Top 10+ Most Historically Accurate Sword Fights in Movies, Ranked

It's easy enough to name some of the world's best sword fights in cinema. When audiences define 'best,' it usually means the most entertaining, stylistically unique, bombastic, or narratively meaningful. However, with the information age miring expectations of films with the desire to have more accurate representations of sword fighting, the old tropes of slamming blades together for several minutes don't seem to cut it for audiences over-saturated with the usual choreography.

Film and television have been slowly introducing more accurate aspects of sword fighting into their media, yet it cuts a lot of the entertainment factor of these matches short. Most sword fights don't last very long, with simple cuts from razor-sharp blades often being more than sufficient to dispatch an enemy in seconds. For some filmmakers, showing accurate sword fights and draping them in narrative buildup and intensity throughout the film makes up for the quick and brutal reality. Which films exhibited these fights best, much to the praise of casual and professional historians?

13 Assassins Shows Fights That Exhibit Tactical Crowd Control

13 Assassins group fight

Japan's samurai films have echoed their influence across the globe. From their stoic characters, deep philosophies, and intense fights, they inadvertently inspired nearly the entire dramatic sector of the American Western genre. For the most part, many of these films exhibit a wonderful display of accuracy and understanding of historical fighting from their eras, but even Japanese films are privy to dramatization as well.

The original 13 Assassins is an intense and fun film to watch for fans of the genre. A more action-packed version was released in 2010, which was well-loved. However, the original is where the narrative depth truly matches the intensity of the combat. There are situations in the film where the hero is pitted against numerous opponents at once. The choreography in these situations and his use of the town's streets and alleys to bottleneck the swarm of swords feels well-calculated for the circumstances of the fight. Often, martial arts fights with large groups have a very predictable format, but with 13 Assassins, all who fight feel like they are being cautious of their opponent and each other, whilst also trying to be effective.

Macbeth Acknowledged How Useful Armor Was

Columbia Pictures

• Unfortunately, Macbeth was a box office flop, with a loss of 3.5 million.
• This was one of Playboy's very first funded productions for cinema.

Macbeth is part of Roman Polanski's darker leg of films proceeding after the tragic events with his family. His recreation of Macbeth was realized with all the foreboding and blood that Shakespeare's play deserved. Macbeth's drafty castles, ominous witchcraft, and greed-driven king clutching onto his last dregs of power were executed with impact in their cinematic execution.

The final duel, where Macbeth fights with Macduff in full armor, is a great example of what an actual fight between armored combatants would look like. Armor is too often used just for show in Hollywood films, and their presence is often not considered once swords are drawn, but in the case of Macbeth, blades bounce off the armor and the combatants struggle between crossed weapons and throwing fists, desperately trying to stab or cut at the openings between their opponents' armor. This scene alone exhibits a fantastic attention to detail that most medieval films of the time never bothered with.

Samurai III Gave Life To A Famous Samurai's Unique Duel

Toho Studios

• Miyamoto Musashi is considered a Kensei of Japan, undefeated in a total of 62 duels.
• Musashi was well-known for his double-bladed swordsmanship.

The epic Samurai trilogy is a dramatization of one of Japan's most legendary duelist Samurai, Miyamoto Musashi. In the third installment, Samurai III: Duel At Ganryu Island, he is finally pressed out into the open again to fight a duel with his eager rival Kojiro. Intent on winning and being left alone, Miyamoto meets him on a beach where his weapon of choice and positioning become crucial.

This fight in Samurai III has a methodical and thoughtful pace, showing the true patience of a master who understands that to rush or be brash would mean certain death. Miyamoto uses his positioning in front of the sunset and his depth in the shoreline as an advantage against the agile Kojiro. Furthermore, Miyamoto opts to fight the majority of the duel with a long stick to ward off most of Kojiro's attacks. It is only when the distance is finally breached and Kojiro's confidence has been reinforced by the wily Miyamoto that he draws his weapon with his stick and delivers the final blow. This is a great display of a duel of attrition in cinema.

