Best Sword Fights in Film

[Fox12]

I re-watched Troy recently, and I always loved the action scenes in that film. Achilles definitely comes across as the sword master he's supposed to be, and all the characters seem to have fighting styles that match their personalities. Achiles style in particular seems to have a lot of finesse, and there are a lot of little details that make his fight with hector really interesting.


I like it when a fight scene actually tells us something about the characters personality, or when there's a really unique fight. So what about you escapist? Are there any interesting film,anime,television sword fights that impressed you?

 

[Tom_green_day]

There's a James Bond one, can't remember what the film name is, but it's pretty great.

 

[Nickolai77]

The film Centurion has some very well choreographed sword fights- My favourite being the final fight scene where the surviving legionaries make a last stand in an abandoned fort.


I would link a video here but unfortunately the only recording of the fight online was made by some muppet who decided to try and record it on their smartphone...

 

[Thaluikhain]

Spoiler

Generally, I hate sword fights will lots of stupid twirly stuff and prancing about. You're trying to kill your opponent and not die yourself, not dance.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

I really love that short swordfight in the end of Equilibrium.
<youtube=bcs2En6tGRw>
It's short, fast, inventive and brutal.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

The final duel in Rob Roy is one of the swordfights by which every other swordfight has been measured.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Ok this technically doesn't count but to me it is one of the best weapon fight I've seen in a film!


I just find it well made (the music, slow mo and the attack etc).

 

[Tayh]

Have you guys never watched any asian movies?
I'm thinking stuff like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House Of Flying Knives, Hero and Red Cliff.
I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, but I've yet to see any European or American movie that can compete with those.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Have you guys never watched any asian movies?
I'm thinking stuff like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House Of Flying Knives, Hero and Red Cliff.
I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, but I've yet to see any European or American movie that can compete with those.

I've seen more than my fair share, and to me the sword fighting in those usually just seems rather silly and impractical. It's one of those things where it goes so far into the "style over substance" territory that it just starts to be dull. Sorry, I'm just not impressed by people flying around on tree-tops and running over water randomly for no reason.

 

[Tayh]

I've seen more than my fair share, and to me the sword fighting in those usually just seems rather silly and impractical. It's one of those things where it goes so far into the "style over substance" territory that it just starts to be dull. Sorry, I'm just not impressed by people flying around on tree-tops and running over water randomly for no reason.

On the other hand, the actors can usually actually wield their weapons with a certain expertise to allow for longer sequences, instead of the 3-4 seconds of flailin' action cuts we usually get in Western media.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I've seen more than my fair share, and to me the sword fighting in those usually just seems rather silly and impractical. It's one of those things where it goes so far into the "style over substance" territory that it just starts to be dull. Sorry, I'm just not impressed by people flying around on tree-tops and running over water randomly for no reason.

On the other hand, the actors can usually actually wield their weapons with a certain expertise to allow for longer sequences, instead of the 3-4 seconds of flailin' action cuts we usually get in Western media.

I'm not disagreeing you, I'm just saying that I don't like it in the movies that you mentioned, because all of those movies are more about the wire acrobatics than they are about the actual sword fighting. I'd much rather watch combat that at least looks somewhat realistic and practical, like something along the lines of the knife fights in The Man from Nowhere, or even the sword fight from Fearless (against the fencer). I don't need all the stupid flipping and jumping, it's boring and distracting.

For this reason I tend to like old black and white Samurai movies, like Yojimbo. The sword fighting is fast paced with no frills, and the sword fights usually last seconds, not minutes, like they would in real life. Plus, because of the lack of special effects people usually actually look like they know what they're doing when they fight.

 

[Barbas]

There's a James Bond one, can't remember what the film name is, but it's pretty great.

Is it this one, from Die Another Day?


Several different types of sword they fight with, as well. I don't remember that scene being this entertaining the first time I saw it, but it has great environmental weapon use.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Spoiler

-

snip

See, normally, I'd agree... were it not for that particular fight quoted. Sure, there's plenty of wirework involved, and if I'm honest, despite enjoying a good moh-huppeen (Cantonese for that genre of period drama with plenty of fights etc.), apart from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon because of how excessively stylised they look. With that posted fight scene between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi, you can tell the almost obscene amount of practise that Michelle's put into it because she uses no fewer than four different weapons (sabres, hook-blades, staff & jian, a couple others, but I tend not to count them) with apparent fluency even though her opposite number is subjected to more of the wirework.

Thing is, if you watch Chinese films made for a Chinese audience (which typically have a shittier budget), directors perpetually shout 'FASTER!!' (hence the greater prevalence of unarmed combat), whereas Chinese films made for western audiences require the directors to shout 'slower' for CGI to do the rest of it.

*shrug*

Now I'd post the fight between Roberts and Montoya from the Princess Bride, but that might be taking the piss a little... -.-

 

[God'sFist]

I feel a little out of place here with all these 'live' sword fights but I do like me my samurai champloo sword fights especially the one where Jin and Mugen fight God's Hand.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

I always thought the Gladiator fight in Spartacus was really good. Not so much a "sword" fight since only one of them has swords, but close enough. Because it's old school, it's not as flashy as modern fights can be, but it feels very tense and lethal. I dig it.

Spoiler

 

[Mikeyfell]

I'm quite partial to the sword fights in Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman.

They're the kind of thing a worse movie would have shot in extreme slow motion with lots of close ups and fast cuts.

But they're played at normal speed and they're mostly all in one long cut.

(I mean cut like a film edit not like cut like a sword cut...)

 

[Syntax Error]

The Ruruoni Kenshin live-action movie had the best sword fights I've seen in years! I'd watch that movie even if it were just 2 hours of sword fights!

 

[The Madman]

Skip to 7 minutes in for the fight.


Too many movies today tend to over-choreograph everything and in so doing I've always felt make fighting look less 'real'. It's why I'm not big into 'wire-fu' movies like Crouching Tiger and all that. It's cool looking, but it just doesn't have the weight behind it that I'd expect from two people fighting desperately for their lives.

Fighting is ugly and cruel. Barbaric. Definitely not pretty and flashy.

I always thought the Gladiator fight in Spartacus was really good. Not so much a "sword" fight since only one of them has swords, but close enough. Because it's old school, it's not as flashy as modern fights can be, but it feels very tense and lethal. I dig it.

Spoiler

Good one.

 

[Tuxedoman]

My favorite scene has to be this one


Honestly, this is one of the most realistic fight scenes I have seen in a European film. If you haven't seen Ironclad, I highly recommend it.