Favorite Movie Fight Scenes

[Joel Kaye]

What are your favorite movie fights and why? (or are horrible and why? Gymkata comes to mind)

What makes a great fight sequence?

Here's something Ruairi Robinson wrote in another thread.
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5665&page=12

Hmm... a few notes on action scenes, if you'll permit me...

1) goals and obstacles. We have to be clear at all times about what each character is trying to achieve in the fight. (if it's just to beat up the other guy, then there is zero emotional connection for the audience - they aren't characters, they are props) This works on multiple scales from the top down "rescue the president and escape the city" to the macro level "get the gun off bad guy"

2) anticipation and follow through are just as important as the blows themselves...

3) space relationships and geography need to be clearly established. Long lens shakeycam means you can cut anything to anything else, and you don't have to worry about continuity, but it also means nobody knows what the fuck is going on because nobody knows how anything relates in space. Since you haven't shot it this way, this means the geography is ultra important.

4) words like edgy, slick, visceral impact, "working the edit" are all meaningless buzzwords. Coverage is irrevant in shooting action - PLANNING is everything. Coverage is when you have no idea what you want, and you dump footage on an editors lap in the hope they can pull a story out somehow. Hence the widespread use of long lens shakeycam in fights these days. Beats planning!

Anyway, that's off the top of my head... best of luck with your film!

R.
__________________
Oscar Loser
http://www.ruairirobinson.com

Red#862

[chuck colburn]

Watch the movie "Hard times"

[Brandon]

first matrix, hands down.

give me a sec and I'll try to think of something "dirtier"...

[Shawn Nelson]

My favorite sword fight scenes is easily '300' because they actually showed me the fights. They were fantastically planned and executed. 'Gladiator' pissed me off with the shaky-cam couldnt-tell-which-way-was-up style of shooting. '300' showed you every ounce of what was happening, it was beautiful.

[Shawn Nelson]

Oh, and as much as I hate the new Star Wars trilogy, the fight between Darth Maul, Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan in The Phantom Menace is really bad ass. I can still watch that.

I remember watching the BTS and the choreographer described what he did as "a Chess game played a hundred miles an hour where every move is check"

[WesVasher]

Kill Bill v2, travel trailer fight scene, love it.

[Method]

RVD2 (Ryan Vs Dorkman 2) rocks Shawn if you like Lightsabers
check it out here
http://www.stage6.com/user/DorkmanScott/video/1137289/RvD2:-Ryan-vs--Dorkman-2

[Andreas Fernbrant]

Mine has to be: Undisputed II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM-MHZD1YE0

Or Tom yum goong aka The Protector, Where Lateef Crowder Fights Tony Jaa.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW0nEHEWGdA

I have to agree with Shawn, Ray Park as Darth Maul rocked Episode I...

[agwah]

beginning of irreversible made me the most uncomfortable

[Nathan Garofalos]

Well I really liked the fight scene in The Wizard of Oz when Dorthy was trying to take back Totto, it really touched me hahahaha. But seriously, I like the fight scenes in StarWars, lightsabers are just cool and when you can move things with your mind, you got my vote.

[OZMA]

OK, what about RAGING BULL.

EQUILIBRIUM has some impressive, dare I say innovative fight scenes. I liked the way they mixed gunplay into the fist fights, or vice versa. The rest of the film was not that great, so it got hammered by the critics.

[OZMA]

beginning of irreversible made me the most uncomfortable

What, just the beginning? Took me a couple of days to recover from that film.

[Weston]

Kill Bill vol 1, Uma vs. the crazy 88
The Matrix, Neo vs. Smith at the train station
Star Wars ESB, Vader vs. Luke in cloud city

[liquidigital]

Friends of mine (different guys/groups) choreographed Bourne, 300, Equilibrium and Undisputed 2. Brings a smile to my face when I see people appreciate their work.

Loved all these... Bourne Identity, Kill Bill V2, Drunken Master 2, Big Trouble in Little China, Shaolin vs. Lama, Great Hero from China, Old Boy, quite a few more.

It's gotta serve the story, most important. Fun thread btw.

[David Mullen ASC]

There was this great Jet Li fight scene in "Legend of Fong Sai Yuk" that took place on this scaffolding that then collapsed, and continued on top of the heads of the crowd watching the fight (whoever hit the ground first, lost).

There's a pretty wild rooftop foot chase, not really a fight, at the climax of "Peking Opera Blues" that was fun, with one of the best villian death scenes.

The recent naked knife fight in "Eastern Promises" was memorable.

