part of the reason why Kmicic seems so flamboyant and Wołodyjowski so economic is because of the age and fitness difference (perfect casting, btw!). Olbrychski (Kmicic; pronounced ol'-BRYKH-skee) was a full 18 years younger than Łomnicki (Wołodyjowski; wom-NEETS-kee) and much fitter; I think he did all his stunts himself. This translates very well into the image they project - that the fight is between a cocky upstart who thinks he knows the game and an old head who sees right through the kid. Anyway, as a complete noob when it comes to fencing, I just wanted to say I like it when experts confirm my beliefs - this fight, and the fight scenes in the Eastern European historical movies of the period in general, always seemed more "real" to me than the carefully choreographed fights from more modern films and shows. It does seem that filmmakers simply employed reconstructors and experts in the field, rather than fight choreographers. Who'd have thunk it that it might work out better!
Also, one should see Olbrychski mounting a horse in that movie :D I learned to ride solely to be able to pull that off and can do something like that, but never exactly like him :D
well the Wołodyjowskis character was not older, they were roughly the same age (in their twenties) but surely ghe casting was perfect to show the characters right
A long read but worth it!
Yeah, Olbrychski is a great rider. He is nów 75 years old, but he still have his own horse and he rides a lot. For a while i was riding in a stable where he was keeping his horse, and jesus christ, seeing him riding was absolutly amazing.
Also, Olbrychski (Kmicic) was a better swordsman than Łomnicki (Wołodyjowski). His character was supposed to be a worse swordsman, so they were trained to look like it.
The movie - "Potop" is about Swedish assault of Poland in July 1655. The Sweeds crossed the border of Poland and made 2nd biggest loot and destruction of Poland after Germans in 2nd World War (1939-1945). The country was so much destroyed it paved the way to the complete country partition between Germany, Russia and Austria. The movie is based on a book of the Nobel price awarded Polish writer - Henryk Sienkiewicz. The book is mandatory in high school to read. It's ficticious story however it has many real events like for example the defence of Czestochowa. One of the best Polish actors play in the movie like - Olbrychski, Hańcza, Łomnicki, Braunek... These are the actors that were the best in late 70tees when it was recorded. This movie is literally played in Polish tv on every Chrismass or Easter... You can find it at least on one channel. Thanks for notificing and appreciating this movie.
As a Pole I'm always happy to see some of the lesser-known but classic parts of Polish pop-culture appreciated abroad. Things like the Trilogy books and adaptations have a hard time getting through to the international mainstream because there are already so many huge English-language historical epic movies with great special effect etc. It's nice to feel that things like "The Deluge" can be embraced despite the language barrier - these books/movies are quite fictionalised takes on history, but still great and hugely entertaining stories and a great entryway to a very interesting historical period. Thank you for a great video 🙂
Fun fact -- the movie was praised for very long uncut shots. However the western critics were unaware, that this was made out of necessity. The film strip was simply so expensive by Polish standards.
This is the best way of getting something done. You have no other way, so you just do it.
Necessity is the Mother of Invention.
candid moe Necessity is also the Sister of Genius, and the Grandmother of Revolution.
That's funny 😁 They compensated the lack of money with their saber skills 💪 I don't like cuts in fights anyway, when they put so many cuts and zooms that you don't even know what they are doing besides of watching them scream and clash swords, it makes me mad. I like when the fights don't have as many cuts
@@malahamavet Oh, then you are not gonna like modern Philippine action films, buddy. Here, it's cuts, zooms, shaky cams, and crappy fighting galore. Unless you go to the old films, then they have decent action. (All coming from a pureblood Filipino, btw)
"Waść machasz jak cepem" :D
"You swing it like a flail, mister."
Kończ waść wstydu oszczędź
@@silencedvoice9104 "Finish it sir. Save (me) shame"
"Stawaj"
"Fight with me"
The entire scene with English subtitles: kzhead.info/sun/ls2lacaon4Kjea8/bejne.html
I'm an Olympic-style sabre coach, and Wołodyjowski's disengages are a thing of beauty. The long point looks like it developed into "point in line" for foil and sabre. I use it all the time for the same reason you outlined...to slow my opponent down.
I'll try spinning, that's a good trick. - Anakin Skywalker
OMG. I absolutely loathed that part of the film. Cause spinning in the middle of a dogfight is such a good idea. In retrospect, several years later, it really brought home that Lucas made the movies for kids(his statement) cause that whole sequence was kind of an insult to anyone who kinda has a brain and knows , really, anything at all about how that would work. Not that I am a military pilot, but even I knew the sequence was, um, let's say fantastical?(garbage) at best. There were a lot of interesting visuals in Phantom Menace, but damn, the whole movie could be summed up as an homage to the Rule of Cool.
@@kuesdav If force tells him that he can keep spinning without dying in fight then I am more than happy to watch it.
@@kuesdav - Chancellor Palpatine did that jumping spinning thing when he attacked Mace Windu and company and he quickly kills three so I guess it works. XD
Of course it can be very dangerous to spin, but I find that typically, in sport and in sparring, that unless someone is conditioned to expect the spin, they're usually flat-footed and end up watching it.
kzhead.info/sun/qbKEY6mjg4idYHk/bejne.html
Love Polish people from Persia ,poland is a very old nation, also during medival was the only europian nations which always had close relations to Persia. Persia 💝 Poland La viva
Greetings from Poland! I hope I'll visit Persia someday :)
@@lepekmaniak awsome bro, you are welcome ,i will visit poland too 🤩
Stay strong Persians/Iranians, many of Polish peoples still remember good, how Iran help us and our peoples during WW2! Much love, from Poland!
