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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.
Yawn. Since you have no reference to my point about the dictionary, I take it I’ve won.
(I’m leaving my last off-the-cuff response up, but I’m not very happy with it, so I’m creating a longer reply.)
Why not? Anyone care to propose Rocky?
Someone can propose it, but I think it’s hardly exciting enough to gain votes in this thread. Besides, two people answering scripted questions hardly seems to fit the spirit of a duel.
For the purposes of this thread, sure.
Objection to the Oxford American Dictionary noted. Write the editors, not me.
Of course, you are welcome to start your own thread regarding duels. I’d be happy to make suggestions under any definition you choose. We can take it back to the 18th century and go with Lovelace vs. Morden in Clarissa, or go back a bit farther to Sir Andrew vs. Viola in Twelfth Night.
UPDATE: I actually created a thread for this definition. “Strict constructionists” can fight it out there.
https://ricochet.com/792974/the-reformed-fight-club-thread-on-movie-duels/
Please do. I’ve said before that Signore would make a great podcast guest to discuss cancel culture. I am a fan of Popcorned Planet.
I always vote on several. I’ve also removed my like upon occasion based on the convincing arguments of members in the thread. So, fight it out and win those votes (or convince others to retract theirs). It doesn’t really matter if an entry meets the criteria (Casablanca doesn’t). If it doesn’t, the members won’t vote it into the win, or, at least, they’ve managed to get it right so far.
And if anyone wants to debate movie duels using @donwatt‘s definition, I’ve created a new thread here, with a first entry.
https://ricochet.com/792974/the-reformed-fight-club-thread-on-movie-duels/
You cite the OAD. Could you please cite the first, i.e. the primary, definition given for “duel?.
I’m guessing it more closely follows my thoughts. Online sources: Lexico (OED) leads with the idea of an arranged combat “to settle a point of honour.” Merriam Webster says firstly “a combat between two persons specifically: a formal combat with weapons between two persons in the presence of witnesses.” The Free Dictionary leads with”a prearranged combat between two people.” Collins leads with “A duel is a formal fight between two people in which they use guns or swords to settle a quarrel. Wikipedia, Cambridge English Dictionary and every source I see start the same way.
I don’t think you’ve won this, what shall I call it, . . .duel.
Kirk really would try to romance anything, wouldn’t he.
They chose to work with a know child rapist. Maybe not as far up there as working for the CCP, but no small thing.
Schismatic.
Knights of the Teutonic Order.
Official Answer.
https://youtu.be/2AZPfJSlqLc
Dude. Seriously.
Even inanimate objects.
Well, they were essentially a series of movies. TV movies, to be sure, but they weren’t just hour-long shows.
I’m really surprised this one wasn’t mentioned:
As noted in the rules above:
It was, very early on.
But it runs afoul of this condition:
“the contest is restricted to a particular moment in the film, not drawn out over its course.”
It was, very early in the thread.
Not sure how a character who is terrorized and tries to evade his abuser for 95% of the film qualifies as someone engaging in a duel despite the name of the film.
Ah, I sifted through the thread and missed that one.
Which reminds me, I need to actually watch it sometime.
Hey, you can’t argue with a title!
You’ve known me long enough on Ricochet. I can argue about anything.
I was going to suggest this one. Great scene in it’s own right and I would argue not simple at all. But actually one of the great groundbreaking scenes in all movies. By my count they’re three things that have become standard tropes for fight/duel scenes that are all combined here for possibly the first time. (1) Slow motion, can’t find any concrete answer here, but I think Seven Samurai is the first movie to use slow motion for action scenes. (2) The arrogant but less skilled guy not seeing what everyone around him already knows, loosing his temper and getting killed because of it. (3) The pause after the action, prior the the loser in the duel falling over dead.
They manage. I grew up in a deep blue sea. You’re right though, the bar I set for elephants to hurdle over is probably unrealistically high.
No you can’t
You’re not breaking into a Monty Python sketch while I’m here. Stop that.
“Legano, illegano, it’s grey area.”
Make the case.
Is “Annie Get Your Gun” okay?
Anything you can do, I can do better!
No, you can’t!
Yes, I can!
Well, this is one way to boost the comment count. :)