Saga What is your favourite Lightsaber Duel?

My top three duels are up there ^^^ somewhere.

My #4 would be Duel of the Fates. It's aptly named as the outcome determines Anakin's fate, but not in the sense of Anakin's fate being altered in being trained by Qui-Gon as compared to being trained by Obi-Wan. Anakin's fate laid in the result of whether Maul won the duel or not. If Maul wins, not only is Anakin likely not trained, but Palpatine has no need to start grooming a new apprentice. The only issue I have with this duel was making Maul inept for a few moments so Obi-Wan could appear powerful and win the duel. Maul not only had the high ground, but he had Obi-Wan in every possible strategic disadvantage, yet somehow despite Maul's immense skill and ability, he cannot figure out what's going on as Obi-Wan launches himself out of the pit, collects Qui-Gon's lightsaber, and gets sliced in half.

 

I voted for Luke v Vader in TESB. As others have said, the whole sequence is incredible from the moment the door shuts behind Luke as he enters the chamber.
Although the duel itself is a bit silly IMHO, Yoda v Dooku in AOTC got a pretty good audience reaction when I first saw it at the cinema.

 

I voted for Obi-Wan Kenobi & Qui-Gon Jinn v Darth Maul The Phantom Menace largely because of the athleticism and skill of Ray Park (who is, after all, a martial artist).

I would vote for either Luke vs. Vader in The Empire Strikes Back second or Obi-Wan vs. Anakin in Revenge of the Sith second.

I also liked Luke vs. Vader in Return of the Jedi and both of the Yoda fights, though I definitely preferred the Yoda vs. Dooku fight.

None of the light sabre duels from the sequels strikes me as being particularly good, and as much as I love ANH, the light sabre duel there is kinda lame, though it was the first, so it's special for that reason.

 

For me, my favorite duel to watch is Luke vs Vader in ESB. We finally see some actual choreography, the setting is just fantastic and it moves between very different environments and colors/backdrops. I love seeing Vader incorporating the Force into the duel and at the end we finally see Vader unleashed as he thrashes away at Luke. The glow of the sabers on the final platform has never been beaten as a visual in Star Wars for me.

Their rematch in ROTJ is the emotional climax of the entire franchise for me and I love seeing both how far Luke has come as well as how he continually avoids fighting Vader in order to turn him. His explosion at the threat to Leia and overwhelming Vader before seeing his possible future was phenomenal as well, I don't think there's a more impactful duel in the franchise, I just like watching the Duel on Bespin more.

I do think Duel of the Fates on Naboo has the best choreography in all of Star Wars and Obi-Wan vs Maul right after Qui Gon is killed is probably the most physically intense combat I can think of. I never get tired of that duel and the score is magnificent.

 

My Top Three

1. Darth Vader v. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Revenge of the Sith)

I understand he’s referred to as Anakin 16 times by Obi-Wan during the confrontation but he was Vader by then. The build was either (5) or (2) films at that time depending on order of watching. Obi-Wan was pleading with emotion and conviction at the beginning to Anakin, trying to reason.

It was brother v. brother, master v. apprentice it literally was a duel for the soul of the galaxy. It had great choreography, was stylistic and well rehearsed. The pure evil of Anakin and the pure conviction of what had to be done by Obi-Wan still tears at my heart.



2. Obi-Wan Kenobi & Qui-Gon Jinn v. Darth Maul (The Phantom Menace)

(As Dave Filoni recounted in Disney+ gallery, Anakin fate was entangled in the duel)
It was the Apprentice assuming the role of Master, the Master passing along his knowledge and a boy realizing his fate. The title of the score for the act was “Duel of the Fates” ~ because literally Obi-Wan we’re dueling with Maul to change the course of the newly discovered force user fate.



3. Luke Skywalker v. Darth Vader (The Empire Strikes Back)

The emotion and trickery, the conviction to turn Luke or kill him. Luke’s first full realization that his task would be more difficult than he originally imagined. Then the added weight of finding out from a certain point of view that you were lied to, and this evil being was your father and you would be destined to turn or kill him to bring balance to the galaxy.

 

My top three:

1. Anakin Skywalker vs Obi-Wan Kenobi (ROTS): Best lightsaber-duel and THE BIRTH of Darth Vader.

2. Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vader (ROTJ): A very emotional fight between a father and his son!

3. Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Darth Maul: Still an awesome lightsaber-duel

 

Duel of the Fates from TPM is perhaps the best duel from the films in terms of showcasing a Jedi's potential. Those huge Force jumps being a good example.

 

Both of the Luke vs Vader duels are epic, but if I had to give an edge to one it would be TESB because of the revelation.

