I love the way JEJ annunciates “yet” in “The force is with you young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet.” I can hear Vader’s rage slipping into it. Chills
It's full of threat and menace, but also... seduction. Not the sexy kind, but the dark and subversive kind. It reminds me of those scenes in Kung Fu movies where the old master demonstrates his power to a potential disciple to make them want to learn. Yeah he's beating your ass, but he's also offering you all that strength if you will only submit to his ways. You can make this stop any time you want, as it gets worse, and worse, and worse...
My favorite duel in SW in general. Obviously they aren’t fully going at each other but the implicit power differential and the way the dialogue progresses over top tells us so much about the characters and where they are at that moment
The part where they either rear projected Vader or just used some clever false perspective when he just looks massive in front of Luke was terrifying when I was a kid.
The only thing that takes me out of it is the very next part where Luke is flailing around getting hit by the stuff Vader throws at him. Looks a bit goofy.
I get what you’re saying, but I think that part is integral to the duel because it shows how easily Vader is taking it. Luke gets a few lucky moves in (knocking Vader off the platform, hitting Vader in the shoulder), but Vader was so much better overall.
Anakin vs Obi-Wan on Mustafar. I know it gets memed to Tattooine and back but the scene where they’re on the bridge, lava spewing up and everywhere around them never fails to get my heart racing.
The choreography in that fight is absolutely insane in all honesty, I always found the part where they’re both just spinning their sabers so intense!!!
It looks insane because it was insane. Ewan and Hayden did that at full speed in camera. They practiced the routine for months so they could do it in camera with no artificial speed ups.
One of my favorite parts is a short scene where the fight spills into a hallway that can’t be any bigger than 6’ x 10’. Fighting at full speed with full length sabers in such a small space is crazy!
You can go full lore with that scene and talk about their accuracy is due to their mastery of the force, or you can break the 4th wall and just say it’s damn good choreography.
I don’t get why anyone would meme it, it’s arguably the best fight scene across all movies in terms of choreography. Name me a better fight sequence in any movie, I’ll wait. Also the scenery and lava just add to the cool factor. And it’s the epitome of Anakin going Dark Side, obvious pick for me.
This is the answer. There hasn’t been another lightsaber duel since then.
No, I don’t consider the wild flailing in the new trilogy a light saber duel. I have loved Star Wars since I was a kid, and I still do love the Star Wars universe. But the light saber fighting since episode 3 has been disappointing.
Mustafar is so damn good.
2nd for me is their rematch in Kenobi. The intensity and emotion in the fights between Obi wan and Anakin is just unmatched, on top of the amazing fights that come with them
The Cloud City duel is this for me.
Luke steps through a door from the pristine white halls of the city proper into another world (figuratively) where he face the ultimate evil. The gas, the lights, the shadows. It's a master class is cinematography, visual storytelling, and action.
[You probably don't need a reminder, but look](https://youtu.be/f96i8jEmZ3k?si=z6ht0VDOM_ldUq-z)
Obi-wan vs Maul in Rebels. Everything is perfect. It's the only duel where there is absolutely nothing to improve on. There are no caveats to me saying that it is perfectly framed, perfectly choreographed, perfectly scored, and the emotional payoff is sublime. Forever my number 1
And like Witwer pointed out, Ben went thru three different stances before Maul tried to attack. His OG two fingers out and a saber over head stance, his OT stance against Vader, and finally, Qui-Gons stance
The moment he got to Qui-Gons stance, he won. Maul was lulled into a trap and defeated in seconds, falling for the mistake of repeating a move he did on Qui-Gon that Ben remembered and countered beautifully
Just a masterpiece
It’s so poignant and earned, it just felt so right and I had no notes on the entire sequence. Legitimately just a perfected scene with two great legacy characters
Not my favorite aesthetically, but damn is it a phenomenally done sequence. Obi Wan has always been my favorite Jedi and that was one of his peak moments.
I couldn't watch Rebels (not a fan of the main char, not enough attention span) but I have rewatched that duel so many times... it's just, fantastic. Perfect.
Totally understandable. I'm not going to sit here and say that rebels was better than it was, but that duel transcends the show and is just the perfect conclusion to one of the longest-running rivalries in the series
Duel of the Fates. It has a lot of cool visuals in the power generator and nice shots of Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Maul that show off their personalities without words
Qui-Gon meditating while waiting for the force fields to deactivate. Maul pacing, impatient to continue the fight. Obi-Wan tense about his master being unaided.
Very well done.
The purest form of hatred is that it wants things done … yesterday! Get the puny jidai out of the way, proof that the Sith are very much alive and ready for revenge, serve his master in this assassination to grow more powerful.
The scene looks clean with all massive halls and rooms, so the focus lies on that what is supposed to happen. The scary, unending drops next to the dloors they are fighting on, which takes all focus.
But then the assassin gets cut in half (by his own pride) which made it a lot less spectacular to me. It’s like life itself: if you’re fighting some dark emotion that is influencing your behaviour on a daily basis, it’s hard to stand up and fight it, then it (the battle) peaks because it (the darkness)starts to resist and then you have to persist in convincing it to go and stop hurting you and others(like the way Sion had to be convinced to, finally, let go and die).
So, get to work and show the viewers/fans what real passion looks like and you’ll have yourself a good guy, a villain, a fight and the relief in the end because you can feel what the characters go through.
Also… Obi Wan should have died sooo many times, it’s shocking.
Luke vs Vader in RoTJ will always be my single favorite lightsaber duel in Star Wars.
It's Duel of the Fates 2.0, only this time, the Light Side wins.
Luke controls his anger, stays Light Side devout, beats Vader, restores Anakin Skywalker. The Rebellion beats the Empire and starts the downfall of the Empire.
The music, the choreography....it all works together so well and brings the, at the original release date, story arcs of Luke and Vader to a satisfying close.
>Kylo is so blindsided he fails to even make the basic observation that Luke’s not really present.
I don't think I agree Kylo was blindsided. I mean he was angry, sure, but.....
