# your favorite hand-to-hand fight scenes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 21, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197 "2015-04-21T15:44:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/41 "2015-04-21T21:54:32Z")
Gregory Peck vs Charlton Heston in _The Big Country_ “So, what did we just prove?” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/42 "2015-04-21T22:03:59Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Hmmm. Gray area. But there’s nothing like a nice piece of hickory. Pretty handy with a sledgehammer, too. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/43 "2015-04-21T23:33:07Z")
The South Park parody of post #3 and 39, Cripple Fight! (why can’t I quote or bold?) 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/44 "2015-04-22T02:32:24Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > What are some of your favorite unarmed fights? Banshee season 3, actually you can count on at least one good fight per every two eps, but the one with Nola and Bodyguard, and him ripping out her jugular with his hand, pretty much wins it for me. Declan ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/45 "2015-04-22T02:52:58Z")
The H.I McDunnough (Nicholas Cage) vs. Gale Snoates (John Goodman) fight over the baby in _Raising Arizona_. Between H.I.‘s haymaker thwarted by the popcorn ceiling, or Snoates’ airplane spin while H.I. pulls on his mouth, it never fails to crack me up. Maybe not that brutal or realistic, but it is memorable and enjoyable for me. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2015, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/46 "2015-04-22T03:04:42Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The fight between Toshiro Mifune’s thief and The Husband in Akira Kurasawa’s _Rashomon_ – as told by the woodcutter. > > In the versions told by the other witnesses (including the ghost), the fight is one of extreme sophistication and skill. But in the Woodcutter’s version – and his version of everything almost always seems the most likely – it quickly devolves into a hand-to-hand fight, and a pretty amateurish and sloppy fight at that. It’s one of the few times in cinema that important characters have a fight that, instead of being carefully choreographed, is actually pretty damned inept I’d vote for Mifune vs. a bunch of pimps in _Red Beard_ [“You know, a bad doctor can kill you.”](http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/302939/Red-Beard-Movie-Clip-I-May-Break-Some-Bones.html) ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/47 "2015-04-22T03:13:35Z")
I like the fight in Lethal Weapon 4. Two large experienced brawlers going against Jet Li. He’s the better fighter, but it’s not the invincible-always-has-a-counterattack martial artist. I figure that’s how a real 2-on-1 fight with two bruisers attacking a little guy despite his quickness and moves. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/48 "2015-04-22T03:22:17Z")
“They Live” is the first movie that came to mind, but there’s also the [“knife fight” in “Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5f5_KdLEw4). ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/49 "2015-04-22T03:28:32Z")
Vinnie Terranova and Sonny Steelgrave in the climactic episode of the Steelgrave arc on “Wiseguy”. Lucas Hood and Damien Sanchez on “Banshee”. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HAeOJLXyl3Y/maxresdefault.jpg "Banshee 1x03 Fight. Meet The New Boss.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAeOJLXyl3Y) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/50 "2015-04-22T03:37:41Z")
> [@bump](#): > > The H.I McDunnough (Nicholas Cage) vs. Gale Snoates (John Goodman) fight over the baby in _Raising Arizona_. > > Between H.I.‘s haymaker thwarted by the popcorn ceiling, or Snoates’ airplane spin while H.I. pulls on his mouth, it never fails to crack me up. Maybe not that brutal or realistic, but it is memorable and enjoyable for me. Good choice ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/51 "2015-04-22T04:03:29Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > “They Live” is the first movie that came to mind, but there’s also the [“knife fight” in “Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5f5_KdLEw4). I love that movie. I love how Sundance gives Logan the little wave and smile after he just told Butch he’d kill Logan if Logan won the fight. Everything about that movie is damn near perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/52 "2015-04-22T05:41:02Z")
I guess this proves once and for all that baseball players can’t fight, [but still](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL0ipXUD-uU). Honorable mention to the [bathroom scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kqn9qQZdOs) (but there’s a knife… and, well, it’s all a little cheesy). ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/53 "2015-04-22T07:25:12Z")
What? No love for Teri Hatcher and Charlize Theron going at it in[2 Days In The Valley?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJI0ubJBMLk) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/54 "2015-04-22T09:23:30Z")
[quote=“Lobohan, post:35, topic:718197”] The above-mentioned Daredevil hallway fight scene: [/QUOTE] It’s like the wall is another fighter! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/55 "2015-04-22T10:19:10Z")
[True Romance: Patricia Arquette & James Gandolfini](https://vimeo.com/68793060) ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/56 "2015-04-22T10:52:43Z")
[quote=“Lobohan, post:35, topic:718197”] The above-mentioned Daredevil hallway fight scene: [/QUOTE] For all I heard about it, its actually pretty “meh” now that I’ve seen it. The choreography seems very obvious, a lot of times where guys fall over from punches that wouldn’t actually knock them down, or where they fall into a corner and lay prone for a few seconds wrestling style until its their turn to get up again. Seems like these days directors think “realistic” means just telling the actors to pretend to be exhausted, but people can still tell the difference between a real punch and a fake punch. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/57 "2015-04-22T12:07:34Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Bruce Lee movies don’t count. But yeah. How about remakes? Jet Li in “Fist of Legend” - a remake of “Fist of Fury,” it does a better job on the fight with the rival school and its master. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/58 "2015-04-22T13:03:41Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I love that movie. I love how Sundance gives Logan the little wave and smile after he just told Butch he’d kill Logan if Logan won the fight. Everything about that movie is damn near perfect. Well, except for “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head”. :dubious: I guess the Kirk/Spock fight in “Amok Time” doesn’t count as unarmed, as they have the _lirpa and the ahn whoon_. (The other day my wife had Bonanza on the TV on in the other room – I overheard a character’s voice, and immediately exclaimed, “That’s T’Pau”! I checked the episode on IMDB, and the actress was, indeed, Celia Lovsky.) ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/59 "2015-04-22T13:53:21Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Well, except for “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head”. :dubious: Hey now. That scene may have been a little less perfect, but the extra awesomeness of the rest of the movie spilled over into it, so it was also awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197/60 "2015-04-22T14:27:08Z")
My husband (Andy L) suggested Kirk vs. Finnegan in the **Star Trek** episode “Shore Leave.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-hand-to-hand-fight-scenes/718197.md?page=4)