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Fight Direction: For Stage and Screen
William Hobbs has written his book as a guide to the inexperienced, so they are able to put their ideas into action more smoothly. The author's aim is to promote a more professional attitude and way of thinking about the task of performing and arranging fights that will demonstrate the range of exciting challenges which are open to directors, actors and fight arrangers alike. Both amateurs and professionals will find the problems and dangers of stage combat dealt with by the author. There is a fully illustrated glossary of strokes, a chapter on battle scenes and mass fighting, and an account of how to arrange comic and symbolic fights and how to stage unarmed fights. The author explains his system of notation for recording the moves of a fight, and includes a 6short chapter on weapons. The final chapter covers slapstick - a deceptively simple art. Forewords by Laurence Olivier and Roman Polanski. The author's first fight direction was for Franco Zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet at the Old Vic and he was Fight Director to Olivier's National Theatre Company for 9 years. He has worked at the National Theatre with Peter Hall, the RSC, the Royal Opera House and the ENO and on many productions in Europe. His many TV productions include Olivier's King Lear and the recent BBC series, Clarissa. Fight direction on feature films includes Cyrano de Bergerac, Dangerous Liaisons, Hamlet, The Duellists, Excalibur and many others. He has just finished shooting the film Rob Roy."
Hardcover
First published November 20, 1995
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December 12, 2017
with forwards by Roman Polanski and Laurence Olivier
My old fencing coach, Eric Sollee, was recently inducted into the US Fencing Hall of Fame. Jarek Koniusz, the MIT coach and I started thinking of ways to celebrate. As such, I had been thinking a lot about fencing, Eric and other thoughts. I had drafted up a web site celebrating Eric’s life (http://vze72rf7.wixsite.com/mysite) and included some of his favorite movie fight scenes. I had picked up this book years ago and, as I was trying to read 30 books this year, thought the time was ripe for me to actually read it! (As luck, or the gods of serendipity, which seem to rule my life, would have it, I noticed a billboard for a new show at the theatre in the YMCA just down the street from me, ‘A Palpable Hit: Shakespeare’s Best Fight Scenes’ put on by a local and knowledgable Shakespeare acolyte, Michael Anderson – http://www.apalpablehit.com/about.html).
Hobbs comments early and often, that fight choreography really needs to be taught in person and so his book really only hints at the subject. It is, however, filled with many interesting and entertaining anecdotes of fights and historical tidbits. I found what was most helpful for me was his descriptions of fight scenes he had done (even if the attempt to capture the action on the page, a serious issue that he covers in one chapter of the book, was often difficult). I took the opportunity to get a few of the movies he choreographed out of the library to study and found his descriptions combined with the movie itself very edifying.
Below are the chapters with some cursory notes for your enjoyment.
Introduction
Hobbs reviews the literature – at the time of his first book (1967) the only manual was by a german named I.E. Koch titled ‘Buhnenfecktkunft’
Chapter 1: Background
Hobbs mentions several Victorian fight routines by their common names. (his will be fun to look up for further research on my part).
The square eights
The round eights
The Glasgow tens ( known in England as the long elevens)
The drunk combat
Mid-Victorian master of fence Felix Bertrand
Nicholas Nickleby - Dickens describes a fight routine by Crummle's Company
Pg 22: Hobbs mentions Bernard Hepton was an experienced fencer. I am a great fan of the LeCarre novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, produced for British tv in with Alec Guinness as the main character, George Smiley. One member of the wonderful caste was, Hepton playing the part of the “cheap Austro-Hungarian in an expensive suit”, Toby Esterhase.
Hobbs admires Dennis Loraine fight choreography for Olivier's Hamlet.
Chapter 2: Stage and Screen
Hobbs discusses the differences between stage (which is easier to choreograph) and screen. He then recounts many anecdotes about film fights. He finishes the chapter with a review of the huge battle scenes for Depardieu’s Cyrano with lists and diagrams describing the action.
After this chapter, I got ‘The Duellists’ out of the library to see the fight scenes. I think fight scenes can be like dances (or even some acting performances), where cutting and pasting can detract from the choreographed action. The film, Ridley Scott’s first full length feature, was still very rewarding for the sets and scenery. The setting for the final duel was at the Château de Commarque, a beautiful castle ruin. Also remarkable were the settings at the Dordogne and Sarlat la Caneda and Aviemore in Scotland near Inverness.
