Combat in film Staged fights in Cinema include performances of classical fencing , historical fencing , martial arts , close combat and duel s in general , as well as choreography of full - scale battle s . Asian martial arts . The 1970s in Hong Kong saw the rise and sudden death of international superstar Bruce Lee , who is known for popularizing Hong Kong action cinema . He was succeeded in the 1980s in Hong Kong by Jackie Chan , who popularized the use of comedy and dangerous stunt s in action films . Hong Kong based fight choreographer Yuen Wo - ping is famed for his work on " Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon " and the " Matrix " trilogy , in which the often unrealistic fighting techniques are complemented by directorial techniques such as bullet time . Ching Siu - tung is particularly noted in the field of Hong Kong action cinema for his use of graceful wire fu techniques . Famous Asian martial arts choreographers : Famous Asian martial arts actors : Battles . With the possibilities of cutting and of filming outdoors , films have a much wider palette of possibilities to depict violence , including single combat , brawls and melees as well as full - blown battles . From the 2000s , computer animation has come to play an important part in cinematic visualisation of battle scenes , pioneered from 2001 by The Lord of the Ring trilogy ( c . f . Massive ( software ) , crowd simulation ) . Movies with notable battle scenes : Classical fencing . Cinema inherited the concept of choreographed fights directly from the theatrical fight . Movies that feature notable classical fencing scenes include : Douglas Fairbanks in 1920 was the first film director to ask a fencing master to assist the production of a fencing scene in cinema . A second wave of swashbuckling films was triggered with Errol Flynn from 1935 . Also notable in the early period were Ramon Novarro , Rudolph Valentino and John Barrymore Fencing masters ( fight arrangers ) : Henry Uttenhove , Fred Cavens , Ralph Faulkner , Jean Heremans , Bob Anderson , William Hobbs , Claude Carliez . Renewed interest in swashbuckling films arose in the 1970s , in the wake of " The Three Musketeers " ( 1973 ) . Directors at this stage aimed for a certain amount of historical accuracy , although , as the 2007 Encyclopædia Britannica puts it , " movie fencing remains a poor representation of actual fencing technique " . A notable fight arranger of this period is William Hobbs . Knife fights . Knife fight s , as well as knife - throwing stunts , are staged for dramatic effect in action films . In " Under Siege " , " Commando " , and " Gangs of New York " , knife fights are shown as climactic battles . A common theme in such films is for the hero to discard a gun or similarly superior weapon , in order to engage the otherwise unarmed villain in " fair " knife - to - knife combat . In the 2002 film version of " The Count of Monte Cristo " , the main character , Dantes , agrees to engage in a knife fight against Jacopo , a member of a smuggler ' s crew ( the captain of which calls Jacopo " the best knife fighter I have ever seen " ) . Dantes defeats Jacopo but spares his life , gaining a pivotal ally in his future endeavors . In the 2012 A . J . Shapiro film The Death of a Rose - White Prussian , Captain Tom Goldman , a U . S . Special Forces operative , runs out of ammo for his guns and resorts to a knife fight in which he is bayoneted through the stomach by German henchman Kassel , but stabs Kassel through the throat with his own knife . One of the most famous cinematic knife fights occurs in " From Here to Eternity " . The scene — occurring in a back alley — is stark and realistic , lacks background music and uses pitch black shadow . In the movie " Force 10 from Navarone " , a knife fight appeared between Sgt . Weaver , an African - American medic Soldier , played by Carl Weathers , and Capt . Drazak , an officer of the Chetniks , allies to Nazi Germany , played by Richard Kiel . The fight ended with Drazak ' s death . In the film " Commando " , starring Arnold Schwarzenegger , there is a knife fight at the end of the movie between Arnold ( John Matrix ) and Bennett played by Vernon Wells . They begin with the knife , and then end up in a No - holds - barred CQC . In the film " Cobra " , starring Sylvester Stallone as a city cop who must stop a knife using serial killer and cult member the Night Slasher played by Brian Thompson . There is a fight scene at the end involving a knife fight between Stallone ' s character Cobra and the Night Slasher . The menacing looking knife used by the Night Slasher is a brass knuckles or more like a