Greetings Pozdrawiam ;)
Persia and Poland!? Remember, Cherokee were in this union as well!
7:10- The switch is a license for the film. Never happened in the novel, but in a different novel of the series Wołodyjowski won a difficult duel with this kind of switch. But he only use this movement to surprise his oponent. This kind of movement in the film scene is like a tribute to the character.
I have only basic knowledge of swordsmanship, and even I can tell that the actors are really going ham in making that duel look GOOD.
Kmicic knew he was weaker, that is why he was more frustrated at the end. At the end he also said "End me, save me the shame" (Kończ waść, wstydu oszczędź) because he didn't want to be a toy for Wołodyjowski. I wasn't aware that someone outside from Poland would watch it. Thank you :)
love Poles and Poland! from Britain
Potop was nominated for an Oscar, just FYI. It was definitely watched outside Poland.
Hello there, I'm from the Czech republic. I actually read the whole trilogy and then of course watched all the movies in the first year of high school. And i gota say that it still remains one of my most favorite franchises. I even met some Poles and Ukranians in bars and on discord and we talked about all the different characters and the history behind them. If I ever had the chance I'd definitely let Daniel Olbrychski ravage my asshole. What a guy
That's what a university rector told me at exams.
I'd rather say not "save" but "spare me the shame"
You got the point exactly right Skallagrim. Kmicic (you pronounced that right at second try, so respect) was a crazy vagabound at the begining of the story. You could even call him a bandit, as he murdered a lot of people and kidnapped a daughter af a nobleman because he was in love with her. Wołodyjowski rescued her from Kmicics hands. Later on Kmicic is becoming sort of war hero and very honorable knight. It is a story about change in mans heart. In this scene, Kmicic is very arogant and very perky about his skills in combat. Wołodyjowski is also proud of his skills but he has very right to be so, as he is literaly the best fencer in Poland. He is ideal polish knight in this story. But also he likes to show off. So you generaly get in perfectly. And to be honest, I have now more respect for this movie. If someone who do not know the whole story can read all of this from just moves in fight it means two things. Firstly - they did a great job making this movie. Secondly - You are real expert on the matter. Big respect.
This is the best comment, that deserves to be on top.
Actually, its a tad more complicated. That woman was bethrothed to him, so few days/weeks before this went down he arrived there to meet her and they really hit it off. But the friends that came with him partied a bit too hard in the town and the men there killed them and then tried to break the bethrothal (as the girl's parents were dead and they sorta made those lesser noble men her gaurdians), causing Kmicic to seek vengence and then kidnap her. I might have simplified it a bit but its been about 10 years since I read the book.
Very good explanation. Just to add. At the beginning Kmicic was sure of the outcome of this fight. One of way of Wołodyjowski showing off is that little moment when he puts left hand knuckle in his pocket and moves his fingers gently. It was small thing but considered a sign of disregard. When Kmicic realised that Włodyjowski is playing with him, he says one of most iconic movie sentences in Poland. "Kończ waść. Wstydu oszczędź" which may be translated roughly as "Finish it sire. Save the shame."
@@adamwnek7464 It would be better to translate it: "Just end it. Let me keep some face."
@@nejmus no.
A great analysis. Some more details to add: As you've correctly deduced, Wołodyjowski is leagues above Kmicic and is pretty much mocking him through the whole fight. The way he switches hands in between blows, purposefully strikes his opponent's saber instead of his exposed torso, and later disarms him and allows him to pick up his weapon, it's all meant to teach this arrogant youngster a lesson in humility. He doesn't want to kill his opponent, just put him in his place. Meanwhile, Kmicic fights with the over-exaggerated movements of someone who's never learned proper fencing, but still considers himself unbeatable. As he grows tired and angry with how unfazed Wołodyjowski is, you can see his blows becoming even more erratic and careless. It's a wonderful scene that really shows the difference in their skill and personalities... with less than a dozen words spoken.
That's the spirit of older generations' work culture. More concentration on quality, realism, real value, details and truth than in current time.
It's cool how much story you have managed to read from the fight scene alone. WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD In terms of characters Wołodyjowski is a seasoned soldier, who has fought in many campaigns and is considered the finest fencer in the Commonwealth, while Kmicic is a flamboyant young troublemaker with a natural knack for flashy techniques, but who has no proper training and never really met a worthy opponent until this point. Kmicic starts the fight very sure of himself, but his wild and flashy attacks are repeatedly thwarted and he gets more and more desperate. This self-centred bad boy who thought himself undefeatable sees that he is no real match for Wołodyjowski, who has honed his fighting skills in the service of the country. Meanwhile Wołodyjowski, as the fight progresses, changes his intention from killing to humiliating Kmicic and teaching him a lesson, as he sees that while no match for himself, this bad boy could do great things for the country, if he was given a chance and motivation. This also explains why several times he does not punish Kmicic's mistakes. The whole scene is very symbolic and it's message is "while Kmicic is kind of badass, serving the country has made colonel Wołodyjowski the true badass here". PS. You're second take on pronouncing Kmicic was correct.