The Count of Monte Cristo Loads The Blade With Deadly Emotion

Image via Touchstone Pictures

• The film was shot in Malta and Ireland.
• This version is the 17th adaptation of this literary classic.

Often, historically accurate fights in films are surrounded by less-than-accurate fights. However, in the case of 2002's The Count of Monte Cristo, every time a blade is drawn, the tension, precision, and deadliness of the fight become palpable in the air. Although this entire film can be appreciated for its action and storytelling, the final duel between Edmond Dantes and Fernand Mondego in the fields is one of the most riveting rapier fights to grace modern cinema.

From the starting line, "You know I couldn't live in a world where you have everything and I have nothing," to the last sharp thrust, this final duel exceeds the great buildup and expectations of the entire film. Granted, there is a bit of fancy blade work that is "Hollywood excessive", but it's done with the expert choreography of long-time sword master Bob Anderson, who uses proper fencing distance and footwork throughout to give realism even to the flowery moments. Even with those inclusions, the weight and depth of cuts and fighting is felt with every motion, and nothing feels like a wasted move, which feels real in spirit, even when it isn't in its complete execution.

Rob Roy Is A Great Contrast Of Swords And Techniques

Rob Roy Duel starring Liam Neeson and Eli Roth

• Rob Roy is based on the classic book written by Sir Walter Scott.
• Rob Roy was a real historical figure, but his real story is highly fictionalized by Scott.

Liam Neeson and Tim Roth face off in another of Bob Anderson's wonderfully-choreographed fights in Rob Roy. The unique part of this fight is showing the intense cultural contrast between two completely different fighting styles and swords in a one-on-one scenario. Tim Roth as Cunningham uses a razor-sharp rapier versus Roy's thick and heavy basket-hilted claymore.

Not only is the difference in status different between the characters, but their entire beings are contrasted against one another in this fight, adding to the quality that this duel brings to the story. Cunningham's quick cuts slowed and wore down the larger and slower Roy, who couldn't get the distance needed to land a proper blow on the nimble noble. Even though Roy's technique is slow, his resolve is high, and he just needs one good swing, so he takes a hit to snag Cunningham and then lays his blade down onto him for an incredible turnaround. No cheap tricks or overblown dialogue take up the fight, just straightforward, calculated, and intense violence, as it would have been in the 18th century.

The Last Duel Is A Symphony of Steel

The Last Duel featuring Adam Driver and Matt Damon's characters in a standoff

• The title of the film refers to the last trial by combat that the film depicts, which took place in France in 1386.
• The duel scene took two months to choreograph and two weeks to film.

Ridley Scott's directorial account of an actual trial that led to a duel is delivered with great weight in The Last Duel. The fight begins as a joust that slowly degrades to a fight in the mud with axes, swords, and gauntlets. The fully-plated knights, intent on killing one another, communicate the importance of all their decisions as they fight with utter ferocity.

Once again, the use of effective armor is not ignored in the choreography, allowing wounds and the killings to come from openings in the armor rather than cutting through it. The fact that these knights only resort to swords for a short time in the middle, and use more than just the blades as weapons, also shows great attention to historical detail. The only knock to this film's fight is the impractical half-visors on the knights' helmets, which only exist to show the A-listers' faces as they do their own stunts, a classically obvious move in many period action pieces. In conjunction with The Last Duel, honorable mention should go to one of Ridley Scott's other medieval masterpieces, Kingdom of Heaven, whose forest battle near the beginning of the film is executed with an equal amount of attention.

The Deluge Shows A Rare Type Of Sword Fighting For Western Audiences

Closeup of hero in The Deluge

Hollywood and Japan don't hold a monopoly on having good sword fights in their films, even if their styles are more popularized. The Deluge is a famous Polish film that depicts the historic war between the Swedish Protestants and Polish-Lithuanian Catholics. Cultures and ideals clash on the fields of battle and in the twilight hours of duels. One such exchange in The Deluge is widely regarded as one of the best displays of saber fighting on foot.

