If you missed the last one…
The 1980s heralded a new interest in Fantasy films, much of it driven by the anticipation then success of Conan the Barbarian in 1982. This wave actually started earlier in the 1970s with mega-success of Star Wars (1977), which turned Hollywood toward the fantastic. The energy continued but ebbed after 1982 with a crop of low-budget “barbarian” movies filmed for the new direct-to-video market. Whole films centered on cheesy gimmicks like a sword that fires blades like the one in The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982).
In and among the bad acting and poor budgets were some memorable fight scenes. Some are cheese and some surprising for their sheer imagination. I have not included any animated fight scenes since they deserve their own post. (Fantasy animation did well in the 1980s, long before the age of plenty we experience today.) I have not included any Ray Harryhausen (Clash of the Titans) because he had his own post last time.
For me what constitutes a great fight scene is believability and something new. Most actors (in the 198os anyway) were not good sword-fighters. Arnie struggles with it in the Conan films as do most others. Back in the 1930s and the days of Errol Flynn, actors learned sword-fighting for Shakespearean stage productions. In more modern times, following the success of stars like Steve Reeves, stars were found in the gym. Actors need to be muscular but are slow. Gimmicks were often used to get around this, like the blade-shooting sword or some special effect.
Here are my ten picks for the most interesting (if not stellar) fight scenes from 1980 to 1985.
Hawk the Slayer (1980) is a cult classic. We remember it fondly because it showed us what was possible. Is it good? I think not, but it did have a whole fight scene in a smoke cloud.
Dragonslayer (1981) got my hopes up in 1981. I thought all fantasy films would have this level of care and money behind it. What could go wrong? The classic wizard versus dragon fight at the end of the film was great. It even holds up for the most part today in our world of CGI dragons.
Excalibur was the retelling of the classic King Arthur story. The final fight between Arthur and Mordred was probably the best fight scene and the longest. For a movie about warfare there is a lot of non-fighting in it. John Boorman did not neglect the wizards of the tale like Merlin and Morgan Le Fay. The joust duel between Arthur and Lancelot was one of the other fights.
Conan the Barbarian – Doom’s Army I could have included so many scenes from this 1980s classic. I hated this film for a long time but have come to appreciate it as a film if not as a Howard film. The snake fight is another classic scene but is less frantic compared to the final fight.
The Beastmaster (1982) is a confusing film when you look at the source material. it was loosely based on Andre Norton’s book, which is a space opera. This film is all Sword & Sorcery. Marc Singer was a better actor than Arnold Schwartznegger in many ways. And he had ferrets. There were two sequels and then a TV show.
Hercules (1983) was one of many awful movies made after Conan the Barbarian. I included this scene because Hercules fights a bear. My Arthan the bear-man series combines warrior and bear. I couldn’t resist.
Conan the Destroyer (1984) – Mirror Ape The sequel to Conan the Barbarian showed us things weren’t going to get better with the franchise as time went on. There are many fight scenes but this one sticks in the mind. They butchered “Rogues in the House” for another scene with fun house mirrors.
The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984) was a David Carradine vehicle milking his old Kung Fu fame. It is no better or worse than many 1980s films but had a decent end fight scene.
Legend (1985) has its faults (lack of story for one) but it has style. Full points to Ridley Scott there. What is doesn’t have is plenty of fight scenes. We do get a final battle between Tom Cruise and Tim Curry.
Ladyhawke (1985) is an odd film in that it had everything: budget, big actors, a decent story. Rutger Hauer as Etienne Navarre is a natural but he did better in Flesh and Blood (also 1985) which didn’t have the magical aspects.
Conclusion: Honorable Mention:
Ator the Fighting Eagle (1982) is a bad movie on so many levels but I did want to give kudos for the idea (if not the execution) of the shadow fight. I have mentioned my disappointment with the Atlantean sword scene in Conan the Barbarian before, but this scene reminds me of one version of “The Thing in the Crypt” by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter that got changed to a shadow fight by Roy Thomas in the comics. For more on all that, go here. I thought it fun that Ator tried to do something similar (without CGI). Points for trying, anyway.
Next time….Fight Scenes from the Cartoons!
