“The Longest Fight Scene In Cinema History!”

Thanks to the nifty blade-work of both Uma Thurman and Tom Cruise, swordplay is enjoying something of a revival at the moment. Indeed, old Father Christmas must have had quite a shock when little Johnny's Christmas wish-list included a cuddly Nemo, a He-Man playset and a full-length, tempered-steel katana - pity the poor fool who tries to take that child's lunch money. Anyway, with the renewed interest in swordsmanship the bar has now been raised - not that Episode III stunt coordinator Nick Gillard is worried. "I got the Jedi style from all the great sword styles," he told The Times. "Only about 12 people on Earth know it and can read the moves off the page. But I invented it, so I can beat them all, though Hayden Christiansen, who plays Darth Vader, is the toughest. The skill is mostly balance and having your feet in the right place." We all know that lightsaber duels are the high point of any Star Wars film - even those who loathed The Phantom Menace must concede that the three-way clash is one of cinema's greatest set-tos - and, with Episode III being our last foray into that galaxy far, far away, Gillard is going to make sure it ends with a bout to remember. "In the next film, Ewan has more than 1,000 moves, which are more complicated to learn than dialogue. The climactic fight scene is, at 12 minutes, the longest fight scene in cinema history." 'Woo' and indeed 'hoo'.