Movies with good epic battles

Having just watched Spartacus, I was amazed by the sheer number of people they had during that last battle (and this was in the 1960's, way before CGI, which meant every person out there moving was an actual person), and got me to thinking, "what other movies have battles where two or more armies just converge on each other and fight to the death?"

And on that note, what movies have you seen where there's people (aliens, monsters, etc.) in large numbers just rushing at each other? I'm interested to see what happens in the movie, why that battle took place, and the results of it (because hopefully there's a good reason for that battle taking place, and not just "having a big battle for the sake of having a big battle").

For example, in Spartacus:

Spoiler:

He's fighting because he's tired of being a slave, and wants to eliminate slavery. The Roman Republic, however, is highly dependent on slavery, and won't let someone as lowly as a slave run amok and create chaos in their society, hence why they keep sending army after army against him, despite his ability to win against the Romans until that last battle.

You can see why Spartacus wants to fight, because he's tired of watching men treat other men like their nothing more than animals. It's just too bad the Romans don't see it that way, despite their "advanced" society. And their over-reliance on slaves will be one of their undoing hundreds of years later.

I like how the Romans are largely depicted as the "bad guys", because most other things I read/watch about them usually show them as the "good guys" bringing civilization and order to "barbarians", but from a slave's point of view, Rome is a terrible master.

The battle can be a depiction of a real historical event, or just a made up one if it's cool (kind of like Lord of the Rings).

In this case I'm looking more for older movies (that haven't used CGI extensively that is, so as to rule out stuff like "Lord of the RIngs" or "Chronicles of Narnia" for example, but feel free to list one you think is worth watching), what battle specifically (use spoilers preferably).

The battle can also use any kind of weaponry, whether it's melee weapons or guns. It can even be vehicular combat (like a Star Wars space battle) if it's cool enough (and on that note, anyone have a recommendation for a good tank on tank battle/movie?). And if it's animation, that's also acceptable (here come the anime recommendations hehe, which is fine with me as well).

So, what cool battles from which movies have you seen?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Obi-Wan vs. Anakin in Episode III is the first fight that comes to mind. All the foreshadowing and build-up from the first two movies made this fight that much more awesome.

For anime, Bunji vs Grave from Gungrave was pretty cool too. It makes Bunji really seem like an asshole, though. They were such good friends before and it's like all of it was for nothing.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Rocky Vs Drago with all the intense training montages leading up to the huge fight, it was awesome.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Predator vs. Arnold. Everything else in movies sucks compared to it.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

All of Bruce Lee's fights

Top 5

Enter the dragon - Bruce Lee vs Bob Wall

Way of the Dragon - Bruce Lee vs Chuck Norris

Enter the dragon - Bruce Lee vs Hann

Fist of Fury - Bruce Lee vs Karate School

Game of Death - Bruce Lee vs Kareem Abdul Jabbar

I was speaking idiomatically.

I feel like several of the battles throughout The Lord of the Rings, particularly ones in The Two Towers, are quite appropriate for the epic feeling present in those scenes. I distinctly remember Legolas shooting down one of those giant elephants and thinking "wow that's cool".

Also, the last shootout in The Good the Bad and the Ugly was a solid battle. I think that scene, despite the overall western theme, was fairly cool and epic. It gave off that "feeling".

I do not know if it counts as epic, but I also liked that one-shot 15 minute fight in Oldboy. Maybe it can be called "badass" instead.

How ya doing, buddy?

Akira Kurosawa's RAN:



Basically, if you don't like heavy period movies, this isn't for you. It's Kurosawa adapting the most daunting of all plays (King Lear) to an asian influence. The camera work is gorgeous and the battle scenes (what few of them there are) are gigantic. Never you mind that Star Wars stuff - there was no camera trickery in this. When you see several hundred people rushing several hundred people - you're actually watching it, not watching a computer do it for you.

Alexander Nevsky:



You know, the first major battle scene in film history. While it may seem tame by today's standards in terms of violence, the movie makes Braveheart look like Yu-Gi-Oh! and the score makes all that Howard Shore/LOTR stuff seem subtle and restrained.

FELIPE NO

Well I can't think of any older movies with epic battles, but I think The Last Samurai is worth seeing as far as the battles go.

How ya doing, buddy?

Gettysburg has a pretty huge battle scene; the movie is about the famous American Civil War battle that gives its namesake. This was released in 1993 so it's kind of old. The follow-up (actually a prequel chronologically) Gods and Generals also had some big battle scenes, but as a film it's kind of a mess. I don't recommend it unless you have real interests in the era.

I'll also throw in another Kurosawa title, the Seven Samurai, where seven samurais are hired to help defend a village against 40 some bandits.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Lol, you asked for battles that have lots of people such as in a war but most of the people here are listing one on one battles.

"Ron Burgondy" has a gang battle of the news channels but it's a comedy show and there's no real point in the battle like you're asking for but that scene's funny to watch.

Any "gundam" series or movie (anime) always has a huge war at the end but they focus on the main character's battles.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by The Furious One

All of Bruce Lee's fights

Top 5

Enter the dragon - Bruce Lee vs Bob Wall

WAAAAAHH.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.