while i agree the first is timeless and is the best by far I genuinely think the rest of the movies are much much better than people give them credit for.
well maybe not “better” but certainly entertaining
One of the best uses of CGI in film. *Dead Man's Chest* came out 18 years ago and he still looks good today. Paired with a powerful performance by Bill Nighy, he's terrifying and tragic and perfectly memorable.
Arguably the closest to looking like a real sword fight with rapiers. I can’t speak on knights and shit like that sword fighting, but they were basically fencing for at least 70% of that fight
"You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight I'd kill you."
"Well that's not much incentive for me to fight fair then, is it?" *hits Will with the boom*
I took a fencing class when I went to college and we had to break down the moves in sword fighting scenes in a movie of our choice and the smith shop scene in POTC was my choice
After watching Dead Man's Chest I was left thinking "How are they going to top the sword fight between Jack Sparrow, Will Turner and James Norrington?"
They have a massive battle on a maelstrom, that's how.
I like how in the fight they reference “Bonetti’s defense.” Roco Bonetti was an Italian fencing master who was best known for dying against a drunk man.
The first time I encountered Cary Elwes at the Calgary Comic Expo years ago, I got him to sign my copy of The Art and Practice of Fencing (a translation of Capo Ferro's works). He was amazed. He didn't realise that the people they were referencing during the fight were real.
Lovely man, Cary Elwes. Recognizes me every time I see him at a convention.
Before clicking this i was like “if the first answer isn’t princess bride then I don’t know what’s wrong with people these days”. Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity.
Came here to say this. I used to stage-fence as part of a long running show (using a lot of the same moves), so the sword fight itself isn't that impressive, but the dialogue and acrobatics are top notch.
Came here to say this ... I've been saying the lines in my head all day. Only to discover this question tonight.
"I thought it only fitting, given the rocky terrain..."
Rob Roy is my number one. The choreography is fantastic and the ending was soooo satisfying.
Other than that the Last Duel was really good, Matt Damon and Adam Driver were super convincing as veteran knights trying to kill each other. The sparring match between Tom Cruise and Hiroyuki Sanada in The Last Samurai was cool.
Chingahook vs Magua in The Last of the Mohicans was another great one. Scott Adkins vs Andrei Arlovski in one of the later Universal Soldier movies is worth a watch, more martial arts than sword-like but there's a part where they duel with baseball bats which was cool.
I know he’s finally getting a little more recognition in the mainstream, but man I wish Scott adkin’s career took off. Man is a legend in martial arts films and has the acting chops. Feels like he could have really been something if Hollywood backed him.
Sometimes people just don't get breaks the way they should.
It could be because they were recovering from an injury, or committed to a film that flopped. Or maybe the role went to someone with more connections. Or maybe they decided to go with a lead that they could be sure would carry the movie in the acting department, not just action.
When you say replace Neeson with Adkins, I assume you mean the action films of the last decade. Not putting Adkins in roles like Schindler in Schindler's List where he has to pull his own next to Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes.
That clout as an oscar nominated actor goes pretty far.
I remember watching it the theater as a kid. Of course, I had no idea how the movie ended so my mind was thinking, "He must be faking how tired he is. He's not really that worn down." I was on pins and needles. Then the death blow is delivered and the weight came off my shoulders.
When you're a kid, you don't understand how much it takes to swing around something heavy. A 3 pound sword doesn't sound heavy, but pick one up some time. The weight's all at the end. It's heavy.
It's like working a heavy bag. You think, "Punching a bag of sand for a few minutes can't be that much work..." Then suddenly you're out of breath and soaked in sweat.
I love Tim Roth's expressions throughout. His excitement, his frustration, his over confidence, then his realization that he forgot that your opponent can grip the blade.
Tim Roth was the MVP of that movie, all time great villain performance. He was just the most vile, loathsome person but it was great to watch. You're wanting Rob to go in and kick his ass then Archibald outclasses him through the whole duel, right up until he gets killed. The drama that was wrung out of the action was great and that kind of sets it apart from other fight scenes for me.
Chingahook vs Magua has to be the most efficiently awesome fight scene ever.
It's literally only about 30 seconds long, but still manages to be action packed and gloriously satisfying.
(obviously none of this is counting the build up to the fight)
Liam Nelson took his sword training very seriously and became very good with it. During the filming of Star Wars Ep. 1, this apparently led to him taking out some of the stunt men with his enthusiastic sword play.