The two combatants fight on muddy, uneven terrain in a town. All of their motions are careful and cut close to their opponent. There is almost no second in the duel that ever feels rehearsed or choreographed, since the camera breathes for longer shots on the fight rather than cuts excessively like most Hollywood fights. In the end, calmness, poise, and experience win over high technical skill and youth, and a simple, quick cut on the head with a razor-sharp edge is all that's needed to bring down the defeated. For those needing a historical piece that is quite different from the usual Hollywood swashbucklers, The Deluge is a great film to expand those horizons.

The King Displays The Importance Of Getting The Upper Hand

The King - Timothée Chalamet - Photo Credit: Netflix

• The King is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's famous history play, Henry V.
• Henry V's reign lasted from 1413-1422.

Shakespearean adaptations on film are always a dramatic excuse for a good fight. Instead of using Shakespeare's prose directly, The King blends Shakespeare's narrative spirit with historical intrigue to build an interesting drama, building up to the Battle of Agincourt. One scene that really proves the film's desire to make this story believable is its detail in the arms and armor in the fight, let alone how fully-armored knights would fight with two-handed swords to the death.

Unlike The Last Duel, The King holds true to using realistic-looking armor even at the expense of covering the actors' faces, which would have been how knights would have fought. Furthermore, many accounts of fights between fully-armored combatants were recorded to have been reduced to wrestling and fisticuffs at certain points, which often happens throughout the duel. Henry and Hotspur often scramble for their lost weapons as soon as they break from each other's grappling, showing the importance of regaining lost advantages. Showing their intensity and clumsiness between blows whilst rattling in the grass in full plate is an incredibly immersive scene that captures what it must have been like to fight during that era.

The Duelists Accentuates The Fragility Of The Body Against The Blade

The Duelists third duel

Egos clash throughout the battlefields of Napoleonic Europe between two soldiers in Ridley Scott's first-ever feature film, The Duelists. Known for its picturesque framing inspired by paintings from the era, The Duelists takes audiences on a tour of the wars from the perspective of the toxic bravado that led to many futile duels off the battlefield. The beautiful part about Scott's command of the many varieties of sword duels exhibited throughout the film is that he always emphasizes the fragility of the human body when it is wounded, adding to the severity of the idea that a duel was never meant to be a romanticized practice.

During the second duel between the rivals, one of them is nicked with a very shallow thrust. It is non-lethal, but it topples them, making them unable to continue the duel. This leads to the second, exchanging terms and suggestions to both rivals that they should make up now that blood has been drawn. This duel in particular is brilliant for also showing how quick and lethal most duels were, and how a simple cut or thrust could incapacitate one's opponent. Most Hollywood films show heroes to be brave in the case of an injury, fighting on, but The Duelists exhibits the reality of the body going into shock from such a sudden and abrasive injury.

Alatriste Is A Fabulous Display Of Spanish Sword Fighting

Alatriste Viggo Mortensen looking at enemy

Based on a well-loved Spanish book series, Alatriste is a deep and dark historical intrigue drama that takes place in 17th century Spain. Captain Alatriste is played by Viggo Mortensen, who fits perfectly since he is also fluent in Spanish. The duels in the film are simple in decoration, letting the costumes and setting act only as a backdrop to the intense and deadly swashbuckling that is unleashed in age-old atriums and alleyways.

The beauty of watching Alatriste's fights is getting to see the very Spanish style of rapier and dagger fighting at its height. Swords and daggers tangle and lock, and the long blades slice like razors through the leather and cloth of the musketeers. Inflamed by jealousy, ambition, and mercenary agendas, the opponents Alatriste encounters throughout the film are as deadly as he is, and, although he is the hero of the books, he does not get off easy with his losses and wounds. The film's display of this kind of rapier fighting, as well as how it is filmed, deserves to be studied for bigger Hollywood films to hybridize how to tell a story through the fight, as well as accurately portray how people fought.