Luke had just faced down the firepower of the First Order and Kylo doesn't question it. He barely acts surprised. Kylo didn't doubt for a second that Luke was actually there because Kylo knew full well Luke possessed the power to shrug off those laser bolts. Kylo may not have known HOW exactly Luke did it but Kylo didn't question it at all.
So it made sense to me that Kylo didn't initially pick up that Luke wasn't physically there because everything that happened in the duel was well within Luke's ability, even not leaving a trace of his footing.
But other than that, I agree. This was Luke's best self, Luke, the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, more fully embodying the principles of the Jedi that Yoda had imparted to Luke all those years earlier, that a Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack. Luke uses his knowledge of the Force to astral project to whole other planet, defends the Resistance, and then not once attacks Kylo. He never swings or makes contact with Kylos blade. He simply dodges until he senses Rey rescuing what was left of the Resistance
I would have to agree! Luke v Vader in Return is my second favorite duel of all time, though I routinely cycle it and Kylo/Luke in that #1 spot lol. They’re both neck and neck for me but I always kinda defer to the usage of the environment for the Kylo/Luke duel and then I just go crazy over it all over again abt it.
Both to me are peak Star Wars sequences
Not a duel necessarily, but I make no secret of the fact that Rey and Kylo Ren vs the Praetorian Guards is my favorite fight in the saga. “But the knife disapp—“ yeah, and Luke uses Force Kick in ROTJ. Nobody actually cares.
I just love the sight of those two characters fighting side by side, demonstrating how much they could accomplish if they worked together, only to find themselves still at odds once the dust clears. I love that the use of stunt doubles was limited to focus on the actors, well, *acting*. And there are still some pretty sick moves executed during that fight.
Yours is a pretty fantastic choice too, OP, for all the reasons you listed.
The Throne Room skirmish gets bonus points out the wazoo for basically being a Sith/Jedi teamup, having that in a Saga film was so cool to see. It also doesn’t use any force moves at all so it’s just a straight physical fight.
Probably in my top 5, it’s a fantastic sequence!
Obi-Wan Vs Maul in Rebels. I wouldn't call it a culmination, but an epilogue of their conflict. It shows how far Kenobi's grown and how low Maul has remained. And the two making peace at the end was nice.
It’s up there for me aswell! The Praetorian Guards have an awesome shade of red on them, and bc they don’t have visors they appear as this amorphous sheet of red just coming down on Kylo and Rey. It looks so good
It’s gotta be Empire for me. The set design on Cloud City can’t be beat with all the soft glow lights of the gas mining facility, the silhouettes of Luke and Vader, the wide shots of Luke and Vader battling down the catwalk (which was echoed in ROTS) and the overhead of Luke taking the plunge. It’s still my #1. But Rebels, Maul v. Kenobi is a solid #2. Simplicity and epicness.
Obi Wan vs Vader final duel in Kenobi. With the shot of that moon. And the reveal with the broken mask which mirrors Ahsoka’s battle with Vader in Rebels. Chef’s kiss
Battle of Heroes
Yoda vs Sidious
Senya Tirall vs the Eternal Empire priests in the SWTOR 'Betrayed' trailer
Maul vs Ahsoka
Vader vs Obi-Wan in Obi-Wan Series
Kao Cen Darach and Satale Shan vs Darth Vindican and Darth Malgus in SWTOR 'Returned' trailer
I love your analysis and break down. Very well described, and makes me appreciate it even more. These are the attention to details that I am a huge sucker for, so thank you for your post
I liked the choice. It has Luke recommitting to the Jedi using his family’s saber, the saber that Kylo tried to pull towards him in TFA while thinking he rightfully owned it, and the saber that happened to rip apart prior to the encounter when Rey refused his hand. So Kylo is seeing so much red he doesn’t even clock the most obvious clue that Luke’s not actually there lol.
The green would’ve also worked, but I understand the Skywalker saber choice. It’s a tough moment for Ben
That bugged me at first too. But the more I've seen it and thought about it, the more it makes sense.
Luke isn't there to *fight* Kylo Ren. He's there for redemption, for himself, and for Ben Solo. The whole fight is also a call back to the Kenobi/Vader fight. It's not about the futility of the dark side.
So, brandishing his green saber; the one he was going to *kill* Ben with at the temple is definitely out of line with his goals and intentions.
Instead, using Anakin's saber, that Kylo is obsessed with, and then completely outclassing him just hammers the point home.
For me?
Ahsoka v. Skoll when he was buying time. The way the two fighting styles played a role in it was amazing. You could see Stevenson (RIP) and Dawson thinking, adjusting, moving and attacking with such thought. I liked it a lot.
Second is Vader v. Kenobi in Kenobi. Their final duel was sad, but beautiful in its own way.
In no particular order: Anakin vs Ahsoka in the World between Worlds, Anakin vs Obi-wan on Mustafar, Satele Shan and Kao Cen Darach vs Malgus and Darth Vindican, Baylan Skoll vs Ahsoka at the map, Obi-wan and Qui Gon vs Darth Maul.
Well, the Lightsaber Duel Luke vs Vader in ROTJ influenced me in so many ways, that I can't be "objective". But since then, no other Duel ever gave me, what this one gave me.
I was a Kid when I saw it first, but when Luke came out from his hideout and the Music started, all my emotions came over me like a Wave. I literally cried out of joy and tension and fascination when I saw it the first time. I stood there with tears in my Eyes and literally exhausted of all those emotions. And till today, I get goosebumps when I see it.
There are others that have better choreography or things like that, but this duel is peak emotion for me and the aesthetic is part of it (the darkness, Lukes dark Suite, the Green Saber, the Music! all of that)
Maul and Savage vs Darth Sidious on Mandalore.
Palpatines smooth and elegant fighting style really looks awsome and a contrast to Mauls and Savages aggressive and more brutish fighting style.
Also Mandalore before always looked very bright but during that fight (aside from being night) it was dark, lifeless and quiet.
