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What modern historical epic has the best battle scenes?

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J

JB1981

Member
Gladiator - Never fails to get the blood boiling. Not crazy about the shaky cam in the thick of battle but the clash of swords and men still has great impact.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmbviq2pE-g&feature=related

Braveheart - still fucking amazing and has the most visceral sword combat I think I've ever seen in film. Shockingly violent at the time and unsurpassed to this day. No studio has the balls to make an epic this violent anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7ur3iV6Z34

Kingdom of Heaven DC - can't find an extended version of the siege of jerusalem but this nights long seige is one of the best staged extended scenes of war I've yet seen.

http://movieclips.com/LV9G7-kingdom-of-heaven-movie-defending-the-walls/

Troy Director's Cut - (much more graphic than theatrical) And Achilles is a one-man army fucking BAD ASS, just cutting through fools. (this is cut like shit by the uploader.) WB wanted a PG13 movie when it came out. LOL @ them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp3qq8R6O88

Alexander - love the scope of this battle and how Alexander addresses certain of his troops, giving greater context to their lives. The speech is underrated and the slow build-up to war is awesome. Vangelis' score before the battle begins stirs the soul. The battle scene is bloody, chaotic, violent and just all kinds of madness. Farrell sells the bloodlust.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwDRodO2Mu4

Robin Hood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbmnqGqWgc8 - this movie sucked but this scene was well staged and must have been a bitch to pull off with the ships coming ashore.

300 - highly stylized but still well directed. You always have a very clear understanding of spacing and geography and there is very little reliance on shaky cam.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgXLKMatR4M&feature=related
 
E

ElectricBlue187

Member
300 gets really boring on repeat watching. The slow motion is over done so much it really makes the action trite and boring to watch.

Troy was meh at best. You forgot Saving Private Ryan D Day scene and maybe Band of Brothers - Bastogne which is better than almost anything
 
B

BobsRevenge

I do not avoid women, GAF, but I do deny them my essence.
Is Ran too old for this thread? Kagemusha? Those are my favorites. Kurosawa was a beast at battle scenes. The man had taste.
 
T

Tenks

Member
Braveheart is probably the correct answer.

However I thought the ending scene in The Last Samurai was done pretty well
 
Jaffaboy

Jaffaboy

Member
Ironclad has some pretty awesome, brutal fight scenes, although some of the effects like the catapults look a little cheesy it's still a great watch and a great cast.
 
J

JB1981

Member
Tenks said:
Braveheart is probably the correct answer.

However I thought the ending scene in The Last Samurai was done pretty well
Click to expand...

Yes I should have added that one. Like Troy and Braveheart, the cinematography is steady and the action is always kept into view. There is very little quick cutting, undercrank and shaky cam.
 
J

Jb

Member
Can't find a decent clip of it but Kingdom of Heaven's battle of Kerak is amazingly shot. It's brief (3 min) but the editing and HGW's score blend beautifully.
 
J

JB1981

Member
Jaffaboy said:
Ironclad has some pretty awesome, brutal fight scenes, although some of the effects like the catapults look a little cheesy it's still a great watch and a great cast.
Click to expand...

nice and gritty but you can tell it was made on a small budget. still, not a bad scene at all ... i should check this movie out.
 
J

jett

D-Member
vlcsnap-112411.jpg


vlcsnap-113658.jpg


"You cannot attack that and survive."

Kindgom of freaking Heaven
 
J

JB1981

Member
jett: yes the photography is great but how about the actual battle itself. I really like Kingom of Heaven but always felt that the battle scenes left me cold emotionally. There wasn't much of a rooting interest.

the siege of jerusalem was much better because you get an sense of the strategy employed by salahadin and balian. i love that entire sequence and how it lasts for days with breaks and downtime in between all the intensity.
 
J

jett

D-Member
I agree with The Last Samurai mention, final battle is great. Vastly underrated epic.

JB1981 said:
jett: yes the photography is great but how about the actual battle itself. I really like Kingom of Heaven but always felt that the battle scenes left me cold emotionally. There wasn't much of a rooting interest.

the siege of jerusalem was much better because you get an sense of the strategy employed by salahadin and balian. i love that entire sequence and how it lasts for days with breaks and downtime in between all the intensity.
Click to expand...

I disagree, every time I watch the battle of Kerak I can't help but be in complete of awe. The siege of Jerusalem is also fantastic.

If we are talking about simply raw intensity then Braveheart's Stirling Bridge battle is still the best.
 
J

jett

D-Member
JB1981 said:
not sure they changed too much re: battle scenes in the DC .. maybe the battle for jerusalem was extended a bit here and there
Click to expand...

The DC is rated R, unlike the PG13 theatrical cut. The battles are definitely more violent.
 
Y

yacobod

Banned
Braveheart pisses on the competition from great heights. Appropriately violet and visceral. Nothing comes close.

