Best. Duels. Ever.

The Duel in ROTJ is my favorite but I like the one in TPM as a close second.

 

And... Look at ESB. Vader wields his lightsaber as a woodcutter would his axe. Isn't a lightsaber's blade supposed to be weightless?

See my comment above about Dave Prowse.

However I'm not sure a fighter would do quite as many excessive movements in a real fight.
Still can't figure out why Qui Gon dosen't lop his legs off at that point.

QG had plenty of opportunities to kill Maul. And Vice Versa. Some of their moves (or lack thereof) are inexcusablly bad. QG jumps down and lands Right Next To Maul, who has his doublebladed saber fully active. All Maul had to do is point his saber up, and skewer QG, or spin in an arc & cut QG down at the ankles.

Supposedly in TPM, these guys are going all out.
In ESB, Vader is fighting his anger so that he can capture & recruit Luke instead of killing him. Sometimes his anger is stronger, sometimes his control of his anger is stronger.

 

well, i would agree it was one of the best duels ever. but I couldn't help but notice that the duel with maul/qui-gon/obi-wan was a little slow. it was probably just me, cuz i was really tired that day, but idk.

yet, the duel between obi-wan and maul will always be on the top of my list. it was fast paced, and u didn't kno wat to xpect from it.

the duel in the desert wasn't as good, but it still had someone wonder how powerful qui-gon really was. and how well the sith had an advantage. i juss didn't really like the concept of lucas cutting it short, all that dust and not enough action, from being really effective. either way, even if we were waiting for the climatic end, i think it would of been best to see how well qui-gon wield a lightsaber somewhere along the movie. though we did see it at the end--but it kept changin camera angles between him and obi-wan. *shrugs* i didn't really like that

but one thing bothers me. one of my classmates states that maul (ray park) had problems with his lightsaber, and it would appear that he'd hit himself in return. yet, i disagree. he is a martial artist and, he should be skilled at weaponry, right?

 

http://members.lycos.co.uk/gamersame/images/swordfight.avi

^ Mix between TPM and ANH

 

DOTF was the best duel ever, I hope that any duels that take place in Ep.III are as good (if not better)!

 

I agree that the TPM duels were easily the best choreographed, but the RotJ is my overall favorite with TPM's close behind.

IMO, AotC has by far the worst duels.

 

I think Lucas was holding back on the AoTC duels in preparation for the Ep.III epic duels.

 

when it comes to TPM, i enjoyed the little fight on Tatooine the best. It brought a sense of caution to Qui-Gon and the Jedi Council

 

Herm.. Luke and Vader is classic- but I must admit I am very fond of Darth Maul. The duels between Obi and Qui and him are as well, classic- but not as much. There is in fact, no other that fights quiet like Darth Maul other than Master Yoda. I argue about this all the time. Even though he was killed in the first episode, Darth Maul was an excellent fighter. I love the flips and kicks and stuff that he does- it's so.. sly. So besides Luke and Vader, the last fight in TPM is second..I agree with above though, the sudden attack on Qui does show his importance a whole bunch.

I can't wait to see Anakin and Obi fight it out. I mean- Obi in his prime fighting Anakin who is just starting to turn into the master of all? It wasn't fair last time, Obi was an old gramps..It'll be quiet interesting- the longest fight scene in movie history too.

 

For action, the Duel of the Fates (as I call it) is the best duel of the five films, but the emotional impact of Vader vs. Luke at the end of Jedi is also a classic. Having said that, guess which duel I will be watching tomorrow?

 

yeah, aotc duels were really a letdown compared to phantom menace.

i really enjoyed the jango/obi fight more than the ending lightsaber duels...

 

I have to chime in for the OT.

ANH gives us two master swordsmen feeling each other out, looking for that killing blow. They don't jump around like crazed idiots because there's no need. Also, Vader already got his ass handed to him once before by Obi-Wan. There's got to be a little fear there. Third place.

ESB has a brash fighter pilot with a lightsaber gutsy enough to take on the Dark Lord of the Sith and through a little skill, a lot of luck and some frantic dodging manages to not only hold his own, but score a glancing blow before Darth gets tired of playing games and puts the ol' Dark Side smack down on him. My personal favorite by far.

ROTJ comes in second with lightsaber throws and crazy Luke putting a little fear in our pal Darth. There's a bit of ANH feel in the beginning, then echoes of ESB before all out beserker barrage Luke at the end. NOW the circle is complete, biatch!

TPM is pure flash. And as such it is mightily entertaining, don't get me wrong. But it's only at the end that any real emotion comes into play and that's where this fight shines. Obi-Wan skirting the Dark Side, attacking in anger, briefly overwhelming Maul...great stuff. Now if only they had Maul SAY SOMETHING. Mysterious bounty hunters can get away with minimal dialog and still maintain their badass creds. Big dueling villains can't. That and a weak finish due to Lucas' editing drop this one to the bottom of the pack.

Only AOTC is lower on the totum pole for being too little, too late, too disjointed and too humorous (Yoda). Fun, but weak.

 

>>>ANH gives us two master swordsmen feeling each other out, looking for that killing blow. They don't jump around like crazed idiots because there's no need<<

No, they don't jump around because they CAN'T. Ben's a tired old man. "Your powers are weak, old man." Vader's on life-support and can barely breath.

They simply don't have the skills to fight.

The ANH duel is lame now. It's great for story purposes and has great lines. But the action looks like it's in slow motion.

As for Maul not speaking during the duel -- remember the old saying, "actions speak louder than words." Also, "talk is cheap." Action is what matters. And Maul delivers on that and then some. There is no point to talking trash. Maul and the Jedi are confident in their abilities.

What is there to say? Nice weather on Naboo today, huh?