Ben vs Vader ANH was significant storywise with important dialogue, but the fighting itself was very awkward...hey it was 2 old men having out in 1977.

TFA Rey vs Ren duel wasn't too bad. I cared about the characters a bit.

The rest are just choreography show offs. I just didn't care about who was fighting or why. I should have cared about Ben vs Vader ROTS, but it was ruined by the bad/OTT special effects, locations and cringe worthy acting.

 

Vader v Luke in Empire is mine.

Vader is established throughout that film as ruthless, I remember seeing it for the first time and feeling scared for Luke because how can he possibly beat Vader in a duel? The fight has tension, the stakes are high, the writing was such that the characters are extremely well developed and so you care about whats happening with them on screen. Also the setting is perfect, its almost like Vaders own personal hell, the whole carbon freezing environment and idea is dark and scary and really effective in setting the mood for the dual.

Vader (IMO) takes him for granted initially and has to up his game after Luke goes searching for him as they venture deeper into the facility. So much so that in the end Luke barely gets away with his life and indeed that fall is akin to him killing himself rather than going with Vader.

The fight between them has so many quotable lines from beginning to end, especially from Vader. The sound design is amazing throughout, listen to the almost balletic tone of Vader's lightsaber as he's slashing at Luke in the hallway as he forces him out on to the gantry. I think everything comes together in this to make it thrilling, exciting, emotional, unpredictable and just downright entertaining. Which is something the prequels lost sight of, being flashy and choreographed in more and more crazy environments without the emotion and character building doesn't make the fight any better.

As a whole Empire is ground breaking in terms of the defeat the Rebellion suffer, the films doesn't do what we expect and this fight is the culmination of that. Luke isn't the hero of the day yet and he still has much to learn. It doesn't follow the usual pattern of what a traditional hero / villain showdown would normally follow.

 

Luke/Vader in RoTJ

Qui-Gon/Maul on Tatooine, mostly for the cinematography

Obiwan vs Maul, for the sheer intensity of it.

Finn vs Kylo in TFA. It just felt dangerous to me, considering Finn was just a stormtrooper with a lightsaber. Sound design was great.

And if it counts, Rey/Kylo vs the Guards in TLJ.

 

Gonna have to disagree with this take. Vader vs Obi-Wan in ANH was terrible choreography wise. Neither actor knew anything about sword fighting.

In ESB and ROTJ an actual sword fighter / fencer wore the Vader costume so Vader looked like he knew what he was doing. But Mark Hamill didn't He did not study his craft and his moves look terrible, especially in ROTJ for some reason. He just looks like he's randomly flailing around with a stick. Awful.

Ray Park (Darth Maul) is a martial arts expert and you can tell that Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christiansen, and Liam Neeson worked their tails off to produce something that looked good on screen. They put in the time and the work and they deserve credit for it. For that reason the TPM duel is the best duel in the saga for me. I will agree that any Yoda duel was over the top and that Vader vs Obi-Wan in ROTS had some over the top moments.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan vs Darth Maul was perfection though. The music, the choreography, even the story.

 

I guess I'm gonna have to get used to being picked on in every simple opinion thread. I will say this and it's why my opinions vary wildly to the lemming train; lightsaber duels have 0% to do with the fighting itself.

 

Film:

Television:

 

I did a comprehensive review of all the duels up to TFA earlier in this thread. Check it out:

https://boards.theforce.net/threads/what-is-your-favourite-lightsaber-duel.50037417/#post-53095906

 

1. Anakin Skywalker VS Obi-Wan Kenobi – Revenge Of The Sith

2. Luke Skywalker VS Darth Vader Empire Strikes Back

3. Luke Skywalker VS Darth Vader The Return of the Jedi

4. Yoda VS Palpatine The Revenge Of the Sith

5. Yoda VS Count Dooku Attack of the Clones

6. Obi-Wan Kenobi & Qui-Gon Jinn VS Darth Maul

7. Anakin Skywalker & Obi-Wan Kenobi VS Count Dooku The Revenge Of the Sith

8. Obi-wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker VS Count Dooku Attack of the Clones

9. Rey VS Kylo Ren The Force Awakens

10. Mace Windu VS Palpatine The Revenge Of the Sith


(Favorite Duels)-Up (Least Favorite Duels) Bottom

 

Definitely Luke vs. Vader in ESB. Back in the day no one expected Luke to get his hand chopped off and be defeated so brutally. And then the revelation

 

1st - Obi-Wan vs Vader ANH. It's at the top slot purely because of nostalgia. I still remember that feeling of awe when their lightsabers clashed for the first time. It is slow by modern standards and lacks any real choreography, but the actual shot of them dueling by the blast doors as Luke and the stormtroopers look on, culminating in Vader slicing through Obi-Wan's cloak only for his old master to vanish still thrills me to this day.