As pointed out the Siege of Jerusalem in Kingdom of Heaven is fantastic.

Mel Gibson needs to do a movie on 1453, the Fall of Constantinople. Would be absolute carnage. This needs to happen.
 
J

JB1981

Member
jett said:
The DC is rated R, unlike the PG13 theatrical cut. The battles are definitely more violent.
Click to expand...

was it really? wow i didn't realize that ... the theatrical cut has been wiped from memory :)

- alexander doesn't get nearly enough love. i know everyone hates it but i really really like that film.
 
S

Sanky Panky

Banned
Saldy, OP has them all covered I guess.

My notch also goes to Braveheart for the battles feeling more brutal and personal.

I liked Alexander because it reminded me of battles in Rome:TW. Not many movies focused on the actual strategies of moving the separate units strategically like that one battle scene in Alexander.
 
J

jett

D-Member
Sanky Panky said:
I liked Alexander because it reminded me of battles in Rome:TW. Not many movies focused on the actual strategies of moving the separate units strategically like that one battle scene in Alexander.
Click to expand...

Speaking of this, has anyone watched the several extended cuts this thing has? Any good? The theatrical cut was immensely disappointing.
 
bengraven

bengraven

Member
I can't watch any historical epic's battle sequences without getting bored these days. There's always so much going on and they're never as well shot (maybe the exception being 300 and Spielberg) as the rest of the film. Some directors can do drama and some action but rarely, if ever, both.



So I fast forward through the confusing war sequences (unless it's 300 or a Spielberg movie) and skip to the drama.
 
bengraven

bengraven

Member
jett said:
I shall now use this post as an excuse to show just how beautiful the movie is.

vlcsnap-105211.jpg
Click to expand...

This is literally the first (maybe second) time that I've actually agreed with you and you didn't piss me off with your negativity! *brofist?*

Kingdom of Heaven is, in my opinion, the most beautiful Ridley Scott film of the last decade and maybe even since the 80s. Not only is it beautifully shot, but it has my favorite score of the last decade as well. I ALWAYS sit through the entire intermission on the extended cut just to listen to the music.

You have no idea how excited I am for an excuse to post this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4TDVfzEcbM


The Take Out Bandit said:
Red Cliff
Click to expand...

I want to see this, but I heard you have to watch the Director's Cut and the theatrical is the only available on Netflix streaming.
 
J

JB1981

Member
jett said:
Speaking of this, has anyone watched the several extended cuts this thing has? Any good? The theatrical cut was immensely disappointing.
Click to expand...

yes I made a thread about it. Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut $9.99 on Amazon. This is Stone's final cut, one which he is very proud of. I think it's an unfairly maligned film. Very well worth seeing and the documentary made by Stone's son is fantastic.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=458096&highlight=
 
J

jett

D-Member
bengraven said:
This is literally the first (maybe second) time that I've actually agreed with you and you didn't piss me off with your negativity! *brofist?*

Kingdom of Heaven is, in my opinion, the most beautiful Ridley Scott film of the last decade and maybe even since the 80s. Not only is it beautifully shot, but it has my favorite score of the last decade as well. I ALWAYS sit through the entire intermission on the extended cut just to listen to the music.

You have no idea how excited I am for an excuse to post this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4TDVfzEcbM
Click to expand...

I really liked the use of overture and intermission on the DVD release, it was unfortunate that was all cut on the blu-ray.

JB1981 said:
yes I made a thread about it. Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut $9.99 on Amazon. This is Stone's final cut, one which he is very proud of. I think it's an unfairly maligned film. Very well worth seeing and the documentary made by Stone's son is fantastic.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=458096&highlight=
Click to expand...


Wow 4 hours. That's a scary notion for a film I originally hated. Maybe one day I'll muster up the courage to give this a second chance.
 
V

Vulcano's assistant

Banned
+1 to Kingdom of Heaven DC
---
What about Zulu there was good one in there right? I can't remember. I also like the battles in The Last Samurai.

1138 said:
I would also recommend Mongol, a russian movie about the rise of Ghengis Khan from 2008. It was nominated for best foreign movie at the Oscars, and I thought it was among the best historical epics from the last decade.
Click to expand...

I liked Mongol a lot. The funny thing is that I watched it with my mother and she was oblivious that it was about Ghengis Khan throughout the entire movie, and though that the ending was a stupendous twist.
 
1

1138

Member
jett said:
Speaking of this, has anyone watched the several extended cuts this thing has? Any good? The theatrical cut was immensely disappointing.
Click to expand...

I bought The Final Cut on bluray, its spread out over 2 discs and runs for around 4 hours if I remember right. I am a pretty big fan of historical epics, and I found it enjoyable enough. Costumes, battles, soundtrack and visual effects are all great, and I feel like the added scenes made it a better movie. But it is still far below other epics mentioned in this thread like KoH:DC.

