The knife is one of the oldest bladed instruments having been used since the Stone Age and known for its versatility. Originally invented for hunting purposes, knives later evolved into a variety of combat-specific forms including the American bowie, Southeast Asian karambit, Filipino butterfly knife, and Japanese kunai. Not quite as long and extravagant as a sword, but offering slightly greater range and raising the stakes more than an unarmed fight, movies have featured knives in tense bloody confrontations that can only end in one person left standing. Any fight scene involving at least one combatant wielding a knife will count for this list. So here are my 12 favorite cinematic knife fights.
#12. Game of Thrones (2011-2019)
The definition of "cinematic" may normally be reserved for motion pictures but any televised series should be allowed to fall under this category. Especially in regards to the presentation of action which sometimes outdoes what is shown even in film. Knife fights are just one facet of this well-crafted action design and several series are exemplary of this including Sunny's engagement with a crossbow sniper in Into The Badlands and the bathroom brawl from The Punisher. But the label of "cinematic" couldn't apply more to one of the biggest shows in recent memory, Game of Thrones.
Long before it's controversial ending, the series was still exploring Jon Snow's journey from bastard son to a protector of the Northern Wall. Jon leads a band of Night's Watch reinforcements to capture a rebel known as Karl Tanner who had just murdered the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Jeor Mormont. However, Jon, who at this point seems to know nothing about practical combat, soon realizes that a long sword is quite inconvenient when used in a dimly lit confined area. A more experienced Karl takes advantage of this tactical error while also teaching Jon a lesson on the value of dirty fighting by spitting in his face and sweeping his leg. Medieval settings are usually known for their conventional swordplay. Game of Thrones subverts almost every Medieval fantasy trope possible and bringing dual daggers into a sword fight is just one way in which the series accomplishes this subversion incorporating realistic close-quarters combat into an otherwise straight-forward sword fight. Thanks to choreography by Paul Herbert and David Forman as well as a charismatic yet terrifying performance by Tanner's actor Burn Gorman, this minor chapter in the show's narrative is made all the more memorable.
#11. Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (2013)
Leaving the cramped claustrophobic spaces of the previous entry, we now move on to an open field in Ninja: Shadow of a Tear. Also known as Ninja 2, this sequel follows the titular ninja, Casey Bowman, played by Scott Adkins, as he attempts to find and exact vengeance on those who were responsible for the murder of his pregnant wife.
Though there's a great 2-on-1 fight against some thugs earlier in the movie, the night-time duel between Bowman and Myat lands itself on the #11 spot for this list. Myat, top henchman for the drug lord Goro, is portrayed by Tim Man who also happens to be the film's fight choreographer. Beginning as a sword vs. knife scenario like the last entry, Man disarms Adkins of his katana and the two battle for possession over the knife. Ninja 2's action sequences are arguably a significant improvement over its predecessor due to the inclusion of Tim Man who proves that he's more than just a fight choreographer. Despite this fight sequence focusing a little more on aerial kicking combinations than on the actual knife action, there's just enough blade work to justify its place on this list. Tim Man and Scott Adkins are recognized for their exceptional gymnastics and Taekwondo skills among a variety of other martial arts and they perfectly compliment each other's acrobatic talents. This would be the first but not the last time Tim Man would work with Scott Adkins as Man would go on to choreograph more of Adkins' movies such as Boyka: Undisputed, Accident Man, and Triple Threat. Scott Adkins has appeared in a few other knife fights like his rematch with Marko Zaror in Savage Dog but I've settled on Ninja 2 simply for the sake of mixing things up by adding a bit of good ol' slow-mo to the list.
#10. Bad Blood (2010)
Also titled King of Triads in the US, Bad Blood will be the first Hong Kong entry on this list where American martial artist and actor, Andy On, plays Calf, who decides to work for the sister of a former triad boss. His main objective is to assassinate all other potential triad leaders including one by the name of Kong, portrayed by veteran Hong Kong stuntman Hung Yan-yan.
Also known as Xiong Xin-xin, Hung is probably most famous for his role as the character Clubfoot in the Once Upon a Time in China series in which he also doubled for Jet Li. Andy On stands in the background patiently waiting until Hung catches his reflection somersaulting towards Andy. Though Andy is the knife wielder of this fight, Hung pulls out two meat cleavers handling them much like butterfly swords, short singled-edged Chinese blades, similar to Donnie Yen's usage in Ip Man 2's fish market scene. Despite Hung Yan-yan having a reputation for lethal use of his flexible legs, 2010's Bad Blood sees a much older and possibly less agile Hung resulting in less kicks and more actual knife work than this list's previous knife fight. It is the much younger and physically capable Andy On who shows off his acrobatic prowess effortlessly swinging in and out of the ropes of the boxing ring. To top it off, the movie's fight scenes were choreographed by Li Chung-chi, nicknamed Nicki Li, who is not only the current leader of Jackie Chan's stunt team next to Jackie himself, but also Andy On's mentor. Andy does engage in a sparring match against former Wushu champion Luxia Jiang and her rope-dart knife but the duel between Andy and Hung Yan-yan is easily the film's most exciting and kinetic fight sequence with the loud exaggerated sound effects for the blade-on-blade contact only adding to the intensity.
