My all-time favorite is The Matrix's "I know Kung Fu." It was probably one of the first DVDs everyone had so it was just amazing to just go to that scene and watch it over and over again.
Almost tied for first is The Forbidden Kingdom's Jackie Chan Vs. Jet Li fight. It is like having Stallone fight Arnie in the Rocky ring - historic. And the fight couldn't have ended any better - A TIE, with each scoring about an equal number of hits. Perfect for two awesome MA movie stars.
I also like the gunfight at the end of Equilibrium.
McHawkson
07-01-08, 12:27 PM
I'll go for Trinity's "Dodge this!" in Matrix.
Yakuza Bengoshi
07-01-08, 12:29 PM
Just about any scene in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
visitor Q
07-01-08, 12:33 PM
If I had to choose it would be the last (of two) samurai fight scene at the end of Twilight Samurai. Probably the most realistic sword fight I've ever witnessed on screen, at least how I would imagine it to be.
There was nothing glamorous about it. It was all about intensity and fear, yet there was something remarkably beautiful about the whole sequence.
devilshalo
07-01-08, 12:45 PM
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Infrared Sight
07-01-08, 12:48 PM
I love the fight between Neo and Smith in the first Matrix.
I just watched Rambo 3 for the first time ever last night, and I was surprised to see that the opening Thailand stick fight scene of Rambo versus the long-haired dude was pretty intense and well-choreographed. Much better than any fight scene from any of the Rocky films. Not my favorite, but something to consider.
Here are my favorite fight scenes:
1. any fight scene from the Matrix trilogy
2. any fight scene from 300
3. any fight scene from Brotherhood of the Wolf
4. any gun kata scene in Equilibrium
5. climactic tower fight scenes in Game of Death
6. any fight scene in Hero/House of Flying Daggers
7. any fight scene in Iron Monkey
8. Tony Jaa versus the giant dudes at climax of Tom Yum Goong (aka The Protector)
9. Uma Thurman versus Go-Go in Kill Bill
Groucho
07-01-08, 05:08 PM
Klansmen vs. the Shaolin Monks in Birth of a Nation
dom56
07-01-08, 06:18 PM
The final fight scene in Drunken Master II.
Totally agreed. Best Jackie Chan fight scene ever.
Born on the Fourth of July - Ron Kovic vs. Charlie (Willem Dafoe)
Commando - Matrix vs. Bennett
The Godfather - Sonny vs. Carlo
Sin City - Marv vs. Kevin
Raiders of the Lost Ark - Indy vs. the big Nazi soldier
dhmac
07-01-08, 07:14 PM
I'm a big fan of the fight scene between James Bond and Red Grant on a train in From Russia With Love - it has a brutal realism (enhanced by the lack of music) that's rare in the Bond films:
The apartment complex shootout in Tsui Hark's Time and Tide.
Rocky vs. Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.
Pretty much every fight scene in Five Element Ninja (aka Chinese Super Ninja).
The tree-top fight in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
The hand-to-hand stuff in the third Bourne movie.
When Kurt Russell goes head-to-head with the dude that shoots lightning out of his eyes in Big Trouble in Little China.
This was the first thing that came to my mind. Once he got the book out, I was completely convinced. Great scene.
wm lopez
07-01-08, 07:34 PM
Wtf? Nobody mentions any Bruce Lee scenes!
Dean Kousoulas
07-01-08, 07:38 PM
They Live...it just went on and on, and on and on...and I love every second of it.
TheAllPurposeNothing
07-01-08, 08:11 PM
Hands down Michael Pare and Willem Dafoe going at it with sledge hammers in Streets of Fire.
Norm de Plume
07-01-08, 09:36 PM
The final fight scene in Drunken Master II.
Definitely. The ladder fight in Once Upon a Time in China is also up there. As for Bruce Lee, his fights with Robert Wall and Norris in Return of the Dragon are classic, as is his first fight in Fists of Fury (the one after he breaks his vow of non-violence).
mrhan
07-01-08, 09:37 PM
Wtf? Nobody mentions any Bruce Lee scenes!