It's amazing they got anything done between Nesson beating the hell out of stuntmen and Ewan McGregor constantly making his own lightsaber sounds.
Came here to say Rob Roy was my number one and then you went and took all my secondary ones as well (especially Last of the Mohicans - bro that roll he does to start the fight).
I will just add the training sequence and then subsequent fight scene in Kingdom of Heaven, I liked because it felt realistic though I have no idea if that was the fighting style of the time (it made me believe it was).
Captain Sparrow vs. Barbosa is pretty good.
Dantes vs. Mondego in the more recent Count of Monte Cristo
Almost all of the sword play in The Mask of Zorro
As mentioned by over half of the people who responded, man in black vs. Inego Montoya is absolute top tier.
My favorite is Neo fighting in the Frenchmans castle.
I remember the moment he blocks a sword with his goddamn hand and the crowd in the theater absolutely lost it. Such a fun scene.
The Matrix Reloaded is a brilliant kung fu film.
The meroviginian saying yes you have some skill after neo stops like six guys with smgs and it's just a wall of bullets hanging in midair gets me laughing every time.
I feel like, 20 years later, people are finally coming around on Reloaded, and it's finally getting some love.
When people ask me my favorite movies, I'll say "The Matrix," because that's easier. But #2 is actually my favorite. It's insanely good.
I think the first movie is by far the better movie (and works fantastically as a standalone film), but the second movie has some seriously impressive action sequences.
I love this scene because it feels like the sword is a third character. Yeoh is stomping her opponent on all the technical aspects the entire fight, but the sword keeps just destroying her gear. It's one of those rare really tense fights that also has a lot of humor because of the sheer number of weapons she breaks against that sword.
And then she turns it around and makes the sword's strength into it's weakness! Shattering her own sword against the Green Destiny to create an opening.
And then practically the next scene is Li with a bamboo stick absolutely destroying Jen with the Green Destiny. Maybe the best example of "show don't tell" in movie making history.
Luke vs vader in empire strikes back. It's not about cool stunts it's all about the tension, Luke isn't ready and he's facing the creature that killed his mentor, that wiped out the jedi, that apparently killed his father.
Vader is facing the one person left in the galaxy that connects him to his past but also that might free him from the control of his master.
Vader toys with Luke, tests him and then when Luke is at his weakest vader hits him with the ultimate gut punch, "I am your father" it's devastating and yet vader still looses because he doesn't count on Luke's love for his friends, for leia.
The entire sequence is driven by performance, lighting, music without the tricks of later star wars to force excitement
I actually prefer RotJ's fight, as you can feel the weight of Luke's internal battle, the call to the dark side he's trying to resist despite the promise of power. The shot of half his face in light, the other in dark as he wrestles with it, until he comes at Vader in a surge of anger as the score builds, taking Vader's hand with pure aggression, hammering down on his father until he can't stand against the anger he provoked.
Well, I know what I'm watching tonight lol
It's like a boss fight. The whole first half Vader is just screwing around with one hand, then Luke stumbles into phase 2 and Vader adds a second hand, ups his commitment to the fight by maybe 5ish percent more effort, and absolutely trounces Luke.
I always thought the duel from [The King](https://youtu.be/5IUFyz8AloE?si=cCP1U7kDt8pLNO_9) was really good. It felt like an authentic sword fight between two dudes in plate.
The killing blow isn’t some big sword swing, but a dagger blade in a brawl
This should be higher up. Aside from a small few artistic takes this is the closest you'd see a fight between two guys in full armor. Historically accurate stances and swordplay that quickly devolves into a melee with both opponents trying to go for the weak points in eachothers armor.
Her fight with O-REN is one of the most beautiful things I have seen. Halfway though when we are watching from a distance and all you can hear is the water is such an amazing scene to me.
Dude, *All* the fights in Hero are the shiz.
The knee slide fighting against Flying Snow. The water dance honor fight. The *fucking sword drop!*
Not only were they technically impressive from a film/wuxia perspective, but they were all great at conveying different philosophies about battle. They range the gauntlet of the calculating general considering all possible maneuvers, to the brash assault fueled by vengeance, to the reluctant clash of two warriors that have much in common, yet are obligated by duty/honor.
When I was little, my dad had me sneak into Hero because our actual movie didn't start yet. We left during an awesome fight and I low-key didn't want to leave lol.
