The Deluge - Polish Saber Duel 1974

[@DamienHayesYo]

this scene pops up every few years on KZbin, and I'm always compelled to watch it. Today is one of those days.

[@djneinas]

first timer here. Probably popped up in my feed because I'm into synthesisers and it's one called Deluge

[@_DarkEmperor]

In Poland theater schools and film schools have status of university, so one can take four and half year acting course and receive title of master of science in acting. And every (or almost every) university level acting course incorporate fencing, quite a lot of fencing.

[@Hawthorne-Studios]

Wow, that is interesting. It explains why they both were naturally proficient with their swordsmanship.

[@piotrmalewski8178]

​@@Hawthorne-Studios Not exactly. Tadeusz Łomnicki (Wołodyjowski, the older guy) didn't study acting at a university. In his youth he was a rail worker, bank clerk and violin player. In World War II he was a partisan in the 'Grey Ranks' and 'Home Army' and learnt acting in theatre-ran school. When he decided to play Wołodyjowski for the first time, he was a 40 years old theatre actor who didn't do any fencing, horse riding or other sports, and there were serious considerations to hire a fencing master instead of an actor. However he trained so hard for a year, he ended up being able to run for miles every day, do a high kick (there is a photo of him doing that) and do life threating horse stunts. He also worked closely with fencing masters and historians, which aside from training, was probably the first attempt to do some sort of old-Polish sabre style recontruction, although they didn't aim to be fully accurate because they were also thinking about making it look good on screen. Unfortunately in the first movie he suffered tendon inflammation from overtraining and back pains from falling off a horse and it shows. In this movie here he's already 47 but moves much better because of prior training and not suffering from injuries

[@guilhermegoncalves110]

The older guy dueling looks like the Charles Bronson of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth :)

[@myh106]

I mean, Charles Bronson's background is Lithuanian/Tatar, so he would have been a perfect fit for the book trilogy this movie is adapted from. This one is about the war with the Swedes, but in others a lot of the action takes place in the steppe-like Eastern hinterlands.

[@fenrislegacy]

He look like Sylvester McCoy

[@guilhermegoncalves110]

@@fenrislegacy The 1980's Silverster McCloy, with the moustache :)

[@fender3873]

​@myh106 what's the trilogy called? Is it good?

[@Liopot68]

@@fender3873 by fire and sword (ogniem i miecziem) by Henryk Senkiewicz. The book trilogy is phenomenal, the movies are very good.

[@januszlepionko]

And there was not even one stuntman. The duel was acted by the main actors.

[@jacekkarny302]

Also Kmicic had here small bag of red liquid hidden in his hair, and Wołodyjowski had to aim for it to cut it but also to not go too deep and not hurt other actor.

[@1984Kojot]

There were time when ppl had basic move coordination.

[@lordhelwintr283]

@@1984Kojotthis was a real duel between two men that knew how to use their swords. Yes it was for a movie but it was not coordinated like a more modern movie

[@AmateurCaptain]

There was a moment where Olbrychski (Kmicic) was genuinely almost hit on the head by the other actor’s sword. They had to stop filming as Olbrychski went pale and needed to calm down.

[@piotrmalewski8178]

@@lordhelwintr283 Totally wrong. The style of movement and specific moves very closely follow how this fight was described in the novel. However they were that quick that Tadeusz Łomnicki (the older guy who wins), in reality almost got killed. He was too slow on one parry and Olbrychski just barely managed to slow his hand enough so you could make and avoid his skull being crushed. After this they had to stop and take a long break because both actor were frightened.

[@giausjulius4]

Even though this is a theatrical film I think you see a great difference in the skill of the men during the fighting. Even Wotojyjowskin remarks on it during the duel when he says "you swing that like a flail". I would like to believe that it was by design and intentionally captured by Jerzy. Kmicic's footwork is grandiose and energetic, Wotojyjowskin's is reserved and he steps quickly but with a smaller gait. Kmicic's swings are arcing and wild, Wotojyjowskin's are by reaction and short. Kmicic's style tires him out quickly and Wotojyjowskin put the exhaustion to use. A lesser swordsman would be overwhelmed by Kmicic but Wotojyjowskin played a mostly defensive game until Kmicic was winded and thus was easy to overpower in the end.

[@stefanbatory3857]

Wołodyjowski, not Wotojyjowskin, there is mistake in description ;)

[@giausjulius4]

@@stefanbatory3857 Aha lol. Well I am not Polish so I had no idea. Not entirely certain why I got recommended this clip but I decided to watch it since it had subtitles and I am a bit of a film enthusiast. I think this is the first time I've ever seen anything Polish-made. Pretty good for the 70s!

[@stefanbatory3857]

@@giausjulius4 It's not your fault, the description is misleading, but it's just a small detail. Anyway, I'm happy you like the movie!

