Knife mistakes in tv and movies

RX-79G said:
I don't think it is unrealistic that a Western could be set in the 1890s. No one has a problem with the 1896 Mauser in Joe Kid for the same reason.

In a lot of these circumstances - especially when the knife really stands out - it's worthwhile to think about why that is. The people that made Magnificent Seven were just as aware of how much a switch blade would stand out as we are, and chose it anyway because it must have been period correct, and interesting. Coburns character replaces the master swordsman in Seven Samurai.

The Cold Steel knives in Vietnam movies is product placement - they helped get the movie made and gave Cold Steel some advertising. I don't think they looked out of place in the era of Gerber Mk IIs.
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Indeed. Per IMDB - the movie story was set in 1910 so the Mauser and all the other guns, including the Ross M10, were period correct.
IMDB said:
Trivia
Writer Elmore Leonard certainly did know something about classic firearms. From Frank Harlan's Custom Savage 99 (1899), Olin Mingo's Remington-Keene sporter (1880) in .45-70, Lamarr Simms Mauser C-96 (1896) broomhandle and Joe's Cased Ross Rifle sporter model M-10 (1910) in .280 Ross. Leonard took special care to ensure all weapons (even the optics) were period accurate for that movie, being set in pre-statehood New Mexico territory (1912).
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best

mqqn
 
James Y said:
In the movie Summer of Sam (1999), the story takes place in 1977 and deals with the Son of Sam serial killer. I remember in one scene, some guy (possibly a performer in a club?) opens what appears to be a modern, 'tactical'-looking liner locking knife with thumb studs; such knives didn't exist in 1977.

Regarding knife fights onscreen: I agree with the earlier post about movies being entertainment, not documentaries. For the most part, if they presented knife fights on screen as they are in real life, it would either be seen as just plain sickening...or boring. Some cinematic uses of knives as weapons are more realistic than others, but remember, it's ALL fake and for entertainment. Just like comedies are fake, or scenes with car chases and shootouts, or martial arts fight scenes. Or love scenes. Movies require a suspension of disbelief to varying degrees. To criticize fight scenes that happen in movies because they aren't 100% 'real' is pretty silly, IMO. Otherwise, just focus on watching documentaries, news channels, or fighting sports like UFC or boxing.

Jim
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Quality novels and movies are known for being unusually well documented. It is often their realism that is the very reason they stand above the rest. To say it doesn't matter is basically to argue for less quality in the arts, and what is the value in that?

I'll never forget a throwaway expression a movie reviewer used, which has stuck with me ever since I read it, showing that even movie reviews can aspire to greatness: The expression was:
"Implausibly, therefore boringly"

Gaston
 
Gaston444 said:
Quality novels and movies are known for being unusually well documented. It is often their realism that is the very reason they stand above the rest. To say it doesn't matter is basically to argue for less quality in the arts, and what is the value in that?

I'll never forget a throwaway expression a movie reviewer used, which has stuck with me ever since I read it, showing that even movie reviews can aspire to greatness: The expression was:
"Implausibly, therefore boringly"

Gaston
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However, if you are talking about an action movie, by its very name, that genre suggests that it centers on cinematic action, and not necessarily on 100% accuracy. If someone demands 100% accuracy in every detail of every movie, then the vast majority of the time they will be sorely disappointed. I'm not talking about people defying gravity and flying around chopping their opponents. I'm talking about some of the things people nitpick about.

For example, people who complain about movie fight scenes. Some are very well-choreographed cinematically, and very entertaining; exaggerated of course, but without being completely implausible. Then some people will comment, "That would never happen in a real fight. You can't fight bare knuckle like that and fight for 5 minutes." Or, "I'd like to see that actor try that in the UFC! He'd get his ___ kicked."