Chapter 3: Analysis and Construction
Again, the chapter ends with the description and diagrams of the action in a film. This time it’s ‘Rob Roy’, and it includes notes on the character’s personalities and motivations and how that impacts their actions on screen. Interested in Hobbs descriptions and the fact that some of the fight scenes outlined the difference between a point and cutting weapons, I got the movie out of the library. What I found most interesting was a fight at the very beginning which occurred partly in the background. Heavy broadswords with long powerful cuts, all the moves showing full commitment. Re-watching the fight, I did notice that all the cuts where quite out of line and safe. As Hobbs would remark often in the book, the most important thing about a staged fight is the commitment of the actors, and it was important that the actors feel totally safe for that commitment. (He returns to this subject in chapter 14).
Other fights were, in some ways, more interesting, but the editing cut up these scenes so much that I felt less involved in the actual fighting. The first scene, being primarily in the background, was less edited and therefore more enjoyable, for me anyway. There is a good reason why sometimes long continuous scenes in movies can bring out the best in an acting performance, a dance or a fight.
As a former competitive fencer, there is an interesting issue here. Acting requires ‘full commitment’ but actual fighting is much more subtle and includes an element I find fascinating. The defining characteristic of my experience of fencing was a ‘wait-full’ expectancy, feints designed to get your opponent to commit to an attack, which is the condition of his greatest exposure, and to counter attack. The sense of anticipation was extraordinarily intense.
Chapter 4: Movements and Shapes
A short chapter in which Hobbs touches on some interesting points about sculpting a scene for a space. He includes a time lapse photo of a fight with lights on the tips of the foils, creating an interesting line drawing.
Chapter 5: Fight Orchestration
Another short chapter with some interesting points about tempo, variation and sound during a fight.
Chapter 6: The Element of Surprise
Chapter 7: Safety Precautions and Method of Rehearsing
Touches here on several issues, but most importantly, distance, a crucial concept for competitive fencing:
The first stage of rehearsing a sword-fight should be concerned with the synchronization of footwork with the various movements of attack and defense. For example, when one person takes a movement forward the other must take a corresponding move backward, and vice versa, so that at all times (except when purposely out of distance or in close), the same amount of space between the two is maintained. It should then follow that provided the actors start at a safe distance, it will be preserved throughout an exchange. Accidents can occur for many reasons, including getting too close, and when this happens movements are inclined to get muddled and blades to miss, thereby forcing the actors into unrehearsed and inaccurate movements. One fundamental safety precaution I have always employed, although it may not be apparent to an audience, is for the actors to work out of distance. That is to say, when one makes an attack the opponent’s body is out of reach, but the blades are just able to make contact. This not only means that the point of a blade is short of the target but it forces the attacker to stretch right out in order to make blade-contact, thereby creating far more dynamic movements.
Chapter 8: Sword Strokes, Some Basic Movements and Their Execution
Chapter 9:Battle Scenes, Mass Fights and Brawls
Chapter 10: Non-Realistic Encounters
Chapter 11: Historical Accuracy
‘This is not to say of course that the actual throwing of blows would not have been fast and furious in any period. It would have been dependent upon the weight of the weaponry and the ability and strength of those wielding them. It has frequently been said to me that ‘of course, it’s easier in film as you can speed up the camera’ which will give the effect of speedier action but it may be surprising to note that in the Richard Donner film Ladyhawke, the speed of the actors’ action in the main combat at the end was actually slowed down by the camera, just a notch, in order to achieve a heavier, more savage quality.’
Chapter 12: Unarmed Combat
Chapter 13: Fight Notation and Writing It Down
Interesting as Hobbs discusses some actual systems for recording movement that I was unfamiliar with, including a system desigbned by John Barton, a director of the Royal Shakespeare company who also did a series of videotapes of acting Shakespeare which I’ve seen and found interesting. Other methods are one devised by Arthur Wise, a system Hobbs designed and the Benesh Movement Notation system.
This is an interesting subject, I have long been fascinated by how fencing instruction has been illustrated throughout history. The difficulty is describing movement and time in one notation system. Barton’s system does not address either time or space, Wise’s was difficult to understand at all. The Benesh system, which takes place on musical staffs and therefore would mark time, especially useful for dance choreography including music, for which it was developed. A hybrid formula seems best, written directions indicating moves (as well as characterizations, intentions and motivations) and diagrams showing spatial properties.
