Director's Best of: Part 2 in a series: 10 Battles

So I'm a little bit behind because the Oscars are tonight but I'll try to continue this series for a couple more runs. Next up are the ten best battle scenes in cinema history - the protagonist and his men vs the antagonist and his minions.

Battle of Agincourt, Henry V - Only a battle in Shakespeare could be called poetic, and director Kenneth Branaugh achieves exactly that. The tragedy of warfare comes to the front in this battle, so epic that it takes two youtube videos to see the whole thing. Part 1 & Part 2. Also watch the great St Crispin's Day/Band of Brothers speech from the same film.

Final Battle, Spartacus - I just bought this on Bluray basically for this battle. The tension and anticipation leading up to this battle is thanks to the great Stanley Kubrick. It's almost hard to watch line after line of Roman soldiers marches over the hillside. This is probably the most epic of all battles on film for the very reason that it was made in before any CGI nonsense. Those thousands of Romans soldiers? All real. Well, almost. The 2nd formation in the wide shot is a matte painting, but the front formations are all real extras. And the music. This is the predecessor of all modern battle scenes. EPIC.

Battle of Ramelle, Saving Private Ryan - I know most people would pick D-Day, which is understandable, but I feel like this battle at the end has more at stake for our characters, it feels more hopeless, their last stand. Steven Spielberg's directing is perfect, the action is visceral, and the violence is terrible. That said, the end is a copout but everything else makes up for it. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

The Whole Film, Black Hawk Down - Maybe the best film about modern military combat. Non-stop action from master director Ridley Scott. You've all seen it, so not much needs to be said.

Battle of Mount Doom, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Peter Jackson was able to perfectly capture the spirit of the novels on film. I had just finished reading them when the first film came out, and this opening battle gave me chills. Never before had a scene so massive and epic been shown, especially in a fantasy film. From the smoking Mount Doom to the thousands of orcs, to the stoic elves, to the dark lord Sauron, this is epicness at its finest. The only way Peter Jackson could outdo himself was to stage the Battle of Pelennor Fields in the The Return of the King.

Trench Warfare, Paths of Glory - Stanley Kubrick directs another classic scene from the WWI film. Once again he demonstrates his mastery of suspense and anticipation leading up to the actual charge. And then the long shot held on Kirk Douglas as he vainly tries to drive his men forward across the deadly no-man's-land.

Battle of Endor, Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi - Still the only real space battle put on film (not including television) this includes everything for an epic encounter: huge warships, fighters, the Death Star, one-liners, and annoying Imperial officers. The ships are beautiful (another check against CGI) and the action well choreographed. This scene even includes the famous line "It's a trap!". What more could you ask for?

Opening Scene, Master & Commander - It has to be watched in HD on a big screen in surround sound, nothing else will do it justice. I had never heard too much about this film until I finally saw it last year and was blown away. There's no point in me doing a warship film because this is it. It really captures the chaos and the destruction of ship to ship combat in a way no other film ever has.

Battle of Stirling Bridge, Braveheart - Mel Gibson took medieval combat and made it extreme, showed us every bit of blood, every cut neck and smashed head. He even gives us a goofy arrow sequence and a suspenseful cavalry charge to start everything off. Nowadays I'm desensitized to the violence but this used to be hard to watch when I was younger.

Battle of the Five Points, Gangs of New York - This scene gets the film off to a running start. It explains pretty much everything in the film in that 5 minutes - the Americans' hatred of immigrants, the Irish fighting to have a home, Bill and Priest's mutual respect as enemies, and Amsterdam's ultimate revenge against Bill the Butcher. The scene is bloody and gruesome and expertly edited. My only beef is with the crazy cat-lady who comes out of nowhere and the electric guitar.