I think without Bruce none of these recent films would be what they are today.
As for recent films the fight scenes in SPL and Flash Point; both with Donnie Yen are pretty awesome.
Dr Mabuse
07-01-08, 11:25 PM
King Arthur vs. The Black Knight in 'Monte Python & The Holy Grail'...
Bob Barker vs. Happy Gilmore in 'Happy Gilmore'...
the soccer matches form 'Shaolin Soccer'...
any of several fight in 'Kung fu Hustle'... i freaking LOVE them... i prefer my Chinese copy with subtitles of course...
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any fight scene from any 'Bourne' film...
the Toshiro Mifune fight against multiple attackers in 'The Sword Of Doom', and the Tatsuya Nakadai fight scenes in 'The Sword Of Doom'...
The last fight with Bronson in 'Hard Times'...
the final fight between Sonny Chiba and Ken Ogata in 'Shogun's Shadow'... "beautiful"...
any of a few fight scenes in Kitano's 'Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman'... (without the french dub in the second one when Asano does his thing, lol...)
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there's a few...
UAIOE
07-02-08, 12:01 AM
I'm a big fan of the fight scene between James Bond and Red Grant on a train in From Russia With Love - it has a brutal realism (enhanced by the lack of music) that's rare in the Bond films:
I think without Bruce none of these recent films would be what they are today.
As for recent films the fight scenes in SPL and Flash Point; both with Donnie Yen are pretty awesome.
Sorry, missed your comments, as I added a couple of scenes from those movies. I totally agree with your comment, great stuff watching him throw down.
Robert
07-02-08, 08:19 PM
1. Burly Brawl - Matrix Reloaded
2. Neo vs the Merovingian's thugs in the Chateau
3. Wolverine vs Yuriko- X2
4. Daredevil vs Bulls eye in the church
5. John Anderton takes on multiple Pre-crime agents in the alley - Minority Report
6. Maximus vs Tigris of Gaul - Gladiator
7. Jack and Davey Jones on the ships mast and the entire maelstrom fight - POTC At Worlds End
8. Kong vs a family of T-Rex
9. Flashback fight between Nefertiri and Evy clad in ancient Egyptian clothing and bare feet:drool: - The Mummy Returns
10. Final knife fight - The Hunted
TattedBigMan
07-02-08, 09:40 PM
In True Romance between Patricia Arquette and James Gandolfini.
Norm de Plume
07-02-08, 09:52 PM
Speaking of Donnie Yen, In the Line of Duty 4 and Tiger Cage offer up some good fisticuffs and footicuffs, and speaking of ITLOD4, the fight scene on the airplane near the beginning of Royal Warriors is a great one.
PopcornTreeCt
07-02-08, 09:59 PM
In True Romance between Patricia Arquette and James Gandolfini.
:up:
Doughboy
07-03-08, 09:12 AM
I'm a big fan of the fight scene between James Bond and Red Grant on a train in From Russia With Love - it has a brutal realism (enhanced by the lack of music) that's rare in the Bond films
That's my favorite scene from a Bond movie, period. Not just fight scene, but any scene. The buildup to that fight when Grant is pointing the gun at Bond and talking trash to him was incredible.
"The first one won't kill you...not the second...not even the third...Not til you crawl over here and you kiss my foot."
Dr Mabuse
07-03-08, 10:11 AM
In True Romance between Patricia Arquette and James Gandolfini.
good one...
bhk
07-03-08, 10:57 AM
I don't like the wire-fu crap. I like the Bruce Lee ones and the Bourne fights.
JPRaup
07-03-08, 10:58 AM
I enjoyed the Oldboy hallway scene
elengineer
07-03-08, 11:21 PM
Hmmm....too many to choose from.
Ones that immediately spring to mind:
The duel at the end of Sanjuro w/ Mifune (yeah it was short...but wow!)
All of the Jackie Chan fight scenes previously mentioned (along with just too many more...)
The one v. many "break-a-thon" in Tom Yum Goong (The Protector) w/ Tony Jaa....WOW!
