This list was comprised by reader contributions as we are keeping the peoples choice portion alive, but also my personal Top Ten Battle Scenes of all time.  Not to be confused with Top Ten Fight Scenes (coming soon though along with Chase Scenes) this is about Epic Battles in one form or another.  It could be massive armies or one versus one hundred, but either way there is some form of Epic destruction and sacrifice involved.  This one was a fun list to do.  I hope you enjoy and of course as always feel free to add your own thoughts or yell at me for how bad you think I screwed this list up.  -Heather

The supernatural skills of the characters send them almost floating across the sky, giving them the abilities to jump enormous distances, and even fight off an entire armies archers that’s arrows darkened the day lit sky.  The skills of two of our heroes block the majority of these arrows as though they were dancing with them.  The grace and elegance of the martial arts in this movie allow the viewer to really sit back and take everything in while an enticing soundtrack plays in the back round.

Black Hawk Down offers a very profound view to an event that really transpired in Somalia during the Clinton administration.  It clearly sets itself apart from other War films or epics by short-cutting back and forth between the individual experiences of the men during this surmountable mission gone bad.  The brutality of war, the violence of war has all been portrayed before, but not in the way that Ridley Scott shot this film.  It almost felt more documentary at times, connecting the viewer directly to the military men you were focused on.  By the end of the film you don’t ask yourself if it was worth it, you don’t reflect on the political aspect of the situation, nor do you reflect on the aspect of the battle and war itself.  You simply think about the men.  It’s as complicated and simple as that.

The battle for Freedom might be something to visual behold but mostly it’s a cry against oppression.  Like a few other battles here, they may feel slightly BLANK but there is a reason for that.  The power of freedom, the fight for freedom has been something ingrained in our minds and the most important thing worth fighting for. Braveheart , Gladiator, and 300 are all movies that defend the human rights of man.  The right to be free.  There is no stance more powerful to get behind, and thoughBraveheart started out being driven by vengeance it evolved into a film that is iconic because of the strength of it’s message.  The sacrifices of freedom, of choice, and that along with great action and effects is what made the battle inBraveheart so earth shatteringly good.

The cinematography in this film is groundbreaking, and quite possibly the most amazing visual effects I have ever seen on film. It was beautiful, gritty, and seemed to make the screen itself come alive.  Visually it stimulated you, but also it’s nonchalant brutality separates it from other films in this genre in a way that really does make it an original film.  In the mix of the unapologetic violence there is an excellent mix of humor and otherwise entertainment.  300 doesn’t try and make all of it’s action a reflection of realism but rather a fictional interpretation of that realism, and it doesn’t try to capture that realistic violent perspective other films often do.  It let itself wallow in it’s brutality with a smile on it’s face, but still managed to emote more than a superficial front.  300 and it’s horrific battle is one in a million.

Troy had a number of battles and induvidual fight scenes throughout it’s epic tale, but rather then one of the larger or scenes that were drawn on a bigger scale, the one that resonated most powerfully with me was the taking of the Trojan Beach.  Only a handful of Achilles Mermydons vs. thousands of Trojans on an upward battle tearing them to pieces were odds that I enjoyed watching them eaily overcome.  Perhaps they were built to be the underdog, but logic still said they should have been slaughtered on that beach and yet, Achilles tore through the Trojans like a finger on silk.  It was entertaining, powerful, and massively exciting.  It’s a thrill I enjoy sitting through each time I watch it.

There is amazing character development and plot twists, but there is also one of the most overwhelming battles scenes ever onscreen.  Weta not only needed to construct a massive attack with tens of thousands of Orc’s attacking Minas Tirith, but they also had to make the White City itself, which was an enormous undergoing.  With special effects including giant Olyphants, a towering city, the giant spider Shelob, Barad-Dur, Mount Doom, The Witch King, 10,000 Rohirrim, and a ghost army, Return Of The King was a special effects dynasty.  The emptiness of hopelessness is grasped so clearly in this film that it evokes real emotions.  The battle ofMinas Tirith is painful and awful to watch.  It has amazing action sequences, but there are so many cuts to the actual demise of the city, and it’s people, despair is a greater emotion conveyed than the excitement of a great battle scene.  When the Rohirrim show up and the light of the sun is behind them, facing overwhelming odds, yet giving that brief feel of hope, I choke up each time I watch it.  It is one of the most powerful moments in cinema history.  That one moment captures the entire essence of the entire story and brings it to a crashing pause of reflection, fear, and hope.

To some people The Battle Of Endor from Return Of The Jedi, the final piece of the original Star Wars trilogy, may not ring quite as profoundly, but let me prove my point if you want to disagree, of which I’m sure there are plenty points to contest this choice.  Yes, some of the effects are cheesy in the original but I still prefer it to the spoofed up retouched version.  Three films finally came to a conclusion at this point and there was a lot of emotion and excitement that climaxed here and why this battle was so great was because it didn’t let that climax break.  The real centerpiece of the finale was the Emperor, Vader, and Luke showdown, but what was going on in space was just as prevalent to the Rebellion, which was what Luke and the others had sacrificed so much for in the prior films.  It seemed there was no chance for success, but save a loan smuggler ship with Billy Dee hoped up on Colt 45 led those oppressed to victory.  The shot of a super star destroyer crashing into the half finished Death Star is still one of the most memorable movie moments from my childhood.  This finale had it all, and is still the same good fashioned fun it was at the time.  Not all battles have to been gruesome and violent to be good.

When Maximus (Russell Crowe) tells them to unleash hell it’s hard to ignore his enthusiasm for battle, nor is it possible to forget Commodus’s taunting disgusted voice uttering, “Don’t a people know when they are conquered?”  Besides setting a very distinct tone for the film it also shows the very different perspectives of the protagonists and antagonist of the story.  The first scene overwhelms you with gregarious but poignant violence.  It depicts the ruthlessness of battle and the differences the ideology of a man can make in the way he fights. Maximus was shown threw brute physical force throughout the film, but it was here in this scene as a leader that we began to understand the simplicity of the man who was revered as a warrior and capable of such brutal carnage.  The scene is aesthetically pleasing to the yes and you may find yourself holding your breath throughout, but it hits on many more profound and significant levels.

The battle of Helm’s Deep is one of the most intense and technically challenging battle scenes ever on film.  The degree of emotional points countered with some of the most hardcore action sequences to date makes this forty-five minute battle go by quickly, but at the same time tortuously slow.  The time it takes for Dawn to come and the circumstances it takes to get there is entirely authentic.  By the time this film is over a feeling of complete mental exhaustion will settle over you.

As brutal as this unforgiving and relentless part of Saving Private Ryan is, the physical and the personal points it burns with is a wicked combination of entertainment and the painful and awful realization that this is as true as fiction has come to showing us what war is truly like.  For the same reasons Black Hawk Down was so engaging and touched me so personally is the same feel I have for this scene in Private Ryan.  Each time I watch it I feel my eyes burning from holding back tears, and my throat dries with apprehension and fear.  It’s a physical response to something that says a hell of a lot more than big booms and stuff exploding.  It is both riveting and tragic and nothing comes close to it.

PEOPLES CHOICE:
Kingdom Of Heaven
Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
The Patriot
Kill Bill
The Last Samurai
Transformers 2
Apocalypse Now
We Were Soldiers
Flags Of Our Fathers
Ernest Vs. Miners (camp)
South Park vs. Canadians

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