Let’s get this out of the way: Hollywood sword fights are like professional wrestling matches. Both are heavily choreographed, and have little semblance to their real-life counterparts. It is glorified stunt work, but when done right, both can be extremely glorious!
The best fights are the ones that are the first thing that pop into your mind when you think about its movie. You can forgive a movie for its nonsensical plot, if it has a great sword fight scene. Maybe. This is not a list of best films with a sword fight scene. We are specifically referring to the fight scenes themselves. We are just listing the movie’s title just for the sake of simplicity.
Okay, you know the drill. The format is the movie followed by the year.
The Top Ten cinematic sword fight scenes
Keith’s List
- 10. Equilibrium (2002)
- 9. Ninja Assassin (2009)
- 8. Kill Bill Vol 1 (2003)
- 7. Matrix Reloaded (2003)
- 6. The Return of King (2003)
- 5. Die Another Day (2002)
- 4. The Last Samurai (2003)
- 3. The Princess Bride (1987)
- 2. The Phantom Menace (1999)
- 1. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Honorable Mentions: Highlander (1986); Conan the Barbarian (1982); Gladiator (2000); Attack of the Clones (2002); The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
My List
- 10. Kill Bill Vol 1 (2003)
- 9. Mark of Zorro (1940)
- 8. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
- 7. Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
- 6. The Duelists (1977)
- 5. Scaramouche (1952)
- 4. Rob Roy (1995)
- 3. Highlander (1986)
- 2. The Princess Bride (1987)
- 1. The Phantom Menace (1999)
Honorable Mentions: Adventures of Don Juan (1948); Captain Blood (1935); Equilibrium (2002); The Fellowship of Ring (2001); Hero (2002); Matrix Reloaded (2003); Seven Samurai (1954); Troy (2004)
Next Podcast Unlimited List: Top Ten Commodore 64 (C64) games*
*One of us will have a list longer than ten. Guess how long this rabbit hole will be? 😉
I, Omnibus 