[Álex Montoya]

There's an amazing little dirty, gritty fight in the tv show "The Shield" featuring Shane vs. Tavon.
I believe that was in the fourth season.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1luhj_shane

And funnily enough here's (http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/04/01/174020.php)a commentary addressing the points that Ruairi talked about.

[Casey Green]

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" - too many great scenes to pick just one.

[sander kamp]

Ong Bak (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368909/)

Stylized, yes. But real people performing, no computers. Haven't seen Tom Yam Gung though.

[Sean Rawls]

"Oldboy" - The hallway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1spdDaL_eI8

You have to respect the Parkour chase/fight in "Casino Royale" even though it borrowed liberally from "District B13".

Also, "The Battle of Algiers" - pretty much the entire film.

[Dean Bull]

OMG I was just working my way through this thread to see if anyone would throw out oldboy.

OLDBOY -- the movie that did it first, sorry 300 and all those who will bite in the future.

-- Dean


Sidenote: Not the best "fight scene" exactly, but the whole end showdown between Harmonica and Fonda in once upon a time in the west. Other fight scenes worth checking out that many may not have seen: The samuari stuff in "Sanjuro" (especially the very end) The opening scene in "Fudoh", oh, and lets not forget the classic 'The Quiet Man" with John Wayne! Shonen Anime has more fight scenes than you can shake a stick at...

[umeric]

"Eastern Promises " fight scene. ...

-
Umeric.

[Tobias Straka]

How bout "Ghost in the Shell" - the scene where she invisibly beats the crap out of that bad guy... yeah it s animated, but still...

[fightordie]

They Live, classic long and funny fight.. Hard Times what a great picture.

[Dan Blanchett]

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" - too many great scenes to pick just one.

That was my pick. I love the fight between Michelle Yeoh and Ziyi Zhang in the courtyard where Michelle's character keeps grabbing a new weapon because it keeps breaking on the sword. Beautifully shot.

[Dan Blanchett]

For fun, the fight between the Thin Man and the angels in the first Charlies Angels film. And just about any Jackie Chan movie.

[Jaime Vallés]

The swordfight between the man in black and Iñigo Montoya in "The Princess Bride."

[liquidigital]

I'll tell you something that really profoundly shook me though. Because the content really emotionally invested you in this fight...

"The Last of the Mohicans" when the father watches his son fall, and dive rolls under Magua then comes up to strike him.

When they are standing there, facing each other, it is unreal. Great, great shot and moment.

Also, Mad Max "Beyond Thunderdome." When he did not kill Blaster, honestly, even as a kid I was blown away by it. It spoke volumes about the character.

[SIRAJ KUMKHE]

Ultraviolet

[Petr Dvorak]

Most of all I love Kung Fu Hustle character The Beast played by Siu-Lung Leung :biggrin: :ninja:

http://www.celluloid-dreams.de/content/images/kritiken-filmbilder/kung-fu-hustle/kung-fu-hustle-5.jpg

What I really hate is boring cliché when all the gang of dull villains is waiting around main hero just fight one by one with him that's absolutely ridiculous ...
... and all that empty waving with hands and weapons before and during fight its so stupid and annoying. I think when you fight for your life you rather want to hide your next move.

[Learvis]

I have to go with Azumi where she takes out about 200 dudes in one scene. I'm pretty sure she killed the entire male population of that village, Iron Monkey pretty much any scene in that movie, the final fight in Blade 2 and Appleseed. Now if your talking old school The Street Fighter, Fist of Fury, Fight Deadly Venoms, Master of the Flying Guillotine and Lone Wolf better known as Shogun Assassin all those had lots of good fight scenes some cheesy but all good!:calm:

[R.L. Scott]

Flashpoint and Sha Po Lang hands down.

[DorkmanScott]

RVD2 (Ryan Vs Dorkman 2) rocks Shawn if you like Lightsabers
check it out here
http://www.stage6.com/user/DorkmanScott/video/1137289/RvD2:-Ryan-vs--Dorkman-2
Thanks. :biggrin:

I love martial arts movies. I really want to make some. Movies these days, even ones that are technically ABOUT the fight scenes, don't often do the fight scenes justice, either truncating them, shooting them poorly, or otherwise leaving too much to the imagination. I want to see some asses KICKED.

Crouching Tiger was a big influence on "Ryan vs Dorkman 1", Hero was pretty good (when there was actually fighting and not a quick montage of sorta-fighting), and I was obsessed with Kung Fu Hustle's action for a while (except the last fight, which was a violation of The Beast's character and a significant disappointment). I saw Kill Bill vol. 1 three times opening weekend for the fight scenes.

