Gonna go a different direction here and say The Battle of Endor from Return of the Jedi. What I love about it is the way it flawlessly ties together the space battle between fighters and large cruisers, and the land battle taking place on the planet below. The space battle's success is contingent upon the land forces actions and those in the fighters are unaware of the chaos taking place on the ground.
The viewer bounces back and forth with advances and setbacks in both theatres of the battle and the drama builds until there is a definite turning of the tide. Great storytelling.
Two of my others were epic war movies. One was an even more unconventional one I doubt anyone would pick: the hotel room battle in True Romance. It's actually more aptly characterized as a gunfight so I figured someone would throw a flag on that.
It features Christian Slater, two drug dealer bodyguards with Uzis, four cops with pistols, and four mafia hitmen with shotguns all blasting away at one another. It's a crazy chaotic scene made all the more intense by the close proximity of the setting.
My vote is for a non-conventional battle from a not-terrific movie that manages to be redeemed by one of the most powerful, creative battle scenes of all time (stolen from the original literature, of course): wild griffins, a phoenix, centaurs and fauns, with majestic, furious cats racing ahead of the horses and unicorn to make first contact with the enemy...this scene never fails to move me. Sooo...the battle in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, final answer.
Just to annoy LC, I'll get the best choice in before her, the final battle in The Seven Samurai. One of the many things I appreciate about it, is the preplanning with maps, so you know what is exactly going on throughout the battle.
And heroes did, along with villain. It was well done in The Magnificent Seven as well, but the original is better.
Looks like we have a tie between The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe versus Braveheart. According to MFC rules the winner will be decided by the member who posted the question.
Ugh. There are just way too many to pick just one! I have gone around and around on three of my top choices and I think my indecisiveness comes down to the disparity between the negative aspects of battles/war and the characteristics that usually define “best”? I mean, it’s hard to think of the ugliness of battle in the same light as “most entertaining” or “most cinematic” even though that IS possible.
To break the three way tie, I finally decided to go with a movie that depicted the true story of anti-killing combat medic, Desmond T. Doss, at the Battle of Okinawa. The battle scenes of Hacksaw Ridge were filmed so well and so realistically they left nothing to the imagination. The goal of the film maker was clear- the audience was meant to witness every bit of the horrors that took place in that battle as if they were actually there. A goal so well accomplished, I was a bit traumatized for a few days after watching it. I have yet to be able to watch that movie a second time even though the story and the excellence that went into producing it continues to draw me like a moth to a flame.
The Patriot, Dunkirk, 1917, Saving Private Ryan, Flags of Our Fathers, Open Range, Gladiator, Braveheart, Lawrence of Arabia, Gods and Generals, Glory, The Last Samurai...
There are some scenes from The Last of The Mohicans I find riveting. Modern takes of a battle would include The Matrix.
Can it even be called a battle when it's mano a mano??? Because I can think of some incredible duo confrontations.
What about plots and chases? Godfather, Dirty Harry, The Dark Knight, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Heat comes to mind.
Unconventional? Caddyshack, Jaws, Rambo.
I guess what I'm trying to say, along with trying to impress you by throwing out movie titles, is this is hard to narrow down.
Ultimately, I am going with House of Flying Daggers. Each and every confrontation, skirmish or battle is incredibly fresh and artful.
Gonna go a different direction here and say The Battle of Endor from Return of the Jedi. What I love about it is the way it flawlessly ties together the space battle between fighters and large cruisers, and the land battle taking place on the planet below. The space battle's success is contingent upon the land forces actions and those in the fighters are unaware of the chaos taking place on the ground.
The viewer bounces back and forth with advances and setbacks in both theatres of the battle and the drama builds until there is a definite turning of the tide. Great storytelling.
The ewoks! 😁
We (David and I) discussed certain battles in the trilogy and I briefly considered Return of the Jedi too. That’s a good one!
I’m actually surprised you didn’t pick a war movie though. I won’t say what I thought you’d pick because no one else has chosen those yet.
Two of my others were epic war movies. One was an even more unconventional one I doubt anyone would pick: the hotel room battle in True Romance. It's actually more aptly characterized as a gunfight so I figured someone would throw a flag on that.
It features Christian Slater, two drug dealer bodyguards with Uzis, four cops with pistols, and four mafia hitmen with shotguns all blasting away at one another. It's a crazy chaotic scene made all the more intense by the close proximity of the setting.
I know the scene well. Yeah, I would’ve thrown the flag 😁
My vote is for a non-conventional battle from a not-terrific movie that manages to be redeemed by one of the most powerful, creative battle scenes of all time (stolen from the original literature, of course): wild griffins, a phoenix, centaurs and fauns, with majestic, furious cats racing ahead of the horses and unicorn to make first contact with the enemy...this scene never fails to move me. Sooo...the battle in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, final answer.
The griffins 😍
I know! 🤩👏🏻
Good one! 🙌🏻
Just to annoy LC, I'll get the best choice in before her, the final battle in The Seven Samurai. One of the many things I appreciate about it, is the preplanning with maps, so you know what is exactly going on throughout the battle.
And heroes did, along with villain. It was well done in The Magnificent Seven as well, but the original is better.
Looks like we have a tie between The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe versus Braveheart. According to MFC rules the winner will be decided by the member who posted the question.
Please stand by.
Sooo…if I give it to Katie, do I still get credit for a hat trick?
Nevermind. Katie wins. 😁👏🏻
Ugh. There are just way too many to pick just one! I have gone around and around on three of my top choices and I think my indecisiveness comes down to the disparity between the negative aspects of battles/war and the characteristics that usually define “best”? I mean, it’s hard to think of the ugliness of battle in the same light as “most entertaining” or “most cinematic” even though that IS possible.
To break the three way tie, I finally decided to go with a movie that depicted the true story of anti-killing combat medic, Desmond T. Doss, at the Battle of Okinawa. The battle scenes of Hacksaw Ridge were filmed so well and so realistically they left nothing to the imagination. The goal of the film maker was clear- the audience was meant to witness every bit of the horrors that took place in that battle as if they were actually there. A goal so well accomplished, I was a bit traumatized for a few days after watching it. I have yet to be able to watch that movie a second time even though the story and the excellence that went into producing it continues to draw me like a moth to a flame.
Hacksaw Ridge. Final answer.
Been debating between a few myself.
I actually thought to myself-- ooh this one is probably going to be a hard choice for Vince. 😄
I’m really curious to see which one you’ll pick!
Henry V!
The Patriot, Dunkirk, 1917, Saving Private Ryan, Flags of Our Fathers, Open Range, Gladiator, Braveheart, Lawrence of Arabia, Gods and Generals, Glory, The Last Samurai...
There are some scenes from The Last of The Mohicans I find riveting. Modern takes of a battle would include The Matrix.
Can it even be called a battle when it's mano a mano??? Because I can think of some incredible duo confrontations.
What about plots and chases? Godfather, Dirty Harry, The Dark Knight, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Heat comes to mind.
Unconventional? Caddyshack, Jaws, Rambo.
I guess what I'm trying to say, along with trying to impress you by throwing out movie titles, is this is hard to narrow down.
Ultimately, I am going with House of Flying Daggers. Each and every confrontation, skirmish or battle is incredibly fresh and artful.
Dang, I've seen and therefore would have voted for every one of those but the one you chose. 😆
Why am I not surprised :D
Always a favorite 👍🏻🤍