This week, Whitney and I decided that we would come up with some cool Top 10 lists for you guys. If you don't know by now, Whitney writes for Dear Jesus. I don't want to ruin any surprises but her Top 5 is awesome! Go check it out and leave her thousands of comments.
As for my list, the idea came to me while I was putting the finishing touches on my Warriors post. Thanks again to Whit, Matt, and Taylor for the comments on that one. The Warriors has tons of great fights, most of them involving groups fighting each other. Their fights against The Baseball Furies and even the Punks were great but they lacked a certain something. Planning. Whitney and I were talking about the differences between a spontaneous fight and a scheduled rumble. That's what I'm talking about this week:
The park at midnight always seems to be a popular choice. Both sides meet up and no one starts fighting until one of the leaders says so. This is the coolest part of the brawl, the face-off. Each team sizes each other up. The fighters try to decide who they're going to hit first. This is the calm before the storm.
b. Participants - A rumble is a group effort. A team sport. Unless stated beforehand, bring as many guys as you know. Important note: bad fighters, weaklings, and wanna-be's make excellent decoys once the fists start flying.
c. Weapons - This is really up to the parties involved. Generally, there's a no-gun code amongst the participants but there's always a chance someone will bring a gun to a knife fight. Let's get serious now. Using a gun in a rumble might seem like a good idea, actually, it sounds like a really good idea...well, either way, it is not honorable. Honor is the most important aspect in every rumble, that's why so much planning goes into each one (see Rule A). But don't get too discouraged, just because guns aren't allowed doesn't mean you can't bring your bicycle chains, switchblades, steel-toed boots, sawed-off table legs with nails sticking out, or maybe your old VHS copy of Dante's Peak -- whatever you think'll hurt the most.
d. What Doesn't Count - For this list, there are certain scenes that didn't make the cut for various reasons. They may seem like they'd count but they're not bonafide rumbles. Some of these include:
1 vs. 100 Fight Scenes: One guy, usually a martial arts master fights a hundred cronies who, for some reason, can't figure out any attack strategy than attacking one-by-one until they all fall down. Movies that feature the 1 vs. 100 fight scene: The Matrix Revolutions, The Protector and Chan-wook Park's Old Boy.
The Epic Battle: I decided to keep huge army battles off the list. Sure, there's planning, teams, and violence, but they're no gritty street fight and that's what we're talking about today. Movies that feature the Epic Battle: Braveheart, Troy, and Lord of the Rings.
Okay, I think that covers it. Thanks for listening. On to the list!
5. Big Trouble in Little China
The Big Trouble rumble (that's fun to say) meets all of the requirements. The participants: two large group of fighters both ready to put a serious beatdown to whoever enters their punch-kick-stab range. Planning: First off, the rumble starts at 1:23 into the clip. The gunfight at the beginning of the clip doesn't count. The rumble starts when both sides silently stare at one another. One guy yells and it's ON! Both sides rush the opposing line and it's "broken-bone-bloody-face time." The weapons: boards, swords, and karate kicks. Nice.
Wang Chi calls the rumble a "Chinese stand-off." This shouldn't be confused with a Mexican stand-off (See: Reservoir Dogs). Sadly, the rumble ends early when three bullet-proof lightning warriors show up and end the party early. While the fight lasted, it was filmed nicely. A good rumble scene depicts an absolute chaos. Flurries of bodies, weapons, and violence are intercut with clear shots of solitary acts of bodily harm: the snapping leg, the knife entering stomach, and even possibly, the coveted decapitation.
4. Anchorman
3. Gangs of New York
Watch closely for one of the coolest headbutt shots in film history. There's even a Tyson-esque ear-bitting! A cool part about this one is that amidst the chaos a more focused conflict is coming to completion. Daniel Day-Lewis, the leader of the bad guys, squares off against Liam Neeson, the leader of the good guys. Even after multiple stabbings, you're not sure this one's over. It's this murder that sets the rest of the narrative in motion. Neeson's son witnesses the murder and vow to avenge his father's death.
2. The Outsiders
First off, the cast is incredible. You've got Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell, and more. The setting is just as good. It's in the middle of the night, in an empty park, in the rain! What else can you ask for?
