The StarWars.com 10: Best Fights.

Star Wars

The Official Youtube Channel for Star Wars just uploaded another video in the new “Top Ten” Series they started a few weeks ago. Hit the Jump to find out what are the best fights in Star Wars…

 

 

 

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40 thoughts on “The StarWars.com 10: Best Fights.

  • August 28, 2014 at 10:18 pm
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    lol I din’t even watch it yet, posted it first, watching now. I hope luke vs vader ROTJ is #1.

    anakin vs obi wan ROTS is my #2 pick

    what are your top picks?

    • August 29, 2014 at 12:33 am
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      I agree with your #1… that scene still gives me the goose bumps!

    • August 29, 2014 at 3:20 am
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      Hey Dandino, it looks like the system thinks I clicked the “report comment” on this first comment of yours, but I swear I never touched it.

      Fun post, by the way! ;^)

      • August 29, 2014 at 12:49 pm
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        Don’t worry guys if you accidentally press the “report” button. It has to be pressed at least several times by different members to enter moderation. And I already asked our sysadmin to move the button to the right. So soon it will be fixed.

      • August 30, 2014 at 1:11 am
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        thanks man. don’t worry bout it.

  • August 28, 2014 at 10:38 pm
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    I actually agree with most of the list, but Dandino you are nuts if you think the Vader v. Luke in ROTJ is better than the one in ESB.

    • August 28, 2014 at 11:48 pm
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      Luke vs Vader in ESB is my favorite, Luke vs Vader in ROTJ is 2nd, and Qui Gon, Obi-Wan vs Maul is 3rd,

    • August 29, 2014 at 12:08 am
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      Kenobi vs Fett wasn’t a lightsaber fight.

        • August 29, 2014 at 8:28 pm
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          But it wasn’t a “lightsaber fight”… the term is generally used as LS v LS fight. Blaster v. Lightsaber yes.

          • August 29, 2014 at 11:00 pm
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            lightsaber vs Tauntaun belly (pre special edition when Han swiped first) ftw

          • August 30, 2014 at 7:08 am
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            I wonder if this list is any indication of Lucasfilm’s preference with how to handle the lightsaber fights in the ST.

  • August 28, 2014 at 11:20 pm
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    Boy, when I first glanced at this I thought you guys were already talking about Episode 10.

  • August 28, 2014 at 11:28 pm
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    I was a huge fan of the choreography started with Episode one, and was really looking forward to the final fight in Episode 3 (especially given the fact that they were hyping it up as the longest duel of the saga). But every second of the fight was ruined…really ruined imo by the editing. It was obvious that Ewan and Hayden were performing amazing stuff, and the behind the scenes footage showed long takes of uninterrupted stylistic moves. What we actually saw was a mess of quick edits that completely confused everything that was happening. For what they showed on screen, they may as well have been complete amateurs, and yet the actors really put in the effort only to be overrode by the editor. It’s nearly impossible to count 2 seconds between cuts during the entire scene, and for me it makes the scene almost unwatchable due to the misused potential the actors brought. This idea of amping up intensity through fast editing may work for the first viewing but it makes any re-watch enjoyment difficult.

  • August 28, 2014 at 11:42 pm
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    I agree. Darth Maul vs. Obi Wan and Qui Gon is the best duel in SW universe.

  • August 29, 2014 at 12:05 am
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    I don’t have a problem with the list.

  • August 29, 2014 at 1:54 am
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    The Phantom Anus light saber wank-fest over the ESB “I am your father” duel?? Sorry, but no. The scene in ANH with Obi-Wan chopping off Walrus Man’s arm had more emotional depth than that entire turd of a movie.

    • August 29, 2014 at 4:38 am
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      Old Fossil? Go to hell

    • August 29, 2014 at 5:38 am
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      It’s funny how worked up people get over somebody else’s top ten list.

  • August 29, 2014 at 1:59 am
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    Wow. A truly great list. Praising spectacle and shlock above storytelling. Everything that’s right with the modern film industry. Hurray! ..

  • August 29, 2014 at 2:54 am
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    Yoda vs. Darth Sidious is the best duel in my opinion.

    But I love the one with Darth Maul too.

  • August 29, 2014 at 3:29 am
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    For me, nothing tops the ESB duel. It’s not a lot of flashy gymnastics, but the way it builds up so brilliantly to that emotional gut punch at the end, with Luke’s initial bravado being slowly ground down by Vader’s obvious superiority as a swordsman and Force user, pushing Luke back and back to the brink until… the moment.

    The TPM duel is a good action piece, and it does have some emotional juice as Obi Wan sees his mentor struck down, but IMHO it doesn’t hold a candle to the ESB duel.

    • August 29, 2014 at 4:15 am
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      I’m in your camp on that Dekka129.Even after seeing that duel a hundred times I still get a shiver down my spine when I hear Vader say those truly epic words “I am your father”.

    • August 30, 2014 at 6:46 pm
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      Totally agree, the ESB duel still gives me the shivers to this day even after seeing it so often. When the lights go up and the iconic breathing is heard, ”The force is with you young Skywalker..”, I’m gripped, no cgi leaping around, no over the top spinning and leaping about, just a young guy, way out of his league holding his own against a superior warrior.
      The prequel fights were too flashy and computer gamey for me

  • August 29, 2014 at 4:13 am
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    I mostly agree but maybe Anakin vs Obi-Wan should be no1 ….

  • August 29, 2014 at 5:50 am
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    ESB should absolutely, without question, be #1. The fight itself might not be as well executed as others, but for the purposes of storytelling it is the best. And the pacing/mood is fantastic.