I wasn't all that impressed with the Oldboy fight. I guess I just had my expectations pushed up way too high by everyone going on about how innovative and spectacular it was. I was there thinking "It's just a guy hitting other guys with a hammer. I could've choreographed this." The performance in an unbroken shot was impressive, I'll give you that, but...eh. I like action to blow my mind in a "I would have never thought of that" way.

I'd never seen Undisputed 2 (or the original Undisputed, for that matter), but I checked out the fight linked in the thread and man, that's a great scene. Maybe a little too wushu for the setting of a kickboxing ring, but I can't complain too much since it's a great fight, and extremely well-shot. Reminded me of the shooting style for Unleashed, another movie with some fine martial arts choreography.

If you can get ahold of them, I suggest some of the Shaw Brothers and other kung fu movies for some really inspired action. One of my favorites is Jet Li's Tai Chi Master.

[Learvis]

If you can get ahold of them, I suggest some of the Shaw Brothers and other kung fu movies for some really inspired action. One of my favorites is Jet Li's Tai Chi Master.

Good place to start: www.taiseng.com/

[Charles Angus]

Said already, but the lightsabre fight in Star Wars Episode V, on cloud city.

Brilliant lighting and choreography, really advances the story and characters, and the hero loses...

[Tom]

Sauna scene from Eastern Promises is a good recent one. :)

BTW, is this really cinematography related??

[Joel Kaye]

Sauna scene from Eastern Promises is a good recent one. :)

BTW, is this really cinematography related??

I guess I was thinking part of what makes a great fight scene would be the way it was lit and shot and maybe people would comment on that. Shutter speed, frame rates, camera angles, how many cameras to cover a fight with etc.

[Zk2007]

What are your favorite movie fights and why? (or are horrible and why? Gymkata comes to mind)

What makes a great fight sequence?

Here's something Ruairi Robinson wrote in another thread.
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5665&page=12

It's funny that after your introduction post talking about shaky camera and long lenses people are mentioning the Bourne films as great fight scenes. The Bourne films are probably the biggest examples of shaky camera and long lenses to hide lack luster fights and performers.
I miss the times when to fight in a movie the guy/girl had to actually know what they were doing. I can see from a mile away that Neo, Morpheus or Bourne can't fight their way out of a shoe box.
My favorite movie fights of all time are Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris at the Coliseum, Lee vs. Ohara in Enter the Dragon, Jackie Chan vs. Benny Urquidez, Jackie Chan vs. Peter "Sugarfoot" Cunningham.

[Dean Bull]

I totally forgot about the Magwa ownage that occured at the end of Last of The Mohicans.

The best action scenes in film do not live in a bubble -- they are supported by the surrounding movie and provide a visceral release that is echoed in the emotion and intellectual layers of the film.

[liquidigital]

I totally forgot about the Magwa ownage that occured at the end of Last of The Mohicans.

The best action scenes in film do not live in a bubble -- they are supported by the surrounding movie and provide a visceral release that is echoed in the emotion and intellectual layers of the film.

No doubt about it. You have to care about the characters, and be invested to want to see that final fight. That's the one thing that I really didn't agree with (who am I to disagree with Scorsese? lol) about Gangs of New York. I really, really wanted to see Bill the Butcher and Amsterdam throw down in the end. Didn't really happen and I felt robbed.

Speaking about cinematography though, the wide shot of the entire Confederation of Native Americans (in the beginning) where they stood in the snow ready to fight was fantastic. Very foreboding. Set-up is key, otherwise moments are missed.

[Paul Leeming]

Actually, that's one of the things I loved about "Equilibrium" - the gun kata and other fights were fantastic, but that last one....I thought it was perfect and totally in keeping with the character arc of the story, whereas lots of people felt let down by its brevity. What they didn't get was that it was the perfect sword fight - no posturing whatsoever, just superior skill and the will to finish the job with the minimum of effort.

Paul

[liquidigital]

Actually, that's one of the things I loved about "Equilibrium" - the gun kata and other fights were fantastic, but that last one....I thought it was perfect and totally in keeping with the character arc of the story, whereas lots of people felt let down by its brevity. What they didn't get was that it was the perfect sword fight - no posturing whatsoever, just superior skill and the will to finish the job with the minimum of effort.

