10 Best Sword Fights In Movies
3. Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Technically it’s not really a sword fight at all, but it’s so brilliantly in-character that it deserves its high ranking. After being thoroughly unimpressed with his foe’s sword swirling, Indy simply takes out his pistol and shoots the man dead.
Both Kill Bill and Pirates’ sword fights could have been over much quicker had the duellers thought to pull out a pistol. Of course, then we’d have been robbed of some of cinema’s best battles, but that’s what makes Raiders so special. It’s completely unexpected, yet makes total sense that Indy would do it.
Possibly the best part of this battle is the on-the-set story that goes with it. Harrison Ford, famously one of the most irritable men in Hollywood, ad-libbed pulling the gun to avoid the complicated choreography the scene demanded. In fairness to Ford, it wasn’t just reluctance to do the scene; he apparently had to rush to the bathroom soon after having woken up ill that day.
Not the most glamorous story from one of the best adventure movies ever made. But still, it gave us a great movie moment, so there’s that.