  • August 29, 2014 at 8:31 am
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    It’s kind of funny that it says Episode V on the ROTJ fight and Episode IV on the ESB fight… IMHO top 3 would be
    1. Luke vs Vader ESB
    2. Luke vs Vader ROTJ
    3. Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon vs Maul TPM

  • August 29, 2014 at 10:16 am
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    It’s not a bad list although, for all it’s stunning choregoraphy, the fight with Maul pales next to the emotional impact and importance of Luke’s fight with Vader in the Empire Strikes Back. I’d probably put the Empire duel first, the Sith duel between Obi-wan and Anakin second for similar reasons, the Maul duel third, and the Jedi duel between Luke and Vader 4th, since, despite it’s incredible importance, it almost looked like Marquand phoned it in, especially when compared to the duel in Empire. Still, they count the fight as continuing all the way to the Emperor’s demise so, if that’s the case, then I’d probably have to push it up to Number 2.

    The only one that really seemed higher than was warranted to me was the fight between Yoda and Palpatine. It’s fun but doesn’t compete with the other top duels, in my opinion.

    Have they done a top ten on space battles?

  • August 29, 2014 at 2:39 pm
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    It’s not about the choreography as it was plainly better in the PT but I judge them more on the build up and how much ‘meaning’ those duels have attached to them, therefore the ESB duel wins by some considerable distance.

    I really can’t stand the Yoda fights as I find the Loony Toon style of fighting a bit laughable, it’s a shame they couldn’t have worked out a better way to show his power than having him bounce around like a pinball.

    I think the Duel of Fates holds up best from the PT but Maul should have gotten away as he was by far the most menacing bad guy in the PT and I would have liked to see him return in 2 & 3.

    The Anakin vs Obi Wan seemed quite epic upon release but I don’t think it holds up to repeated viewings as well as I would hope. Ignoring the much maligned fall to the dark side by Anakin, I think the visual FX have dated and the part where they jump on those tiny platforms over the lava take me out of the scene. I do have to give it top marks for how brutal the end of that fight was as I never thought Lucas would go so far in a ‘kids’ film.

    • August 29, 2014 at 5:56 pm
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      The little floaty platform thing has always bothered me too. It was completely unnecessary, and ended up being just more CGI flash that took focus away from the drama of the scene.

      The ROTS “making of” books showed one or two production paintings with this great long shot of Obi Wan and Anakin dueling atop a rock plateau with lava flowing by below. The isolated, lonely feel of that image is, to me, exactly what the ROTS duel needed. Not chirping cartoon robots floating past to try and break the tension… just two old friends way out away from everything, fighting each other to the death in a duel that no other eye, organic or robotic, will ever see.

      Much like the ESB duel, where it was JUST Luke and Vader in that remote part of Cloud City.

      IMHO, the ROTS duel had a lot of dramatic potential that Lucas managed to miss out on.

    • September 1, 2014 at 12:54 am
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      I mostly agree with you, especially about the importance of the various duels to the story being more critical than the choreography. But a really great duel has both, which is why I find Luke’s duel with Vader in Return of the Jedi to be rather disappointing since it SHOULD be the high point of the entire series.

      I also like Yoda’s first duel in Attack of the Clones. I had long wanted to see Yoda with a lightsaber so there was a certain amount of wish fulfillment involved there but it was also fun to see him fight in such a vastly different way than all of the other Jedi. I like the duel he has with Darth Sidious in Sith as well but, given the importance of the two characters and what’s happening, I guess I just wanted a bit more from it, both dramatically speaking and in it’s choreography.

      I know what both of you are talking about with the tiny platforms in the main duel from Sith but I’m always caught up in it enough that it doesn’t pull me out. The idea is fine but the execution of those shots is not entirely convincing. Still, the visual splendor of the duel as a whole is remarkable and, coupled with John Williams beatiful score, makes for an appropriately dramatic and climactic duel for what is, I suppose, the second most important duel of the Saga.

  • August 29, 2014 at 2:57 pm
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    I don’t have a problem with what’s on the list, just the order. The top few stick out the most to me. I’d go with:

    1. Anakin vs Obi Wan (ROTS)
    2. Luke vs Vader (TESB)
    3. Luke vs Vader (ROTJ)
    4. Qui Gon/Obi Wan vs Maul (TPM)

    I absolutely adore the way the Yoda and Obi Wan fights are cut together in Revenge of the Sith. They completely outdid themselves in that movie. Prequel haters just intentionally put blinders on for that one. It’s clearly the best fight sequence in the entire saga. One guy above mentioned he didn’t like the way the sequence was edited; I say the way it was edited was terrific and made the whole thing truly exciting. It had all of the emotion you could want, and the stakes could not be higher at that point.

    I prefer the OT, but for me those two fights are the best in the series.

  • August 29, 2014 at 4:32 pm
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    Too bad we never got to see Darth Maul fight Darth Vader. The Sith fight for the ages. I love Star wars but Lucas ruined the prequels with too much drama and yak between Anakin and Padme. Cut all that drama in half, replace it with more side adventures, and it would have turned out better. This is why im glad Lucas no longer writes or directs any more. And i dont care if he always sad from all the negative vive he got from fans about the prequels. Many directors and writers would have been honored to help Lucas. Insted, he got greedy and his ego got too big… thats what he gets…

    • September 1, 2014 at 1:01 am
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      Too much drama? That seems an odd complaint to me although I suppose that, compared to the original Star Wars and somewhat to Return of the Jedi (although not so much to Empire), I can understand it. Still, I think those who complain that not all the drama, especially between Anakin and Padme, was very well done, have a stronger point. Drama is the stuff of storytelling.

  • August 29, 2014 at 7:48 pm
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    Han vs Greedo… I win.

  • August 30, 2014 at 12:41 am
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    I adore all prequel trilogy duels. They are visually stunning.

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