spiked knuckles , modern version of a trench knife . The film " Eastern Promises " has a rather intense knife fight that rivals that of the also psychologically disturbing knife fight scene from " Saving Private Ryan " . In " 2002 film " , Jason Bourne ( played by Matt Damon ) had a knife - fight encounter with Castel , an assassin sent to kill him . In the struggle , Jason Bourne equalizes his unarmed position against the assassin ' s knife by arming himself with a pen . In " Kill Bill " , a knife - fight occurs between the Bride and Vernita Green , during which the pair severely damage Green ' s living room , only to abruptly halt when Green ' s daughter is dropped off by the school bus and seen walking towards the house . Shortly thereafter , Green sneakily pulls a gun , and the Bride responds by throwing her knife , to deadly effect . " The Hunted " ( 2003 , William Friedkin ) was a unique film that put an emphasis on showing knife combat . Starring Benicio del Toro and Tommy Lee Jones , each character has a special affinity for knives , due to participating in various special operations missions under military service , which required use of a knife as a primary weapon . Also Friedkin ' s " Bug " ( 2007 ) features a knife - fight . " A Grande Arte " ( 1991 ) along with the above mentioned " The Hunted " , is one of the rare films to focus on knife combat and features training scenes as well . " Dune " ( 1984 , David Lynch ) and the 2000 " Dune " miniseries , based on Frank Herbert ´s bestselling science fiction novel " Dune " , show a world where a corporeal shield ( a force - field projector ) makes laser and projectile weapons useless . Because of that , wars and duels are settled by knife - fighting , which is altered by the presence of the shield : a fast - moving knife bounces off the shield ; a slow - moving knife can penetrate the shield to reach a vital organ . The climactic duel , between Paul Muad´dib and Feyd - Rautha , used only knives ( no shields ) and martial - arts abilities . Michael Jackson ' s music video " Beat it " features a highly stylized depiction of two men knife - fighting using switchblade knives , with their wrists tied . This is reminiscent of a similar depiction in West Side Story . In " Quantum of Solace " ( 2008 ) James Bond ( Daniel Craig ) enters the apartment of Edmund Slate , the man he was sent to investigate . Slate comes out of nowhere and tries to kill him with a switchblade . They struggle , Bond arms himself with scissors , disarms Slate by bending his wrist forward , and stabs him in the neck and femoral artery , causing Slate to bleed to death . In " The Expendables " , Lee Christmas ( played by Jason Statham ) frequently makes use of combat knives when he is not in possession of a firearm and uses them both as projectiles and in hand - to - hand combat . Gunner ( Dolph Lundgren ) also uses a large bowie knife but gives it to Lee at the beginning of the film . In " The Man From Nowhere " , Cha Tae - Shik ( played by Won Bin ) makes use of a switchblade and the art form kali to combat gangsters in a large condominium towards the finale of the film . After defeating the gangsters , he fights their hired assassin who also wields a switch blade . Both fighters fight close quarters until Cha Tae - Shik gains the upperhand and stabs the hired assassin in the heart . Historical martial arts . Historical martial arts reconstruction developed in the later 20th century and became influential in cinema only from ca . the 1990s . Earlier sequences of combat with pre - Renaissance weaponry were typically based on classical fencing techniques , or choreographed as ad - hoc " blade whacking " . Influential movie heralding renewed interest in pre - modern swordsmanship were " Excalibur " ( 1981 ) and " Highlander " ( 1986 ) . Lightsaber combat in the " Star Wars " films takes some elements from kendo , and The Lord of the Rings film trilogy employs some elements of historical fencing . Historical drama films that feature combat based on historical swordsmanship include " Rob Roy " ( 1995 ) , " Gladiator " ( 2000 ) , " Troy " ( 2004 ) , " Kingdom of Heaven " ( 2005 ) , " Alatriste " ( 2006 ) . " A Knight ' s Tale " is an example of a movie that includes jousting performances ( 2001 ) and unrealistic clashing of swords on armor , despite the Fechtbücher who show armoured combat ( Harnischfechten ) . Unarmed or improvised combat . Films such as " The Duellists " , fight directed by William Hobbs , " Once Were Warriors " , fight directed by Robert Bruce and " Troy " , fight directed by Richard Ryan are widely famed for including gritty , realistic combat scenes .