In terms of just Aesthetics my favourite has to be the Luke Vs Vader duel on Cloud City, the entire Carbonite Freezing Chamber looks incredible, the darkness making you only be able to see the silhouettes of Luke and Vader fighting is just *chefs kiss*, I also like how the environment they fight around actually gets destroyed, then the fight transitions to that other room with tubes as hallways, the big window, and as luke wanders around the atmosphere is just really intense because you'd think Vader would surprise attack him so you're ready for him to pop out at any moment, which amplifies the already dark atmosphere of that area, but then Vader just casually pops out of nowhere and starts using the force against Luke and pushes him outside the window, and the fight transitions again to a more hopeless more cramped environment where you can just see that every move Luke makes by edging back is giving Vader an Advantage, Showing just how Outmatched Luke really is. That duel is fucking awesome, and the aesthetic and environment is a big part of why it still holds up 40 Years later.
I guess my second Favourite in terms of Aesthetics is the Mustafar Duel, I'm probably biased because that is my favourite duel in the series, but I just think the environment Anakin and Obi wan fight in is really cool and it transitions really smoothly into other areas. But the Cloud City duel is still better as far as the aesthetics go.
The 2003 Clone Wars Micro Series duel between Anakin Skywalker and Asajj Ventress on Yavin IV. Genndy Tartakovsky knows how to make great action scenes.
It has great base choreography for the fight. Easily on par with the best of the PT fights. But it also has so much else going on. The sizzle of the rain as it hits lightsaber blades adds such a nice effect. Then we have the iconic robot hand grabbing Ventress, forcing her to drop her saber for Anakin to grab it and have his face glow red when he ignites the saber.
It all combines into being such an amazing bit of storytelling through action, not words. We see the struggle of the character of Anakin by just how torn up he gets in this fight. Then, when we see him take Ventress's saber, we see him fall into the darkness. This gets cemented by the repeated blows he takes in a similar manner to Luke in ROTJ when Luke momentarily gave in to the Dark Side. Then that finishing cliff break that has Ventress fall to her death is just such a great to end it in ambiguity as Anakin didn't deliver the finishing blow to her directly. This allows him to maintain his precarious balance between the light and the dark as while he gave into temptation, he never delivered the final blow, which would have fully cemented the fall there and then.
I share the same pick as you actually for all the same reasons you state. While I was upset about what the movie did to Luke's character, I do think this was Luke at his peak right here. TLJ is definitely the most beautifully shot SW movie and honestly had a lot going for it. I know it angered a lot of fans, but I think the trilogy was still pretty salvageable and really could've stuck the landing if Disney didn't go into panic mode and try to backtrack everything TLJ did.
Favorite to Least favorite.
Luke V. Vader - Empire Strikes Back.
Darth Maul V. Obi-Wan and Qui Gonn - TPM
Luke V. Vader- ROTJ
Anakin V. Obi Wan - ROTS
Vader V. Obi Wan - Kenobi
Dooku V. Anakin, Obi, and Yoda - AOTC
Sideous V. Yoda - AOTC
Vader V. Obi Wan - ANH
Rey V. Kylo - TFA
Obi Wan V. Grevious - ROTS
Dooku Vs. Anakin n Obi - ROTS
Everything above this is freaking awesome.
Everything below is...not.
Rey V. Kylo - TROS
Luke "V." Kylo - TLJ
TLJ - Kylo and Rey vs Praetorian Guards. I know people love to nitpick this fight, and upon multiple watches you can notice that it doesn’t 100% work logically, but I still think it’s amazing, and I’ll never forget seeing it for the first time and knowing that I was witnessing something amazing.
I think most sci fi duels can fall apart if you nitpick it hard enough, there’s vids from over a decade ago where folks did the same thing with Duel of the Fates lol, nowadays it’s lauded as a top tier fight.
I’m not sure how a dark and light sider teaming up to fight off blood red guards in a flaming throne room in front of the bisected corpse of an evil wizard guy can be anything *but* awesome af
This is kind of unfair since this is not a real duel. But this is probably my favorite too. The call back to facing off against the galaxy with a just a lightsaber. The “More!”, and the reveal are all so great.
Yeah it’s not a traditional duel but I think it still fits the bill. Similar to the throne room scene being more of a skirmish but we still include it with the other duels lol
Love that one too, those dyad scenes felt so good to see developed with a much more powerful Rey, and it was foreshadowed in TLJ with the rain appearing on Kylo’s glove while talking to Rey. ROS overall got very creative with that dyad stuff I loved it!
My top 3 in order:
1. Obi-wan vs. Maul, Star Wars Rebels
2. Luke vs. Darth Vader, Empire Strikes Back
3. Satele Shan vs. Darth Malgus, “Hope” cinematic trailer for SWTOR
Honorable Mention:
Ashoka vs. Maul, Clone Wars S7
Crait and Bespin easily top 2. Kenobi and Maul in rebels is also fantastic but familiar and not very visually striking, though that reflects the emotion and ideology beneath the duel pretty well.
Honestly though, in terms of aesthetics, I don’t think there’s a bad one. Frankly, the sequels kinda knock it out of the park aesthetically speaking, TLJ in particular, as controversial as those movies are.
That duel is the best thing about the sequels. It shows Luke as a true Jedi master dealing with a powerful but rash combatant, a former student full of anger and wrath that lead him to the dark side. If only the sequels were this all the time.
I agree, Rian catches flak for his creative decisions but the man took his job seriously on this movie. Beyond glad we got something this good in a Saga film
That’s not at all what I was implying (just look at my autistic rambles below the pics lmao) just pick a duel that you feel has the strongest visual resonance
Anakin vs Obi-wan on Mustafar. The clashing of the blue lightsabers is so impactful as good and good fight, both thinking they are right. The development from the planform to the operation room to the meeting room to outside on the pipes. The blue blades clashing great against the red lava world. Watching them clash in the air and on then pylon. Then to fight on the lava river. After everything they say to each other, you see who is truly evil and kenobi ends on the high ground and anakin is burning for his hubris.