Basicly a Master Swordsman vs a cossack showoff who had the strenght and speed but lacked fine skill. Honestly, Kmicics combat style is an opportunist cheap tricks kind of deal that works in a forest ambush while in open combat he just throw himself like an angry spider.
While not having seen the entire film (or read the books) I had come across this fight scene, must be close to 10 years or so ago, and loved it exactly for this reason. While the "reality" of the duel alone is highly praise worthy, the story telling on top of it really brings the whole scene to another level.
also Skallagrim should have shown the end as the finishing is quite typical cut for the polish fencing school
This! Great writeup.
The statement of a lack of a proper training is somewhat exaggerated in case of Kmicic. Most, if not all, gentry of the epoch trained saber fencing since they were kids. And Kmicic, apart from being a selfish badass, was also a brave soldier and an experienced, reputable officer. But this time he met the best sabre in the Commonwealth (which, at his time, would probably mean the best sabre in Europe), so for dramatic and visual reasons the filmmakers had to over exaggerate the difference in skills between the two so the scene is understandable for modern audiences. The line about humiliating is strictly to the point though, and it's even more clearly notable in the book.
Whenever Wołodyjowski doesn't take advantage on Kmicic mistake it's all intentional. He didn't want to hurt him because he knew he is far better fighter and he basically won before fight started. Fight doesn't seem to be choreographed, but their fighting styles brilliantly mirror their personalities in the story. Calm, calculated and efficient Wołodyjowski and hot headed, reckless and arrogant Kmicic. This fight is one of milestones in character development of Kmicic. This scene beyond realistic fight is very importand to the story itself
It hurts me that in the video he didn't mention fact that Kmicic asked Wołodyjowski at the end of fight to finish him and end his misery Wołodyjowski as a great fighter and person of honor didn't finish him, also seeing good in Kmicic
@@Hube02 he told at the beginning of the video that he won't show the result of the duel not to spoil it
Saving Kmicic was not Wołodyjowski's goal He cut his head into 2 pieces Kmicic survived because as a fool (in his youth) he was lucky
@@FujiMen4 kzhead.info/sun/qrKPgLuXj6psaaM/bejne.html - the whole fight kzhead.info/sun/paaKmdpog36DeZ8/bejne.html - Flood (The deluge of Swedish troops that flooded Poland in 1655 to 1660, at the same time we were at war with Russia 1654-1667 - Poland was at the peak of its power, but these two wars led to the fall of Poland in the next 200 years) - the best fragments of the film
@@4monkeylive did you actually read the book? Wołodyjowski clearly tried to make a lesson for Kmicic.
A little explanation: In the book this movie is based on, Wolodyjowski was a master swordsman. Kmicic regarded his own skills higly and with haughtiness, so Wolodyjowski decided to give him a lesson and play with him - like a cat playing with a mouse. Hence the showoffiness, and Kmicic's erratic movements that quickly lose flamboyancy and confidence, replaced by frustration and desperation. It's all on purpose and faithful to the novel. The scene has a slightly different tone in the book, but personally I prefer the cinematic rendition (rain, no quips from Wolodyjowski bar one etc.) Also, while they're fighting for a woman, there's more nuance to that. Kmicic basically kidnapped Olenka (whom he loved, and who loved him back, but found him repulsive for the bloodshed he was responsible for and refused to be with him) while Wolodyjowski challenged him to a duel in order to free her without unnecessary bloodshed. The protagonist of the whole novel (and movie adaptation) is Kmicic - a young and reckless but overall good-hearted young leader of a ragtag band of fighters - his arc being redemption in the eyes of Olenka and his own country. It's regarded as the best one in Sienkiewicz's so-called Trilogy (By Fire and Sword, The Deluge, Sir Wolodyjowski). Anyway, enough prattling. Thank you for a great analysis! p.s. if you REALLY want to nitpick - Kmicic's sabre changes all of a sudden half way through the scene :D
I'm glad Skallagrim does actually address the character's emotions in the fight. Both are proud men, intent on humiliating the other, due to their differing personal positions. The Colonel is clearly the superior swordfighter, and is intentionally tiring his opponent out, forcing the fight to continue by not taking easy kills and goading his opponent to continue. The Kmicic is so arrogant and confident in his skills that he keeps trying to show off only to be punished for it, growing more and more frustrated as it continues. Truly one of the best swordfights in movie history!
Being Polish it saddens me to see our cinematography took such a big step backwards since that period of time. Nowadays most Polish movies try to look as Hollywoodish as possible and they fail so much in this attempt... The Deluge was world level production when it was made. And now?
There were two (2) world class movies from Poland "Pharaoh" (Faraon) and "Promised Land" (Ziemia Obiecana). None of them had this cheap look of "Deluge" which is really poor relative of preceeding "Waterloo".
@@piotrd.4850 "Three Colors' by Kieślowski? Heard they know it too.
You can make a great movie on a small budget, most of the greatest horror movies of all time were made with a shoestring budget even for the time, you just need to play to your strengths and beat the Hollywood blockbuster using good writing and get creative with the visuals rather than trying to match it's epic special effects. When a low budget movie tries to copy the visuals and special effects of a big budget film at the expense of the writing than it just comes off as sad and bland. Plenty of American films do the same but I see more and more foreign films trying to match Hollywood blockbusters even though the Hollywood movie has a bigger budget than some countries entire government. You cant beat Goliath in an arm wrestling contest, you have to play to your strengths and get creative, that's why David used a sling (something he was familiar and skilled with) and not a 50lb war hammer.
