Rapier - Popular Culture and Entertainment

Popular Culture and Entertainment

• Despite the rapier's common usage in the 16th–17th centuries, many films set in these periods (many starring Errol Flynn) have the swordsmen using épées or foils. Actual rapier combat was hardly the lightning thrust and parry depicted. Director Richard Lester and fight choreographer William Hobbs attempted to more closely match traditional rapier technique in Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers. Since then, many newer movies, like The Princess Bride and La Reine Margot have used rapiers rather than later weapons, although the fight choreography has not always accurately portrayed historical fencing techniques. Rapiers are also often featured in various video games, in particular Role-playing games set in the medieval and Renaissance periods.
• The television series Queen of Swords features the use of the rapier in the mysterious circle, Destreza style favoured by the first swordmaster of the series Anthony De Longis who studied the Spanish sword fighting technique and wanted a unique style for the heroine. He had previously used it in the episode, "Duende", of the Highlander TV series.
• In the children's series Keys to the Kingdom, the main character Arthur learns to fight with a rapier.
• In the Koei game Dynasty Warriors 7, one can use the rapier as a weapon. Sima Shi, Liu Shan, and Yuan Shao uses rapiers as their EX weapon.
• The rapier is the preferred weapon of Richie Ryan, an Immortal and central character of Highlander: The Series.
• Irina Spalko from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is an expert fencer and carries a rapier, her signature weapon. She uses it to fence with Mutt Williams during the chase scene in the Amazon rainforest.
• The Spanish hero Zorro is a master swordsman who utilizes his favored weapon, a rapier.
• In the Namco game series of Soul Calibur, Raphael Sorel, who has appeared since Soulcalibur II, wields a Rapier.
• In the Capcom game Breath of Fire, Nina uses different styles of rapiers for her main weapon.
• In the novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Rapier is the code name of Fred Weasley on the secret radio program Potterwatch. Interestingly enough, Fred's wand resembled a rapier, with an intricate hilt and slender form.
• In The Wolfman (2010 film), the silver wolf's head cane owned by Lawrence Talbot was redesigned to have a short, hidden rapier concealed inside the cane. Lawrence is shown receiving the sword-cane from an elderly man in the extended cut of the film, and later tries to use it against Sir John in the final battle.
• In the online game, League of Legends, the playable champion Fiora uses a rapier as her weapon.
• In the Fire Emblem video games, rapier is the weapon used by several lords (Marth, Eliwood, Eirika).