Top 5 Sword Fighting Movie Scenes

Movie Kill Bill by Joey Paur

I popped in The Princess Bride blu-ray the other night, and I was instantly reminded of how freakin' awesome that movie was. Then it got to the classic sword fight seen that took place on the top of the Cliffs of Insanity and it got me thinking about sword fighting movie scenes, then last night I was watching Rob Roy and everything just came together, and I began making a list of my favorite sword fighting movie scenes, here are my top five with a couple honorable mentions. Then tell me what yours are.

The Princess Bride

The sword fight is between Westley and Inigo Montoya on the top of the Cliffs of Insanity. This was just such a fun scene, with some great hilarious dialogue as they were fighting. It's not only one of my favorite sword fight scenes, but one of my all time favorite movie scenes. 

Rob Roy

This sword fight is between Liam Neeson's character Robert Roy MacGregor, and Tim Roth's character Archibald Cunningham. Roger Ebert called the final duel “one of the great action sequences in movie history.” It's pretty freakin' incredible. The final blow offered by Roy was epic.

Kill Bill

Here is The Bride vs. the Crazy 88. Such a great classic, fun and ultra bloody scene. The video embedded below is a full color version of the fight scene that never goes to black and white like in the theatrical version. 

Phantom Menace

Here we have Darth Maul fighting both Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Say what you will about how crappy these prequels are because I'll agree with you, but you can't deny that this fight seen was incredibly awesome, especially when it gets down to just Maul and Kenobi. It was definitely the best fight sequence from any of the Star Wars prequels. This was choreographed extremely well. 

Troy

This is the sword fight scene between Brad Pitt as Achilles, and Eric Bana as Hector. I can watch this seen over and over again and never get tired of it. Every time I watch it I'm in awe of the raw power that is shown between these two characters and their fighting skills. It's aboslutely incredible to see what these guys were able to pull off. This is a flawless fight scene that never ceases to blow my mind.

 

Honorable mentions:

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

King Arthur vs. The Black Knight. This is just a fantastic and hilarious classic that I had to add onto the list!

There are a few other movies that have amazing sword fight scenes that you might want to check out as well, these are lesser known films that you may have not heard of, but they're good. The following films you might want to check out include:

Sanjuro

In Japan circa Eighteenth Century, nine young men decide to present an accusation of corruption in their clan to the local superintendent. However, the group is betrayed, but the ronin Sanjûrô Tsubaki (Toshirô Mifune) saves them from the superintendent's men. The uncle of the leader of the rebel clansmen, the Chamberlain Mutsuta (Yûnosuke Itô), is kidnapped, and his wife and daughter are detained and made prisoner of the superintendent, and he tries to force Mutsuta to write a fake confession letter declaring being corrupt. Sanjûrô helps the group to rescue the Chamberlain and his family.

Aragami

Ancient Japan. Fleeing from enemies, two wounded samurai arrive at a strange old temple in a remote location in the mountains. The doors to the place are opened by a beautiful and exotic woman, who beckons them inside. Unable to walk any further, they collapse from exhaustion. One of the samurai awakens to find himself miraculously healed. He meets his saviour, a mysterious man who tells him that his friend died from his wounds. The samurai is persuaded to stay the night. His host tells him the legend of the "Tengu", a goblin which is said to reside in the mountains dining on the flesh of men. He goes on to reveal the true name of the Tengu : Aragami. When the samurai asks if Aragami poses a threat to the temple, his host answers : "I am Aragami". The only way for the Samurai to leave the temple is to destroy Aragami.

Le Bossu

The Comte de Gonzague schemes against his cousin, the Duc de Nevers, even though he is the Duke's heir and will inherit his estates. The Count has kept secret the existence of the Duke's bastard, recently born. When the Duke learns of his child, he journeys to wed the mother, a baron's daughter, in her father's isolated chateau. The occupants of the castle are surprised and murdered by the Count and his men. The only ones to escape are the Duke's friend, the skilled swordsman Lagardère, and the infant, a girl, now the rightful heiress to the Duke's vast fortune. The Count believes the pair to have drowned, when in fact they have been concealed by a travelling troupe of Italian players. Twenty years pass. The Count has discovered that the two survive and seeks to have them slain. But Lagardère gains the confidence of the Count, and employment as his bookkeeper, through his clever disguise as a hunch-back...

 

What are some of your favorite sword fighting movie scenes? Any recommendations?

GeekTyrant Homepage