Same with hungarian cinematography...
Yeah its really sad. The only decent polish movie in the past few years is - Boze Cialo
For Wiedzmin fans This fight from the Polish film, the creators of the game The Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone, drew the motive for the entire addition as well as the fight between Geralt and Olgeird. The same words fall into battle even
That's pretty cool. I'm playing through that part right now, this gives it some extra spice :)
"Well said witcher , stand and fight"
Hi, i've read only the first book of that trilogy ("With fire and sword" or "Ogniem i mieczem") and it made me believe that Olgierd von Everec was inspired by the character Bogun. Isn't that so?
@@gavingreenhorn Bogun? hmmm There is no such name there. There was a Cossack named Bohun. But no, that isnt the character that inspired Olgierd von Everetz in the Witcher. Olgierd is bassed on the book "deluge" and character Andrzej Kmicic :)
@@Marcin-L it's "deludge" not "flood", and he's clearly inspired after Bohun and Kmicic.
It was interesting, because Kmicic is described as a capable soldier, yet about halfways into the duel, you can see that Wolodjowski is clearly playing with him and there is also a short dialoguge between them when Kmicic says something like: "Finish already and spare me the shame." It's also interesting to look at how Wolodjowski had a very hard duel against Bohun in With Fire and Sword and by the time of The Deluge, he becomes the sabre wielding Chuck Norris. Awesome 3 movies and books though.
Great film, and Henryk Sienkiewicz’s Trilogy is some of the greatest heroic fiction ever written.
Author of "The Deluge" explained that changing hands in duels was quite important as most of people were inexperienced with fighting against left handed opponent. And yes, Wolodyjowski was toying with Kmicic, in the book you can read that he could have finished the duel in first few seconds. Great content btw :)
Unfortunately, at the times the book was written (end of 19th century), the tradition of sabre fighting was mostly discontinued, because of the changes in military technologies, strategy, and the partitioners' policies, who did not want masses of Poles become skilled warriors. Apparently, Sienkiewicz (the author) included quite a few myths in the stories. I recall an interview with Polish reconstructionists in which it was claimed that albeit fighting with a left hand could indeed trick an opponent, changing hands during the fight could easily lead to becoming unarmed. You can clearly see it in another famous duel, Wolodyjowski vs. Bohun in "With the Fire and Sword", when an actor impersonating Bohun almost missed the hilt in an attempt to do the very same trick.
Yeah right, because toying is advised in close combat...Don't believe everything you read
@@ChessJourneyman This movie is about a book written in XIX century. A book. :)
Makes sense, if you've ever boxed a lefty or guarded one in basketball, it's like you have to learn a new sport to compete against them.
Wojtek Strusinski 10/10 comment
That was exacltly what this scene was about: Wolodyjowski wanted to give a lesson to cocky Kmicic.
Came back to see it again. _The Deluge_ is a classic of Polish Cinema. Great review, Skall, and good links too.
The moment when Wolodyjowski switches hands is a reference to the previous novel in the cycle, in which a famous cossack fighter did that to throw off his enemies. Wolodyjowski fought him and most likely learned the trick form him. In real-life terms, it's probably a reference to that earlier novel, which at the time "The Deluge" was filmed had not been made into a movie yet ("With Fire and Sword" was filmed in 1999, and there you can see Bohun do the switch as his finishng move).
I definitely WASN"T expecting this. Mad respect to you Skall. Finally, someone pointed out the fact that indeed there are more accurate historical movies out there worth watching. Especially those from Central and Eastern Europe. BTW, another polish movie A Long Time Ago in Ilza can easily claim the title of the most historically accurate move as literally all roles are played by historical reenactors in their own reenacting gear. The move is available for free on KZhead with English subtitles.
Why ima seeing you in every video about polish histroy in youtube?
@@Ugurcan191 Nah, I watch all kinds of videos about history in general, just tend to comment more under videos about Polish history. BTW, where did you saw my comments? I'm curious.
@@kamilszadkowski8864 Uhmm a video about polish lancers attack in spain.Also couple ottoman siege of vidanna videos.
@@Ugurcan191 That explains a lot. I subscribed to King&Generals when they were still a Total War channel. I really like these guys and I'm trying to support them as much as I can hence the comments which help improve their income from videos.
Dzień dobry Kamil jak oglądam jakieś filmiki o historii to dość często cię widzę.
"i dont speak polar"
basically the equivalent of "i dont speak england" lmao
I love my all children equally... sweden, england... pOLar...
@@user_harddrive Even further, "I don't speak englar"
Nie mówisz po Niedźwiedźku?
I don't speak polar or polish LOL
About erratic movements of Kmicic. He, as a protagonist of Potop books, at first was a scoundrel. Heavy drinking antihero, progessing through his story to become a genuine hero. So his fighting stile was wild, as his character was. On the other hand, Wołodyjowski was a master swordsman. Unique and unbeatable. His skill had no match, so he was kinda flashy with changing hands and the other stuff. Theyre did not fight over woman... kinda. Kmicic obducted his love interest, and Wołodyjowski led a resecue, but he was there to accquire Kmicic to Polish army preparing to war. So Wołodyjowski showed that Kmicic was no match for him. When Kmicic understood that (he was exhausted at the end) he spoke the famous (in polish literature) words: "Kończ waść. Wstydu oszczędź." which translates to "End it sir. Spare me a humiliation."