[@piotrmalewski8178]

Well, it was choreographed to show precisely what Sienkiewicz described in the novel.

[@jaroslawwalczak2855]

Daniel Olbrychski -Kmicic - took a lot of training in boxing for other movie. That's explain the foot work.

[@Denek_23]

It’s written by Henryk Sienkiewicz 1. With fire and sword 2. The Deluge 3. Pan Wołodyjowski (not sure about translation i encountered Pan Michael/Sir Wolodyjowski/Colonel Wolodyjowski) Movies made by Jerzy Hoffman. It was a must for any kid in Poland, not sure if still is but my dad and I 30 years later had it on polish matura test/high school exam. Sienkiewicz is a Nobel prize winner for literature, he was writing during partition of Poland so it’s mostly nation spirit raising stuff. Other titles I recommend: The Templars (Krzyżacy, with battle of Grunwald, there is a movie as well), Quo Vadis (christians in Roman times) In Desert and Wilderness… for all are movies.

[@kuibeiguahua]

Mount and blade mod of With fire and sword is so cool too check it out

[@Some_Idiot_on_the_Internet]

@@kuibeiguahua I was about to say the same thing. Legendary mod.

[@ZannNewman]

Great example of showing character by swordplay - one is serious, honourable, reserved and direct, the other paces round, trying big flashy moves to intimidate his enemy and getting more and more worried then desperate when they don't work and he knows he's beaten

[@deathdeathington]

He showed courage at the end though. That must be said.

[@ZannNewman]

@@deathdeathington true, he didn't try and surrender or flee, when he knew he was beaten he just asked him to finish it quickly

[@thealleys]

Great movie in a great trilogy especially if you are into the Pike, Shot, and Saber era.

[@ellisbkennedy652]

This is a trilogy?? Do you have to rent it or is it on anything?

[@KosherFinance]

Its a lot of pszek pszek ❤

[@Denek_23]

It’s written by Henryk Sienkiewicz 1. With fire and sword 2. The Deluge 3. Pan Wołodyjowski (not sure about translation i encountered Pan Michael/Sir Wolodyjowski/Colonel Wolodyjowski) Movies made by Jerzy Hoffman. It was a must for any kid in Poland, not sure if still is but my dad and I 30 years later had it on polish matura test/high school exam. Sienkiewicz is a Nobel prize winner for literature, he was writing during partition of Poland so it’s mostly nation spirit raising stuff. Other titles I recommend: The Templars (Krzyżacy, with battle of Grunwald, there is a movie as well), Quo Vadis (christians in Roman times) In Desert and Wilderness… for all are movies.

[@KosherFinance]

@@Denek_23 who dat? Nother white dude?

[@Denek_23]

@@KosherFinance im not sure what you mean mate, the guy who won the duel has movie with the same name as the final movie in the trilogy

[@BGSGBF]

If a combat colonel looks a math teacher from the secondary grade - the one shall be maximum alerted while dealing with a such colonel.

[@sirgallant5000]

especially when the duel was his idea

[@Pablo668]

I’ve learned something from this. Never get into a sabre duel with a Pole. Or a Hungarian for that matter.

[@KosherFinance]

Is he going to kurwa you?😅

[@mpod_creative]

Guys, if you can look for this book and read it, it's more epic story than LOTR. For example, this duel was in a night, all guys around were holding fire torches, the small one was commenting technique of the other one and gave him tips.

[@andrewyemelyanov2469]

Loved the movie. One of the best historical epics ever made, if not the best. How good did they compared to the book in the movie? Would you still recommend reading ?

[@_DarkEmperor]

@@andrewyemelyanov2469 Sienkiewicz was a great writer. Great character creation, great sense of humor. And great skill in constructing action pack adventure stories in historical setting.

[@glashoppah]

An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.

[@davidvincent2737]

Are you stupid lmao

[@piotrmalewski8178]

This actually was historically a bit like Jedis vs. Stormtroopers. This story takes place in the middle of XVIIth century when everybody around had long moved to relatively bigger professional armies, while the Republic of Both Nations relied on noble leve and these nobles still called themselves knights. They prefered swords, lances and horses to firearms, were notoriusly outnumbered and in each battle they would have thousands of bullets shot at them yet only like 5% would be killed because fire accuracy back then was so bad. This specific story takes place during the Deluge when the Republic was fighting 3 wars against 8 different countries on home territory and suffered excessive human and material losses.

[@glashoppah]

@@piotrmalewski8178 I would love to see it.