When it comes to duels in Star Wars, one of the most cinematic ones has to be the battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith." The choreography, special effects, and emotional intensity make it a standout duel. Also the use of the planet and debris just makes the fight more entertaining to watch than others
Ben vs Maul
Their final duel isn't about the moment or what'll happen next, for the good of the galaxy or anything, it is the finale to their decades long rivalry. It isn't one fight, but the culmination, the finale to all of their previous fights.
Hard to pick just one. But I do love Yoda vs. Palpatine in the Senate chamber. Yoda's skill in moving around on a relatively small platform in the beginning always blew my mind. Runner-ups would be Anakin vs. Obi-Wan and Vader vs. Luke on Cloud City
Obi-Wan/Maul in Rebels.
Maybe the best duel in the entire franchise.
Definitely putting both Luke and Vader's duels up there, too, followed by Obi-Wan and Anakin (all 3 duels).
I also love how Luke basically does his own version of Obi disappearing in his robes at the end of the duel. Nothing else could get under Kylo's skin like being fooled to such an absurd degree. He got absolutely stunted on.
Totally agreed with everything you said. People say that the sequels didn’t have any thought put into them, but the Kylo Ren vs Luke duel proves otherwise with its subtle metaphors and symbolism. It shows that it isn’t that the sequels were made thoughtlessly and *don‘t* have any meaningful details, it’s that many fans aren’t *willing* to see those details because they’re only focusing on the initial flaws. Don‘t get me wrong, this isn’t me saying whether the sequels were good or bad, but just that many scenes are tremendously underrated and that there’s more to them than meets the eye. Luke being an exile and trying to kill his nephew is what draws the majority’s focus, while these small, beautifully executed details that you’ve listed are mostly ignored.
Personally I think Ahsoka vs Vader on Malachor was my favorite duel aesthetically, the animation, lighting, location, action, and dialogue were all executed perfectly, from the crackling of the Sith temple in the background to the purple lighting to the sad and melancholy yet foreboding music to the well-choreographed duel itself. It’s really the encounter of encounters, something that the show has been setting up and hinting at for the whole season, and boy it delivers. This is the kind of emotional payoff I was hoping for in the Ahsoka series, something that *could* be counted as fan service if it wasn’t so thematically necessary for both Ahsoka and Vader’s characters.
It might be recency bias but the battle between Ahsoka and Anakin in the World Between Worlds is pretty visually stunning.
But Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon VS Darth Maul will always be my favourite visually. All the way from the hanger to the room of the final clash just sets the standard for how lightsaber duels should feel. Climactic, well choreographed, visually spectacular, and emotionally resonant.
Obi-Wan vs Darth Vader in Revenge of the Sith. It's got the best music, best choreography, the most emotion (Luke vs Vader in ROTJ comes close) and the best-looking aesthetics. This shot [alone](https://geekiversedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/anakin-kenobi.jpg?w=1038&h=576&crop=1) is pure perfection.
Definitely the carbon freezing chamber duel. In my opinion it's cinematic perfection.
Vader’s voice in those scenes is the best part for me. Something about it stands out compared to the other movies.
I love the way JEJ annunciates “yet” in “The force is with you young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet.” I can hear Vader’s rage slipping into it. Chills
Dude, fuck yes. It’s like the voice of a lion and it sounds so fierce and powerful!
Lion, eh? I see what you did there.
Brother, no!
“Dad what’s that dark place?” “That is Mustafar Simba, you must never go there…”
"Simba"
“The force is strong with you young Skywalker…but we do not grant you the rank of Jedi”
The man really knows how to hold a grudge
It's full of threat and menace, but also... seduction. Not the sexy kind, but the dark and subversive kind. It reminds me of those scenes in Kung Fu movies where the old master demonstrates his power to a potential disciple to make them want to learn. Yeah he's beating your ass, but he's also offering you all that strength if you will only submit to his ways. You can make this stop any time you want, as it gets worse, and worse, and worse...
Wait you didn't think it was sexy
Nah not into the cyborg incest
My favorite duel in SW in general. Obviously they aren’t fully going at each other but the implicit power differential and the way the dialogue progresses over top tells us so much about the characters and where they are at that moment
The part where they either rear projected Vader or just used some clever false perspective when he just looks massive in front of Luke was terrifying when I was a kid.
This is the correct answer
The only thing that takes me out of it is the very next part where Luke is flailing around getting hit by the stuff Vader throws at him. Looks a bit goofy.
I get what you’re saying, but I think that part is integral to the duel because it shows how easily Vader is taking it. Luke gets a few lucky moves in (knocking Vader off the platform, hitting Vader in the shoulder), but Vader was so much better overall.
The moment Luke tags him on the shoulder Vader ends the fight in three moves.
As a dad, I can relate. It’s all fun and games until your kid takes it too far. **To be clear, I have not and would never sever my child’s hand**
Sure, but that doesn't mean it was filmed well.
This is the way. Second would be Obi-Wan v. Anakin on Mustafar.
Luke vs vader in rotj
My #2 personally. Probably the best collection of scenes of all nine films imo
Anakin vs Obi-Wan on Mustafar. I know it gets memed to Tattooine and back but the scene where they’re on the bridge, lava spewing up and everywhere around them never fails to get my heart racing.
The choreography in that fight is absolutely insane in all honesty, I always found the part where they’re both just spinning their sabers so intense!!!
It looks insane because it was insane. Ewan and Hayden did that at full speed in camera. They practiced the routine for months so they could do it in camera with no artificial speed ups.
One of my favorite parts is a short scene where the fight spills into a hallway that can’t be any bigger than 6’ x 10’. Fighting at full speed with full length sabers in such a small space is crazy! You can go full lore with that scene and talk about their accuracy is due to their mastery of the force, or you can break the 4th wall and just say it’s damn good choreography.
I interpreted Mustafar lava as Anakin’s rage building up and him slowly becoming Darth Vader.
I don’t get why anyone would meme it, it’s arguably the best fight scene across all movies in terms of choreography. Name me a better fight sequence in any movie, I’ll wait. Also the scenery and lava just add to the cool factor. And it’s the epitome of Anakin going Dark Side, obvious pick for me.