I'm really jealous of Skall's wardrobe, his outfits are always so amazing
Fun fact in witcher 3: Hearts of stone in first fight between Geralt and Olgierd there is followup to this fight scene.
I thought that was based off of Legend of Faust
@@dakotafawson1223 You are partially right. HoS is based on polish legend about Mr. Twardowski. It has similarities to "Legend of Faust", which is German legend. Gaunther represented devil, and Twardowski is represented by Everec. They wrote a pact about devil granting Twardowski 3 wishes, but then they would meet in Rome and devil would have his souls. Twardowski evaded going to Rome but he ended up with his soul taken inside tavern called "Rome". They changed Rome to moon in this version. And @bartl was referring to fight outside Olgiert estate between Geralt and Olgiert. I hope that I have made it clearer to you
Dawid Tubisz thanks ! I knew I heard something like that before. I’d also like to point out that Olgierd says “let the music play on” which is not only apparently in that same Polish story, but Leo Bonhart also says it in the books
@@dakotafawson1223 Yeah I know that, I read both Potop and Witcher. Here in Poland Potop is or at least was mandatory read in school. I hope that you have pleasant experience playing Witcher
@@dakotafawson1223 On the topic of adapted polish legends, there's a mini-series made by Allegro (basically, polish amazon/ebay) about several polish folklore tales adapted into a modern/scifi universum. Google "Legendy Polskie Allegro" if you're interested. They have english subtitles.
8:15 In the plot, Kmicic at this point, understands the difference in Wołodyjowski's skills, and he just acts desprate. At the end he says "Finish it. Spare me shame."
Spiler :)
Hmm, I'd say more like: "(Please) deliver, sir. Spare the shame". Kmicic uses honorific here, and it actually has a rhetorical meaning: Kmicic is portrayed (in books) as a very talented fencer but a hothead, hopeless egoist and a ungrateful asshat, and his transition to a patriot and veteran commander is kind of main plot of the books; the use of honorific imho was purposeful signal to readers that this character is not all lost - Sienkiewicz's books were initially printed in episodes in polish language newspapers during the partition over the course of several years.
What was the title of this movie I would very much like to watch it myself!
@@michaela.segarra461 The Deluge www.rottentomatoes.com/m/deluge
@@michaela.segarra461 he is telling it at the beginning in two languages :) This is thrilogy. Newest part, and first - if u'd like to see it, like the books were published - is "ogniem i mieczem" "with sword and fire", altho duels are not so impresive, rest is very well made. Worth seeing - available on yt with english subs.
Ah yes, back when Polish cinema was actually good. Potop holds up even today, it's beautiful and brutal. edit/ one thing about the pointing towards your opponent: in kendo this is the default position of kamae, and if done right it's the strongest, practically impossible to beat position. The idea behind it is not only that a charging opponent would get stabbed, also if you point the tip of the sword directly between the opponent's eyes, they will not have a point of reference and will have difficulty assessing the distance, forcing them to be at a disadvantage.
Are you idiot or want? Polish cinema is good now as never before. Since about 10 years every year Polish movie got Oscar nomination or Actually got Academy Award called Oscar. „Ida”, „Cold war”, „ Boże ciało” „ Tearz” etc..these movies got also golden palms from Cannes or Golden Bears from .Berlin fesival
@@zepter00 you might want to check your grammar before insulting me on a comment from a year ago and no, all you said are exceptions to the rule. I kinda know it from behind the scenes. How films are made now has nothing to do with how it used to be.
"I don't speak polar" Skallagrim, 2019
A canadian not speaking polar ? Hmmmmm.
@@Zamolxes77 didn't know he was Canadian.
@@remipoujoulat7759 He lives in Canada now, afaik he might not be canadian from birth.
@@Zamolxes77 What do you call polish person in Canada? A North Pole...
@@piotrd.4850 "The smart one".
This was exactly the point of those "pointless" Wołodyjowski's movements. He might have killed the guy in a second but he wanted to embarrass him first publicly instead.
Skall, you hit the nail on the head with their fighting styles and the portraying of the emotional states of the characters.
More like the actors nail the portraying of their character's emotions.
To właśnie stara szkoła - nie tylko najlepiej w Świecie walczyli, ale przekazali charaktery bohaterów nawet komuś, kto nie umie poprawnie wypowiedzieć ich imion!!!
Cool explanation. Many of the traits you describe are actually deeply rooted in the novel. The scene is actually a pivotal one for the character of Kmicic, where he looses alot of his self-confidence and starts questioning "the dark side".
The actor (Tadeusza Łomnickiego) who played colonel Wołodyjowski, took fencing lessons from a fencing master ( Andrzej Piątkowski), then in another movie from the trylogy (Pan Wołodyjowski) he had a duel with him (Andrzej Piątkowski played a Turkish soldier there). The man who stands behind that duel (back in Potop - the one that you refer to) was prof. Waldemar Wilhelm. To learn and play it well, they have been practicing only that scene for 2 months. The actor who played Andrzej Kmicic is Daniel Olbrychski. And last but not least - they used real, XVII century sabres there ;) I hope you have seen the whole movie, so I recommend you to read the books. They are all translated in English.
The actor's name, you have mentioned first is Tadeusz Łomnicki.