Paul

No ,I agree brevity can be the most powerful. When Kevin Costner shot the gunhand in Open Range, it was fantastic. I don't think I'd call that last scene in Equilibrium brief though... I guess you mean bwtn Bale and Taye Diggs? No, I thought it was great... still wanted to see Bill the Butcher and Amersterdam fight. I think I liked the character of Bill the Butcher so much, I just wanted to see Daniel Day Lewis on the screen more. ;)

[crysangeles]

I can name probably a few here and there best fights scenes in my opinion but at this moment i can only think of one.... RODDY PIPPER in THEY LIVE!!!..I MEAN COME ON NOW!!!.. the intensity, anger, and regular american style fight between two men... i don't think anyone can disagree, as much as i love asian cinema i just can't get this scene out of my head. It was so good i laughed so hard imagining watching this live.

The length
The camera angles
convincing makeup effect/ and moves

all made it intense, believable and a great fight scene in my opinion. My roomate and I always love that scene and watch it over and over sometimes.

What do you guys think?

Crystal

[Tobias Straka]

very gritty and raw: the b/w fight scene in "Casino Royale"

[Tom]

The best action scenes in film do not live in a bubble -- they are supported by the surrounding movie and provide a visceral release that is echoed in the emotion and intellectual layers of the film.

True. The lightsaber fight with Darth Maul in Phantom Menace was technically more impressive than Luke vs Vader in Empire Strikes Back, but Empire is much better, because there is more at stake. There is some story behind it and leading up to it.

This is a problem I had with a bunch of the battle scenes from Attack of the Clones, Phantom Menace, and Sith - the battles seem to take place just to show off the FX, and nothing is really at stake. The space battle in Return of the Jedi, or the attack on the Death Star in A New Hope, have everything at stake, and therefore are a far superior battle scenes.

[Joe Taylor]

Almost all of the fights mentioned in here are highly stylized.

How about realism:

1)Sword fight between Liam Neeson and Tim Roth in "Rob Roy."
Tim Roth is this foppish little dandy that conceals his deadly sword skills.

2) Final shoot "One False Move." No exciting music. Over in a flash but so intense.

3) There's a great fight with John Cusack in "Grosse Point Bank"

These fights play out in real time, no quick cuts.

Good Stuff

[PaulClements]

I think it was Seven Samurai and I don't know if you'd typically describe it as a 'fight scene' but there is a bit in it where two ninja's are duelling to the death but they aren't slashing and hacking. They're just stood there waiting, and whoever moves even slightly loses the fight, eventually one of them flinches and is killed. It was really very simple, but drove home exactly how good these guys were - very memorable for me.

Paul

[bhtdmc]

"X2: X-Men United", when Wolverine fights the girl with the extended adamantium fingernails (Lady Deathstrike)

it's awesome because they just keep fighting, healing after each attack, then diving back in

[Brian Ferguson]

I would have to say the fight scene in "The Fifth Element" where they inter-cut the opera performance with the fight scene in the diva's suite. Two different types of performance intertwined. I just thought it was great, I can watch it over and over.

Last night I watch the Third installment of the "Lord of the Rings" the whole scene with the uber elephants was pretty amazing.

[Jim Arthurs]

1)Sword fight between Liam Neeson and Tim Roth in "Rob Roy."Tim Roth is this foppish little dandy that conceals his deadly sword skills.

Best sword fight ever, no endless jumping about with the energy of super heros! Neeson with the big heavy broad sword against the sneeky cunning of the whip thin rapier. Neeson wearing down during the fight, actually dragging the sword behind him at one point as he pursues Roth... this is real, and it's hard work.

I'd also add a "fight" scene in The Conversation as a realistic fight... watching Hackman against a couple of guys... no heroics here... just a guy without skills struggling against opponents.

As to over the top fight scenes... the many minutes long single shot fight in Old Boy comes to mind. What great staging.

Oh, and I completely agree to a camp favorite... the endless man to man brawl with Roddy Piper in "They Live!". They keep going and going and going...

edit... dang, that's what I get for reading threads backwards... these have been discussed already... sorry...

[Tom]

I think it was Seven Samurai and I don't know if you'd typically describe it as a 'fight scene' but there is a bit in it where two ninja's are duelling to the death but they aren't slashing and hacking. They're just stood there waiting, and whoever moves even slightly loses the fight, eventually one of them flinches and is killed. It was really very simple, but drove home exactly how good these guys were - very memorable for me.

Paul

Yeah, that is a badass scene.

[Joe Carney]

Just about anything the late Bruce Lee was in. Enter the Dragon, Game of Death...

[Joe Taylor]

I've read them all and have thought about it much. I'm still going with the sword fight in Rob Roy. It is so realistic. Tim Roth looks like he couldn't fight his way out a crowded booth at Denny's but he carves Rob Roy. About a minute into the fight both are so exhausted that they can hardly lift their swords. None of this Three Musketeers non-sense with dandies hopping around and being a smart ass. Realism impresses me much more than quick edits and exciting music and dick head one-liners.