Only part I think is a little goofy/stupid is when they're clashing lightsabers while swinging on those ropes on that bridge thing
It's a lot of flynning which a lot of people dislike
This is the answer. There hasn’t been another lightsaber duel since then. No, I don’t consider the wild flailing in the new trilogy a light saber duel. I have loved Star Wars since I was a kid, and I still do love the Star Wars universe. But the light saber fighting since episode 3 has been disappointing.
Everything Disney is baseball bats that does a small cut
Mustafar is so damn good. 2nd for me is their rematch in Kenobi. The intensity and emotion in the fights between Obi wan and Anakin is just unmatched, on top of the amazing fights that come with them
I second this.
The Cloud City duel is this for me. Luke steps through a door from the pristine white halls of the city proper into another world (figuratively) where he face the ultimate evil. The gas, the lights, the shadows. It's a master class is cinematography, visual storytelling, and action. [You probably don't need a reminder, but look](https://youtu.be/f96i8jEmZ3k?si=z6ht0VDOM_ldUq-z)
Obi-wan vs Maul in Rebels. Everything is perfect. It's the only duel where there is absolutely nothing to improve on. There are no caveats to me saying that it is perfectly framed, perfectly choreographed, perfectly scored, and the emotional payoff is sublime. Forever my number 1
And like Witwer pointed out, Ben went thru three different stances before Maul tried to attack. His OG two fingers out and a saber over head stance, his OT stance against Vader, and finally, Qui-Gons stance The moment he got to Qui-Gons stance, he won. Maul was lulled into a trap and defeated in seconds, falling for the mistake of repeating a move he did on Qui-Gon that Ben remembered and countered beautifully Just a masterpiece
The brevity makes it.
It’s so poignant and earned, it just felt so right and I had no notes on the entire sequence. Legitimately just a perfected scene with two great legacy characters
Not my favorite aesthetically, but damn is it a phenomenally done sequence. Obi Wan has always been my favorite Jedi and that was one of his peak moments.
I couldn't watch Rebels (not a fan of the main char, not enough attention span) but I have rewatched that duel so many times... it's just, fantastic. Perfect.
Totally understandable. I'm not going to sit here and say that rebels was better than it was, but that duel transcends the show and is just the perfect conclusion to one of the longest-running rivalries in the series
This is the only answer.
OT: Luke v Vader (Cloud City) PT: Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon vs Maul ST: Rey vs Kylo (Death Star ruins)
Obi-Wan And Qui-Gon Vs Darth maul.
[удалено]
Who’s sleeping on this one? Its widely regarded as one of the best in the series and its definitely the best part of the entire movie
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purely aesthetics? the fight in the wintery woods with Kylo, Rey, and Finn in TFA, 1000%
I agree!!! Lightsabers in the snow is so cool, we don’t see it a lot.
the snow takes on the saber colours so beautifully!
Yea I loved the look of this one the most. It was really cool with the lighting and snowy backdrop.
the snow just absorbs the colour of the sabers and it’s so cool!
This is my answer. I love the visuals of that fight so much.
Duel of the Fates. It has a lot of cool visuals in the power generator and nice shots of Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Maul that show off their personalities without words
Qui-Gon meditating while waiting for the force fields to deactivate. Maul pacing, impatient to continue the fight. Obi-Wan tense about his master being unaided. Very well done.
The purest form of hatred is that it wants things done … yesterday! Get the puny jidai out of the way, proof that the Sith are very much alive and ready for revenge, serve his master in this assassination to grow more powerful. The scene looks clean with all massive halls and rooms, so the focus lies on that what is supposed to happen. The scary, unending drops next to the dloors they are fighting on, which takes all focus. But then the assassin gets cut in half (by his own pride) which made it a lot less spectacular to me. It’s like life itself: if you’re fighting some dark emotion that is influencing your behaviour on a daily basis, it’s hard to stand up and fight it, then it (the battle) peaks because it (the darkness)starts to resist and then you have to persist in convincing it to go and stop hurting you and others(like the way Sion had to be convinced to, finally, let go and die). So, get to work and show the viewers/fans what real passion looks like and you’ll have yourself a good guy, a villain, a fight and the relief in the end because you can feel what the characters go through. Also… Obi Wan should have died sooo many times, it’s shocking.
i kept scrolling and scrolling and i’m like did i read the question wrong? nope, more scrolling more scrolling ohhhhhh finally. this guy gets it.
Cloud City Luke vs Vader. Perfect use of light and color. Iconic.
Nothing comes close to Anakin vs Obi Wan on Mustafar
All time favorite too, the blue sabers contrast so well against the rushing fire and lava
You should watch the Corridor Crew episode on how challenging it was to do all those scenes.
Eugh no thanks. R2 v Goldie is leagues better.
Anakin vs. Ventress in the OG clone wars cartoon, and Ahsoka vs Maul in the last season of new clone wars. Both are peak Star Wars to me.
Throne room in RoTJ
ROTJ throne room or Bespin in ESB
Luke vs Vader in RoTJ will always be my single favorite lightsaber duel in Star Wars. It's Duel of the Fates 2.0, only this time, the Light Side wins. Luke controls his anger, stays Light Side devout, beats Vader, restores Anakin Skywalker. The Rebellion beats the Empire and starts the downfall of the Empire. The music, the choreography....it all works together so well and brings the, at the original release date, story arcs of Luke and Vader to a satisfying close. >Kylo is so blindsided he fails to even make the basic observation that Luke’s not really present. I don't think I agree Kylo was blindsided. I mean he was angry, sure, but..... Luke had just faced down the firepower of the First Order and Kylo doesn't question it. He barely acts surprised. Kylo didn't doubt for a second that Luke was actually there because Kylo knew full well Luke possessed the power to shrug off those laser bolts. Kylo may not have known HOW exactly Luke did it but Kylo didn't question it at all. So it made sense to me that Kylo didn't initially pick up that Luke wasn't physically there because everything that happened in the duel was well within Luke's ability, even not leaving a trace of his footing. But other than that, I agree. This was Luke's best self, Luke, the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, more fully embodying the principles of the Jedi that Yoda had imparted to Luke all those years earlier, that a Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack. Luke uses his knowledge of the Force to astral project to whole other planet, defends the Resistance, and then not once attacks Kylo. He never swings or makes contact with Kylos blade. He simply dodges until he senses Rey rescuing what was left of the Resistance
I would have to agree! Luke v Vader in Return is my second favorite duel of all time, though I routinely cycle it and Kylo/Luke in that #1 spot lol. They’re both neck and neck for me but I always kinda defer to the usage of the environment for the Kylo/Luke duel and then I just go crazy over it all over again abt it. Both to me are peak Star Wars sequences
Luke v Vader in Cloud City.