Łał. To się nazywa komentarz.
@@Optimus5555 Jak najbardziej masz rację, wspomniał o Tadeuszu Łomnickim, który był fenomenalnym aktorem. Nawiasem mówiąc nie potrzebował dublera przez cały film, wszystkie sceny batalistyczne zagrał sam.
Apparently it was one of favourite President’s Regan books
Actually, both of these actors come from an old film school, they actually learned to fight with a saber, ride a horse, learn the basics of stunting (sometimes more than the basics). It was a completely different type of actor than today, in the 1960s and 1970s, no one heard of "stunt men", most of the dangerous scenes were made by actors themselves, not by the alternates. The film takes a lot of shortcomings, especially historical ones (for example costumes or weapons), but for the times when it was created, it keeps a really high level.
Hard to believe. Actors, specially starring ones, are valuable assets for a studio or director. Nobody wants to risk a movie because an actor hurts in a scene.
@@jamesrosemary2932 Perhaps yes, I could not believe it at first. But in those times, in the Polish films, for example, soldiers, militiamen or firemen were often used as extras. The actors were taught stunting. For example, Olbryski (playing in this film Kmicica) at the film school learned to ride a horse (including jumps / laying a horse) and the basics of climbing the walls and swimming (it was not so obvious then). So much has changed over the years. Even in the American film, the mass of actors from 40-50-60 had military service behind them, sometimes a war, so they knew what they were doing on the film set.
@@jamesrosemary2932 in US it was. But Poland never had the budget to such extravaganza(lol socialism), although if an actor could not do it for sure they did employ a double. Extras was mostly from the military, but at the tine it was nothing new, like in Waterloo where Soviet soldiers played the French and English troops. And they did it for free
@@fistinyourface7053 ever heard about Leon Niemczyk , he played over 100 movies ( and always doing all scenes - was called Profi) in was german movie there were scene when he must run towards the glass with somebody shooting in it. ( to make holes as he runs ) after shooting he asked guy who shoots if he was afraid to hit him instead - ok mr. Niemczyk , last bullet was for me - and it was last day of shooting that movie .
@@jamesrosemary2932, true. Yet even today some actors, like Cruise, Ford, Craig and many more (not even mentioning Jackie Chan :-) ) claim to do their stunts on their own. Olbrychski (the actor impersonating Kmicic) is still very fit despite his age, still runs horses and does fencing. At the time the film was made (70ties) Burt Lancaster, Steve McQuinn, JP Belmondo, and many others also were famous for doing their own stunts. So it was not a matter of "cheap Polish actors", but rather of the actors' image, at least in the West. Here - it was perhaps a matter of achieving an artistic result, which worked very well in Potop. Besides, as it was already stated in another comment, many actors of the generation - across the world - had had military trainig and combat experience from WWII.
Thanks for the great material. It is not without reason that this fencing duel is considered the most realistic in the history of Polish cinematography. Both outstanding actors did not even consider using stuntmen and both trained in fencing for this film and also practiced saber fighting. The effect is still amazing to this day and fully reflects the intensity of this scene - I don't think anyone has managed to repeat it in Polish cinema since. Thanks for taking care of this particular duel - it was great to listen to your analysis. Thanks for a great episode,best regards Bro 💪😎🥝👊
Your knowledge is amazing. I'm Polish and it makes me incredibly proud, that you have appreciated this scene, which for us, Poles, is iconic. Both actors involved in this "duel" are well recognized in Poland for their acting skills, but in this film they have created a characters that are timeless.
One reason for the reality of this duel is that actors at that time were required to practice fencing at Polish acting academies, among certain other potentially usefull skills for cinema, like horse riding.
@RdkMar bullshit
@RdkMar If you start messing with cops, you taking risk to get beaten by them. I'm not innocent, but I didn't ever got any harm from cops in my entire life, because I'm not agressive dumbfuck.
@@itsamepepe "I'm not innocent, but I didn't ever got any harm from cops in my entire life, because I'm not an agressive dumbfuck." So what were you back then : just an opportunistic wimp or a communist kapuś? I wouldn't brag about that if I were you.
>be american >go to school >get shot since its more important to be political correct that care about some poor kid getting bullied Life sure is great ;)
SSU just because it’s shit now doesn’t mean it wasn’t shit back then
Wow, this video was quite a surprise for me - I didn't expect to see a scene from "Potop" here. Such a familiar accent. :) It's always on TV during Polish Independence Day and it's also shown in many schools, since the novel it's based on is a set book. I think this film did pretty well as far as recreating the time when it it set is concerned and the fight scenes are ones I most vividly remember. You're right about saying that the fight is to allow the men to show off their skills and show others how manly they are. That's probably why one of them sometimes does strange, over-the-top movements. Also - you did really well with Polish pronounciation. :D Best regards from Poland.
I'm still laughing at how he pronounced "Wołodyjowski".
@@Fari12148 at least he didn't pronounce it Łolodjołski :P
Siema Barah :)
Great video - thank you for sharing info on the Polish sabre👍 This 1974 movie brings back to life the Polish history of 17th century. The Deluge (Potop) is one of my favourite historical dramas. The fencing scenes are indeed very well made, pretty realistic.