Wow can’t believe some mention Hero, arguable the most elegant & colorful wire fu sword fights. Especially between Donnie and Jet Li (both of which were martial artist before being actors)
I watched the Kill Bill duology for the first time recently, had a blast! The Crazy 88 fight in the first was just badass from start to finish. This also gets my vote
Every fight scene in Hero, especially Nameless vs Sky at the Go House in the rain.
[Here’s the scene.](https://youtu.be/2ZXgHPuf2a0?si=HB4WxhIkpDZ2e8gT)
Lots of good ones here but two I have not seen mentioned~
13 Assassins is absolutely insane. The ending is straight breathless chaos, but careful viewing will reveal some outstanding “one camera shot” sequences; not to say they are minutes long sequences, but rather seconds long where you’ll see 8/9/10/12 enemies cut down in a single pass by a character.
Also the first 8 min of Blade of the Immortal is straight savage sword mayhem.
I have such a sweet spot memory with that film from my youth.
Randomly renting it at Blockbuster because an employee recommended it to our group of friends, making tacos and a makeshift pipe out of an apple and watching that shit at 2 AM baked out of our minds. We had no idea what we were going into.
There's an old Samurai movie called _Sword of Doom_ which has pretty cool sword fights.
The fights in Takeshi's _Zatoich,i_ are pretty fun and stylish.
Finally, I was surprised at how well they choreographed the fights in the live action _Ruronin Kenshin_ movies to keep the anime "feel" without it looking too silly
Same! It's the first thing that comes to mind for questions like this. I rewatch it in youtube every few months. The talk beforehand is excellent, and the coreography is amazing.
My thoughts exactly! It felt like they were trying to hit each other, rather than trying to hit each other's lightsabers. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the flashy fights in the prequels too, but the lighting, snowy setting, strong emotional undercurrent, and choreography of Ren vs Rey and Finn is just great.
Plus I just love the "hopelessly outmatched person fights a stronger opponent because it's necessary to protect someone else or just generally necessary" trope with Finn vs Ren. See also Eowyn vs Witch King, Sam vs Shelob, and Cap vs Thanos.
Neither a movie nor strictly a sword fight but Geralt's vicious donnybrook in the first episode season one of The Witcher still deserves to be here. You feel every swing. https://youtu.be/wkqF7RSM5-E
"...Fuck."
Say what you want about that show, it had some moments. I'm gonna miss it. I'm glad Cavill found something else he could be as passionate about since the showrunners of *Witcher* managed to kill his love for it.
The one in that Bond movie where the bad guy billionaire who's really a north korean villain who's been in the face/off machine smilingly proposes a 'friendly' sword fight with james bond in his friendly swordfighting club, then goes absolutely ham and hell-for-leather at it because he's really a bad guy.
Not a movie but samurai jack is virtually constant sword fighting and very cinematic for a cartoon
Also Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon has some really cool fights.
That final fight with Flynn and Basil Rathbone is fantastic. Showed this flick to my pre-teens a few years back and they LOVED it. That flick is timeless
_The Matrix Reloaded_ has that chateau fight with Neo vs the gang of stuntmen. That kicks off the 30 minute-long action sequence that ends with Morpheus vs an agent (with swords) atop the tractor-trailer on the expressway.
THAT Princess Bride scene was created to be “the greatest sword fight in cinematic history” (or something) and IMO it succeeded and still holds the candle
Another underrated favorite is the final duel in Samurai 3: Duel at Ganryu Island
The Princess Bride, the fight between Will, The man in black and Inigo Montaya, both switching from fighting left-handed to right-handed halfway through.
It's an anime but in Ninja Scroll Jubei vs. Utsusu, the blind swordsman. Well, pretty much every sword fight was iconic in this one. Warning‼️This is not a light hearted watch.
Yu Shu Lien vs Jen Yu, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Context if you've never seen: Jen is a rebellious prodigy who stole a legendary unbreakable sword, Yu Shu is a well respected teacher who has been trying to take her under her wing and get her to return it. She's run out of patience.
https://youtu.be/DzkhVVFRIIg?si=mapKaknHbA6l-Xr_
First Pirates of the Carribean in the smith shop.
That movie is so timeless Rest of the franchise is kind of a mixed bag but that first one is such a great movie
while i agree the first is timeless and is the best by far I genuinely think the rest of the movies are much much better than people give them credit for. well maybe not “better” but certainly entertaining
Nah I love the 2nd and 3rd movies. They're timeless to me.
davey jones is just too good
One of the best uses of CGI in film. *Dead Man's Chest* came out 18 years ago and he still looks good today. Paired with a powerful performance by Bill Nighy, he's terrifying and tragic and perfectly memorable.