There are just too many Gordon Liu & Liu Chia Liang films to mention...
Practically any sword v. spear fight scene in the Odd Couple (Sammo Hung, ...)
there are just waaaayyy too many...arghh
creekdipper
07-04-08, 09:04 AM
Yeah, so many fists, so little time....
(1) ENTER THE DRAGON
Like others, I was surprised that it took so long for Bruce Lee to be mentioned. By that time, I assumed that everybody regarded him to be the Zen Master of Fight Scenes & thus was ineligible (since he would be on everyone's list).
I paid $50 for a poor bootleg Beta video of Enter the Dragon back in the day (when blank tapes cost $20 each) just so I could watch the cavern fight scene over & over (and replay it in slow-motion...at least, I think our earliest Beta machine, which cost about $1200, had slow motion).
Almost better than the cavern fight...which had my future wife, me, and the Friday midnight show crowd on our feet shouting in amazement (you can imagine the scene on the sidewalk after the show with so many wannabes trying out their new moves)...was Lee's confrontation with Oharra. I had never seen a human being's hands move so fast. Lee was literally a blur...it was almost like the Gene Wilder parody 'chess piece' scene in blazing saddles...except it was real & filmed in real time.
The scene in Chinese Connection when Lee took on the Japanese school was pretty impressive, too.
I agree with Mrhan and those who say that Lee set the gold standard for future fight scenes.
(2) DIE HARD I
A more recent scene that stands out in my mind is the Bruce Willis fight between him & the longhaired German guy toward the end. I think it was the Willis's everyman quality, his desperation, and his ad-libbed groans & angry, frustrated comments during the fight that made this one memorable.
(3) DIGGSTOWN
You gotta love the part when Louis Gosset, Jr. (as Honey Roy Palmer) takes on 10 fighters in one marathon session...especially when his 'agent' James Woods puts a laxative in one unfortunate opponent's water.
(4) SHANE
For classic fights, it's hard to beat Alan Ladd taking on Ben Johnson in the saloon...followed by the entire group of cowboys ganging up on him until Van Heflin comes in with an axe handle & starts laying the wood to them. Free-for-all ensues.
(5) THE SPOILERS
John Wayne. Randolph Scott.
The mother of all western fistfights...seemingly taking place inside & outside nearly every location in town.
So many others have been mentioned already...if cinema knows how to do anything right, it's a fight scene.
creekdipper
07-04-08, 09:14 AM
Yeah, so many fists, so little time....
(1) ENTER THE DRAGON
Like others, I was surprised that it took so long for Bruce Lee to be mentioned. By that time, I assumed that everybody regarded him to be the Zen Master of Fight Scenes & thus was ineligible (since he would be on everyone's list).
I paid $50 for a poor bootleg Beta video of Enter the Dragon back in the day (when blank tapes cost $20 each) just so I could watch the cavern fight scene over & over (and replay it in slow-motion...at least, I think our earliest Beta machine, which cost about $1200, had slow motion).
Almost better than the cavern fight...which had my future wife, me, and the Friday midnight show crowd on our feet shouting in amazement (you can imagine the scene on the sidewalk after the show with so many wannabes trying out their new moves)...was Lee's confrontation with Oharra. I had never seen a human being's hands move so fast. Lee was literally a blur...it was almost like the Gene Wilder parody 'chess piece' scene in blazing saddles...except it was real & filmed in real time.
The scene in Chinese Connection when Lee took on the Japanese school was pretty impressive, too.
I agree with Mrhan and those who say that Lee set the gold standard for future fight scenes.
(2) DIE HARD I
A more recent scene that stands out in my mind is the Bruce Willis fight between him & the longhaired German guy toward the end. I think it was the Willis's everyman quality, his desperation, and his ad-libbed groans & angry, frustrated comments during the fight that made this one memorable.
(3) DIGGSTOWN
You gotta love the part when Louis Gosset, Jr. (as Honey Roy Palmer) takes on 10 fighters in one marathon session...especially when his 'agent' James Woods puts a laxative in one unfortunate opponent's water.