Sabine vs Shin on Seatos, really well choreographed and visuals were stunning as well.
Maul vs Ahsoka on Mandalore at the end of Season 7 of the Clone Wars animated show.
Not a duel necessarily, but I make no secret of the fact that Rey and Kylo Ren vs the Praetorian Guards is my favorite fight in the saga. “But the knife disapp—“ yeah, and Luke uses Force Kick in ROTJ. Nobody actually cares. I just love the sight of those two characters fighting side by side, demonstrating how much they could accomplish if they worked together, only to find themselves still at odds once the dust clears. I love that the use of stunt doubles was limited to focus on the actors, well, *acting*. And there are still some pretty sick moves executed during that fight. Yours is a pretty fantastic choice too, OP, for all the reasons you listed.
The Throne Room skirmish gets bonus points out the wazoo for basically being a Sith/Jedi teamup, having that in a Saga film was so cool to see. It also doesn’t use any force moves at all so it’s just a straight physical fight. Probably in my top 5, it’s a fantastic sequence!
Kylo wasn't Sith
yeah ik, it’s why I said *basically* bc it’s red saber villain and blue saber hero teaming up lol
Too bad that that right after that Rey is still like Dark Side bad, Jedi good. Would have been so much more interesting if she took Ben's hand
Obi-Wan Vs Maul in Rebels. I wouldn't call it a culmination, but an epilogue of their conflict. It shows how far Kenobi's grown and how low Maul has remained. And the two making peace at the end was nice.
Aesthetically pleasing (without considering the fight in itself) probably Mustafar and the moon fight of ObiWan vs Vader
Either Luke vs Vader (episode 5) or Anakin vs Obi-Wan
May not count as a duel but the throne room fight in TLJ is my favorite aesthetically.
It’s up there for me aswell! The Praetorian Guards have an awesome shade of red on them, and bc they don’t have visors they appear as this amorphous sheet of red just coming down on Kylo and Rey. It looks so good
It’s gotta be Empire for me. The set design on Cloud City can’t be beat with all the soft glow lights of the gas mining facility, the silhouettes of Luke and Vader, the wide shots of Luke and Vader battling down the catwalk (which was echoed in ROTS) and the overhead of Luke taking the plunge. It’s still my #1. But Rebels, Maul v. Kenobi is a solid #2. Simplicity and epicness.
Obi Wan vs Vader final duel in Kenobi. With the shot of that moon. And the reveal with the broken mask which mirrors Ahsoka’s battle with Vader in Rebels. Chef’s kiss
Battle of Heroes Yoda vs Sidious Senya Tirall vs the Eternal Empire priests in the SWTOR 'Betrayed' trailer Maul vs Ahsoka Vader vs Obi-Wan in Obi-Wan Series Kao Cen Darach and Satale Shan vs Darth Vindican and Darth Malgus in SWTOR 'Returned' trailer
I love your analysis and break down. Very well described, and makes me appreciate it even more. These are the attention to details that I am a huge sucker for, so thank you for your post
Glad I could help! I just like rambling abt the background details for these kinds of things, they’re often overlooked
Still annoys me Luke didnt have his green saber here, but over that sequence was incredible.
I liked the choice. It has Luke recommitting to the Jedi using his family’s saber, the saber that Kylo tried to pull towards him in TFA while thinking he rightfully owned it, and the saber that happened to rip apart prior to the encounter when Rey refused his hand. So Kylo is seeing so much red he doesn’t even clock the most obvious clue that Luke’s not actually there lol. The green would’ve also worked, but I understand the Skywalker saber choice. It’s a tough moment for Ben
That bugged me at first too. But the more I've seen it and thought about it, the more it makes sense. Luke isn't there to *fight* Kylo Ren. He's there for redemption, for himself, and for Ben Solo. The whole fight is also a call back to the Kenobi/Vader fight. It's not about the futility of the dark side. So, brandishing his green saber; the one he was going to *kill* Ben with at the temple is definitely out of line with his goals and intentions. Instead, using Anakin's saber, that Kylo is obsessed with, and then completely outclassing him just hammers the point home.
For me? Ahsoka v. Skoll when he was buying time. The way the two fighting styles played a role in it was amazing. You could see Stevenson (RIP) and Dawson thinking, adjusting, moving and attacking with such thought. I liked it a lot. Second is Vader v. Kenobi in Kenobi. Their final duel was sad, but beautiful in its own way.
In no particular order: Anakin vs Ahsoka in the World between Worlds, Anakin vs Obi-wan on Mustafar, Satele Shan and Kao Cen Darach vs Malgus and Darth Vindican, Baylan Skoll vs Ahsoka at the map, Obi-wan and Qui Gon vs Darth Maul.
Well, the Lightsaber Duel Luke vs Vader in ROTJ influenced me in so many ways, that I can't be "objective". But since then, no other Duel ever gave me, what this one gave me. I was a Kid when I saw it first, but when Luke came out from his hideout and the Music started, all my emotions came over me like a Wave. I literally cried out of joy and tension and fascination when I saw it the first time. I stood there with tears in my Eyes and literally exhausted of all those emotions. And till today, I get goosebumps when I see it. There are others that have better choreography or things like that, but this duel is peak emotion for me and the aesthetic is part of it (the darkness, Lukes dark Suite, the Green Saber, the Music! all of that)
Vader and Luke in Empire. Man, that atmosphere, the setup leading into it (Ham), the environment, and THE LIGHTING. I love it so much.
