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My Top Ten of sword fights in Movie History

posted 15 years ago by Rascar-Capac
29 replies | jump to latest

This was supposed to become a Top Ten list, but I finally decided to increase it to eleven (I just thought, that Errol Flynn should be mentioned).
Of course, it‘s a highly personal point of view, but if you like sword fights and haven‘t seen some of these, give it a try:

11. Errol Flynn vs. Henry Daniels in “The Sea Hawk“. Flynns best screen fight IMO and sadly it‘s not Basil Rathbone he encounters. A stunt double had to jump in for lengthy scenes, because Daniels couldn‘t fight at all. But director Curtiz makes the best of it. He often pans back the camera and delivers very impressive scenes. I especially like the eerie play of shadows on the walls.

10. Robert Taylor vs. George Sanders in “Ivanhoe“ (1953). OK, not a sword fight exactly, it‘s axe against flaile. The duel is marred by a jump cut from the duel arena to an approching King Richard in between. Otherwise a fine achievement. Especially the scenes of Ivanhoe at foot defending himself against the violent attacks of a horse mounted Bois Gilbert are great.

9. Pierce Brosnan vs. Toby Stephens in “Die another Day“ (2002). By far the best action scene in this overblown entry to the Bond series. These ancient weapons easily top all the scifi-gadgetry. Also great as a study in escalation: The fight starts as a light sports combat with foils and culminates into the clash of two rascals dashing with broad swords.

8. Danny Kaye vs. Basil Rathbone in “The Court Jester“ (1955). If nothing else, this is for sure the best fun sword fight in movie history. What a brilliant idea from the script writer to have Kaye transformed from master swordsman to helpless coward with a finger snipping.

7. Robert Wagner vs. James Mason in “Prince Valiant“ (1954). Nitpicking first: The sword design is flawed here, the (aluminium) blades looking much too broad to be believable. The choreography however is great. There is a touching moment in the middle of the fight, when a music tune sets in and we realize the advantage switches from evil Sir Braque to the young prince.

6. Mark Hamill vs. David Prowse in “The Empire strikes back“ (1980). The best laser sword duel from Lucas Star Wars tales, including all episodes I-VI. Although the later prequels were eager to top this fight, they never succeeded. The movements may appear a little slow and the sheer spectacle limited compared to some of the later duels, but they never again reached the emotional depth of this one.

5. Steward Granger vs. James Mason in “The Prisoner of Zenda“ (1952). Although overall this Technicolor remake of the 1937 film isn‘t as good as the original, the climactic duel is not only longer but also far superior here. The scene was clearly extended, to benefit from Grangers athletic power and his fencing experience – and it works.

4. Liam Neeson vs. Tim Roth in “Rob Roy“ (1995). A very one sided fight this is and you will fear for the hero‘s life from the beginning. Also the combat creates the illusion of watching an authentic period duel. The twist at the end of the fight comes as a surprise, although I‘m not sure the realism is suspended here for a moment. Anyway a very suspenceful fight.

3. Michael York vs. Christoher Lee in “The four Musketeers“ (1974). Despite several comedic elements the sword fights in Lesters Musketeer films are mostly grim and violent. This final duel between d‘Artagnan and the musketeers arch enemy Rochefort is especially intense and bloody and yet it‘s carefully built up and beautifully photographed.

2. Tyrone Power vs. Basil Rathbone in “The Mark of Zorro“ (1940). The best sword fight choreography from Hollywoods Golden Age. A perfect mix of action (very fast paced for it‘s time) and sharp tongued dialog. Power, whose fencing capability wasn‘t on par with Rathbones had to be doubled for some scenes but the blending of stuntman and actor performing has been done carefully to keep the illusion.

And finally .....

1. Steward Granger vs. Mel Ferrer in “Scaramouche“ (1952). Set in a pompous theatre, the duelists make it the showroom for a fight to remember. They fence it out on the balconies and stairways, through the hall and on the stage. Ingenious Director George Sidney abandoned music as well as dialog for these six and a half minutes. So all you hear is the clinging of the blades, the opponents gasping and the fear cries of the shocked audience. Both actors underwent a lengthy training camp with belgian fencing master Jean Heremans and it shows: They are superb. An unsurpassed classic.