Joint top is Luke vs Vader in TESB for all the reasons several have already cited. It is quite simply awesome and one of the greatest scenes in all of cinematic history.

2nd - Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan vs Maul in TPM. Furious and jaw-dropping. One of the most energetic moments of the whole saga. Qui-Gon looks huge and physically imposing, Maul like a hate-filled demon and Obi-Wan like a kid who temporarily flips to the dark side and wants revenge.

3rd - Probably Rey and Finn vs Kylo in TFA. It's beautifully shot, has great pacing, emotional and promises so much to come.

4th - Luke vs Vader in ROTJ. "You are unwise to lower your defences!" fzzzzz. One of my favourite moments

5th - Obi-Wan and Anakin vs Dooku. A bit of banter then an excellent battle punctuated by "Do it!" and the sound of Dooku's head rolling across the floor.

The rest I can't put in any particular order. Most have their merits. I do agree that some of the Clone Wars and Rebels lightsaber battles are really exciting. I prefer them to the two in AOTC.

 

My ranking:
NOTE: I am not counting the throne room scene or the Luke/Kylo "fight" from TLJ. I also left out the initial Qui-Gon/Maul fight because of it's brief length.

1. Obi-Wan Kenobi & Qui-Gon Jinn VS Darth Maul - TPM

2. Luke Skywalker VS Darth Vader - TESB

3. Anakin Skywalker VS Obi-Wan Kenobi – ROTS

4. Luke Skywalker VS Darth Vader - ROTJ

5. Anakin Skywalker & Obi-Wan Kenobi VS Count Dooku - ROTS

6. Yoda VS Palpatine ROTS

7. Rey VS Kylo Ren The Force Awakens

8. Obi-Wan Kenobi v General Grievous - ROTS

9. Obi-Wan Kenobi VS Darth Vader - ANH

10. Yoda VS Count Dooku - AOTC

11.Obi-wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker VS Count Dooku - AOTC

12. Rey vs. Kylo Ren - TROS

13. Mace Windu VS Palpatine - ROTS

 

1. Luke/Vader ESB (Classic...Dramatic...it crescendos...it's art)
2. Anakin/Obi ROTS (The culmination of what we had been waiting for)
3. Rey/Kylo TROS (Raw in a way we had not seen before. Violent. Fierce.)
4. Luke/Vader ROTJ (The rematch, only diminished by brevity and a conclusion having nothing to do with lightsabers)
5. Obi/Darth ANH (The OG...and if you watch the "scene 38 re-imagined" on Youtube, this jumps to 2)
6. Qui&Obi/Maul TPM (Beautiful and Sweeping in scope...Duel of Fates...just a little too choreographed)
7. Mace/Palpy ROTS (Best vs Best...too darn short...cop out ending)
8. Rey/Kylo TFA (Rough/tough/emotional/refreshing after prequels)
9. Yoda/Dooku AOTC (Most jaw dropping moment in Star Wars history...losses impact in repeat viewings)
10. Ani&Obi/Dooku ROTS (it's alright...kind of routine...the stupid flip ruins it before it begins.)
11. Yod/Palpy ROTS (less about sabers then it is force-wagging)
12. Obi/Grievy ROTS (Force user vs 4 lightsaber alien/robot...and it really wasn't that interesting)
13. Ani&Obi/Dooku AOTC (The flashing lightsaber light on faces while we can't see the sabers was...interesting...this set up Yoda...)

 

Luke vs Vader from The Empire Strikes Back
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon vs Darth Maul from The Phantom Menace
Anakin vs Obi-Wan from Revenge of the Sith
Rey and Kylo vs Praetorian guards from the Last Jedi
Rey and Ben vs Palpatine from The Rise of Skywalker

 

I had selected the Qui-Gon Jinn/Obi-Wan Kenobi v. Darth Maul duel in "TPM" as my favorite. However, the Anakin Skywalker v. Obi-Wan Kenobi duel in "ROTS" is a close second.

For me, the most interesting aspect of the Luke Skywalker v. Darth Vader duel in "TESB" is that it ended with Luke getting his hand chopped off and learning that Vader was Anakin. That's about it.

 

Gonna concur here:

 

One of the best settings for a duel, I'll admit. The spiritual sequel to Mustafar's duel. Waves instead of lava.

 

Yeah! I just wish it was a bit longer. Like two more minutes.