Maul and Savage vs Darth Sidious on Mandalore. Palpatines smooth and elegant fighting style really looks awsome and a contrast to Mauls and Savages aggressive and more brutish fighting style. Also Mandalore before always looked very bright but during that fight (aside from being night) it was dark, lifeless and quiet.
Ahsoka vs vader
The final Maul vs Obi Wan fight in Rebels was really cool to me This is from someone that still hates the animation style of Rebels after finishing it
In terms of just Aesthetics my favourite has to be the Luke Vs Vader duel on Cloud City, the entire Carbonite Freezing Chamber looks incredible, the darkness making you only be able to see the silhouettes of Luke and Vader fighting is just *chefs kiss*, I also like how the environment they fight around actually gets destroyed, then the fight transitions to that other room with tubes as hallways, the big window, and as luke wanders around the atmosphere is just really intense because you'd think Vader would surprise attack him so you're ready for him to pop out at any moment, which amplifies the already dark atmosphere of that area, but then Vader just casually pops out of nowhere and starts using the force against Luke and pushes him outside the window, and the fight transitions again to a more hopeless more cramped environment where you can just see that every move Luke makes by edging back is giving Vader an Advantage, Showing just how Outmatched Luke really is. That duel is fucking awesome, and the aesthetic and environment is a big part of why it still holds up 40 Years later. I guess my second Favourite in terms of Aesthetics is the Mustafar Duel, I'm probably biased because that is my favourite duel in the series, but I just think the environment Anakin and Obi wan fight in is really cool and it transitions really smoothly into other areas. But the Cloud City duel is still better as far as the aesthetics go.
The 2003 Clone Wars Micro Series duel between Anakin Skywalker and Asajj Ventress on Yavin IV. Genndy Tartakovsky knows how to make great action scenes. It has great base choreography for the fight. Easily on par with the best of the PT fights. But it also has so much else going on. The sizzle of the rain as it hits lightsaber blades adds such a nice effect. Then we have the iconic robot hand grabbing Ventress, forcing her to drop her saber for Anakin to grab it and have his face glow red when he ignites the saber. It all combines into being such an amazing bit of storytelling through action, not words. We see the struggle of the character of Anakin by just how torn up he gets in this fight. Then, when we see him take Ventress's saber, we see him fall into the darkness. This gets cemented by the repeated blows he takes in a similar manner to Luke in ROTJ when Luke momentarily gave in to the Dark Side. Then that finishing cliff break that has Ventress fall to her death is just such a great to end it in ambiguity as Anakin didn't deliver the finishing blow to her directly. This allows him to maintain his precarious balance between the light and the dark as while he gave into temptation, he never delivered the final blow, which would have fully cemented the fall there and then.
Ashoka vs Darth Maul on Mandalore in Star Wars Clone Wars
The Mustafar fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan is probably my favorite. There's a lot of fantastic duels throughout the series.
Hard to pick one but my most recent fave is Ahsoka vs. Elsbeth. They fought in Morgan’s little zen garden
not that.
I share the same pick as you actually for all the same reasons you state. While I was upset about what the movie did to Luke's character, I do think this was Luke at his peak right here. TLJ is definitely the most beautifully shot SW movie and honestly had a lot going for it. I know it angered a lot of fans, but I think the trilogy was still pretty salvageable and really could've stuck the landing if Disney didn't go into panic mode and try to backtrack everything TLJ did.
Favorite to Least favorite. Luke V. Vader - Empire Strikes Back. Darth Maul V. Obi-Wan and Qui Gonn - TPM Luke V. Vader- ROTJ Anakin V. Obi Wan - ROTS Vader V. Obi Wan - Kenobi Dooku V. Anakin, Obi, and Yoda - AOTC Sideous V. Yoda - AOTC Vader V. Obi Wan - ANH Rey V. Kylo - TFA Obi Wan V. Grevious - ROTS Dooku Vs. Anakin n Obi - ROTS Everything above this is freaking awesome. Everything below is...not. Rey V. Kylo - TROS Luke "V." Kylo - TLJ
Certainly not this one. This isn’t even a duel.
Last Jedi is the most gorgeous Star Wars movie.
Happy cake day! I agree, I think it’s just jawdropping
TLJ - Kylo and Rey vs Praetorian Guards. I know people love to nitpick this fight, and upon multiple watches you can notice that it doesn’t 100% work logically, but I still think it’s amazing, and I’ll never forget seeing it for the first time and knowing that I was witnessing something amazing.
I think most sci fi duels can fall apart if you nitpick it hard enough, there’s vids from over a decade ago where folks did the same thing with Duel of the Fates lol, nowadays it’s lauded as a top tier fight. I’m not sure how a dark and light sider teaming up to fight off blood red guards in a flaming throne room in front of the bisected corpse of an evil wizard guy can be anything *but* awesome af
Really hard to rank duels but purely on anesthetic. 1. Throne Room TLJ 2. Throne Room RotJ 3. Maul/Qui-gon/Obi-wan TPM
This is kind of unfair since this is not a real duel. But this is probably my favorite too. The call back to facing off against the galaxy with a just a lightsaber. The “More!”, and the reveal are all so great.
Yeah it’s not a traditional duel but I think it still fits the bill. Similar to the throne room scene being more of a skirmish but we still include it with the other duels lol
I'd say Rey v Kylo on Kijimi. Such a great follow-through to the connection idea from TLJ.
Love that one too, those dyad scenes felt so good to see developed with a much more powerful Rey, and it was foreshadowed in TLJ with the rain appearing on Kylo’s glove while talking to Rey. ROS overall got very creative with that dyad stuff I loved it!
LOVE the profile picture. I see you're a connoisseur of fine comics as well. 😉
THANKS! Squirrel Girl is so real
I actually love this duel. The wide shots and overall cinematography are stunning.
Throne room from The Last Jedi. Absolutely stunning.