(4) SHANE
For classic fights, it's hard to beat Alan Ladd taking on Ben Johnson in the saloon...followed by the entire group of cowboys ganging up on him until Van Heflin comes in with an axe handle & starts laying the wood to them. Free-for-all ensues.
When I showed this to "jaded" 8th-graders who had seen every modern-day fight scene imaginable both in movies & video games, I thought they'd scoff at it's 'old-fashioned' depiction. Boy howdy, was I wrong. When Ladd & Johnson are circling each other like two junyard dogs, faces bloodied, panting with exertion, you could cut the tension with a knife. Getting 30 8th-graders quiet isn't a easy task...but you could almost hear the held breath of the kids as they waited for the punches to be thrown. During some classes, a kid couldn't take it any longer and would yell, "Hit 'im!" When Shane drives his opponent to his knees (punctuated by Jody's snapping of the peppermint stick), the class would inevitably burst out in a cheer. Masterful direction by George Stevens...still captivating audiences over 50 years later.
(5) THE SPOILERS
John Wayne. Randolph Scott.
The mother of all western fistfights...seemingly taking place inside & outside nearly every location in town.
So many others have been mentioned already...if cinema knows how to do anything right, it's a fight scene.
creekdipper
07-04-08, 09:40 AM
(Sigh) I made the mistake of mentioning this thread to my wife, who loves a good fight :lol:
She made me mention two of her all-time favorites:
(1) DEADWOOD: The street fight in the mud between Dan & Captain Turner.
(2) ROME: The fight between Pullo & the gladiators. I know, weapons were involved to some extent, but it was still an awesome fight.
BTW...I recently saw a related thread on a different site & someone mentioned the "It's only a flesh wound" scene from MP & the Holy Grail as being pretty unbeatable.
JANK
07-04-08, 09:40 AM
The fight scene in Franco Zeffirilli's ROMEO AND JULIET - very intense.
First Tybalt dies inadvertently at the hand's of Michael York's character (forgot name, perhaps his finest role) and then the overmatched Romeo goes after York in a fit of rage. With all the 'gang' members joustling and moving around the combatants, it is very riveting.
orderandlaw
07-09-08, 08:19 PM
Ripley vs the Queen in Aliens!
Meaning the whole ending sequence there, not just back on the ship. Well, the whole movie rocked, really.
NoirFan
07-09-08, 08:27 PM
Shane has a great, seemingly endless bar fight. More of a shoot out, but the climactic bloodbath from The Wild Bunch is cinematic violence at it's most balletic:
Excellent choice; however, I'm going to go with the final fight from Young Master.
obscurelabel
07-10-08, 09:26 AM
Clint Eastwood vs. George Kennedy in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. Mostly because it's hilarious; after just a few punches both men are exhausted and have to quit :lol:
(Sigh) I made the mistake of mentioning this thread to my wife, who loves a good fight :lol:
She made me mention two of her all-time favorites:
(1) DEADWOOD: The street fight in the mud between Dan & Captain Turner.
(2) ROME: The fight between Pullo & the gladiators. I know, weapons were involved to some extent, but it was still an awesome fight.
BTW...I recently saw a related thread on a different site & someone mentioned the "It's only a flesh wound" scene from MP & the Holy Grail as being pretty unbeatable.
That was a great scene. I've shown that scene to friends when trying to get them into Rome. IMO, it's better than anything in Gladiator.
JTp8ntball
07-11-08, 09:04 PM
Hector vs. Achilles (Troy)
Superboy
07-12-08, 07:23 AM
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon vs. Darth Maul from The Phantom Menace
Schloob1
07-12-08, 10:18 AM
Wow, it took getting to the end of the thread for a Star Wars reference as I was waiting to see if my fave of Obi-Wan vs. Annakin was on her before posting it. The fight that showed us all what lead to Annakin having to get the Vader suit, and epic battle. I definitely loved the Darth Maul as well, but this one gets the nod for me because of it's signifigance.
