9. The Bride Vs Elle Driver
The Bride vs Elle Driver
Kill Bill: vol 2 (2004)
Uma Thurman and Daryl Hannah in "Kill Bill: vol 2"
Combatants: Uma Thurman (The Bride) and Daryl Hannah (Elle Driver)
Length: Approximately 6 minutes
Director: Quentin Tarantino
View Slide Show (30 images)
This one is lots of fun: two tall, beautiful blondes stuck in a trailer with a samurai sword (well, two to be exact). Like number 10, this one is edited pretty heavily, but it works in this case because it keeps the fight moving very quickly.
The thing that stood out to me upon seeing this the first time, was how raw and dirty it is. It isn't a pretty fight; there's no elegance or finesse to it. These girls are using everything they can put their hands on to their advantage. It's two women fighting over furniture, through walls, and ending in a samurai joust with an eyeball snatch. What's not to like?
This is my favorite fight from the "Kill Bill" films. The end of "Kill Bill: Volume 1", where The Bride takes on the Crazy 88s is good, but I don't consider one character stomping through a pile of adversaries to really be a fight scene - there has to be some give and take. Since I picked this fight, I threw all the other "Kill Bill" fights out of the running.
8. L.T. Bonham Vs Aaron Hallam
L.T. Bonham vs Aaron Hallam
The Hunted (2003)
Tommy Lee Jones and Benecio Del Toro in "The Hunted"
Combatants: Tommy Lee Jones (L.T. Bonham) and Benecio Del Toro (Aaron Hallam)
Length: Approximately 4 minutes
Director: William Friedkin
This has to be the bloodiest and most painful fight I've ever seen. There's something inherently scary about a hand-to-hand knife fight -I think it's because, unlike a sword fight, it may take several stabs or slices to end it. I know "The Hunted" is just a "First Blood" rip-off, but this scene deserves attention.
These guys are experts in Sayoc Kali, which is a variation of the Kali fighting style specializing in knives. Throughout the film, we see scenes of Aaron Hallam training in Sayoc Kali and going on missions, and you just know that it's going to end up in a knife fight between him and Richard Crenna...I mean Tommy Lee Jones. The build-up is done very well. In the fight itself, Bonham and Hallam just cut away at each other and the way Friedkin sprays just enough blood to make it hurt and be believable really sells it. This is the best knife fight out there, so it finds its way into the top 10.
