# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/21 "2010-04-17T06:35:34Z")
Seven Samurai seemed to have realistic fight scenes. I’ve never lived in feudal Japan though. Never studied samurai fighting techniques either. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/22 "2010-04-17T06:56:45Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > 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. Yep, it was Riggs (Mel Gibson) vs. Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey) at the end of the first movie. Right before the triangle, Riggs also [tries for an armbar](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnSHQHXvaTU#t=2m50s) and doesn’t get it, which is pretty cool. **Ranchoth** beat me to mentioning _The Duellists_. I’ve never witnessed a real swordfight, but the ones in that film seem fairly realistic. Some are over very quickly, and one drags on so long that both combatants are exhausted. The cinematography, incidentally, is beautiful. It’s slow-paced but very well made. ---
**Author:** ![vdgg81](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3d9bf3/32.png) [@vdgg81](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vdgg81)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/23 "2010-04-17T07:34:44Z")
That _Lethal Weapon_ clip was indeed pretty cool. I’ve seen UFC fights that were very similar to that. I’ve seen a few real life (non-professional) fights and they varied a lot. I’ve seen a one punch knock-out once, I’ve seen very long fights and very short ones and examples of both that ended up in wrestling matches and examples that didn’t. In my experience knock-outs of any kind are rare but otherwise so much can happen depending on the parties involved that it’s difficult to generalize. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/24 "2010-04-17T13:18:14Z")
_The Glass Key_ (1942). Alan Ladd vs. three or four guys twice his size (I know, _everyone_ was twice his size). Riveting and believable. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/25 "2010-04-17T13:41:17Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > _The Glass Key_ (1942). Alan Ladd vs. three or four guys twice his size (I know, _everyone_ was twice his size). Riveting and believable. In its day, this fight in [Shane](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZLnWysp1DM) was touted as being as realistic as any that had come before. But when viewed these days, it’s obvious that the trend just started there and has been improved on a lot. (The music is an added element that wasn’t in the movie.) ---
**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, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/26 "2010-04-17T14:28:36Z")
> [@](#): > > 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. I was thinking the opposite. The idea of somebody winning a swordfight with one or two well-aimed blows through his opponent’s heart (while tossing off a witty quip) seems more like something out of the movies to me. In a real fight, I expect two swordsmen hacked away at each other, cutting at arms and legs, until one of them was bleeding too much to continue fighting and the winner was in only marginally better shape. Although I suppose there were plenty of one blow “fights” - I imagine in a real battle, plenty of sword fighters were looking for an opponent who was facing in another direction, who they could easily stab in the back. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/27 "2010-04-17T14:48:29Z")
I’ve been told _The Way of the Gun_ has realistic gun fights, as I’ve never been in one before I’ll have to take their word for it. Just don’t watch it for the acting or the plot. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/28 "2010-04-17T15:03:33Z")
Got another vote for Roddy Piper and Kieth David alley fight in _They Live_. More wrestling than actually punching and pretty brief before they give up panting. I don’t know about absolute realism but one of my favorite “fights” is in the movie _The Principal_. Louis Gossett, Jr is running down a hall in order to help James Belushi in the final confrontation with the school’s gang leader. A junior member of the gang leaps out to intercept him. Barely breaking stride Louis G. punches twice, leaves the unconscious punk halfway out the window he just slammed him through and keeps going. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/29 "2010-04-17T21:06:19Z")
Not sure it’s the kind of fighting Arnold is looking for but what comes to mind for me is _Gladiator_ - the one with Russell Crowe in it. ---
**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 17, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/30 "2010-04-17T21:34:45Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I’ve been told _The Way of the Gun_ has realistic gun fights, as I’ve never been in one before I’ll have to take their word for it. Just don’t watch it for the acting or the plot. Not especially realistic gun fights, either. If you want to see what an unadorned gun fight looks like, see the boat quay scene from David Mamet’s underappriciated Heist. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/31 "2010-04-18T03:50:22Z")
How about the first fight scene in “Kick Ass”? The wannabe superhero picks a fight and gets in a few hits before getting stabbed and then Bristol-stomped into the asphalt. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/32 "2010-04-18T10:13:40Z")
As noted in a previous thread, the village attack at the start of Predator was _an actual attack._ While filming in the jungle they came across the village and the main cast decided to take it out. The director just left the cameras rolling. ---
**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 18, 2010, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/33 "2010-04-18T10:27:45Z")
> [@TPWombat](#): > > As noted in a previous thread, the village attack at the start of Predator was _an actual attack._ > While filming in the jungle they came across the village and the main cast decided to take it out. > The director just left the cameras rolling. Wha? ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/34 "2010-04-18T11:42:59Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Wha? Ah, [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=535355&highlight=predator) is the thread. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/35 "2010-04-18T12:42:39Z")
For gunfights, a lot of gunfights in the TV series “The Wire” are highly realistic depictions of typical street gang gunplay - guys who really don’t know what they’re doing spraying bullets at each other and maybe hitting something they’re aiming at and maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/36 "2010-04-18T12:53:28Z")
> [@TPWombat](#): > > As noted in a previous thread, the village attack at the start of Predator was _an actual attack._ > While filming in the jungle they came across the village and the main cast decided to take it out. > The director just left the cameras rolling. Even the part where Arnold throws a knife through a guy and then says “Stick around?” ---
**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 18, 2010, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/37 "2010-04-18T13:15:36Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t know about absolute realism but one of my favorite “fights” is in the movie The Principal. Louis Gossett, Jr is running down a hall in order to help James Belushi in the final confrontation with the school’s gang leader. A junior member of the gang leaps out to intercept him. Barely breaking stride Louis G. punches twice, leaves the unconscious punk halfway out the window he just slammed him through and keeps going. To me, this sounds like an example of how unrealistic a fight scene can be. ---
**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 18, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/38 "2010-04-18T15:01:43Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Even the part where Arnold throws a knife through a guy and then says “Stick around?” Arnold got tired of the Teamsters going on breaks whenver they wanted to and stopping scene changes, so he decided to impale one _pour encourager les autres_. After that, the Teamsters were much less interested in quoting their contract and just tried to get the filming done as quickly as possible. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/39 "2010-04-18T15:31:48Z")
The fight between Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham at the end of _Robin And Marion._ ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381/40 "2010-04-18T17:01:43Z")
How about the duel between Wesley and Montoya in The Princess Bride? Real moves, real styles, but (in-character) they’re not really trying to kill each other. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-movies-with-realistic-fight-scenes/536381.md?page=3)