 

I'm sorry to say, I like the duel in ANH less having seen the duels in TPM and AOTC. I understand that Obi-Wan is a lot older, but after seeing young Obi-Wan in TPM and older Dooku in AOTC, the ANH duel is kinda pathetisad. Still, the Luke/Vader duels are, IMHO, the best of the series (both TESB and ROTJ).

 

DOTF is entertaining but nothing beats the ESB lightsaber fight.

 

I still prefer the emotional energy behind the Vader/Luke duel in ROTJ, but as for speed and choreography, TPM's duel takes the cake. The second best duel in my opinion...

 

I think it depends which trilogy you have seen first. If you started with ANH, you'll (still)appreciate the duel and the story

Special effects and coreography do not always decide the quality, and they take away from the story telling. Take a look at Episode II, yes, that was pretty much the worse lightsaber duel in the Saga.

You compare the duel in Episode II to the duel in Episode VI, and that is the point. When it was "simpler" the story had to be on par, now we have wild soiree with no story.

 

Best sword fighting in any film ever? Not by a long shot, too many films with far better sword play than in the whole of the SW saga put together let alone the awesome and far more skillful stuff that the Hong Kong cinema has been churning out for decades of which the fights in TPM were trying their best to emulate to a lesser degree. The fight in TPM was ok to look at but it had a real crappy finale with Maul just freezing while Kenobi does a whole bunch of acrobatics before killing him. The sword fight in the last James Bond film was better than the fights from AOTC in the same year and The Mask of Zorro had way better swordfights than in TPM. There's an old film called Scaramouche with Stewart Granger that has a 25 minute sword fight that knocks the stuffing out of all the pretty moves in TPM three way duel and that fight is amongst the best if not the best ever done for an American film. I can't belive anyone is still hyping about TPM duel after all these years, you really have to have not seen any real sword play in movies to think TPM duels are anything special. Couching Tiger Hidden Dragon had sword fights that beat the stuffing out of TPM duels and those were just mediocre by Hong Kong standard.

 

I know there are filmed fights that feature more technically skilled swordsmen, but I challenge you to find a duel in any other movie that is as fast as this battle.

The TPM duel is the epitome of speed. It doesn't really push the plot, but it's eye candy. That's not really a bad thing; as Maul really wasn't that central to the story. It was effective, visually brilliant, and energetic.

And my favorite Star Wars duel. Then comes Luke/Vader in ROTJ, Obi/Anakin/Yoda vs. Dooku, Luke/Vader in TESB, and in a very distant last place, Obi-wan/Vader in ANH.

The ANH duel was the exact opposite of this duel: It pushed the story far, but the action was horrid in this scene. I could probably take both of them out with no prior training with a lightsaber.

 

You can challenge me but mate, the battle wasn't what I conside THAT fast, i've seen much, much faste sword fights in literally hundreds of Hong Kong films grewing up as a kid. That battle is just good for an American based film but it's not really THAT good overall or in comparison to what has been filmed before. Like I said, even Crouching Tiger had far superior fights than the end uel in TPM and the end Duel in TPM was the best the film had to offer. There is a film that came out a few years back called HERO with Jet Li, Toney Leung and Donnie Yen, THAT has real sword play that will blow your mind - not only that butthe chracters in that film show reeal power with their fighting ability that the Jedi needed to have in these SW films. Two of them take on literally thousands of soldiers, after watching that film the PT films kinda looked real dull and the Jedi kinda puny.

I think that because it was so long fans had to wait for a new lightsbre fight especially one as well crafed as TESB because the one in ROTJ was lame as hell; fans kinda look to TPM end Duel and regard it a little too much! It's great for a SW film, but in the world of movies it doesn't come close to being any way near around the best ever filmed, not by a long shot. It's dazzlingly pretty because they are lightsabres involved and lots of flashy somersaults. But the kicks are poor, the choreography at most times relies on the opponents not really going for a meaningful strike and the end to every fight in TPM is rubbish. The Less said about the fights in AOTC the better so that just makes makes TPM fights look even better when in actuality they are nothing special. AOTC should have had fantastic fights, superior to TPM but GL doesn't film action very well and his savage cutting of the length of some of these bouts as well as his choice of shots killed the potential of each and every duel.

 

AOTC should have had fantastic fights, superior to TPM but GL doesn't film action very well and his savage cutting of the length of some of these bouts as well as his choice of shots killed the potential of each and every duel.

I got the impression GL just wants to keep the best for last. The lightsaberbattles in AOTC were just a teaser for EP3.

 

Considering the whispers about The Duel in Ep3, it doesn't sound like anyone's gonna be disappointed.

And I've seen faster fights than the TPM duel, no doubts. Hell, the sword fight between Jackie and the British governer at the end of Shanghai Knights is arguebly faster, not even mentioning all the Hong Kong action films.

But in terms of lightsabres, no doubts...TPM is the fastest. At least for another year...

I love the TPM duel. Each of the major duels in the five films has something different to offer, and I like that a lot.

 

I think faster is the wrong word. There's more to the Duel than mere speed. The simplicity maybe?

But really, I'd say we love it as it's the type of lightsabre fight we wish we could do.

 

Saving the best until last is one thing, but with Lucas it's a case of just not really allowing the best to be produced and then endevouring to surpass that through greater effort. If he did so we would always be entertained with the highest possible quality duels instead of snipets of stuff that was great before he decided to cut it down to mediocre from fear of it topping his main event.

 

The TPM duel is the most athletic, it has some good exchanges. But I hardly care, Maul is not an interesting character, Nor is Obi at this point.

Now compare that to the ESB duel which has plenty of great moves, incredible photography, and is intensely dramatic with characters I really care about and emotional depth - no contest.
Drama is essential to a duel, otherwise it may just as well be a show-reel by the stuntmen.

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