Ky-Fi
07-12-08, 11:11 AM
For the early 70's, definitely one of (if not) the best American efforts in doing an Asian-style martial arts fight scene:
I've always liked the locker fight in "Grosse Pointe Blank". Fast, fairly brutal, some good hits (Martin's kicking the assassin into the locker looks painful) and it seems pretty realistic for close-quarters fighting. And, a good song.
ROCKY 2 . The ending even though we knew how it would end was a crowd pleaser.
NIMH Rat
07-13-08, 12:01 PM
Not strictly a "fight scene," but I always liked the way John Turturro took out William Peterson in the hallway of the hospital in "To Live and Die in L.A."
It's a textbook lesson on how to wipe the floor with a guy in 5 seconds flat. Backhand to the face, knee to the gut, box the ears, another knee to the gut, and a kick to the nuts.
Rival11
07-13-08, 11:36 PM
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon vs. Darth Maul from The Phantom Menace
As I am not a huge Star Wars fan at all and while most people bash the hell out of the new films for whatever reasons.......That was one kick-ass fucking fight scene - actually stood apart from the rest of the film - I loved it.
tdirgins
07-14-08, 12:15 PM
Always loved the barroom brawl between Lee Marvin and John Wayne in Donovan's Reef. Another :up: to The Quiet Man, my fave.
cornyt
07-14-08, 12:17 PM
Love these fights because of the brutality of Donnie Yen's choreography. For me, these are the best Hong Kong fights in the last decade.
I'm big into all things where Donnie Yen inserts his fist into the bad guys.
As I am not a huge Star Wars fan at all and while most people bash the hell out of the new films for whatever reasons.......That was one kick-ass fucking fight scene - actually stood apart from the rest of the film - I loved it.I agree, but it also represents what's wrong with the new trilogy, because they killed off the most interesting character (Darth Maul, not Qui-Gon).
1. Rocky Balboa vs. Ivan Drago, Rocky IV
2. Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed, Rocky II
3. Cho Osaki vs. Braden, Revenge of the Ninja
tdirgins
07-15-08, 10:10 AM
Just thought of another good one. The Ninth Configuration. Brief, but tasty.
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jdpatri
07-15-08, 12:05 PM
I agree, but it also represents what's wrong with the new trilogy, because they killed off the most interesting character (Darth Maul, not Qui-Gon).
This was my thought about this as well. Darth Maul was the opportunity to tie the trilogy together via one absolute fantastic villain. It would have been easy for him to escape the battle and carry over into the next films. Huge missed opportunity. I won't go into my thoughts of how it should have played out, but suffice to say, the story in my head is awesome.
The fight scene I haven't seen mentioned yet is the three mariachi finale in Desperado. But I guess it depends on whether these fight scenes need something more than gunplay to qualify.
troystiffler
07-16-08, 12:13 AM
Adam Sandler VS The Bathroom in Punch Drunk Love. It rings so true to me.
The end scene in The Wild Bunch is definately amazing. I know the violence is always discussed. Especially since it was relatively explicit in '69. But it's always been the 'stop running' and 'give me back my our guy'. And there's also the part between the two guys who just kind of read each other's eyes, and then say 'okay'.
"They Live" is awesome on it's own hokey level. Though it drags a lot and isn't necesarilly easy to watch. The movie, on the other hand, is tons of fun (and fits my kind of rebellion).
I always liked the 'industrial' feel of the two terminators fighting each other in T2. The thought put into the physics impressed me. It's not like these days when they wire-fu it and throw you fifty feet. Or having a shotgun blast throw you twenty feet through a window. It was human-sized steel (or alloy-whatever) robotics punching and tossing and stuff. There wasn't anything superhuman about it.
Kung Fu Hustle. The 'reveal' scene for the masters. And the casino scene. Both are delivered with so much inner power. And the movie also forces you to like the characters - which is a must.
bee_01
07-16-08, 12:31 AM
Gotta show Jackie Chan some more love. Who can choose just one?
Buy: