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In Reclaiming the Blade, we learn of something called English Martial Arts. A Western companion to the Eastern ideals that form the basis for much of what we consider to be the classic combative styles, this concept centers around the broadsword and its numerous uses. This is not a discipline that involves fencing or other fancy foil work. It is also not the hacking and slashing spectacle used in many motion pictures. Instead, via interviews with scholars and individuals dedicated to preserving the past, writer/director Daniel McNicoll argues for the rebirth of an entire movement. With help from celebrity celebrants like Viggo Mortensen, Karl Urban, and J.J. Abrams, the call for a reconsideration of English Martial Arts makes up 80 percent of this documentary's purpose.
While very muddled at first, Reclaiming the Blade really only has this one solid agenda. In fact, the opening seems to both commend and condemn the current use of swords in film. We get moments from major cinematic statements like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Pirates of the Caribbean movies, only to have experts like Bob Anderson (Hollywood's go-to guy for steel on steel situations) and illustrator John Howe challenge such stuntwork. Part of the purpose behind Blade is to explain how outdated and ill-informed such big budget spectacles really are. With the different types of armor employed by warriors of the era, and the different makeup and manufacturing of weaponry available, the kind of clang-clang chaos depicted onscreen is just show -- nothing more.
Granted, things can get a little loopy once the English Martial Arts purists take over. There is so much talk about ancient manuscripts, lost volumes, and anecdotal proof of past practices that we can't quite get a handle on how many different types of sword fighting styles there really are. Then there is the story of a blade found in an old house in England. As the talking heads in charge of explaining its importance preen and showboat over its value, there is a serious disconnect between their perceived gravitas and anything resembling an actual clarification. We get that it took a smith of great skill to forge such an amazing piece of metal. Why it differs from other antiquities of the era is left a minor mystery.
With John Rhys-Davies acting as robust narrative guide through the various twists and turns in the story, with differing clubs around the continent acting as illustrations of the various combative categories, and with the occasional slag of the whole 'Renaissance Faire' approach to fighting, Reclaiming the Blade makes a valid statement for reexamining the entire history of knight-to-knight combat. There is some incredibly entertaining material included inside the insular insights and arch academia. Of course none of this makes the impact of seeing Dumas' famed fighters taking cutlass to cowards and carving them up. McNicoll may have created a clever call to arms. Whether it will change the way we view cinematic swordplay remains to be seen.