Chapter 14: Acting intention and Acted Aggression
See my notes on Rob Roy above.
The word ‘intention’ is used by professionals to mean the acting-through during the combat of the requisite pitch of emotion and fight aggression. Often one sees fights in plays where the level of anger and aggression displayed prior to the actual set-to is not maintained during the combat.
… In the performance of a combat two contradictory things are happening. On the one hand, characters are seen to be performing on a highly charged emotional level. On the other, the actors have to be working mentally on a conscious level of coolness, with complete body relaxation and control, so that their acted aggression can be performed with conviction, and at the same time in absolute safety.
Chapter 15: Swords - A Brief History
Chapter 16: General Information
Chapter 17: Fight Clichés
My old fencing coach, Eric Sollee, was recently inducted into the US Fencing Hall of Fame. Jarek Koniusz, the MIT coach and I started thinking of ways to celebrate. As such, I had been thinking a lot about fencing, Eric and other thoughts. I had drafted up a web site celebrating Eric’s life (http://vze72rf7.wixsite.com/mysite) and included some of his favorite movie fight scenes. I had picked up this book years ago and, as I was trying to read 30 books this year, thought the time was ripe for me to actually read it! (As luck, or the gods of serendipity, which seem to rule my life, would have it, I noticed a billboard for a new show at the theatre in the YMCA just down the street from me, ‘A Palpable Hit: Shakespeare’s Best Fight Scenes’ put on by a local and knowledgable Shakespeare acolyte, Michael Anderson – http://www.apalpablehit.com/about.html).
Hobbs comments early and often, that fight choreography really needs to be taught in person and so his book really only hints at the subject. It is, however, filled with many interesting and entertaining anecdotes of fights and historical tidbits. I found what was most helpful for me was his descriptions of fight scenes he had done (even if the attempt to capture the action on the page, a serious issue that he covers in one chapter of the book, was often difficult). I took the opportunity to get a few of the movies he choreographed out of the library to study and found his descriptions combined with the movie itself very edifying.
Below are the chapters with some cursory notes for your enjoyment.
Introduction
Hobbs reviews the literature – at the time of his first book (1967) the only manual was by a german named I.E. Koch titled ‘Buhnenfecktkunft’
Chapter 1: Background
Hobbs mentions several Victorian fight routines by their common names. (his will be fun to look up for further research on my part).
The square eights
The round eights
The Glasgow tens ( known in England as the long elevens)
The drunk combat
Mid-Victorian master of fence Felix Bertrand
Nicholas Nickleby - Dickens describes a fight routine by Crummle's Company
Pg 22: Hobbs mentions Bernard Hepton was an experienced fencer. I am a great fan of the LeCarre novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, produced for British tv in with Alec Guinness as the main character, George Smiley. One member of the wonderful caste was, Hepton playing the part of the “cheap Austro-Hungarian in an expensive suit”, Toby Esterhase.
Hobbs admires Dennis Loraine fight choreography for Olivier's Hamlet.
Chapter 2: Stage and Screen
Hobbs discusses the differences between stage (which is easier to choreograph) and screen. He then recounts many anecdotes about film fights. He finishes the chapter with a review of the huge battle scenes for Depardieu’s Cyrano with lists and diagrams describing the action.
After this chapter, I got ‘The Duellists’ out of the library to see the fight scenes. I think fight scenes can be like dances (or even some acting performances), where cutting and pasting can detract from the choreographed action. The film, Ridley Scott’s first full length feature, was still very rewarding for the sets and scenery. The setting for the final duel was at the Château de Commarque, a beautiful castle ruin. Also remarkable were the settings at the Dordogne and Sarlat la Caneda and Aviemore in Scotland near Inverness.
Chapter 3: Analysis and Construction
Again, the chapter ends with the description and diagrams of the action in a film. This time it’s ‘Rob Roy’, and it includes notes on the character’s personalities and motivations and how that impacts their actions on screen. Interested in Hobbs descriptions and the fact that some of the fight scenes outlined the difference between a point and cutting weapons, I got the movie out of the library. What I found most interesting was a fight at the very beginning which occurred partly in the background. Heavy broadswords with long powerful cuts, all the moves showing full commitment. Re-watching the fight, I did notice that all the cuts where quite out of line and safe. As Hobbs would remark often in the book, the most important thing about a staged fight is the commitment of the actors, and it was important that the actors feel totally safe for that commitment. (He returns to this subject in chapter 14).