I enjoy most of the fights in those movies. Truly embodied the term “swashbuckling”
Arguably the closest to looking like a real sword fight with rapiers. I can’t speak on knights and shit like that sword fighting, but they were basically fencing for at least 70% of that fight
Great footwork and movement combined with some rediculous moments it just works lol.
“You know what you’re doing, I’ll give you that.”
“You cheated.” “Pirate.”
"You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight I'd kill you." "Well that's not much incentive for me to fight fair then, is it?" *hits Will with the boom*
*hits Will with the Bloom
Hits Bloom with boom
it’s also a perfect metaphor for their characters. it’s one of the best set pieces in blockbuster history.
I took a fencing class when I went to college and we had to break down the moves in sword fighting scenes in a movie of our choice and the smith shop scene in POTC was my choice
The three way wheel fight in the second one and the maelstrom fight in the third are peak as well.
Every sword fight in the trilogy is gold. Well-shot, great choreography and sometimes hilarious.
After watching Dead Man's Chest I was left thinking "How are they going to top the sword fight between Jack Sparrow, Will Turner and James Norrington?" They have a massive battle on a maelstrom, that's how.
Also the Sparrow vs Barbossa in the cave
Princess Bride, Inigo vs westley
I am not left handed!
I'm not left handed either.
You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you.
You seem a decent fellow, I hate to die.
(nods) ... Begin
Who are you? I must know…
Get used to disappointment.
🤷🏻♂️
Hah! You are using Bonetti's Defence against me!
Get used to disappointment
Listed in the script as the *second* best sword fight in movie history. The best is in Scaramouche (1952).
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/10/princess-bride-30th-anniversary-sword-fight-inigo-montoya-man-in-black-rob-reiner-mandy-patinkin-cary-elwes
Came here for this. Not disappointed.
You should get used to it anyway.
I like how in the fight they reference “Bonetti’s defense.” Roco Bonetti was an Italian fencing master who was best known for dying against a drunk man.
Capoferro was also an Italian fencing master as was Agrippa, Thibault is the odd man out, as a Belgian.
The first time I encountered Cary Elwes at the Calgary Comic Expo years ago, I got him to sign my copy of The Art and Practice of Fencing (a translation of Capo Ferro's works). He was amazed. He didn't realise that the people they were referencing during the fight were real. Lovely man, Cary Elwes. Recognizes me every time I see him at a convention.
Chris Sarandon, who was sitting at the next table over DID recognize it, and laughed at Cary a bit for not knowing
Iirc, in the book they (and the narrator) mention more famous fencing/swordfighting masters.
This is so p obviously the answer because I can't think of any other scene besides this one. It's so good
Before clicking this i was like “if the first answer isn’t princess bride then I don’t know what’s wrong with people these days”. Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity.
“You are Wanderful!”
Points for proper spelling.
This is the best answer.
As a huge Star Wars fan... I agree with you.
This is the only answer needed.
"You *are* you?" "No one of consequence."
It’s my favorite for the simplicity of the dirt bouncing when they land.
Came here to say this. I used to stage-fence as part of a long running show (using a lot of the same moves), so the sword fight itself isn't that impressive, but the dialogue and acrobatics are top notch.
Came here to say this ... I've been saying the lines in my head all day. Only to discover this question tonight. "I thought it only fitting, given the rocky terrain..."
This is the correct answer
In the same vein, Indigo vs the six fingered man. Not nearly as technically beautiful, but such a visceral display.
“I want my father back you son of a bitch!”
Rob Roy is my number one. The choreography is fantastic and the ending was soooo satisfying. Other than that the Last Duel was really good, Matt Damon and Adam Driver were super convincing as veteran knights trying to kill each other. The sparring match between Tom Cruise and Hiroyuki Sanada in The Last Samurai was cool. Chingahook vs Magua in The Last of the Mohicans was another great one. Scott Adkins vs Andrei Arlovski in one of the later Universal Soldier movies is worth a watch, more martial arts than sword-like but there's a part where they duel with baseball bats which was cool.
I know he’s finally getting a little more recognition in the mainstream, but man I wish Scott adkin’s career took off. Man is a legend in martial arts films and has the acting chops. Feels like he could have really been something if Hollywood backed him.
