Most Brutal Movie Fights and what makes a good fight scene

[retrorussell]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VDYaS6Lpvk

[violntshags]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUCRuuI5Sjk
when he breaks that one guys arm makes me cringe everytime i see it

[claws]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aABT-FjR4_M

Rod Taylor vs. William Smith in Darker Than Amber.

Smith once said that was his most brutal fight he did in a movie ever.

[BoyScoutKevin]

Frankly, I prefer the comic barroom brawls of "Brannigan" and "North to Alaska" to anything of a particular dramatic nature, but there is one dramatic fight that I do like, and the wrong man won. Rock Hudson and Mickey Simpson beating the crap out of each other in the roadside cafe, while "The Yellow Rose of Texas" plays on the jukebox in the background.

And what makes this such a great fight scene. Realism! Realism! Realism! Not only from the two combatants in the fight, but from every one else in the cafe at that time.

There was another thread on this, on another board, which went into why there were such few good fights now days in films, and a number of reasons were given.

(1) Too many closeups and not enough establishing shots.

(2) Too many quick cut edits, so you don't know what is happening.

(3) Fights that are too unrealistic. No one seems to get tired in a fight. No one seems to suffer any physical damage in a fight.

(4) Fights that are too short in duration in response to how long a fight would really last in the real world.

(5) And from some practioner of the martial arts. That most of the fights in today's films seem to be staged by someone who has no respect and/or understanding of the martial arts.

(6) And I'd add, a lack of understanding how important background music is in any fight scene.