There's no weapons except fists and boots (and one parked car). Maybe someone could answer this for me? Who set that fire and why? It's only shown in that one shot and has no real reason to be there except to look cool. Hmmm...
Interesting fact: the first punch that C. Thomas Howell receives actually connected. He got swung on and bloodied in the first shot. Also, Tom Cruise took out one of his tooth caps to make it look like he really got beat up. Not quite method acting, but still cool.
The Outsiders is rad for its entirety. The rumble isn't the only awesome scene, by far. The Markett's "Out of Limits" plays as Ralph Macchio gets attacked by some Soc guys, which in turn sets up the rumble. Diane Lane plays the romantic lead, Cherry Valance. Referencing Robert Frost, Macchio's last lines "Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold." will live on in our hearts forever. This movie has everything you need.
1. Unknown Japanese Schoolgirl Rumble
To be honest, in my search for the top movie rumbles I came across this clip from some unknown Japanese movie. I had to share it with you. Not a lot of intro here, just let me tell you that it's crazy.
There they are, the TOP 5 MOVIE RUMBLES of ALL-TIME! If you agree, disagree, love me, hate me, or fall somewhere in the middle, let me know in the comments.
Ron Burgundy & Friends - Afternoon Delight (MP3)
Download (Rapidshare)
Download (zShare)
The Marketts - Out of Limits (MP3)
Download (Rapidshare)
Download (zShare)
Download (Rapidshare)
Download (zShare)
Howard Shore - Brooklyn Heights 1 (MP3)
Download (Rapidshare)
Download (zShare)
9 comments:
It seems like one the requirements should be opposing outfits: Public News's Turtle Necks vs. Spanish News's Big, Open Collars vs. Ron Burgandy's Classic Suits.
I love when Vince Vaughn says "female."
I'm going to write a best Dances Offs blog and show you that West Side Story is the best movie ever.**
**I don't actually believe this.
For me, outsiders' wins. Japanese one's in close second, but everyone know different schools have different uniforms specifically for rumble purposes. And if you can count Anchorman's rumble even though it doesn't follow rule a, you can count SLC Punk. New York's is border-line skirmish. Plus, the outsiders fight to rock music.
Whenever I'm at a rumble, we can never figure out when the leader's speech is over. This has resulted in minor embarrassment for the gang due to premature cheers.
oh, it is pretty sad that the west side story one didn't make the cut.
similarly bad, but far less popular is the fight scene in the movie meteorman where townsend and the blond headed golden lord have the power to instantly soak up skills from the books that spill out of the library car.
one minute they're fighting like kung fu master the next moment they're fighting Vogue Fashion Model style.
i think west side story may be the best movie ever. at least it may have, in my opinion, the best gang fight ever. man, i'm getting goose bumps just thinking about it.
We must not let the five-minute fisticuffs of 'They Live' go without mention!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsZpdUUdd3I
(I know it's technically not a 'rumble,' but they threw more fists that an army of VanDammes.)
That Japanese schoolgirl rumble was epic!
My favorite part was when they panned to the traffic on the freeway. Can you imagine driving along and seeing that outside your window?
Again, another great analysis. I did love clip three the best, except for that Liam Neeson dies before the movie even begins! Hmmm, Liam Neeson, Sean Bean,.... whose will be next of my favorite British actors to almost always be knocked off in films? Oh well, some I'm sure enjoy it.
Anywho, I agree with Matt on The Outsiders being number one based on your rules. But I did get a godd chuckle out of watching those Japanese girls go toe to toe. Speaking of knife fights, who would ever want to be in one? You can't really block the blade (like with a sword or a bat) with another weapon. All you can do is dodge it. Once you get stuck, well, enjoy your belly wound and a horribly painful death.
Just a side note, one of my favorite brawls (doesn't match your rules) is found on Youtube under Flash Gordon Football Fight. I thought you might get a good laugh out of this---I always do.
Parabens pelo post!
Realmente "The Warriors" é um dos melhores filmes de gangs, insuperavel e unanime!!!
come on
http://www.orkut.com.br/Main#Profile.aspx?uid=10699256112402007027
by
Mercy The Warriors
Post a Comment