Other fights were, in some ways, more interesting, but the editing cut up these scenes so much that I felt less involved in the actual fighting. The first scene, being primarily in the background, was less edited and therefore more enjoyable, for me anyway. There is a good reason why sometimes long continuous scenes in movies can bring out the best in an acting performance, a dance or a fight.
As a former competitive fencer, there is an interesting issue here. Acting requires ‘full commitment’ but actual fighting is much more subtle and includes an element I find fascinating. The defining characteristic of my experience of fencing was a ‘wait-full’ expectancy, feints designed to get your opponent to commit to an attack, which is the condition of his greatest exposure, and to counter attack. The sense of anticipation was extraordinarily intense.
Chapter 4: Movements and Shapes
A short chapter in which Hobbs touches on some interesting points about sculpting a scene for a space. He includes a time lapse photo of a fight with lights on the tips of the foils, creating an interesting line drawing.
Chapter 5: Fight Orchestration
Another short chapter with some interesting points about tempo, variation and sound during a fight.
Chapter 6: The Element of Surprise
Chapter 7: Safety Precautions and Method of Rehearsing
Touches here on several issues, but most importantly, distance, a crucial concept for competitive fencing:
The first stage of rehearsing a sword-fight should be concerned with the synchronization of footwork with the various movements of attack and defense. For example, when one person takes a movement forward the other must take a corresponding move backward, and vice versa, so that at all times (except when purposely out of distance or in close), the same amount of space between the two is maintained. It should then follow that provided the actors start at a safe distance, it will be preserved throughout an exchange. Accidents can occur for many reasons, including getting too close, and when this happens movements are inclined to get muddled and blades to miss, thereby forcing the actors into unrehearsed and inaccurate movements. One fundamental safety precaution I have always employed, although it may not be apparent to an audience, is for the actors to work out of distance. That is to say, when one makes an attack the opponent’s body is out of reach, but the blades are just able to make contact. This not only means that the point of a blade is short of the target but it forces the attacker to stretch right out in order to make blade-contact, thereby creating far more dynamic movements.
Chapter 8: Sword Strokes, Some Basic Movements and Their Execution
Chapter 9:Battle Scenes, Mass Fights and Brawls
Chapter 10: Non-Realistic Encounters
Chapter 11: Historical Accuracy
‘This is not to say of course that the actual throwing of blows would not have been fast and furious in any period. It would have been dependent upon the weight of the weaponry and the ability and strength of those wielding them. It has frequently been said to me that ‘of course, it’s easier in film as you can speed up the camera’ which will give the effect of speedier action but it may be surprising to note that in the Richard Donner film Ladyhawke, the speed of the actors’ action in the main combat at the end was actually slowed down by the camera, just a notch, in order to achieve a heavier, more savage quality.’
Chapter 12: Unarmed Combat
Chapter 13: Fight Notation and Writing It Down
Interesting as Hobbs discusses some actual systems for recording movement that I was unfamiliar with, including a system desigbned by John Barton, a director of the Royal Shakespeare company who also did a series of videotapes of acting Shakespeare which I’ve seen and found interesting. Other methods are one devised by Arthur Wise, a system Hobbs designed and the Benesh Movement Notation system.
This is an interesting subject, I have long been fascinated by how fencing instruction has been illustrated throughout history. The difficulty is describing movement and time in one notation system. Barton’s system does not address either time or space, Wise’s was difficult to understand at all. The Benesh system, which takes place on musical staffs and therefore would mark time, especially useful for dance choreography including music, for which it was developed. A hybrid formula seems best, written directions indicating moves (as well as characterizations, intentions and motivations) and diagrams showing spatial properties.
Chapter 14: Acting intention and Acted Aggression
See my notes on Rob Roy above.
The word ‘intention’ is used by professionals to mean the acting-through during the combat of the requisite pitch of emotion and fight aggression. Often one sees fights in plays where the level of anger and aggression displayed prior to the actual set-to is not maintained during the combat.
… In the performance of a combat two contradictory things are happening. On the one hand, characters are seen to be performing on a highly charged emotional level. On the other, the actors have to be working mentally on a conscious level of coolness, with complete body relaxation and control, so that their acted aggression can be performed with conviction, and at the same time in absolute safety.
Chapter 15: Swords - A Brief History
Chapter 16: General Information
Chapter 17: Fight Clichés
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