[@piotrmalewski8178]

​@@glashoppah You mean the movie I suppose. Wołodyjowski himself (he was a historical figure) survived all this to get killed in next war. He was defending the insufficiently crewed fortress (1/7 of normal crew) of Kamieniec Podolski from Turkish invasion. The Turks would allow citizens of the city to leave in peace in exchange for capitulation, so the fortress surrendered, after 9 days of fighting but already after making the deal, the fortress exploded killing the remaining crew, including Wołodyjowski. It is believed the gunpowder storage was deliberately ignited by Hekling, an artillery commander of the fortress from Courland but his motivations remain unclear. In the fictionalized version by Sienkiewicz, Wołodyjowski asks Ketling (Hekling) to ignite the storage so they could die with honour, since they had pledged not to give up the fortress to the enemy.

[@mythhy6451]

I don't know about more civilized.

[@deathdeathington]

That was amazing! You could tell the exact moment the over-confident soldier realised he was fighting a much more skilled opponent. And when his sabre was flicked from his grasp... that was the final nail in the coffin. He knew his goose was cooked. But then he showed bravery and went and faced his death like a man. Wow! There's so much storytelling in this scene. Every moment is so densely packed with detail and nuance.

[@Alexander-savoshenko]

He didn't die. Volodyevsky wounded him and reserved the right to dispose of his life.

[@deathdeathington]

@@Alexander-savoshenko I know he didn't die. You know he didn't die. But at that moment when he faced Volodyevsky, he thought he was going to die.

[@Alexander-savoshenko]

@@deathdeathington Yes.

[@meatpopsicle1567]

Great duel!

[@Geffalrus1984]

Interesting minor filming detail. The losing dueler initially takes a saber that lacks a handguard, but when the duel actually takes place, the saber is of the type that uses a handguard (just like the winner's saber). Clearly they changed it during filming in between takes.

[@piotrmalewski8178]

The first one was historical saber that privately belonged to Olbrychski. The duel one is a replica based on late type Hussar saber that was safer for the scene because of hand protection, but it was crudely made, so for close ups they used the historical example.

[@Geffalrus1984]

@@piotrmalewski8178 that is very cool. Makes sense too - safety first!

[@nu-ta-ws1471]

Jedna z najlepszych scen pojedynku na szable w historii kina!

[@nikolaipasko]

I like this movie very much. Watched it recently again - now with my teenage son.

[@Udvaros]

We too, some months ago - all three films were on Hungarian tv again.

[@joepeach997]

If his men fought half as good as him, that small group could overwhelm troops of triple size. And what a legend of a man to pass on honor to a nation that was so barbaric due to war.

[@jaydaretti]

Perhaps, no. Because there were guns already in that time))

[@star_dax]

What a great scene!

[@mpod_creative]

And the book is even better.

[@karlhneubauer]

impressive good actors

[@bubbahottep8644]

I've seen this in Fencing. Some tool thinks that "Fencing in the round" is more realistic but their more skilled opponent just faces them and pivots in order to address them linearly.

[@peterzaffaroni2871]

when courage and honor meant something

[@ryanhendrickson6012]

It never did, there was just more theatre attached to base human emotion. Swords did not build civilization, men did.

[@AND-od5jt]

5:55 Nice hand-swap!

[@michaelmcgowen1504]

Greatest duel on film.

[@paulban889]

Brilliant.

[@maciek19882]

And this kids is how Freddy Mercury died.

[@rickjames18]

Looks like a cool movie, The Deluge 1974?

[@HeronimBerbelek]

It is very cool

[@michamisztal4477]

Yes, it's a great movie. I suggest looking for "Deluge Redivivus" 2014 version, digitally restored and re-edited. The quality is much better and narration made more dynamic, made to be similar to modern cinema instead of more theatrical and MUCH longer original version.

[@rickjames18]

@@michamisztal4477 Ok thanks for the tip.

[@kingjoe3rd]

Is there really no higher quality source for this scene? Even if it was shot on tape, it would be better than what's out there.

[@harbinger200]

Its incredible how much Serbian words or names is present in Poland. Kmicic is 1000% Serb last-name. He even pronounces it like a Serb would. Even name Poland ( Пољска) has meaning on Serbian - land of fields.

[@TigerDude333]

Ahh the classic invisible sword strike!

[@mpod_creative]

They almost hit each other during filming many times, they used real steel, just dull.

[@baxpiz1289]

wonder why he says falling on face = still alive vs falling on back

[@OngoGablogian-og9cm]

Polish joke

[@saamamerat1061]

I wish I knew how to sword fight.

[@christianayalacruz1095]

Young Dr. Cox sure knew how to fight with a saber. Too bad the US medical system failed him in the end

[@doejohn6855]

Does anyone know where one can get the movie online, either in another language than Polish or with subtitles?

