# Most epic one-on-one fights in movie history? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 9, 2004, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257 "2004-03-09T05:20:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sqube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Sqube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sqube)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/1 "2004-03-09T05:20:46Z")
I was just looking for a compendium, if you will, of some of the most amazing fights between two people to happen in the history of cinema. I mean the type of fight that would win Torque movie of the year awards. The type of fight that would have had the most macho man leaving Titanic in tears. The type of fight that would make me want to watch Bob Dole and Leslie Nielsen mud wrestle… well, maybe not that last one. But seriously… seen any good fights? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/2 "2004-03-09T05:29:35Z")
The fight between John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara’s brother (well, her character’s brother) in **The Quiet Man** is the first that comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/3 "2004-03-09T05:32:34Z")
Probably not the type of answer you were expecting, but the fight scene at the end of [The Quiet Man](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0045061/) between John Wayne and Victor McLaglen is a classic. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/4 "2004-03-09T05:33:39Z")
Unbelievable! ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/5 "2004-03-09T05:36:44Z")
Inigo and Westly! Someone had to say it! Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/6 "2004-03-09T05:37:10Z")
Jackie Chan vs. Ken Lo, _Drunken Master II_. Best. Fight scene. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Lipid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/43a26b/32.png) [@Lipid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lipid)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/7 "2004-03-09T05:42:51Z")
Rocky vs Ivan Drago (the Russian) “and ROCKY BALBOA PICKS HIM UP!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Beauty\_Personified](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Beauty\_Personified](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beauty_Personified)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/8 "2004-03-09T06:15:12Z")
Yoda (Frank Oz) vs. Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) in _Attack of the Clones_! About the only great thing to come out of the Star Wars prequels so far. (Who knew Oz could fight so well?) Jerry Mitchell (Casey Siemaszko) vs. Buddy Revell (John Mellencamp look-alike Richard Tyson) in _Three O’Clock High_ (1987). Anybody else remember that film? And that fight? Alabama Whitman (Patricia Arquette) vs. Virgil (James Gandolfini) in _True Romance_. One of the most brutal beatings I’ve ever seen anyone, man or woman, take. (And, no, I’m not a misogynist. I just enjoy a good, bloody film fight where the participants don’t come out of it just dusting off their clothes.) Geez, I’m a total blank tonight… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/9 "2004-03-09T06:27:34Z")
Liam Neeson v. Tim Roth in _Rob Roy_ Roddy Piper v. Keith David in _They Live_ Rufus Sewell v. the head evil guy in _Dark City_ Edward Norton v. himself in _Fight Club_ ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/10 "2004-03-09T07:19:35Z")
Chen Zen vs. Gen. Fujita in _Fist of Legend_ James Bond vs. Red Grant in _From Russia With Love_ Yu Shu Lien vs. Jen Yu in _Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_ Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed in _Rocky_ Tommy Lee Jones vs. Benicio del Toro in _The Hunted_ T-800 vs. T-1000 in _Terminator 2_ Ripley vs. the Queen in _Aliens_ Neo vs. Agent Smith in _The Matrix_ ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/11 "2004-03-09T07:23:46Z")
You might be interested in finding a copy of [this](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0324355/) to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/12 "2004-03-09T07:41:32Z")
I dunno that it’s _epic_, but I always get a kick out of the sledgehammer fight between Michael Paré and Willem Dafoe in **Streets of Fire**. That shit’s _gotta_ hurt. My intial thought was also the eleven minute (or something like that) knock down drag out from **They Live**. Bruce Lee, against first Oharra and then Han, in **Enter the Dragon**. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/13 "2004-03-09T08:14:51Z")
What, nobody’s mentioned any of the Original Trilogy _Star Wars_ fights? Obi-wan vs. Vader? Either of the Luke vs. Vader fights? But I am glad to see that Inigo vs. Wesley and Ripley vs. the Queen have already been nominated. And on a slightly different note, there’s always Indiana Jones vs. the guy with the two swords. Classic. Or Arthur vs. the Black Knight, in _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/14 "2004-03-09T09:08:48Z")
Arnie vs The Predator Conner Macleod vs The Kurgan in _Highlander_ ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/15 "2004-03-09T09:12:03Z")
The fight between Jet Li as Wong Fei Hong and…er, whatshisname…at the end of **Once Upon a Time in China** , with the ladders and the bales and general wire-fu goodness. The final clash in **Versus** for sheer goofy fun of sword fighting like mad, to spectacularly badly-aimed point-blank gun-fu, back to swords again. **They Live** firmly supported. The final psychic duel in **Scanners**. Brothers should be close, don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/16 "2004-03-09T10:52:00Z")
mmm, first thing I thought of was Keith David and Roddy Piper in **They LIve**. Its also the best fight over a pair of sunglasses ever commited to celluloid too. 😃 I’d peg Obi Wan vs Darth Maul in Ep I as the best of the one on one Star Wars battles. ---
**Author:** ![3Much](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/4af34b/32.png) [@3Much](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3Much)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/17 "2004-03-09T11:11:05Z")
**Idle Hands** when the kid fights his own hand. Yeah, he cuts it off, but I give extra credit points to the hand for grabbing Jessica Alba’s fine young posterior. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/18 "2004-03-09T11:18:31Z")
> [@TOTBP](#): > > Yoda (Frank Oz) vs. Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) in _Attack of the Clones_! About the only great thing to come out of the Star Wars prequels so far. (Who knew Oz could fight so well?) I thought that wasn’t very good. I always thought that Yoda was one of those beings that was so powerful he didn’t need to fight – he’s 900 years old in ESB so in the prequels he’s 880, he didn’t learn all his “wars not make one great” stuff in the last 20 years of his really long life. I thought the 3 jedi saber fight in episode 1 was the only good thing to come out of the prequels. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/19 "2004-03-09T11:19:45Z")
Actually, 1 on 1? Legolas versus the Mumluk. The cinema I was in cheered when he slid down the trunk: the only time I’ve ever seen a cinema crowd do that! ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257/20 "2004-03-09T11:39:21Z")
James Bond (Sean Connery) vs. ‘Oddjob’ (Harold Sakata) in _Goldfinger._ Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) vs. Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) in _On the Waterfront_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-epic-one-on-one-fights-in-movie-history/233257.md?page=2)