19 Years
I've enjoyed spending time thinking about swords and swordsmanship for our writing weekend, particularly revisiting The Duellists (1977) directed by Ridley Scott.
To my eyes the most historically accurate film I've ever seen, it was based on a Joseph Conrad short story, “The Duel”, itself astonishingly based on the true story of two Napoleonic French cavalry officers Fournier and DuPont. In 1794 they fought their first duel after an unreasonable challenge by Fournier, from which he demanded a rematch. It went on like this for no less than 19 years as the two officers fought at least 30 regular duels dismounted and on horse, with swords, rapiers and sabres, progressing from young and foolish lieutenants to become forty-year old foolish generals.
How can two men sustain such an obsession? 19 years is the length of time from Scribbles first falling into the arms a twenty-four year old ingenue when he was a penniless singer in a band with long hair and a RAF greatcoat, to slow dancing with him, recently returned to singing some of the same songs, dressed in a kilt and a captain's cap at Kita-kon earlier this year.
The wars mark us, but reveal us more than change us.
And great passions endure.
To my eyes the most historically accurate film I've ever seen, it was based on a Joseph Conrad short story, “The Duel”, itself astonishingly based on the true story of two Napoleonic French cavalry officers Fournier and DuPont. In 1794 they fought their first duel after an unreasonable challenge by Fournier, from which he demanded a rematch. It went on like this for no less than 19 years as the two officers fought at least 30 regular duels dismounted and on horse, with swords, rapiers and sabres, progressing from young and foolish lieutenants to become forty-year old foolish generals.
How can two men sustain such an obsession? 19 years is the length of time from Scribbles first falling into the arms a twenty-four year old ingenue when he was a penniless singer in a band with long hair and a RAF greatcoat, to slow dancing with him, recently returned to singing some of the same songs, dressed in a kilt and a captain's cap at Kita-kon earlier this year.
The wars mark us, but reveal us more than change us.
And great passions endure.