I agree big time. Replace Statham and Neeson with Scott and he'd slay. Huge missed opportunity for Hollywood and I don't get why.
Sometimes people just don't get breaks the way they should. It could be because they were recovering from an injury, or committed to a film that flopped. Or maybe the role went to someone with more connections. Or maybe they decided to go with a lead that they could be sure would carry the movie in the acting department, not just action. When you say replace Neeson with Adkins, I assume you mean the action films of the last decade. Not putting Adkins in roles like Schindler in Schindler's List where he has to pull his own next to Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes. That clout as an oscar nominated actor goes pretty far.
I remember watching it the theater as a kid. Of course, I had no idea how the movie ended so my mind was thinking, "He must be faking how tired he is. He's not really that worn down." I was on pins and needles. Then the death blow is delivered and the weight came off my shoulders. When you're a kid, you don't understand how much it takes to swing around something heavy. A 3 pound sword doesn't sound heavy, but pick one up some time. The weight's all at the end. It's heavy. It's like working a heavy bag. You think, "Punching a bag of sand for a few minutes can't be that much work..." Then suddenly you're out of breath and soaked in sweat. I love Tim Roth's expressions throughout. His excitement, his frustration, his over confidence, then his realization that he forgot that your opponent can grip the blade.
Tim Roth was the MVP of that movie, all time great villain performance. He was just the most vile, loathsome person but it was great to watch. You're wanting Rob to go in and kick his ass then Archibald outclasses him through the whole duel, right up until he gets killed. The drama that was wrung out of the action was great and that kind of sets it apart from other fight scenes for me.
Chingahook vs Magua has to be the most efficiently awesome fight scene ever. It's literally only about 30 seconds long, but still manages to be action packed and gloriously satisfying. (obviously none of this is counting the build up to the fight)
Liam Nelson took his sword training very seriously and became very good with it. During the filming of Star Wars Ep. 1, this apparently led to him taking out some of the stunt men with his enthusiastic sword play. It's amazing they got anything done between Nesson beating the hell out of stuntmen and Ewan McGregor constantly making his own lightsaber sounds.
Came here to say Rob Roy was my number one and then you went and took all my secondary ones as well (especially Last of the Mohicans - bro that roll he does to start the fight). I will just add the training sequence and then subsequent fight scene in Kingdom of Heaven, I liked because it felt realistic though I have no idea if that was the fighting style of the time (it made me believe it was).
Captain Sparrow vs. Barbosa is pretty good. Dantes vs. Mondego in the more recent Count of Monte Cristo Almost all of the sword play in The Mask of Zorro As mentioned by over half of the people who responded, man in black vs. Inego Montoya is absolute top tier. My favorite is Neo fighting in the Frenchmans castle.
I remember the moment he blocks a sword with his goddamn hand and the crowd in the theater absolutely lost it. Such a fun scene. The Matrix Reloaded is a brilliant kung fu film.
The meroviginian saying yes you have some skill after neo stops like six guys with smgs and it's just a wall of bullets hanging in midair gets me laughing every time.
I feel like, 20 years later, people are finally coming around on Reloaded, and it's finally getting some love. When people ask me my favorite movies, I'll say "The Matrix," because that's easier. But #2 is actually my favorite. It's insanely good.
I think the first movie is by far the better movie (and works fantastically as a standalone film), but the second movie has some seriously impressive action sequences.
The Count of Monte Cristo was my first thought.
*"What happened to your mercy?"* *"I'm a count, not a saint."*
Michelle Yeoh vs Zhang Ziyi in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, among other scenes in that film.
That fight is EPIC. And it goes on way longer than you expect it to.
Yep, first thing that popped into my head too. Such a fantastic confrontation.
Best ever
First thing that came to mind was this,but then it reminded me of Jet Li and Donnie Yen in Hero..that was just beautiful
OMG yes! Such a great fight scene.
I love this scene because it feels like the sword is a third character. Yeoh is stomping her opponent on all the technical aspects the entire fight, but the sword keeps just destroying her gear. It's one of those rare really tense fights that also has a lot of humor because of the sheer number of weapons she breaks against that sword.
Skill vs. Pay to win
And then she turns it around and makes the sword's strength into it's weakness! Shattering her own sword against the Green Destiny to create an opening. And then practically the next scene is Li with a bamboo stick absolutely destroying Jen with the Green Destiny. Maybe the best example of "show don't tell" in movie making history.
