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Ricochet Movie Fight Club: Question 20
Two-time champion, Brian Watt, learned exactly how hard it is to win three in a row. Teaching that lesson (with a little help from a blind Audrey Hepburn) was J D Fitzpatrick, who earned the right to ask: What movie has the best duel? All movies should be pre-CGI. For this question, a duel is defined as a single moment of combat between two characters, with a clear resolution. Duels can be short or long, but they should display unity of time, place, and action, meaning that the contest is restricted to a particular moment in the film, not drawn out over its course.
The Rules:
- Post your answer as a comment. Make it clear that this is your official answer, one per member.
- Defend your answer in the comments and fight it out with other Ricochet member answers for the rest of the week.
- Whoever gets the most likes on their official answer comment (and only that comment) by Friday night wins the fight.
- The winner gets the honor of posting the next question on Saturday.
- In the case of a tie, the member who posted the question will decide the winner.
Notes:
- Only movies will qualify (no TV shows) however films that air on television (BBC films, a stand-alone mini-series) will qualify.
- Your answer can be as off-the-wall or controversial as you’d like. It will be up to you to defend it and win people to your side.
- Fight it out.
Movie Fight Club Questions by Week:
- What is the best film portrayal of a book character? Winner: Charlotte with 18 likes for Alan Rickman’s portrayal of Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies.
- What is the best motion picture comedy of the 21st century? Winner: split decision. In an exemplary display of genuine sportsmanship, Randy Webster conceded the fight to Marjorie Reynolds’ pick Team America: World Police.
- What film provides the most evocative use of location? Winner: Taras with 21 likes for Lawrence of Arabia. Wasn’t even close.
- What is the best film that utilizes or is inspired by a work of William Shakespeare? Winner: Dr. Bastiat with five likes for The Lion King, a film inspired by Hamlet.
- Which movie has the best surprise ending, or unexpected plot twist? Winner: Repmodad with 18 likes for The Sixth Sense.
- What pre-1970s black-and-white movie would be most enjoyed by a modern 18- to 25-year-old audience? Winner: E J Hill with 9 likes for a Casablanca. (He didn’t exactly designate it his official answer, and most of the likes may have been for the modern Casablanca trailer rather than for it as an answer to the question, but nobody seemed to dispute it on those grounds, so that’s how the cookie crumbles.)
- What movie did you go to based on the trailer, only to have felt cheated? (i.e., the trailer was 10x better than the movie?) Winner: Back to back wins by E J Hill with 9 likes for Something to Talk About.
- Name the worst movie portrayal of your profession (where applicable.) Winner: LC with 8 likes for Denise Richards’ Dr. Christmas Jones in The World is Not Enough.
- What is the worst movie that claims to be based or inspired by a true story? Winner: Tex929rr with 16 likes for the, “…terrible acting, and countless deviations from history,” in Pearl Harbor.
- What is your favorite little known movie? Winner: A last-minute rally for Tremors made the difference as Songwriter took the week 10 win!
- What is the best movie that you never want to watch again? Winner:
HitlerCharlotte with 15 likes for Schindler’s List. Sorry, Richard Oshea but Jesus won the real fight.
Week 11.5 Exhibition Match (as a make-up of sorts, since Songwriter didn’t get the week 11 question submitted in time) Name the best movie theme song ever? No winner declared but I’m pretty sure it was I.M. Fine with “Moon River.” - Name the best animated feature-length movie of all time. Winner: I.M. Fine with 10 likes for Pinocchio, and justice for I.M. Fine prevailed.
- What is the worst acting performance in an otherwise good film? Winner: In one of the most brutal fights we’ve seen yet Repmodad fended off a furious 12th-round onslaught by Gary McVey to give Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves the win with 20 likes.
- What is the quintessential American movie? Winner: Miffed White Male pulled off the comeback with 20 likes for The Right Stuff. There was a two-way tie at 19 for second place as well.
- What’s the most entertaining movie set during WWII? Winner: Arahant clearly won with Casablanca’s walloping 30 likes despite the withering onslaught by Sisyphus on the final day.
- What is the best movie love story? Winner: Songwriter with 20 likes for The Princess Bride with 20 likes. Up managed to make a strong showing and Dr. Bastiat is still conducting recounts trying to “find” some uncounted votes.
- What’s the best’ buddy’ movie? Winner: Brian Watt wins with 12 likes for The Man Who Would be King.
- What is the worst movie (not a made-for-TV movie) ever made? Brian Watt joins E.J. Hill as the only other back-to-back winner with 16 likes for Barbarella. Brian will get another crack at it by choosing the week 19 question. Can he make it three?
- What is the most frightening non-bloody film you’ve ever seen? The winner: J D Fitzpatrick with Wait Until Dark, starring the lovely Audrey Hepburn getting terrorized over a doll, sort of.
As Captain Aubrey says, “Pistols for two and coffee for one.”
Deliverance.
Not prearranged. Not combatants. No point of honor to settle. No set of rules articulated.
That’s alright. They’re not really weapons either, unless used in the wrong hands.
And the song is entitled Dueling Banjos even though there’s only one banjo in the scene…not to be all pedantic. Runs in the family.
Don’t watch anything by that child rapist Polanski.
It’s a little stronger when he’s shooting his own son.
Eh, the rules were defined in the OP:
Flicker was responding to my brother Don’s comment #176 on Page 6…not the rules set forth in the OP.
Gosh, you don’t say.
How many Watt brothers are there, anyway??
Three. Doug, Brian, and Don.
Depends on who you talk to.
Win the competition and you too may define the terms!
But I still have the OAD on my side: “(in modern use) a contest between two parties”
“Duel” is more elegant than “Fight between two or three people.”
Brian, I urge you to reclaim Casablanca.
1 + 0 = 2! (That’s called science, my friend.)
I’ve been working on GRE math for the last three weeks (God help me) and at this point that sounds about right.
By the way, I checked the rules, and it looks like we can vote for multiple entries. So someone wouldn’t technically need to withdraw his vote from one movie to vote for another one. (I suppose this has already been discussed in previous Fight Club threads.)
19. Minimum.
I almost forgot this, it’s a two-for. You get Shatner covering Black Sabbath, and the best of Kirk’s fight skills.
A film is more than just its director. And holding the entire production company at fault for the actions of one man, is petty.
Just enough.
So a fight between two people brings any boxing movie into play, as well as a contest between two parties allowing the truly pivotal contest in such thrillers as “Quiz Show”? One could envision a tap duel between Fred and Ginger, couldn’t one?
Sorry, a duel is a duel is a duel. Because it sounds more elegant than “fight” doesn’t change its meaning.
Pedant filter off.
I would go with “Birds of Prey” (1973), a feature length helicopter duel, and i think the best of its kind.
https://youtu.be/ITsExjg47-c
But I would nominate the final fight between Philo Beddoe and Jack Wilson in “Any Which Way You Can” which unfortunately I couldn’t find a youtube clip of it. It’s an epic fist fight though and one of the best I can think of.
I would include Rob Roy, as well.
I’m surprised that no none has mentioned one of the few that certainly meet the original criterion along with my more closely defined idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1T1pBAdqxY
Well, I’d like to add that my nomination of Harakiri totally fits this precise definition.
Whoa! So that means I could manage third place (the completely technical, probably unrecognized, kind) with only one vote? Also… one vote?? 😑 Conservatives have a way of disappointing me the most.
I prefer pistols at dawn. My seconds will call on your seconds.
By that token, Bull Durham is one long duel between Crash and Nuke.
I don’t care. Who gets top billing? The director. Especially when it’s the child raper.
Of course. Liberals can’t disappoint because you expect nothing good from them.