Greatest Battle Scenes in Film History

Why? The boys in the filthy kilts are teaming up against the boys in shining armor. William Wallace has already taken revenge for the unlawful execution of his wife. Now, the bravest of Scots wants to take the freedom that Scotland rightly deserves. The speech given by Wallace at the beginning of this battle is by far the most rousing and inspiring of its kind in any film if you ask me. He inspires his little army of Scots to stay and fight the British for their freedom, instead of running away. "Stay and you may die, run and you'll live - at least a while," said William Wallace played by Mel Gibson. Director Mel Gibson leads up to a charging collision of metal against metal in a brilliantly timed slow-motion sequence. The build-up to this bloody and extensive fight is even made more powerful due to the perfectly matched and rousing score by James Horner. Everybody in the movie and in the theater was cheering, "Wallace!" by the end.

The Rebel Alliance, including Luke Skywalker versus the evil Galactic Empire, including Darth Vader over the Death Star (Star Wars)

Why? There are squadrons of ships flying high and low over the surface of this huge moon-sized, planet-destroying space station. Their goal is to fire a photon torpedo into the exhaust port and destroy the dreaded Death Star. Many squadrons are taken down by Darth Vader and his evil band of pilots before Luke Skywalker steps up to bat. He loses friends, gains a few of trusted friends, and starts out on a long path to becoming a full-fledged Jedi Knight. Darth Vader realizes how strongly the Force is with him. This great, epic sequence launched Star Wars into brilliance by introducing many new techniques in capturing the image of ships flying through space. It's just sad that George Lucas felt it needed more, ironically taking away all of the human elements in the battle that made it great.

Spartacus versus the Roman Empire (Spartacus)

Why? The film embodies the very essence of freedom. Not only do the characters advocate freedom - and boy do they ever lay it on thick. But, everything from mannerisms of the characters to the tone of the movie itself screams of it. The ironic thing is that director, Stanley Kubrick considered this wonderful film, that many have embraced as their personal favorite, to be his worst. When Spartacus leads his men into battle - against odds that are practically unfathomable, you just know that they're fighting for the right cause.

Humans, elves, and a dwarf versus the Orcs at Helm's Deep (Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)

Why? Digital effects have come a long way. We're not only able to create one completely digital character in a movie (example: Gollum) but we can create hordes of soldiers fighting each other on the model scale of a giant structure. It's raining. It's dark. The ferocious and beastly orcs, clad in crude armor are marching on Helm's Deep. The humans like Aragorn (Viggo Mortesen), elves like Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and one fearless little dwarf, Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), clad in shining armor are prepared to defend the lives of many innocent women and children. These people aren't fighting for freedom; they're fighting to exist against vast numbers of dark and horrible creatures.

T. E. Lawrence and the Arabs versus the Turks at Acaba (Lawrence of Arabia)

Why? The energetic battle starts at what feels like 2 hours into this dry, sandy masterpiece. It's about time. The battle is one-sided. The Turks try to stop the Arab armies on horses with heavy machineguns. No matter what, they can't put a stop to the ideals of these wild, crazy brave Arabs and their leader, T. E. Lawrence with all of the bullets in Saudi Arabia.

The Human Resistance versus the cyborg armies of Skynet over the ruins of Los Angeles (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)

Why? Sure, this scene only serves to open the film but it's so masterfully done, so well-orchestrated, how could we not consider it apart of this list? Humans are trying to defend the remaining survivors of a nuclear holocaust against vast numbers of superior cyborg exo-skeletons or terminators (T-101s), and tank-like and helicopter-like HKs or Hunter Killers. The Human Resistance is supposedly led to victory by human savior, General John Connor. This fact is the sole purpose for Skynet to send as many cybernetic organisms back through time to kill John as a child or even kill him before he is conceived. Director James Cameron will probably never pull a George Lucas, and return to this movie just to 'improve' things. Thank god for that because this combination of Stan Winston animatronics and stop-motion animation is so beautifully blended, they will - by themselves stand the test of time.

Humans, an elf, a wizard, and a dwarf versus the armies of Mordor (Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King)

Why? More impressive visual effects put vast armies of human or creature characters on horses, fleeing for their lives, and shooting catapults against the backdrop of model replicas. The great white wizard, Gandolf (Ian McKellan) is leading armies of humans to defend the "great white city." The evil beasts trying to break through the gates of the city and overrun the humans include orcs, trolls, and giant elephants. Heads roll - literally. Then, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas join the fight with an army of ghosts. It's got to be the longest battle I've ever seen a movie. They only cut away for minutes at a time to show where Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) are, and how they're doing.

The Rebel Alliance versus the evil Galactic Empire on the ice planet of Hoth (The Empire Strikes Back)

Why? You've got everything from the Force, Imperial Walkers, blasters, grenades, and one lightsaber used in this epic battle. Luke may have been taken down but the Force is still with him. He uses his newly acquired Jedi skills to bring down one of the many monstrous Imperial Walkers and starts walking back to base. Of course, there are a few others who share in the victories over the Galactic Empire on Hoth but as far as we're concerned, Luke is solely responsible. Before George Lucas went back and changed things, this great sequence was a new achievement in the use of stop-motion animation. Every movement of the Imperial Walkers were so well done, the camera angles capture the effects so perfectly, it's hard to believe how real these old-fashion techniques look.

U.S. Army Rangers versus the Nazis (Saving Private Ryan)

Why? Steven Spielberg gives us two of the most convincingly realistic World War II battle scenes put to celluloid. By capturing the realism of these battle sequences, the heroism and bravery of the men who served in that war is forever immortalized on film. We're exposed to horrors of warfare that we could only ever imagine in our nightmares.

Space Marines with Ellen Ripley and Newt versus a horde of jaw-snapping aliens (Aliens)

Why? James Cameron, James Cameron, and did I mention James Cameron? It's one of the most kinetic, most intense, and invigorating series of battles in film history. The aliens pop out from every crack and crevice, and take down as many Space Marines as they can get their claws on. It's hard to believe anyone can survive a confrontation with these beasts, but with the help of a few heavy machineguns they do. In the middle of it all, Ellen Ripley is trying to keep her surrogate daughter, the little girl, Newt safe. It's quite a ride.

Other battles to look for

The armies of Greece versus the armies of Troy (Troy)
The Roman Empire versus the armies of Germania (Gladiator)
300 Spartans versus the Persian Empire (300)
The human armies of Zion versus the Sentinel armies of the machines (The Matrix Revolutions)