For many years I was convinced that The Wild Bunch had the best gunfight. With all the slow-mo scenes, Sam Peckinpah really knew how to glorify violence.

In my opinion, Heat has taken over as the best gunfight in a film. That bank robbery-gone-awry gunfight in the streets of downtown LA ought to go down in film history!

Any other opinions out there???


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"No shirt. No shoes. No dice."

[This message has been edited by bodai (edited January 12, 2001).]

Likewise... Heat is great. I think the 3 hour length turned a few people off though.

John Woo has produced a decent gunfight or two if you dig the whole slo-mo thing. To get more current, Shanhai Noon had a wicked gun/fist/improvised weaponry scene. For realism (supposedly), Saving Private Ryan is great.

Bar none, the warehouse scene in Woo's Hardboiled. There are some transcendant moments, as when the two opponents (Leung and Fat) dive through bombed-out cars to escape the gunfire. The camera follows all the action in close quarters, and in slo-mo. It's incredible.

Heat is amazing, as are several battles in Hard-Boiled. But both have such different styles, it's hard to compare them.

A recent Hong Kong release, "2000 AD", has the best HK gunfights in a long time. It's closer in style to Heat than any John Woo scene, though. ie, realistic and hard-hitting with no slow-mo. No music, just gunshots.

its really hard to compare fight scenes, one should ask "best gunfight" or "best actual fight" than best fight which is too ambiguous, plus it opens up comparisions of say Heat to Iron Monkey, and that doesn't really work.

Either of the endings from Enemy of the State and True Romance.

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"I've done some...questionable things, but nothing the God of biomechanics wouldn't let you into heaven for."

- Blade Runner

1. End gunfight in Hard Boiled
2. Gunfight in MI2 at Biocyte
3. Heat
4. Gunfight at the Airport in Face/Off
5. T2-Where Ahnuld blows up about every LAPD cop car


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Snootchie Bootchies!

-Bob

[This message has been edited by Silent_ Bob (edited January 14, 2001).]

Way of the Gun: every action sequence superbly choreographed.

Reservoir Dogs: Particularly Mr. Pinks getaway, the most unexpectedly violent sequence I've seen since...

Saving Private Ryan: Dale Dye and his Warriors Inc. has set the standard for accurate combat sequences in the movies. He's also done Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July.

Tombstone(Russell/Kilmer); gunfight at the OK Corral

1. Saving Private Ryan
1. Heat
2. Terminator
3 Tombstone
4. Resevoir Dogs

It is a toss up for me between SPR and Heat.

[This message has been edited by Hamilton777 (edited January 13, 2001).]

I agree with ipkevin about 2000 AD. There is a gunfight about half way in, with a sniper. It is violent, realistic, and just plain awesome. Nothing else in the movie comes close, but it still is a great movie.

All of the above choices are great, but I would like to add a small gunfight, that has only a few shots fired, in real time would only last about 3 or 4 seconds, but it is all in slow-mo, and last about a minute or so..It is the shoot-out in Bound. Dang that is a good scene...gets a lot of points for build-up, and style.

there are a hanful of really nice gunfights in THE WAY OF THE GUN....which just dropped on DVD and Video....it's a kick-ass flick as far as action goes....

Heat
The Mission
Hardboiled

Noting the topic of this thread, I am very surprised there haven't been more mentions of westerns, old or new.

The Man with No Name Trilogy
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Fastest Gun Alive
Five Card Stud
Once Upon a Time in the West
Nevada Smith
Unforgiven (1992)
The Shootist
Silverado
Johnny Concho



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Here's the thing. If you can't spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker.

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the airport shootout from Face/Off.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Frank TJ Mackey:
there are a hanful of really nice gunfights in THE WAY OF THE GUN....which just dropped on DVD and Video....it's a kick-ass flick as far as action goes....<HR>

I had an oppurtunity to talk to the producer of Way of the Gun back when it came out and he hoped his film wouldn't be percieved as an action movie, because he felt it wasn't an action movie.

Just funny, I would also disagree with his assertion that the film was good.

Anyway, Hardboiled (both the warehouse and hospital), Face/Off (name it), Tombstone (OK Corral) and Heat. IMO

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Ding:
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the airport shootout from Face/Off.<HR>

I mentioned it!



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Snootchie Bootchies!

-Bob

Maul vs. Qui Gon w/ Obi Wan in Episode 1, most of the stuff in Bullet in the Head, and the huge battles in Ran

The Matrix

Agent Smith vs. Neo in the Subway station.

And in the lobby of the Skyscraper with Neo and Trinity.


AZ_MAN

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"It's important to have a job that makes a difference, boys, that's why I manually masturbate caged animals for artificial insemination."

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Phyre:
Maul vs. Qui Gon w/ Obi Wan in Episode 1, most of the stuff in Bullet in the Head, and the huge battles in Ran<HR>

The Maul vs. Qui and Obi isnt a gunfight!


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Snootchie Bootchies!

-Bob

I think John Woo probably has the best gunfight title secure.

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Regards...
Drinker of much Pepsi, trainer of Dingo's and Jack's Aussie Moonshine importer...
John 3:16

ugh i made two posts in this topic with only glances at the title, thought it said best fight. my apologies. just for my 2 cents i think that anyone who says the fights in the matrix are the best gunfights hasn't seen enought movies

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Phyre:
ugh i made two posts in this topic with only glances at the title, thought it said best fight. my apologies. just for my 2 cents i think that anyone who says the fights in the matrix are the best gunfights hasn't seen enought movies<HR>

I agree!


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Snootchie Bootchies!

-Bob

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Zoomer:
Noting the topic of this thread, I am very surprised there haven't been more mentions of westerns, old or new.

The Man with No Name Trilogy
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Fastest Gun Alive
Five Card Stud
Once Upon a Time in the West
Nevada Smith
Unforgiven (1992)
The Shootist
Silverado
Johnny Concho

<HR>

Definitely, Clint Eastwood and John Wayne need to be represented here. Western gunfights are better than the crap that Hollywood churns out these days.

The Killer has not one, but two of the greatest gun battles in cinema history.

I wouldn't sya the Martix is the best, just pretty cool.



AZ_MAN

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"It's important to have a job that makes a difference, boys, that's why I manually masturbate caged animals for artificial insemination."