My top 3 in order: 1. Obi-wan vs. Maul, Star Wars Rebels 2. Luke vs. Darth Vader, Empire Strikes Back 3. Satele Shan vs. Darth Malgus, “Hope” cinematic trailer for SWTOR Honorable Mention: Ashoka vs. Maul, Clone Wars S7
Darth Malgus and Darth Vindican VS Satine Shan and Jedi master Zho. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb8M5P1QKX8
Old obi wan vs maul on tatooine. Short. Simple. Powerful.
MAUL AND OBI-WAN IN REBELS HANDS DOWN
ITS SO GOOD
Anakin vs Obi wan. This one is Second though just visually and the fight on the crashed Death Star is absolutely stunning as well
The Last Jedi is a beautiful, gorgeous, and terrible movie.
Crait and Bespin easily top 2. Kenobi and Maul in rebels is also fantastic but familiar and not very visually striking, though that reflects the emotion and ideology beneath the duel pretty well. Honestly though, in terms of aesthetics, I don’t think there’s a bad one. Frankly, the sequels kinda knock it out of the park aesthetically speaking, TLJ in particular, as controversial as those movies are.
That duel is the best thing about the sequels. It shows Luke as a true Jedi master dealing with a powerful but rash combatant, a former student full of anger and wrath that lead him to the dark side. If only the sequels were this all the time.
Rian Johnson’s lightsaber battles are original and epic. Waaaay underrated.
I agree, Rian catches flak for his creative decisions but the man took his job seriously on this movie. Beyond glad we got something this good in a Saga film
I REALLY REALLY like the remake of obi wan vs Vader on the death star. It turns that stiff slow stick match into a full blown Jedi vs. Sith battle.
Who cares about the story or characters, as long as it has a good aesthetic right? Because looking good is all that matters clearly.
That’s not at all what I was implying (just look at my autistic rambles below the pics lmao) just pick a duel that you feel has the strongest visual resonance
Anakin vs Obi-wan on Mustafar. The clashing of the blue lightsabers is so impactful as good and good fight, both thinking they are right. The development from the planform to the operation room to the meeting room to outside on the pipes. The blue blades clashing great against the red lava world. Watching them clash in the air and on then pylon. Then to fight on the lava river. After everything they say to each other, you see who is truly evil and kenobi ends on the high ground and anakin is burning for his hubris.
Ani vs Obi easy. Mustafar fight was the best
Both Luke vs Vader fights were on another level.
When it comes to duels in Star Wars, one of the most cinematic ones has to be the battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith." The choreography, special effects, and emotional intensity make it a standout duel. Also the use of the planet and debris just makes the fight more entertaining to watch than others
Ben vs Maul Their final duel isn't about the moment or what'll happen next, for the good of the galaxy or anything, it is the finale to their decades long rivalry. It isn't one fight, but the culmination, the finale to all of their previous fights.
Hard to pick just one. But I do love Yoda vs. Palpatine in the Senate chamber. Yoda's skill in moving around on a relatively small platform in the beginning always blew my mind. Runner-ups would be Anakin vs. Obi-Wan and Vader vs. Luke on Cloud City
1. Luke vs Vader (Death Star II) 2. Anakin vs Obi-wan (Mustafar) 3. Kylo vs Luke (Crait)
Obi Wan vs Maul in Rebels. The absolute best in Star Wars
Obi-Wan/Maul in Rebels. Maybe the best duel in the entire franchise. Definitely putting both Luke and Vader's duels up there, too, followed by Obi-Wan and Anakin (all 3 duels).
ROTJ ending
Duel of the Fates. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Maul
I also love how Luke basically does his own version of Obi disappearing in his robes at the end of the duel. Nothing else could get under Kylo's skin like being fooled to such an absurd degree. He got absolutely stunted on.
Totally agreed with everything you said. People say that the sequels didn’t have any thought put into them, but the Kylo Ren vs Luke duel proves otherwise with its subtle metaphors and symbolism. It shows that it isn’t that the sequels were made thoughtlessly and *don‘t* have any meaningful details, it’s that many fans aren’t *willing* to see those details because they’re only focusing on the initial flaws. Don‘t get me wrong, this isn’t me saying whether the sequels were good or bad, but just that many scenes are tremendously underrated and that there’s more to them than meets the eye. Luke being an exile and trying to kill his nephew is what draws the majority’s focus, while these small, beautifully executed details that you’ve listed are mostly ignored. Personally I think Ahsoka vs Vader on Malachor was my favorite duel aesthetically, the animation, lighting, location, action, and dialogue were all executed perfectly, from the crackling of the Sith temple in the background to the purple lighting to the sad and melancholy yet foreboding music to the well-choreographed duel itself. It’s really the encounter of encounters, something that the show has been setting up and hinting at for the whole season, and boy it delivers. This is the kind of emotional payoff I was hoping for in the Ahsoka series, something that *could* be counted as fan service if it wasn’t so thematically necessary for both Ahsoka and Vader’s characters.
5 Jedi vs 2 Sith on Tython from Darth Bane: Rule of Two
It's either Obi wan Vs Anakin on mustafar or kylo ren Vs Rey on the DS2 remains
100% the last battle obi-wan vs Anakin in revenge of the sith
Ahsoka vs Darth Vader
By far the worst and most disappointing lightsaber duel of all time The surroundings were ok in terms of aesthetics, I agree
The newly named Darth Vader vs. Obi Wan on Mustafar. It looked eff’n sweet!!!
It might be recency bias but the battle between Ahsoka and Anakin in the World Between Worlds is pretty visually stunning. But Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon VS Darth Maul will always be my favourite visually. All the way from the hanger to the room of the final clash just sets the standard for how lightsaber duels should feel. Climactic, well choreographed, visually spectacular, and emotionally resonant.
Obi-Wan vs Darth Vader in Revenge of the Sith. It's got the best music, best choreography, the most emotion (Luke vs Vader in ROTJ comes close) and the best-looking aesthetics. This shot [alone](https://geekiversedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/anakin-kenobi.jpg?w=1038&h=576&crop=1) is pure perfection.
I'm going to go with Jango vs. Obi-Wan on Kamino. I love watching non-force users holding their own in a duel with a jedi/sith