I grew up on these classic literature and movies, I feel I had a kick ass childhood in Poland! I’ve got all the movies remastered versions on dvd
Kmicic is a young, arrogant hothead, pretty strong. Wolodyjowski is considered master of sabre - he is short so people underestimate him. This is what is happening in the scene, Kmicic thinks it is gonna be easy fight but he bites more he can swallow :)
how much shorter are you now?
Yes, the book says openly that Kmicic was attacking with fury and little skill.
Events in the novel take place in 1654. Volodyevsky, according to the Trilogy, was born in 1616.
Its WOŁODYJOWSJI! Theres Ł not L!
@@polskimaestro9454 Proszę pana wziąć pod uwagę, że pisałem po angielsku. Mój poziom języka polskiego w najlepszych latach był niewielki, ale nazwisko ukochanego z dzieciństwa bohatera Trylogii po polsku ja bym napisał bez błędów. Ale dziękuję. Niech was Bóg błogosławi.
Skall back at it again with the gorgeous coats.
I must know where he gets such stylish gear. Post haste.
I would like to know as well
I NEED IT, i wanna buy it soooo bad
Motion for skall to move from sword reviews to coat reviews
@@ave789 I second that motion!
A friend of mine is Polish-Australian and LOVES this sequence. He says he is not at all surprised it is so realistic as he tells me that, at the time, a lot of people in Poland did sabre fencing and would be very knowedgable about the proper way to do a sabre duel.
"Potop" is probably the greatest historic masterpiece in Polish cinema history. Greetings from Poland😊🇵🇱 Pozdrawiam😊
At the end Kmicic says: " End it, Sir. Spare the humiliation already"
in polish "kończ waść, wstydu oszczędź". try to pronounce that! i challange you all ;)
@@doktornemo3974 you know its pretty easy in 2020 with google translate copy+paste secret shaolin technique ^^
Ach nie widziałem, to jest lepiej ujęte niż to co ja napisałem :-) Szacun pozdrawiam.
@ratdancer77 ;-) You just need to make a sound with your body which you havent ever done yet. Feel free to give your body a go to make a sound on its own way. Even if its diffrent (suppose to be) than any experience you ever had be4 - accept it and keep trying ^^. Muscles will adapt and new languages sounds will become easy. Its an attitude thing. I have same feeling when im trying chinese or even british slangs like cockney or welsh english ^^. Pretty funny.
@@doktornemo3974 Mocium panie. Polacy wiedzą jak to wymawiać. Lepszy jest stół z powyłamanymi nogami.
This is one of the best comment sections i've seen in a long time.
I agree. I've read a lot of love for this classic masterpiece of film and read many genuinely funny comments as well. Skal really knows his stuff too :)
5:29 I really love how the blade literally vanishes when you pont it at the camera. I guess it gets really good at reflecting the greenscreen
Kudos for actually preparing for the pronunciation! Yeah i'm polish myself. You did quite well there :)
Don't worry Skal - you didn't butcher the names, actually, you did very well for somebody who doesn't speak Polish. After seeing your countless reviews of poor movie swordfight scenes, I'm quite honored to see that our Potop is your personal favorite. Stay strong, and - nie kończ, waść ;)
Wstydu oszczędź :-D
The funniest part is when Wolodyjowski comments: "Waść machasz jak cepem" (Vashtch mahhash yak tsepem, "You swing it like a piece of wood, Sir").
Except for Jersey Hoffman ;)
Manol Glishev, almost correct. Cep is flail in English. Basically Wolodyjowski says: You fight like a peasant!
Czesc,it's easy. kzhead.info/sun/p5Gfk9amaHeanKM/bejne.html
The castle behind the author's backpacks is in Będzin, Poland . This is my hometown 😁😁😁
też miałem taką rozkminę bo jestem z Czeladźi
@@L4zik777 zamek najlepiej widac z dworca kolejowego w czeladzi :-) taki lokalny żacik :-)
Pozdrowienia z BRZB ;)
Ehhh a ile razy się siedziało z piwem za nim :D
whaaaat, how could I miss it the first time I watched it :D
You are right. I am Polish and I know there was some personal background in making this take. Anyway, both of them showed the highest level of Polish Sabre School. Great thanks for the film. Greetings to You.
Yes i found this so intresting i had to watch all of it before i allowed myself to lay down to sleep lol love your videos man
One more interesting thing about this scene ;) Here, Wołodyjowski is the pro, and he's toying with Kmicic. But in reality, the actor who played Kmicic was trained in the sword fight. So he had to act like he was less skilled but also had to make sure not to hurt his opponent. That's why the actor who played Wołodyjowski said that he had troubles to guard himself fast enough. So the roles in the movie and in reality was completely reversed :D
Nope, Lomnicki in real life was professionally trained, not Olbrychski.
@@AnnaNotHannah Łomnicki was indeed trained for the role, but Olbrychski was generally better at sports, fencing included. So you're both kinda right. ;)
Olbrychski was trained extensively for the role as well, he even joked that after filming the movie if asked about military service he should answer "2 years, XVII century cavalry". He trained some fencing independently as well.
Yes, that is true. I watched an interview on tv where Olbrychski commented on that. He was fencing and horse riding as hobby for many years. He was much more skilled than Łomnicki. Also he’s the only actor in that trilogy who didn’t use any doubles for risky or difficult scenes.
W szkole aktorskiej kiedyś uczono szermierki więc wszyscy mieli dobre podstawy. Nie wiem jak jest teraz z szermierką i jazdą konną w szkołach aktorskich ?
