'By the Sword' was an odd, misplaced one I came across at the video store and was glad I tried it out. It's the only movie that I've ever seen that's all about fencing. First off, you'd really have to want to watch more than an hour and a half of fencing competition, because it is essentially the WHOLE movie. This particular story is something like a martial arts cliché wrapped in the sophistication of 'fencing.' Eric Roberts plays a hardened fencing instructor. Kind of like the Cobra Kai master in 'Karate Kid,' but less overt in his schemes. F. Murray Abraham plays an ex-convict with a secret connection to Eric Roberts' character, although the latter doesn't yet know it. Attempting to reform and start over, he comes to the dojo looking for a teaching job. Rusty in his technique however, he starts out as a janitor and gradually works his way up. Roberts' character, "the Meistro," even becomes a little jealous and uses the guy's trust and craft as a strategy against his students. Ends in a huge, though mostly exaggerated showdown.
Overall, there is much repetition because the entire thing is set in this fencing arena and involves almost nothing but fencing, but there is a nice arrangement of character and attempt at a bit of mystery that might pique your interest. It's also one of the few movies I haven't seen Eric Roberts do his 'Pope of Greenwhich Village' accent. If for nothing else see it just to watch something different.
Overall, there is much repetition because the entire thing is set in this fencing arena and involves almost nothing but fencing, but there is a nice arrangement of character and attempt at a bit of mystery that might pique your interest. It's also one of the few movies I haven't seen Eric Roberts do his 'Pope of Greenwhich Village' accent. If for nothing else see it just to watch something different.