If you know that you demand 100% accuracy and realism in order to consider a movie to be of artistic quality, then you should be aware what types of movies to avoid watching. For myself, if a movie or novel claims to be a true historical account, then I hold it to a high standard of accuracy. But if I'm watching a movie designed purely for entertainment, I allow for some imperfections. I don't consider that 'boringly'. IMO, it's boring to constantly demand perfect realism in each and every movie ever filmed. Then there won't be ANY variety at all. Remember, people have different tastes on what 'artistic quality' means.

Jim
 
James Y said:
However, if you are talking about an action movie, by its very name, that genre suggests that it centers on cinematic action, and not necessarily on 100% accuracy. If someone demands 100% accuracy in every detail of every movie, then the vast majority of the time they will be sorely disappointed. I'm not talking about people defying gravity and flying around chopping their opponents. I'm talking about some of the things people nitpick about.

For example, people who complain about movie fight scenes. Some are very well-choreographed cinematically, and very entertaining; exaggerated of course, but without being completely implausible. Then some people will comment, "That would never happen in a real fight. You can't fight bare knuckle like that and fight for 5 minutes." Or, "I'd like to see that actor try that in the UFC! He'd get his ___ kicked."

If you know that you demand 100% accuracy and realism in order to consider a movie to be of artistic quality, then you should be aware what types of movies to avoid watching. For myself, if a movie or novel claims to be a true historical account, then I hold it to a high standard of accuracy. But if I'm watching a movie designed purely for entertainment, I allow for some imperfections. I don't consider that 'boringly'. IMO, it's boring to constantly demand perfect realism in each and every movie ever filmed. Then there won't be ANY variety at all. Remember, people have different tastes on what 'artistic quality' means.

Jim
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I don't mind all the theatrics when it comes to fights at all, in fact they make the movies awesome.
The problem I have is that in the end of every move they always have to " settle this like men "
If I went through all the trouble of taking out all of these people or whatever it took to get to the head bad guy/nemesis I would really just want to get the damn thing over with. So I'd just put a bullet between his eyes, then go get myself a couple smokin hot chicks and a pizza:thumbup:
 
I like the Chinese movies where guys are literally flying through the air sword fighting. Jumping back and forth on very tops of tall, willowy bamboo, that sort of thing.

Or the skinny old martial arts master who is accosted in a noodle shop by 6 or 8 of the emperor's heavys. He grabs a bunch of chopsticks from a cup and proceeds to throw them at the bad guys, obviously skewering them all fatally.
 
USMCPOP said:
I like the Chinese movies where guys are literally flying through the air sword fighting. Jumping back and forth on very tops of tall, willowy bamboo, that sort of thing.

Or the skinny old martial arts master who is accosted in a noodle shop by 6 or 8 of the emperor's heavys. He grabs a bunch of chopsticks from a cup and proceeds to throw them at the bad guys, obviously skewering them all fatally.
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That's more physics-related then knife-related isn't it?

Still an accurate point nonetheless.
 
Starship troopers.

Part of the training sequence is them learning to use throwing knives... in a fight against big ugly armored bugs that take a magazine or two of space blaster ammo to kill.

Later in the movie, the hero cuts off a leg/tentacle/thingy from the big armored boss alien.... with a throwing knife.

But maybe it is unrealistic to expect realism from a movie about fighting space aliens on another planet... Using infantry and shoulder mounted nukes. :D
 
DShiflet said:
Better Caul Saul had someone carrying a Cold Steel Espada, but I'm not sure when the Espada debuted, nor the exact year BCS is set in.
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You got to admit the Espada fitted the character beautifully. In fact, not being a Cold steel fan, that was my first inkling the Espada existed at all...

BCS is not set in any definite period... I don't think they could be faulted for using it. Cold Steel in Viet-Nam, and with the unusual push dagger to boot, that was really glaring.

A custom knife of fairly generic shape could be considered "dateless" in comparison to a production knife. A Buck 110 is one thing, some obscure custom quite another...

Gaston
 
Better Call Saul, like Breaking Bad, is generally thought to be set in a "floating time period" according to the creators. Its why you may see someone using a cell phone from 2014 when BCS takes place before BB's first season.
 
I can see how that could be a problem for BCS, since all the cellphones in BB would be pre-2014...

