Only one opinion, but The Princess Bride comes out on top according to this list (and I'm sure there are plenty on here who would share that opinion).
http://cinemaroll.com/cinemarolling/top-five-fencing-scenes-in-film/
There actually used to be a list of best movie sword fights on IMDB once upon a time (no pun intended). I'll add that while *Scaramouche* isn't well-remembered as a film anymore (despite being Janet Leigh's debut, I believe) it has a very exciting and interesting swordfight scene which is easily in the top three in movie history.
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I agree, this movie has the best sword-fighting scenes.
shareYou all should look up Bob Anderson (fencer) on Wikipedia. The fencing coach who worked on this movie, the Star Wars movies, Lord of the Rings movies, Mask of Zorro, Pirates of the Caribbean, he worked with Errol Flynn in Master of Ballantrae in 1953 and The Hobbit just this past year. I mean we're talking probably the best choreographer of our generation for sword fighting films. 3 Musketeers, Highlander. The list doesn't seem to ever stop. Except sadly, he passed away January 1.
shareShoot! I've thought for a long time the only 'fencing' scene to rival "Princess Bride" was the light-sabre duel from "Phantom Menace"... and you're telling me they were choreographed by the same coordinator?
I never thought to look this up... but I can dig it.
"Nothing's clean, Howard. But we do our best, right?"
I read the story on cinemaroll.com, and was surprised they didn't include the climactic duel
between Rob Roy MacGregor and Cunningham in Rob Roy (1995). Granted, I can't really judge
because I've seen only two of the five movies they do cite, but the swordplay in RR was superb.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEtPluUi0_U
Without a doubt it is this scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRTl8FeB5Mg.
Sometimes, the best answer is a more interesting question.share
I don't know much about sword fighting, but I really enjoyed the duel between Prince Valiant and the Black Knight. But those shields sounded a lot like garbage can lids and were getting pretty banged up. Weren't shields made of stronger stuff in those days?
shareThe Princess Bride is my favorite... but this scene from Rob Roy is a close second....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEtPluUi0_U
Yes, it's one of the best. The Avengers with Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman had a cool fencing scene.
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I never thought it was that great. Although easily the best action scene this movie offers, the element of danger is completely absent throughout the duel. I blame it on the fact that the film was intended to entertain a very young audience in the first place. On the other hand, if you watch the scene for the sheer fun, the fight is easily topped by the lengthy duel in "The Court Jester".
Here is my personal top ten list:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114287/board/thread/167227091
When I think of great sword fights, there are three that come immediately to mind (in no particular order):
1) The Princess Bride, of course.
2) Rob Roy, the Rob Roy vs. Cunningham duel
3) Anakin vs. Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith
I might rank Rob Roy as the best simply for its realistic brutality. It felt ugly and dangerous and really sold the idea that these two men were out to kill each other. The fact that both characters had their physical limits and were quickly exhausted by their exertions adds another layer that is often not seen in cinema sword fights where the combatants have apparently infinite stamina.
The Princess Bride is great because of the obvious skill of the performers, and the director had the good sense to actually let us watch them perform instead of trying to make everything seem more exciting with close-ups and fast cuts.
Revenge of the Sith is awesome because of its blinding speed and, again, a director who had the good sense to actually let us see the actors perform instead of obscuring everything with quick-cuts and handheld shaky-cam.
Revenge of the Sith is awesome because of its blinding speed and, again, a director who had the good sense to actually let us see the actors perform instead of obscuring everything with quick-cuts and handheld shaky-cam.
Definitly Princess Bride.
Robin Hood and all Basil Rathbone/Errol Flynn movies
the Three Musketeers with Gene kelly.
I actually heard that Basil Rathbone was a pretty skilled fencer, much more than Errol was, yet in all the movies he had to lose, since he was the bad guy.