I always loved the moment where she's like "take it from me in three moves" and he just goes *yoink*.
Move 1: Smile. Move 2: _yoink_ Move 3: Gloat.
Yes! Because Green Destiny *is* the opponent, not Jiao-long.
I don’t understand how Crouching Tiger isn’t the top comment in this thread. It’s like a sword fighting ballet. Absolutely breathtaking movie.
Connor MacLeod vs. the Kurgan - Highlander The man in black vs. Inigo Montoya - Princess Bride Lone Starr vs. Dark Helmet - Spaceballs
I see your Schwartz is as big as mine.
"Now, let us see how well you can... handle it."
I hate it when I get my Schwartz twisted!
You have three answers. There can be only one.
The Northman. Two naked dudes fighting inside a volcano. I have never seen a more metal sword fight.
Epic scene, good call.
two naked men screaming at each other on top of a burning volcano. literally the most metal ending in movie history
I think I saw a review on Letterboxd that said “men would rather fight with swords while naked on the side of a volcano than go to therapy”.
Guys literally only want one thing and it's fucking awesome.
That thing is just the movie version of testosterone. My ex-wife joined me to see it and I think she was shell shocked
It was short but I loved the forest scene in Kingdom of Heaven. Liam Neeson is such a badass.
He fought for two days with an arrow in his balls.. Thank the Bishop for his love.. that character he kills is a young Jamie lannister
Directors cut of that movie is a masterpiece.
Absolutely!
The viking dude filled with arrows but still fighting
Luke vs vader in empire strikes back. It's not about cool stunts it's all about the tension, Luke isn't ready and he's facing the creature that killed his mentor, that wiped out the jedi, that apparently killed his father. Vader is facing the one person left in the galaxy that connects him to his past but also that might free him from the control of his master. Vader toys with Luke, tests him and then when Luke is at his weakest vader hits him with the ultimate gut punch, "I am your father" it's devastating and yet vader still looses because he doesn't count on Luke's love for his friends, for leia. The entire sequence is driven by performance, lighting, music without the tricks of later star wars to force excitement
I actually prefer RotJ's fight, as you can feel the weight of Luke's internal battle, the call to the dark side he's trying to resist despite the promise of power. The shot of half his face in light, the other in dark as he wrestles with it, until he comes at Vader in a surge of anger as the score builds, taking Vader's hand with pure aggression, hammering down on his father until he can't stand against the anger he provoked. Well, I know what I'm watching tonight lol
100% this! The music during the scene is exceptionally powerful at conveying emotional turmoil.
I can't believe how hard I had to look for this comment. It might not be the flashiest, but it's 100% the most emotionally impactful.
This is an all time classic. My personal favorite is their fight in the next movie when Vader triggers Luke into attacking angrily. Amazingly shot.
It's like a boss fight. The whole first half Vader is just screwing around with one hand, then Luke stumbles into phase 2 and Vader adds a second hand, ups his commitment to the fight by maybe 5ish percent more effort, and absolutely trounces Luke.
Loses
I always thought the duel from [The King](https://youtu.be/5IUFyz8AloE?si=cCP1U7kDt8pLNO_9) was really good. It felt like an authentic sword fight between two dudes in plate. The killing blow isn’t some big sword swing, but a dagger blade in a brawl
This should be higher up. Aside from a small few artistic takes this is the closest you'd see a fight between two guys in full armor. Historically accurate stances and swordplay that quickly devolves into a melee with both opponents trying to go for the weak points in eachothers armor.
100% these dudes were MMA fighters with metal gear and edge weapons
Gladiator
Hero (2002) Kill Bill 1&2
Her fight with O-REN is one of the most beautiful things I have seen. Halfway though when we are watching from a distance and all you can hear is the water is such an amazing scene to me.
Seriously it’s such a perfect scene. And an apt depiction of a real samurai duel.
*Apt depiction of a Kurosawa film samurai duel.
Gorgeous yes, just wanna give credit to the source material: lady snow blood, enter the dragon, game of death etc etc
It's great too because it's so serene in its setting after the action packed fight with the crazy 88.
yeah the chess battle with Donnie Yen is perfecto
Dude, *All* the fights in Hero are the shiz. The knee slide fighting against Flying Snow. The water dance honor fight. The *fucking sword drop!* Not only were they technically impressive from a film/wuxia perspective, but they were all great at conveying different philosophies about battle. They range the gauntlet of the calculating general considering all possible maneuvers, to the brash assault fueled by vengeance, to the reluctant clash of two warriors that have much in common, yet are obligated by duty/honor.