[–] rj-27 13 years ago

I think Tony Curtis vs. Kirk Douglas deserves a mention.

First, in the finale of "The Vikings".

Secondly, as a duel of (dare I say it?) man-love in "Spartacus".

Also, Sean Connery vs. Robert Shaw in "Robin and Marion" was excellent.

[–] AfroGeek 13 years ago

As Star Wars goes, the Darth Maul fight was the greatest. What makes people always think of the ESB fight is the great twist ending.

[–] aaustin-10 13 years ago

I haveto agree the Darth Maul fight was fun. The two duels that would top my list, if I had one, are Power vs. Rathbone in Mark of Zorro and the finale to Rob Roy. In Power/Rathbone they fenced (mostly) realistic technique in a confined space; they did not need to jump all over the place when so much good swordplay occured in the narrow empty space between the two men. In Rob Roy the fight was staged for maximum dramatic effect, with the baddie steadily taking apart our hero. And good character development throughout the film added to the final fight wonderfully.

[–] Ruby_4815162342 13 years ago

Three amazing sword fight scenes you missed are The Princess Bride (Inigo vs Wesley) and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Li Mu Bie vs Jade Fox and Shu Lien vs Jen). Simply fantastic choreography.

Last watched: Rob Roy

[–] joscco 13 years ago

Excellent list and I've seen most of them. But, to me, none of them have the same sense of danger as those in The Duellists. I still remember where and when I first saw that film.

My gut reaction to the opening duel between D'Hubert and Feraud was, "Jesus! Someone's gonna get killed!" Which sounds ridiculous, but not when there isn't any hopping around accompanied by a metallic clickity-clack of weapons.

No, after a mantis-like but authentic en garde, you hear the whooshing of air torn apart because heavy, wicked looking sabres are being swung like baseball bats, and when the blades collide they reverberate as if someone smacked a gong with a ball peen hammer. It isn't pretty or artistic, and that duel ends with a cut to the arm and the knuckle guard of a sabre smashed into someone's face.

All of the sword fights in The Duellists are gritty, but when the sabres come out, you're in for something unique. Turn up the volume LOUD, like you were listening to Hendrix, because most sword fights from other movies are string quartets.

"I told you it was off." The Jackal

[–] Countorloc 12 years ago

I would perhaps throw in Theathre of Blood. But great list still.

Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks? Shaft!

[–] TheHiawatha 11 years ago

Pretty good list. However, I think that the final lightsaber fights in Star Wars Episodes I and III beat the Episode V duel (which, in my mind, mostly was well-remembered for the "I am your father" twist, though it's definitely a very good fight). The Darth Maul fight itself, at least in my opinion, was the best lightsaber showdown ever. It combined suspense, a solid score, and dang good choreography to make for one heck of a battle. The heroes' lives were in clear danger from the very get-go, especially starting from when Darth Maul ignited both blades on his twin-sided lightsaber.

But if we're talking about a one-on-one fight, then Anakin vs Obi-Wan in Episode III should be ranked way up there. That fight itself was chock-full of emotional depth, with Anakin having become a Sith and having tried to kill his own wife, while Obi-Wan was desperate to plea with and save his best friend. Heck, I'd also at least give an honorable mention to Yoda and Emperor Palpatine, another well-done battle chock-full of emotion and depth (even if a lot of it was animated).

Now granted, I'm not really a big fan of the Star Wars prequels. But the fights in Episodes I and III were absolutely breathtaking, in my opinion, and made the prequels worth watching.

[–] chris-wulfers 11 years ago

I`d have to go with the lightsaber duel in the emperors thrown room over Ep 5. There was just a lot more gravitas in that duel for me.

And I`d have to throw in my favourite, Carry Elwes vs. Mandy Patinkin in The Princess Bride.

[–] nerhal1 10 years ago

Highlander end battle

Conan the barbarian every sword scene