I would also recommend Mongol, a russian movie about the rise of Ghengis Khan from 2008. It was nominated for best foreign movie at the Oscars, and I thought it was among the best historical epics from the last decade.

Everyone should also see The Last of the Mohicans by Mann if they haven't already seen it. It might lack many big battles, but the last 15 minutes of this movie is outstanding.
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
When I was a kid growing up in Scotland, we learned about most of the Battles shown in Braveheart, long before the somehwat fictionalized movie. Stirling Field, Bannockburn etc. The latter in particular always seemed incredibly real and visceral to me because I had been to Bannockburn a few times.

The landscape is cold and muddy and bleak and all I could think about was how hard to would be to even jog in that mire.

Imagine your hands shaking on a wooden spearshaft, cool wind, even in June, bringing tears to your eyes, a horde of well-fed, well-provisioned English infantry, cavalry and archers waiting for their orders to slaughter you. They weren't coming to fight, they were coming to execute you in a frozen, blood and mud filled charnel house.

And these Scots weren't even soldiers, per se. They were tradesmen, inn-owners, free Scottish citizens. No serfs, no slaves - Robert the Bruce turned away any man who could not provision himself with weapons and clothing for the fight.

This was a force of patriots, driven and intent, but there were a total of just 6000 men. England had 3000 horsemen, and an army of 16,000 bowmen and infantry.

Imagine the English cavalry, a kind of bunker buster, thundering across that field to crash horse and spear and lance and sword into flesh. The noise! The smell of fear and shit and blood and imminent death.

Now imagine the look on the English army's face when half of those horses thundered into holes the Scots had dug and covered the days before the battle. And now imagine the English army's morale collapsing across the ranks, bravado tunring to terror in the briefest of moments.

And then the Scottish Knights, clad in classic medieval armor, dark-eyed and filled with renewed purpose, unsheathing broadswords and picking their targets.


ALBA GO BRAGH!


t5M6e.jpg



Braveheart for reals.
 
E

Edmond Dantès

Dantès the White
The battle scene in Gladiator is adrenaline inducing, but there is one comedic part where the Legionnaire's and Goths first collide and you see some of the extras laughing and just standing about, while everyone else is fighting. Always makes me laugh.
 
Y

yacobod

Banned
Stones Final cut of Alexander is pretty good, i'd check it out. i think i picked it up on a whim on amazon a year or so ago for 8.99 and enjoyed it. i seen the theatrical cut upon release and hated it for reference.

The battle of Gaugamela is well done.
 
J

JB1981

Member
Edmond Dantès;34244219 said:
The battle scene in Gladiator is adrenaline inducing, but there is one comedic part where the Legionnaire's and Goths first collide and you see some of the extras laughing and just standing about, while everyone else is fighting. Always makes me laugh.
Click to expand...

seems there are a lot of mistakes in gladiator. after the battle of germania you can see a horsemaster in blue jeans walking one of the horses off set
 
R

RustyNails

Member
1138 said:
I would also recommend Mongol, a russian movie about the rise of Ghengis Khan from 2008. It was nominated for best foreign movie at the Oscars, and I thought it was among the best historical epics from the last decade.
Click to expand...
It's a good movie but way too introspective for my tastes.

Everyone should also see The Last of the Mohicans by Mann if they haven't already seen it. It might lack many big battles, but the last 15 minutes of this movie is outstanding.
Click to expand...
Now this I completely agree with. It's not only one of the best action movies ever made, but also one of the best movies ever made. It's my personal #1 of all time. The battles are focused and not large scale because that's how they used to fight. Native Americans didn't have huge armies, so their skirmishes mostly consisted of party raids. And the skirmishes filmed in LotM are GLORIOUS. Scenes of
heart being ripped out and people being scalped
oh my
 
J

JB1981

Member
yacobod said:
Stones Final cut of Alexander is pretty good, i'd check it out. i think i picked it up on a whim on amazon a year or so ago for 8.99 and enjoyed it. i seen the theatrical cut upon release and hated it for reference.

The battle of Gaugamela is well done.
Click to expand...

did you watch the documentary? it's so much better than the usual banal studio produced behind-the-scenes stuff we normally get. the access you get on this one is unparalleled. Stone's son shot it all himself and it was basically just him hanging around set next to his dad picking up EVERYTHING that was going on around him. He also makes it a kind of love letter to his father and his career. Really moving stuff and worth seeing for anybody who is a fan of stone's work or filmmaking in general. Stone and Farrel seemed to have gotten along really really well. Stone loved him
 
E

Edmond Dantès

Dantès the White
We need a historical epic set during the fall of the Byzantine Empire. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 would be a great battle to depict on the big screen. In fact another film during the Crusader era would be more than welcome, specifically the Third or Seventh Crusade.
 
J

JB1981

Member
speaking of alexander wasn't baz luhrmann going to make his own version starring Dicaprio? Guess that never panned out ....
 
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