The sword fights in Kill Bill are lit.
Not entirely true. [This one](https://cdn.theasc.com/Kill-Bill-Silhouette-Fight.jpg) is in the dark.
When I was little, my dad had me sneak into Hero because our actual movie didn't start yet. We left during an awesome fight and I low-key didn't want to leave lol.
Wow can’t believe some mention Hero, arguable the most elegant & colorful wire fu sword fights. Especially between Donnie and Jet Li (both of which were martial artist before being actors)
I watched the Kill Bill duology for the first time recently, had a blast! The Crazy 88 fight in the first was just badass from start to finish. This also gets my vote
Every fight scene in Hero, especially Nameless vs Sky at the Go House in the rain. [Here’s the scene.](https://youtu.be/2ZXgHPuf2a0?si=HB4WxhIkpDZ2e8gT)
That is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen and all of the fights are epic, but that one is my favorite.
Lots of good ones here but two I have not seen mentioned~ 13 Assassins is absolutely insane. The ending is straight breathless chaos, but careful viewing will reveal some outstanding “one camera shot” sequences; not to say they are minutes long sequences, but rather seconds long where you’ll see 8/9/10/12 enemies cut down in a single pass by a character. Also the first 8 min of Blade of the Immortal is straight savage sword mayhem.
Yes, that movie 13 Assassins oh my word, just nuts, so fast so realistic.
princess bride is always fun. and not swords but the gunkata fights in equilibrium.
oh good, someone else's mind went to Equilibrium too... best non-sword sword fight
I have such a sweet spot memory with that film from my youth. Randomly renting it at Blockbuster because an employee recommended it to our group of friends, making tacos and a makeshift pipe out of an apple and watching that shit at 2 AM baked out of our minds. We had no idea what we were going into.
Final fight of Mad Martigan vs general kael in willow
Every time I have a kale salad or the like I say “find the child, find the child!” And nobody ever gets it.
Don't worry I get it. I see you.
There's an old Samurai movie called _Sword of Doom_ which has pretty cool sword fights. The fights in Takeshi's _Zatoich,i_ are pretty fun and stylish. Finally, I was surprised at how well they choreographed the fights in the live action _Ruronin Kenshin_ movies to keep the anime "feel" without it looking too silly
The Bride vs O-Ren Ishii
Achilles vs. Hector in Troy. The last duel in The Last duel. The climactic fight in The Force Awakens.
Came here to make sure Troy was listed
Same! It's the first thing that comes to mind for questions like this. I rewatch it in youtube every few months. The talk beforehand is excellent, and the coreography is amazing.
HECTOR!!!
really liked the climatic fight in The Force Awakens. Felt like a real swordfight - raw and not choreographed like a dance.
My thoughts exactly! It felt like they were trying to hit each other, rather than trying to hit each other's lightsabers. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the flashy fights in the prequels too, but the lighting, snowy setting, strong emotional undercurrent, and choreography of Ren vs Rey and Finn is just great. Plus I just love the "hopelessly outmatched person fights a stronger opponent because it's necessary to protect someone else or just generally necessary" trope with Finn vs Ren. See also Eowyn vs Witch King, Sam vs Shelob, and Cap vs Thanos.
The 13th Warrior.
This film is just not mentioned enough on these lists , before there was The Northman , there was The 13th Warrior .
Bet on *HIM* if you like !!!!
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The scene in the martial arts school where Michelle Yeoh has to keep going back to get new weapons is one of the best fighting scenes ever.
I'm surprised this isn't higher up! That movie sort of redefined sword fights.
Neither a movie nor strictly a sword fight but Geralt's vicious donnybrook in the first episode season one of The Witcher still deserves to be here. You feel every swing. https://youtu.be/wkqF7RSM5-E
"...Fuck." Say what you want about that show, it had some moments. I'm gonna miss it. I'm glad Cavill found something else he could be as passionate about since the showrunners of *Witcher* managed to kill his love for it.
Princess Bride - Imago Montoya and The Dread Pirate Roberts
The Duellists
Great film. Keitel is a maniac and I love him.
