Top 10 Most Entertaining Fight Scenes of the 80's

What makes a good fight scene? Is it the technique of the two combatants? Yes, sometimes. Is it the brutality of the damage being dished out? Yes, sometimes. Is it the sheer excitement of the good guy prevailing over the bad guy? Yes, sometimes. Is it whether or not it seems like a realistic fight? Yes, sometimes. Is it the uniqueness or inventiveness of the fight choreography? Yes, sometimes.

The real answer is yes, it can be any one of these things, a combination of these things or all of these things. What it really comes down to though, is was it entertaining.

The following is the Top 10 Most Entertaining Fight Scenes of the 80's. Enjoy!!!

Honorable Mention

Ralphie vs. Scut Farkus

A Christmas Story (1983)

You can only bully a fella so many times before he snaps. And, boy, did Ralphie ever snap.

Who among us can't relate to getting picked on at some point in time in our lives? If your answer is "not me", then you must have been the bully. For those of us who have been bullied at some point, we can totally relate to Ralphie in this situation. He just snaps! I'm sure the next thing he remembers after taking that snowball to the face, was his mother pulling him off Scut Farkus.

All things said during said fight should be forgiven Ralphie. You can't hold a man accountable for things he does or says when he snaps.

I'm sure we all felt great watching Ralphie beat the ever living snot out of that older bully Scut Farkus. It's always great seeing the little guy prevail.

#10

Ash vs. Ash's Hand

Evil Dead II (1987)

You ever get the feeling you're just fighting against yourself in this cruel world? Well, this prospect was taken to the extreme in Evil Dead II, when demonic forces take over Ash's hand and is hell bent on killing him.

Gotta love the little voice his hand has during the scene. Kinda sounds like the old Tasmanian Devil cartoon. But, where does this voice come from? His hand has no mouth. Strange.

#9

Clifford and Linderman vs. Moody and Mike

My Bodyguard (1980)

Gotta love it, two fights basically back to back. This is another one in the same vein as Ralphie's fight. It's the bullies vs. the underdogs.

Who didn't love seeing Matt Dillon get his nose broke by that kid that played in Meatballs?

#8

Tommy Lee vs. Dae Han

Best of the Best (1989)

The scene immediately following the fight really helps the fight scene become even better. After being the villain throughout the movie, Dae Han shows a respect and remorse for killing Tommy's brother in a previous match. Look for that video on YouTube if you'd like, it's worth it.

This is a great show of martial art skills in this well choreographed scene. Another great little tidbit about this scene is that the two actors playing the combatants are actually brothers in real life.

#7

Frank Dux vs. Chong Li

Bloodsport (1988)

Van Damme at his best. This fight scene had all the drama. Chong Li had already sent Frank's friend to the hospital earlier in the tournament. Chong Li seemed pretty much invincible, but when he proved not to be, he cheated and blinded Van Damme. This brought even further drama to the fight. After that it seemed as though Van Damme turned into a Jedi and he used The Force to finish off Chong Li.

Although this movie is based on a true story about Frank Dux, I highly doubt the actual real life fights went anything like this or they'd all be dead.

#6

Daniel-san vs. Johnny

The Karate Kid (1984)

The Crane. I don't know any boy who was a teenager back when this movie came out, who didn't try mastering The Crane. Seemed like it was the answer to all your troubles if you found yourself in a fight. Can you imagine how hilarious it would have been to actually see someone use The Crane in a real street fight? They would have been severely laughed at.

Gotta love this scene, though. Daniel had taken some major abuse at the hands of the other Cobra Kai members during the course of the tournament. They were trying to break him down so he would be too beat up when he finally got to Johnny. It darn near worked for them too. That is until Mr. Miyagi broke out the ancient Rubbing Hands Together method of healing arts to Daniel's knee. Great movie, great scene.

#5

Philo Beddoe vs. Jack Wilson

Any Which Way You Can (1980)

The fight that wasn't supposed to happen was on!!! Everybody wanted to see these two guys fight, but nobody wanted to see it more than the two combatants themselves. They just had to prove to each other who the better man was. And we were all the benefactors by being totally entertained.

This was a long drawn out fight that went back and forth. Hell, this fight was so long they actually took a break in the middle to sit down and drink a beer together. Gotta love it!

#4

Riggs vs. Joshua

Lethal Weapon (1987)

This fight was all about dishing out some serious pain to Joshua. Riggs and Murtaugh wanted to make him suffer for his crimes.

I love how Murtaugh begs to be tagged in by Riggs in the middle of the fight. He must have thought he was in a professional wrestling match.

#3

Rocky vs. Drago

Rocky IV (1985)

I'll never forget seeing this at the movies back in 85. It's the only time I can remember people in the theater actually getting up and applauding, like in a rock concert. With every punch Rocky landed you would here people hooting and hollering with smatterings of clapping. I guess it probably meant more to those living in the times of the Cold War. It was almost a metaphor for the geo-political situation we were in as a country. This made the entire fight and movie that much better.

Both of the 80's Rocky movies probably could have been used on this list. His fight with Clubber Lang was pretty good in Rocky III. Even Apollo's fatal fight with Drago could have been used. Gotta love the Rocky movies. Glad to have seen them end on a pretty good note with last year's Rocky Balboa.

#2

Jake La Motta vs. Sugar Ray Robinson

Raging Bull (1980)

What a great scene. Scorsese was brilliant in his direction of this movie, but even more so of this particular scene. The sheer brutality was overwhelming. You could almost feel every single punch La Motta was taking. In the end, it was all about survival for La Motta. It was all about being able to say he withstood the best Robinson had to offer and was still standing at the end.

This is one of the best acting jobs of all time by DeNiro, one of the best directing jobs of all time by Scorsese and one of the best movies all time overall. See it if you haven't.

#1

Nada vs. Frank

They Live (1988)

I just had to add that top video. Rowdy Roddy announces his intentions in grand fashion.

This fight scene between Piper and Keith David was just great in so many ways. I love the comedic undertones of Piper wanting him to "put on these glasses". I love the fact it seems a bit more realistic than some of the karate type fight scenes in other movies. I love the fact they are actually friends, but are just having a disagreement.

Just when you think the fight is over, it keeps going. And it never gets boring. All Piper wants him to do is put on the glasses. That's not asking too much, is it?

I hope you liked the list. I'm sure there were some you might of thought were better that I missed. If so, tell me about it in the comments section below.

I'll be typin' at ya later,

Bob the Blogger