Car models are also an issue that cannot easily be fixed, like a future apocalypse with a lot of burned out '70s cars... With CGI I expect these issues will be getting somewhat better in the future... At least in novels a car is just a car...

Gaston
 
Hickory n steel said:
I don't mind all the theatrics when it comes to fights at all, in fact they make the movies awesome.
The problem I have is that in the end of every move they always have to " settle this like men "
If I went through all the trouble of taking out all of these people or whatever it took to get to the head bad guy/nemesis I would really just want to get the damn thing over with. So I'd just put a bullet between his eyes, then go get myself a couple smokin hot chicks and a pizza:thumbup:
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That's what I always think.

They finally find the big bad dude....and they throw down their weapons and punch him.

And this'll have me screaming at the screen "YOU IDIOT!!!"
 
At least Revenant tried to get the pieces period correct by going to makers who make period type knives and equipment. Correct me if I am wrong.
 
Its all for the sake of narrative.

I forgot about "chekov's" throwing knife from star-ship troopers. It tries to add a layer of plausibility, but as you say, doesn't always hit the mark :D

I think a lot of fight scenes now come from the old western TV days, empty the six gun of blanks, then go to the fists to save on special effects, or because the censors wouldn't allow anyone to get shot. Its what we expect. When the bad guy does get dropped, its a bit weird. Like the end of deadpool. It worked, but it was jarring because its unusual.

Best use of a knife in a movie I've seen recently (besides deadpool) was Parker. If you haven't seen it, the love interest has to escape an assassin, so she does the smart thing, uses the rolled up fire-exit ladder to leave from the second floor, and spikes the tire of his car on the way to her vehicle to take off. As part of the character it fits well, and is obviously partly planned out, but much better than the damsel in distress routine.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
Better Call Saul, like Breaking Bad, is generally thought to be set in a "floating time period" according to the creators. Its why you may see someone using a cell phone from 2014 when BCS takes place before BB's first season.
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"Better Call Saul" is set in 2002, according to Wikipedia. The time period is pre-"Breaking Bad" and concerns how Jimmy McGill became Saul Goodman and came to be involved in the drug trade in the Southwestern USA. There have been scenes set in the present in the series, usually at the beginning of the episode, when Saul is reflecting on his past. These scenes involve Saul and the fact that he is now in hiding and working in a fast food restaurant in (I think) Nebraska.

I've been impressed with how the series handles the time period and how accurate the settings. Even the automobiles have inspection stickers with the proper dates. The cell phones are period correct as far as I can tell. I haven't seen a smart phone being used anywhere. As far as knives are concerned and taking into account the Espada, the early 21st Century period pretty much encompasses the knife styles we have currently, making it difficult to identify any particular knife brand.
 
The hiding behind the hairdresser/beauty parlor is later than the time at the big law firm? I wasn't unfortunately following the continuity that closely, but when he tore off the sheet with his name off his door, in the back of the Asian lady's place, I assumed that meant he had joined the big firm and was stopping being based in some seedy back room (and his car got better etc)...

I did notice the non-smart phones...

I agree any knife post 2000 is fair game to display: I wonder when was the XL Espada first released?

Gaston
 
None of these are as bad (to me) as the sound of somebody cocking or de-cocking a glock. I generally don't notice the knife mistakes nearly as much as the gun errors.
 
IdRatherBeWaterboarding.jpg


Then we have A Spanish 1941 bayonet that turns up in the hands of a Vietnamese torturer in the scene from First Blood. Not entirely implossible; a Russian advisor may have collected the bayonet during WWII from the debris of the Spanish Blue Division; which served with the Nazis, and then passed it on to one of his North Vietamese students 20 years later. But, that story would have been more interestig than the movie plot.

n2s
 
was watching breaking bad. there's a scene where the cartel goon is about to kill hank with an axe, hank shoots the goon, he falls, and drops the axe. Then the axe cleanly falls and the blade sticks securely into..... the concrete.
 
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