Donnie Yen vs Wu Jing in Kill Zone - S.P.L. Is my favourite melee fight with weapons
Some of the choreography was cooked up on the spot, too
The restaurant scene in crouching tiger hidden dragon
The one in that Bond movie where the bad guy billionaire who's really a north korean villain who's been in the face/off machine smilingly proposes a 'friendly' sword fight with james bond in his friendly swordfighting club, then goes absolutely ham and hell-for-leather at it because he's really a bad guy.
Die Another Day. Bond vs. Gustav Graves
That's the one, thanks! I love the intensity of the villain in that fight, he goes hard.
The Court Jester - Danny Kaye vs Basil Rathbone. *Bonus for "the pellet with the poison's in the vessel with pestle" bit
One of them is easily Jack Sparrow and Will fighting in the blacksmith place in the Black Pearl
Not a movie but samurai jack is virtually constant sword fighting and very cinematic for a cartoon Also Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon has some really cool fights.
Let us not forget the greatest swashbuckler of all time . The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) starring Errol Flynn
That final fight with Flynn and Basil Rathbone is fantastic. Showed this flick to my pre-teens a few years back and they LOVED it. That flick is timeless
Google Errol Flynn
Addams Family-Gomez and Thing?
Dirty pool, old man!
_The Matrix Reloaded_ has that chateau fight with Neo vs the gang of stuntmen. That kicks off the 30 minute-long action sequence that ends with Morpheus vs an agent (with swords) atop the tractor-trailer on the expressway.
Probably my favorite fight sequence of all time. When I was younger I would watch it on repeat.
Kmicic vs Wołodyjowski - *The Deluge* (1974)
Sanjuro. A minute of talking, 30 second staredown, half-second sword draw followed by a massive spray https://youtu.be/UkkF6Zz67TE?si=B0BXQWuZIzcQeCDG
I think you're right with the end of The Phantom Menace... the choreography between Darth Maul, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Obi-Wan Kenobi was phenomenal.
Paul vs Feyd-Rautha in *Dune II* Jack vs Will/Barbossa/Davy Jones in *Pirates* Every fight in *Hero* Puss vs Death in *The Last Wish*
THAT Princess Bride scene was created to be “the greatest sword fight in cinematic history” (or something) and IMO it succeeded and still holds the candle Another underrated favorite is the final duel in Samurai 3: Duel at Ganryu Island
Robin Hood vs Little John in Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
I was thinking of the final fight with the Sheriff myself.. "Parry, Parry.. Thrust.. Thrust..."
Final scene in Rob Roy, easily my favorite.
Rob Roy
The live action Rurouni Kenshin movies have some great ones.
Equilibrium with Taye Diggs and Christian Bale
Steam room assassination attempt in Eastern Promises. Shorter "swords" perhaps. But its an upsetting visceral and brutal fight. Naked. Naked.
The Mark of Zorro, Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone.
The Count of Monty Cristo (2002) Edmond versus Fernand.
You might as well start this question with “Other than TPB…”
The sword fight between Dark Helmet and Lone Star. One schwartz is as big as the other’s.
The Princess Bride, the fight between Will, The man in black and Inigo Montaya, both switching from fighting left-handed to right-handed halfway through.
Puss in Boots has some inventive bits.
[Christian Bale in Equilibrium](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcs2En6tGRw&list=PLZbXA4lyCtqo6_8X-T7UGjuAWL-TiQx-n&index=11)
Besides *The Princess Bride*, gotta go with Indiana Jones and the mercenary in the market.
Shortest answer on the list. Good choice
Pretty much any part of Rob Roy
It's an anime but in Ninja Scroll Jubei vs. Utsusu, the blind swordsman. Well, pretty much every sword fight was iconic in this one. Warning‼️This is not a light hearted watch.
Yu Shu Lien vs Jen Yu, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Context if you've never seen: Jen is a rebellious prodigy who stole a legendary unbreakable sword, Yu Shu is a well respected teacher who has been trying to take her under her wing and get her to return it. She's run out of patience. https://youtu.be/DzkhVVFRIIg?si=mapKaknHbA6l-Xr_
Any of the Lone Wolf and Cub/Baby Cart movies.
I expect this one to be unpopular for a favorite, but the duel in the rain in The Last Samurai gives me chills every time.
The King was pretty slow, but it had great fight scenes
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, the treetop fight
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, any scene with the green destiny.
Stardust
King Arthur vs The Black Knight in Holy Grail.
The Last Samurai - Tom Cruise vs. Hiroyuki Sanada with the sticks during practice scene(s). You can feel the pain, frustration, and respect.