# Name some movies with realistic fight scenes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381 "2010-04-16T18:47:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/1 "2010-04-16T18:47:19Z")
This was inspired by the thread discussing the recent movie Kick Ass. It seems that fight scenes in movies are getting more and more exaggerated these days, when even an “ordinary” person can withstand things that would kill IRL (example: the latest _Sherlock Holmes_ movie directed by Guy Ritchie). With that being said, what action movies can you name where the fight scenes are 100% realistic? Since I’ve never taken martial arts or trained in the military I’m not an expert on the subject, but one that seemed believable to me was the 1995 _Rob Roy_ directed by Michael Caton-Jones, with Liam Neeson as Rob Roy and Tim Roth as his nemesis Archibald. Besides that, I’m drawing a blank. Maybe the 1984 _Karate Kid_? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/2 "2010-04-16T19:02:10Z")
[Deadwood Fight eps 5 seas 3](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeS6y6mbUzY) is as close to real as I have ever seen. Not a movie, per se. Better. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/3 "2010-04-16T19:04:50Z")
I was going to mention _Deadwood_. Since that’s already come up, the swordfight at the end of _Twilight Samurai_ is fantastic. Very realistic. (Great movie, too.) ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/4 "2010-04-16T19:09:00Z")
[The Long Big Punch Up](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da3Xun-yGCQ) ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/5 "2010-04-16T19:25:06Z")
I like the high school hallway fight scene in History of Violence. It plays out like a fight would - two quick hits, then pasting a guy on the ground. Nothing fancy. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/6 "2010-04-16T19:41:10Z")
**Trainspotting**. A quick bloody brawl started by a sucker punch. ---
**Author:** ![Lethal\_Babydoll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3be4f8/32.png) [@Lethal\_Babydoll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lethal_Babydoll)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/7 "2010-04-16T20:26:15Z")
**Borat** ’s naked fight. i was in a butt-load of fights in my younger days and everyone ended as a wrestling match. films tend to miss that. it’s throw and few punches or kicks and then it’s grab and start wrestling. BTW: be the first to get a choke hold. that’s the only way to win a real fight ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/8 "2010-04-16T20:55:53Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > [Deadwood Fight eps 5 seas 3](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeS6y6mbUzY) is as close to real as I have ever seen. I’m going to have to wait until I get home to visit youtube, especially because this link starts off with a fat half-naked man covering himself with grease and I just had lunch. I’ll have to remember that if I’m ever in a bar fight: step 1, ask for a timeout so that I can cover mysef with olive oil. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/9 "2010-04-16T22:03:51Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > [Deadwood Fight eps 5 seas 3](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeS6y6mbUzY) is as close to real as I have ever seen. Not a movie, per se. Better. While this is realistic in that it goes to the ground almost immediately, it goes on WAY too long. Most real-life fights are very short. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/10 "2010-04-16T22:14:46Z")
> [@mozchron](#): > > While this is realistic in that it goes to the ground almost immediately, it goes on WAY too long. Most real-life fights are very short. Sorta like this one: [one punch ko](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EZoygdWKS0) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/11 "2010-04-16T22:24:09Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Sorta like this one: [one punch ko](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EZoygdWKS0) That’s a scene from a movie; “Never Back Down,” or something like that, that was circulated over Youtube as viral advertising. Don’t bother watching the movie. > [@mozchron](#): > > While this is realistic in that it goes to the ground almost immediately, it goes on WAY too long. Most real-life fights are very short. You’ve been watching different fights than I have. Most fights I’ve seen have ended due to exhaustion on both sides, or getting broken up after everyone has gotten bored of watching. I would say the one-punch KO ending is extremely rare unless one person is very outmatched. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/12 "2010-04-16T22:43:20Z")
The fight scene in _Raging Bull_ where Joe Pesci attacks Frank Vincent, with both of them spilling out into the street is pretty realistic. So is the half-anger/half-fear fight in the bar in _Mean Streets_ as Richard Romanus and his crew of low-grade mafiosos (with De Niro tagging along and causing no end of trouble). Movie knife fights bug me. Nobody ever seems afraid of getting sliced open, and the wounds usually end up being stabbing, which is completely unrealistic. The two knife fight scenes that stick in my head as accurately depicting the reality of edged weapon combat is the bloody bathhouse scene from _Eastern Promises_ (not for the faint of heart) and the hotel room fight from _Quantum of Solace_, with Bond and a henchman going at it with knives, shoes, picture frames, anything at hand for about thirty seconds, just trying to stay alive, until Bond gets in on the inside and stabs the guy in the neck and then the femoral artery. Bond gets carved up pretty well despite clearly being more skilled and better trained, which is realistic. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/13 "2010-04-16T23:47:26Z")
The fight between Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver in Bridget Jones’s Diary. Just a couple of regular guys that have no special moves or training, fighting it out, being stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/14 "2010-04-17T00:22:15Z")
Rickson Gracie was an advisor on one of the Lethal Weapon movies-- I think the first one-- and during the final fight scene, Mel Gibson triangle chokes the bad guy. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/15 "2010-04-17T00:37:25Z")
As I remember it, one of the fights in _Rashomon_ is distinctly different from the others. In the first three tellings, the fight is very cinematic; lots of bravado and samurai fu. When we see it from the woodcutter’s point of view, it’s desperate; grappling, rolling on the ground, and the bandit and samurai both gasping for breath. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/16 "2010-04-17T01:22:06Z")
IIRC, the sabre duel in _The Duelists_ is supposed to be pretty accurate, at least in the brutality. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/17 "2010-04-17T03:23:01Z")
The fight scenes in _The Three Musketeers_ (the 1973 version) were good. They were fighting with their swords but they would also throw things and kick at each other - which is probably a more accurate reflection of how an actual swordfight worked. If you’re looking for a battle scene, one of the best ones I ever saw was in _The Four Feathers_ (the 1977 version). There’s a scene were a British army camp is attacked by a native army. The British form a line, then a square, and then get picked off one by one. A very believable depictation of a unit being overwhelmed. ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Kapowzler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Super\_Kapowzler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Kapowzler)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/18 "2010-04-17T03:34:24Z")
Was it They Live? John Carpenter. With Rowdy Randy Piper and Keith David, about the sunglasses in the alley. That shit was so real they had to stop filming and shit. True story. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/19 "2010-04-17T03:39:30Z")
I have no evidence of this, of course, because I wasn’t around hundreds of years ago, but I’m fairly certain that in a real sword fight there’d only be one or two parries at most before the fight is over, not this endless fencing that you see in most sword movies. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/20 "2010-04-17T06:28:24Z")
In _Treasure of the Sierra Madre_, the fight in the bar with Dobbs and Curtin against McCormick. No fancy moves or expertly-thrown punches, but a lot of grappling and stumbling around. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381.md?page=2)