Seeing you talk about this fight makes me happy. Potop was one of my favourite books growing up, the movie is fantastic, and the fight is tense and to the point. A point of correction: they weren't exactly fighting over a woman. If memory serves Wołodyjowski came to deal with Kmicic who basically kidnapped a local noblewoman. Kmicic was something of a loose cannon and gloryhound, while Wołodyjowski was known to be the finest swordsman in Poland, and one of the mlst honourable ones, too.
@Szymon Lech Dzięcioł that's the stuff. I really should read it again one of these days. It's been years. Thanks for the correction.
Thank you! I was slightly dismayed that Skal had clearly not taken time to watch the full film, even the first half hour. Kmicic, like Bohun before him, is a soldier par excellence, meant to be incredibly skilled with blade, gun, and as we see later in the film, his wiles and sheer courage. Only Pan Wolodyjowski of all those who came to apprehend him was able to take him to task in such a way. Astounding meetings between extraordinary people are a hallmark of the Trilogy. I wonder what Skallagrim would think of Zagloba? :D
@@lysander3262 I think Zagłoba would be quite outside of Skal's purview and lean towards Terrible Writing Advice's as a solid case of Miles Gloriosus.
Kmicic's moves are well-written into the hero's character and Polish national character. BTW Really good analysis from a foreign point of view. Good job!
Thank you informative and very enjoyable.
This movie is just great. One of my most favorite movies ever. Great actors, great director, great novel. "Природа плачет - полковника хоронить будут!" :)))
Where can I watch this movie?
@@sheev2829 www.cda.pl/video/44272280d (it is restored version)
The nature cries, a colonel will be buried. Not him. Not there, not then. Great novel! Godbless, Sergey.
@@MaciejBogdanStepien Thank you Maciej!
The Wołodyjowski switching hands in middle of fights, is also thing from the novels
For many years I fenced Epee right handed but had various injuries and had to fence LEFT handed. Funny that I beat everyone in my club (good fencers) left handed (first time) as the were simply not used to me as a "Lefty"... So it does have a temporary advantage and in a lot of cases I wish I could change arm and stance / switch mid fight lol (but maybe that's 'cuz I'm a bit ambidextrous.). Lefty's do have certain advantages and some fencing masters I have had (one for Film and TV) used to say for "Body symmetry" one should fence with the other hand from time to time. Regular fencers have very asymmetric body development and twist.
@@extradimension7356 I always assumed it would be similar to changing stances in fist fighting/mixed martial arts. It basically confuses your opponent, and even if for a second, it can end up with them losing.
@@extradimension7356 Can back up. Have fenced saber for quite a while, and as a right handed fighter, there's a whole different skillset fencing against a left handed fighter. It's not reversed, you just need to be ready to reach across the body much more, which is a very odd feeling the first few times. My most common sparring partner (who was a lefty) abused this at tournaments, since practicing with me and others in my club got him very good at exploiting right handed weaknesses. I, similarly, abused my practice against the occasional lefty that tried to fake me out only to run into a well practiced beat riposte before they even finished their attack.
I love this movie! Nice review mate. 😎
This is Freddie Mercury vs Charles Bronson. No wonder it's the best duel of all time
the moustache duel ;)
I just watched a remastered version of the movie thanks to this video...it is amazing. One of the best historic dramatizations I've seen and probably one of the best out there. Thank you very much for posting this and letting me and everyone else know that there exists such a beautifully filmed movie. Actors are astounding, main hero has so much charisma it's hard to express and the atmosphere is extremely thick and immersive. I'm absolutely in love with this piece of cinematography and I encourage everyone interested in historic movies to give this one a try if you can find it with English subs or if you speak Polish or Russian(there's a dub which I watched and frankly it's really good, you can find a remastered version here on YT). Length is another concern. 4 hours 46 minutes for the whole movie consisting of two parts is quite a lot, but I didn't regret one second of my time spent on this. The thing totally deserves its 1975 Oscar. So...overall: GREAT F*CKING MOVIE!
It never got an Oscar. Lost to Fellini's "Amarcord".
@Yujen Boston I see your a man of culture :)
The book was much better I'd say, if you can put your hands on a translation, then I'd recommend reading, because the movie shortens the story a lot, doesn't deliver many periods of dark athmosphere you go through the book. However the movie is definitely great, it's aired every year during the Easter holidays. Also I must remark the film failed to depict the tactics of Old-Polish cavalry attack, but this is something that has never been shown in any movie properly.
Glad you liked it. The book was better though. The Trilogy of Sienkiewicz was one of the first (if not first) historical novel I've ever read and it actually got me intrested in history. I recommend it, it's enchanting. ("With fire and sword" is the first, than "Deluge", than "Mr. Wołodyowski")
Remastered? It's not remastered without lightsabers.
I'll try spinning. That's a good trick.
now THIS is -podracing- *swordfighting*
Hello There
General @@Kris.G...
What if you had a shield on your back?
You turned (her) against me!
Bro....this is a pretty damn cool video. Didn't think I would enjoy it this much.
Worth mentioning that even though most people nowadays dont care about old dramas theres a few quotes from this scene so iconic that most Poles still know it. "Kończ waść, wstydu oszczędź" which means "Finish it sir, save the shame" as well as "Waść machasz jak cepem" meaning "You wave it around as if it was a flail".