Greatest Movie Sword Fights

[Grov]

My top would be the finale to Rob Roy.  I've always enjoyed the sword fight scene from Crouching Tiger/Hidden Tiger in Michelle Yoeh's dojo.  Despite her skill, none of her weapons could stand up to the Green Destiny.

[BLAKDUKE]

I don't know that I could agree with "thousands of great swordfights"  maybe "hundreds of good swordfights", but only a few of them could be considered, great.  I.E.  Captain Blood, good, not great, Sea Hawk, good, not great, Adventures of Robin Hood, great although a bit contrived, you do not wield a broadsword like a rapier.  The newest Musketeer with all of the kung-fu stunts that a musketeer of the period could NEVER do, good up to a point, but will never be great.  Cyrano DeBergerac(1950), - Great, Princess Bride, Great - Mark of Zorro(1940), Great, - Mask of Zorro/Legend of Zorro borderline great, - Scaramouche, Great beyond any expectation The longest continuous duel on film, Star Wars III not withstanding, it was not continuous, they flashed back and forth with other scenes.   You know in retrospect I do not think this items listed here will ever be agreed upon by everyone, because each of us has his/her own criteria as to what makes a good swordfight, and with that I think maybe the best we could do is come up with the best 25/50 and list them in alpha order.
One last one that I don't think was made mention by anyone, At Swords Point with Cornell Wilde, IMHO it comes close to borderline.

[Phillip McGuinness]

I'd also add all of the duels from, the aptly named, the Duellists.  Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine.  Multiple times.

Oh, I'm glad to see someone beat me to that one. The Duellists is great because the duels are far closer to the realistic end of the spectrum than the theatrical end of the spectrum.

For the same reason, I'm a big fan if the first fight between Dantes and Mondego in the most recent version of Count of Monte Cristo. James Caviezel does an excellent job of fencing like someone who barely knows how to fence...his parries are way out there!

[Whistler Fred]

And, just for its total insanity factor, the swordfight between King Arthur and the Black Knight ("Just a flesh wound") from Monty Python & the Holy Grail.

[DuCoeur]

And the Debate Rages on...

I agree with soooo many of those mentioned above.

The Errol Flynn sword fights, especially in Capt, Blood and the Sea Hawk are awesome, if a little campy by todays Standards.  But that is because it was actual Fencing.

The Duelist was a Great Movie, one of Ridley Scotts very First Films.  It was Choreographed, By the way, by the same guy who did Richard Lesters 3 Musketeers, Dangerous Beauty, Rob Roy And the Count of Monte Christo.  He has also done hundreds of other films.

His name escapes me at the moment.  Any Help??  He may have even done Princess Bride.  Or was that Bob Anderson???

Thanks also for mentioning Cornell Wilde, in At Swords Point.  Great Film. 
That is what I love about this thread because it also brings up films I have not seen.   
Keep them Coming!!!

[Phillip McGuinness]

The Duelist was a Great Movie, one of Ridley Scotts very First Films.  It was Choreographed, By the way, by the same guy who did Richard Lesters 3 Musketeers, Dangerous Beauty, Rob Roy And the Count of Monte Christo.  He has also done hundreds of other films.

His name escapes me at the moment.  Any Help??  He may have even done Princess Bride.  Or was that Bob Anderson???

Princess Bride was Bob Anderson. Don't know the name you're looking for, and I hadn't even realized all those movies were the same choreographer! Cool beans.

[Morgan Dreadlocke]

Woody Strode and Kirk Douglas going at it in "Spartacus".

James Mason and Robert Wagner in "Prince Valiant". Best mangled shields and notched blade fight ever!

Michael Dudikoff vs anybody in "American Ninja".


Your mileage will vary

[Element of Air]

So the best sword fights that I have seen are in the foreign movies such as Hero starring Jet Li in China. The movie is all fighting and is the best work of art I have ever seen! I highly recommend it!

The other would be Shinobi. Also all of it is sword fighting. This is on the same level of Hero and I hope that everyone watches these two movies.

They are beautiful pieces of art, the fights as well as the imagery. It is all breath-taking.

[escherblacksmith]

American Ninja?



quite.

one must also put in the seven samurai as well.  and maybe Yojimbo.

[SirRichardBear]

I'll add my favorites, one is most likely the shortness sword fight on film.

Seven Samurai the duel were we meet Kyuzo the perfect example of the Japanese ideal of one killing cut.  

Gene Kelly in Three Musketeers not very accurate but a lot of fun

Finale duel between Robert Taylor and George Sanders in Ivanhoe

[Dragonlord]

Kill Bill Vol. 2
Uma Thurman Vs. Daryl Hannah
Nothing like a good sword fight in a cramped trailer. 

[maelstrom0370]

Kill Bill Vol. 2
Uma Thurman Vs. Daryl Hannah
Nothing like a good sword fight in a cramped trailer. 

It's all fun and games til someone losses an eye! 
^{/yes...I spelled it that way on purpose} 

[DuCoeur]

If we are to include eastern and other foreign films, I agree with Seven Samurai, and anything with Toshiro Mifune.

Back to the West...Gerard Depardieu in Cyrano Debergerac is excellent.

And then a rare movie Called En Garde...Awesome.

[lys1022]

I really like the melee belowdecks in "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" with Russell Crowe.  It's an excellent example of what a shipboard fight actually WOULD be like, with the cramped quarters and brutality of fighting to survive.

I also like the swordfight between Catherine McCormack and Oliver Platt in "Dangerous Beauty".

And just for fun, I enjoy nearly every fight in the Disney version of "The Three Musketeers" (again, especially Oliver Platt's stuff!).  Now, they're not masterpieces of period-correct swordplay, but they do what a theatrical swordfight is supposed to do:  they're flashy and they make the people playing the parts look like they know what they're doing.  They give an excellent sense of the characters actually being in danger, and being dangerous.

[BLAKDUKE]

James Mason and Robert Wagner in "Prince Valiant". Best mangled shields and notched blade fight ever!

Thanks for mentioning this one.

I have been trying for years to get in touch with Robert Wagner via snail-mail, e-mail, finding out if he is doing any personnal appearances near me, to ask him what were those swords made out of.  I made a sword for knightings at the renn faires that I perform in and copied the sword that James Mason had, it's close but not exact.  I made it out of  aluminium and it stills weighs more that I would like to try and wield about.  Maybe someday I will have the answer.  Both of those blades were awesome, the width of the blades was absolutely incredible.