[studiodrome]

The recent naked knife fight in "Eastern Promises" was memorable. that was pretty awesome, unexpected style for a fight scene.

I like the fight scene in Minnie and Moskowitz when Moskowitz fights Zelmo outside the restaurant after Zelmo is insane to Minnie. Its just unexpected enough and realistic enough and the situation is funny and serious.

[James T Mather]

Grosse Pointe Blank - The scrap between Cusack and that crazy looking spoon in the hallway -

it had a wonderful kind of visceral realism that looked like two guys really trying to kill each other - like a nasty mill outside a bar - which Cusack does (with the biro in the jugular) - resulting in his existential crisis.

I just love that flick.

[Ruairi Robinson]

quick quote from Spielberg regarding the new Indiana Jones movie, which makes me very happy indeed :)

He also adds that we shouldn't expect tricky editing either - "I go for geography. I want the audience to know not only which side the good guy’s on and the bad guy’s on, but which side of the screen they’re in...Quick-cutting is very effective in some movies, like the Bourne pictures, but you sacrifice geography when you go for quick-cutting."

[Rudi Herbert]

Just about anything the late Bruce Lee was in. Enter the Dragon, Game of Death...

(rolls eyes to the heavens fervently) Amen to that!

What about the final fight in Zatoichi between Ichi and the ill samurai?

[Rudi Herbert]

...and as for gun fights, the climactic showdown in Unforgiven is great.

[Dukeswharf]

1. Anything in which the great Bruce Lee gets to demonstrate his Jeet Kune Do
2. The fight scene between Jason Bourne and Desh in Bourne Ultimatum. Absolutely 'Proper', as we like to say down here in London.

[N_Villers]

Hi all - Just wanted to chime in - Its been awhile since I saw it but there is a gem of a fight scene in the Roy Rowland film "The Girl Hunters" from 1963. Mickey Spillane (the author of the novels) plays the lead as Mike Hammer. There is, if my memory serves, a close to 10 min fight scene that is remarkable in my opinion for both its extreme graphical nature and realism. Realism in the sense that both participants get tired as the fight goes on - is that excalibur with a similar scene ? - realism in the sense that a blow to the head really hurts etc. It has a great ending to the scene as well with mike hammer driving a spike through the guys hand so that he won't escape. Been at least 10 years havn't seen the movie but it has always stuck with me. I recommend the film in general although its definitely not high brow work - it has a great end scene as well.

[Robert Sanders]

This ages me, I'm sure... but, I have to go with Willem Dafoe versus Michael Pare in Walter Hill's "Streets of Fire". Definitely a guilty pleasure movie.

[Brian Reisdorf]

Pretty much any fight scene with Tony Jaa in "The Protector" (also known as "Ong bak 2" and "Tom yum goong"). The shear violence and impact of some of the stuff the guy can pull off is unreal. Anyone who's seen it knows how crazy he gets with his flying knees of death.

Also, the final fight with him breaking the legs and arms of about 50 henchmen in pure zenned out methodical rage is completely and totally insane, yet highly satisfying.

It's an ok movie at best, but one of the few worth seeing for the fight scenes alone.

[lordtangent]

Tony Jaa is amazing. He's like Bruce Lee: Extreme. Lee never did any of the insane acrobatic stuff Jaa can do. Jeet Kune Do is cool and all, but Jaa definitly has more grace. His moves are textbook perfect. The scene where he breaks all those guys arms is like a Kata for joint manipulation. He must demonstrate just about every arm lock known to man in that sequence.

The movie "Old Boy" is one of my faves. The hallway fight is awesome. I mean, if you got hit with a hammer, that would pretty much be the end of the fight, right? And the fact that the main character (can't remeber his name) actually starts to get really tired by the end... it's true to life in that respect. Even that fight in the alley witht the thugs is pretty cool "Can 10 years of imaginary boxing..." or whatever it is he thinks to himself. Pretty cool.

[Draegar]

Not a movie fight scene, but the recurring battles between Peter Griffin and Ernie the Giant Chicken are pretty impressive.

[J.R. Hud]

Fight scenes

Are we talking fisticuff style ?

Mel Gibson and Gary Busey in Lethal Weapon

Indiana Jones and the German Mechanic Bald dude in Raiders

Most of the scenes in the Matrix.

Kill Bill V1 Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves

[Erik Bien]

Sort of surprised nobody has yet mentioned Sean Connery vs. Robert Shaw on the train in From Russia With Love (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057076/).