[@77mako77ful]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jH2nqY2uib-sq7c part 1 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpO4mqGAgMiEiMU part 2

[@jerzygutowski3170]

Big guy had a saber made of aluminum

[@MrNormanR]

Is it realistic for a swordsman to change the hand he is holding the sword? Just asking since this is regarded as the most realistic duel in movie history

[@dizelvinable]

Увлекательно сняли

[@johnmarken3945]

wow!

[@wikipediaintellectual7088]

Those guys in furs aren't Cossacks, are they? Were they on both sides of this war?

[@mikaelmoss1233]

They are Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Noblemen (rather not well prospering, that's why called grey coats). Lauda is a part of Lithuania nowadays.

[@wikipediaintellectual7088]

@@mikaelmoss1233 Well, their shabbiness is quite apparent. Seems like a very rough time for the Commonwealth when their nobility looks like that.

[@sirgallant5000]

@@wikipediaintellectual7088 What must be taken into account is that Polish nobility was the most numerous in Europe. In other countries only the eldest son inherited the title, in Poland it was all of them, so noblemen were quite a large percentage of the population. Many of them had their title, and not much else. This led to many problems, since the struggling ones were often bribed by foreing powers to vote a certain way.

[@marekkapusta9597]

During this time period, around 16% of Polish Commonwealth citizens were nobles. The thing is, most of those nobles had little more than their titles, sabres and small pieces of land. Most of them would either look for wealthy patrons to serve them, become adventuring vagabonds or work on their land like commoners. That's why wealthy and prosperous nobles would call them "szlachta zagrodowa" ("barn nobles").​@@wikipediaintellectual7088

[@piotrmalewski8178]

No, Cossacks dressed very differently. These here are nobles, described in the book as 'szaraczki' (little grey men), because they come from a very poor area (noblemen in the Commonwealth were a very diverse class, from people who owned thousands of acres to people who owned nothing but their saber and horse.) However it was a terrible time for the Commonwealth. The moment this happens it's been suffering years of home-war with Cossacks and Crimean Khanate in Ukraine, and Russian invasion that physically liquidated entire cities in Lithuania, and then Sweden invades together with 5 other countries, causing human and material losses comparable in scale to those caused by WWII (Sweden also practice deliberate state organized robbery of anything of value, including floor panels and metal roofs of buildings as well as deliberate destruction of anything they could not transport). The country could not even reach the former grain farming efficiency for the next 100 years, due to loss of human force, tools, and horses. This scene is set when Sweden has already invaded, professional army suffered 500% losses and still fights in Ukraine, half of Lithuania is already under Russian control and noble leve is completely unable to stop the Swedes and their allies, so Wołodyjowski spares Kmicic because he badly needs people with real combat experience and Kmicic has been succesful in guerilla warfare.

[@pargalipasha432]

I've heard there were some black or afro-polish winged hussars in the old history books.....

[@deckiedeckie]

Peacock's......that's what they look like....

[@mpod_creative]

XVII century noble, that's quite history accurate.

[@michamisztal4477]

That's nothing. Men in the background are referred as "grey coats", i.e. minor and relatively poor nobles, who could not afford colorful, embroidered clothing. Later in the movie rich magnates are depicted, with their lavish, opulent style.

[@KosherFinance]

KURWA BOBR!❤

[@KosherFinance]

Why are they all white? No Black actors?😢

[@MR-yp7mu]

😂😂😂

[@Denek_23]

You trolling man, right? 😂

[@pawemonko4524]

Prawda czasu , prawda ekranu.

[@KosherFinance]

@@Denek_23 wym?😳

[@Denek_23]

@@KosherFinance you seriously ask why? Come on you gotta be trolling 😂 that’s 1655-1660 Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth, there was no black people then here, ws did not have colonies mate, although we were considered very tolerant, even called “country without stakes” the class differences at that time and the fact we did not have colonies or any overseas territories, black people in those time in Poland were mainly traders or servants. And I mean servants not slaves. Believe me they had it better than polish or ukrainian peasants, but were considered huge curiosity.

[@KosherFinance]

Omg so RACIST😢

[@Denek_23]

What? How? This duel is racist? Are you for real man? :)

[@panjacek6674]

​​@@Denek_23well obviously there should be some black noble men there, maybe some females with swords too 😅 total lack of diversity is appalling.

[@Denek_23]

@@panjacek6674 😂😂😂

[@piotrmalewski8178]

@@panjacek6674 Historically there were a few Black people in the Commonwealth, some of them were even noblemen, like Fredro's company or one of Sobieski's henchmen who was KIA at Vienna. In other European countries that would have been impossible.

[@Hawthorne-Studios]

@@Denek_23 He's trolling, ignore him.

[@77mako77ful]

with eng sub : kzbin.info/www/bejne/jH2nqY2uib-sq7c part 1 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpO4mqGAgMiEiMU part 2