10 Most Brutal Fight Scenes In Movie History

4. Oldboy

Old Boy Old Boy is one of the best films to come out of the inventive Korean cinema scene in recent memory. Concerning the intriguing set-up of a man imprisoned for over two decades for reasons unknown, it spirals into something dark, mesmerising and beautiful as well as possessing one of the most gut-punching twists committed to celluloid. However, it fully deserves its 18 rating for a combination of sex, violence, adult themes and a man eating an live octopus. But of those four things, the most prevalent is the level of violence which punctuates this film. There€™s all sorts of brutal things happening in Park Chan-Wook€™s moody opus, from bone breaking to tongue slicing to teeth removal. Yet one thing will always stand out to those who€™ve seen it €“ the corridor scene. Yes, that scene. Granted, it€™s not a traditional fight scene mano-e-mano style, because it concerns our psychotic whirling dervish of a protagonist €“ Oh Dae-Su taking on an entire corridor of armed goons wielding nought but a hammer. What follows is brutal, ambitious and technically tremendous, seeing as it was shot all in one take. It€™s like nothing you€™ve ever seen before €“ at one moment Oh looks as if he€™s on top, then he gets dog-piled by the overwhelming crowds, then he starts breaking legs with a hammer. It€™s utterly tremendous, completely ridiculous and €“ you know once you€™ve watched it €“ completely unique. It€™s this sort of brutal, imaginative scene that Korean cinema is famous for, and if ever you wanted a microcosm of that, the fight in the corridor would be more than adequate.
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Durham University graduate and qualified sports journalist. Very good at sitting down and watching things. Can multi-task this with playing computer games. Football Manager addict who has taken Shrewsbury Town to the summit of the Premier League. You can follow me at @Ed_OwenUK, if you like ramblings about Newcastle United and A Place in the Sun. If you don't, I don't know what I can do for you.