Film's 10 most epic battles
#1
DVD Talk Hero
Thread Starter
Film's 10 most epic battles
Once More into the Breach...
As 'Narnia' arrives, we highlight our top 10 favorite heroic battles from the movies
By Kathleen Murphy
Special to MSN Movies
Click for full review: http://movies.msn.com/movies/battles_intro?GT1=7448
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10. Aliens (1986)
9. Princess Mononoke (1997)
8. Excalibur (1981)
7. The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
6. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
5. Alexander Nevsky (1938)
4. Gettysburg (1993)
3. Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
2. Zulu (1964)
1. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
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I'm happy to see Excalibur included. It's my favorite film of all time, and often overlooked.
As 'Narnia' arrives, we highlight our top 10 favorite heroic battles from the movies
By Kathleen Murphy
Special to MSN Movies
Click for full review: http://movies.msn.com/movies/battles_intro?GT1=7448
----------------------------------------------------------
10. Aliens (1986)
9. Princess Mononoke (1997)
8. Excalibur (1981)
7. The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
6. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
5. Alexander Nevsky (1938)
4. Gettysburg (1993)
3. Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
2. Zulu (1964)
1. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
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I'm happy to see Excalibur included. It's my favorite film of all time, and often overlooked.
#9
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Originally Posted by slavetotherave
We all know the most epic battle ever was between Littlefoot and Sharptooth

Yeah, another Land Before Time fan. I think I wore out my copy when I was a kid.
#12
DVD Talk Hero
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
Exactly. First one that came to mind.
#13
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
The best Sci-Fi battle is in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
As for the list, ESB doesn't belong on it. Star Wars and ROTJ space battles are more epic than anything in ESB, including the Hoth battle. Hoth battle was great and epic, but not as epic as those two space battles.
#15
DVD Talk Hero
Another list from Channel 4
Saving Private Ryan (1998): Omaha Beach
Waterloo (1970): The Charge of The Cuirassiers
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970): The Attack on Pearl Harbour
Apocalypse Now (1979): The Helicopter Attack
A Bridge Too Far (1977): The Battle for Arnhem
Seven Samurai (1955): The Fight For The Village
Das Boot (1981): Depth Charged by a Destroyer
Intolerance (1910): The Fall of Babylon
The Lord Of The Rings, The Two Towers (2002): The Battle For Helms Deep
Star Wars (1977): Attack on the Death Star
It's clear that "epic" has more than one definition. It can mean "grand sweeping scale" but it can also mean "heroic, mythical, that rises above the ordinary". A battle between two people can be as "epic" as a battle between thousands.
Saving Private Ryan (1998): Omaha Beach
Waterloo (1970): The Charge of The Cuirassiers
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970): The Attack on Pearl Harbour
Apocalypse Now (1979): The Helicopter Attack
A Bridge Too Far (1977): The Battle for Arnhem
Seven Samurai (1955): The Fight For The Village
Das Boot (1981): Depth Charged by a Destroyer
Intolerance (1910): The Fall of Babylon
The Lord Of The Rings, The Two Towers (2002): The Battle For Helms Deep
Star Wars (1977): Attack on the Death Star
It's clear that "epic" has more than one definition. It can mean "grand sweeping scale" but it can also mean "heroic, mythical, that rises above the ordinary". A battle between two people can be as "epic" as a battle between thousands.
#16
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Originally Posted by Giles
I have to admit I haven't seen it, but I have heard that Sergei Bondarchuk's 1968 film version of War and Peace has some staggering battle sequences.
And, in all fairness, I just did a quick glance of the article and the writer does qualify things with terms like "heroic" and "mythic". It's still kind of loosely defined but I think the writer was going for something a little different than simply "the 10 most epic battles".
That aside, I'm always disappointed to see "Spartacus" totally neglected in discussions like these (especially given all the mentions of "Braveheart"). The topic would have to be more clearly defined but you also have films like:
Zulu Dawn
El Cid
55 Days at Peking
The Alamo
The Charge of the Light Brigade
The Four Feathers
and many, many more
#17
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
I have to agree with Ran, great battle scene with the different colored armies (and filmed mostly silent).
The Winter War had some cool battle scenes, some quite large.
The Winter War had some cool battle scenes, some quite large.
#18
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Originally Posted by Shannon Nutt
The best Sci-Fi battle is in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
The battle at the conclusion of The Two Towers is far more enjoyable than the one in Return Of The King.
The battle at the conclusion of The Two Towers is far more enjoyable than the one in Return Of The King.
#19
Originally Posted by tdirgins
No D-Day invasion from The Longest Day OR SPR?
#20
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Originally Posted by Shannon Nutt
The best Sci-Fi battle is in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Originally Posted by Terrell
Strongly have to disagree. The space battles in Star Wars and ROTJ blow away any and every space battle in Trek. It's not even close in my opinion.
Strongly have to disagree with your strong disagreement. Scale in and of itself does not equal excitement.
The nebula standoff in Khan was tightly paced, with a real narrative flow to it.
The Star Wars battles, by Lucas’ own admission, were a “greatest hits” of WWII dogfight footage, re-shot with miniature spaceships, and edited together. They’ve always felt to me like a mish-mash. Especially the chaos in Jedi… which comes across like 800 plastic models being tossed in a clothes dryer.
#22
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Last Samurai had an epic battle, especially the last charge
I disagree with the Two Towers comments. Build up was there but the when the war began it was "okay". They kept cutting to Treebeard and Aragorn became a one man wrecking crew. I prefer the battle in Return Of The King because the pacing was better. Plus when Theoden showed up, that was badass.
I disagree with the Two Towers comments. Build up was there but the when the war began it was "okay". They kept cutting to Treebeard and Aragorn became a one man wrecking crew. I prefer the battle in Return Of The King because the pacing was better. Plus when Theoden showed up, that was badass.
#23
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Strongly have to disagree with your strong disagreement. Scale in and of itself does not equal excitement.
The nebula standoff in Khan was tightly paced, with a real narrative flow to it.
The nebula standoff in Khan was tightly paced, with a real narrative flow to it.
The Star Wars battles, by Lucas’ own admission, were a “greatest hits” of WWII dogfight footage, re-shot with miniature spaceships, and edited together. They’ve always felt to me like a mish-mash. Especially the chaos in Jedi… which comes across like 800 plastic models being tossed in a clothes dryer.

Last edited by Terrell; 12-19-05 at 03:06 PM.
#25
Moderator
The battle in Nevsky kicked ass, but at least one Kurosawa should have been included.
Star Wars?
Star Wars?