#9. Island of Fire (1990)
Next we have another Hong Kong film, Island of Fire. Alternatively titled The Prisoner, the eponymous prisoners are Jackie Chan and Andy Lau. Jackie is Da Chui who unintentionally killed a man when trying to win a card game which would've allowed him to pay for his dying girlfriend's operation. Andy Lau plays Iron Ball, the brother of that same man who was killed by Da Chui having purposely allowed himself to be incarcerated to avenge his dead brother.
The two men face off armed with prison shivs. Being far grittier and less comedy-heavy than the typical Jackie Chan fight sequence, Chan still manages to display some of his trademark parkour antics and creative use of his environment. Although Chan normally coordinates his own action, credit to the choreography actually goes to Lin Wan-Chang. Andy Lau is in fact recognized as one of the greatest Cantonese pop singers of all time but had already quickly developed a strong acting resume in the 80s' and, like many Hong Kong actors at the time, received basic martial arts training through a television broadcasting company. That training coupled with Lin Wan-Chang's choreographic expertise gave Andy Lau a convincing performance that could match even a screen fighting master like Jackie Chan. The movie itself has been mired with significant controversy with an unconfirmed report that the cast was allegedly coerced into appearing in the film by a Hong Kong triad boss that held them at gun point. Jackie himself was so dissatisfied with the film and his name and image being shown in promotional materials that he bough the rights to prevent its distribution. In spite of his efforts, it was still released in some Asian countries and we at least got an awesome knife fight to put down on this list narrowly beating Chan's other one from The Foreigner.
#8. Rurouni Kenshin (2012)
Moving away from Hong Kong we now come to Japan. Japanese martial arts cinema are far fewer in number than their Chinese counterparts and there are some hidden gems worth considering like Bushido Man. Among a series of incredibly well made 1-on-1 battles, there is a great knife duel featured in it but the eighth spot on the list will instead be from another film, Rurouni Kenshin.
As one of the best live action anime adaptations ever made, this film trilogy also appeared in the top 12 cinematic sword fights of all time. The series' outstanding swordplay is of course quite clear so you might be surprised that the single instance of knife fighting is itself just as expertly created as the sword fights. Takeruh Satoh stars as Himura Kenshin alongside Go Ayano who plays Gein, henchman of the movie's main antagonist, a corrupt businessman. Gein is the first to attack firing off his dual pistols with seemingly unlimited ammo before the duel turns into a sword-on-knife fight like the previous Game of Thrones entry. Kenshin remains on the defensive against Gein's low crouched attacks only later finding ways to strike back with unconventional techniques. Using his reverse-edge katana to leave nothing but a mere scratch on Gein's face, Kenshin successfully maintains his promise of ending the fight without killing his opponent. It's hard to believe that such fast and complex bladework was performed by actors rather than skilled martial artists and that's thanks in part to choreography by Kenji Tanigaki who has a history of having worked with Donnie Yen in movies like SPL, Flash Point, and Kung Fu Jungle.
#7. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)
We now turn to Hollywood for our next entry and what better Hollywood action film to feature than from the John Wick franchise. Renowned for its innovative style of gun-fu, sometimes called "gun-jutsu", which combines gunplay with Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Aiki-Jitsu, the series has however gradually balanced out its action sequences with more and more pure melee combat. Chapter 2's subway knife fight with fellow contract killer Cassian and Chapter 3's Silat-infused two-on-one with Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman are prime examples of this. Yet it's another knife-related scene that ranks in at #7 on this list.
After killing a powerful crime lord on what is meant to be an assassination safe zone in the last film, John Wick has been excommunicated by the global assassin community and is hunted down by every hitman on the planet. We all know knives are deadly close-range weapons but what if they were utilized from a distance? John Wick 3 answers this question when he and a group of other hitmen find themselves in a museum room filled with an entire assortment of various blades. Smashing through the glass displays, Wick and the assassins begin throwing every knife they can get their hands on at each other in what was described by director Chad Stahelski as a snowball fight with knives. Stahelski, who was also Keanu Reeves' stunt double in The Matrix trilogy, wanted a more realistic depiction of throwing knives where most knives don't always hit their target and are thrown in high volume hoping some of them eventually land. This snowball analogy couldn't be more accurately shown on screen with Wick turning his would-be assailants into human pin cushions. Tiger Chen, Hong Kong stuntman and close friend of Keanu, also comes in towards the end switching things up with an axe as well as reluctantly taking a knife to the eye. Few other Hollywood actors have dedicated themselves to lifelong martial arts training as Keanu has and his role as John Wick along with action design by stunt coordinators Jon Valera and Jonathon Eusibio has lead to perhaps the peak of what American action cinema is capable of producing.
#6. Death Grip (2012)
Steering away from the larger expensive set pieces of mainstream movies, we should take some time to explore the world of independent film-making. The knife fights of these more obscure martial arts action films often rival those of the bigger-budget variety such as Night Shooters and Contracts. But one of the leading figures in the indie action scene is Eric Jacobus, founder of stunt team "The Stunt People" and the motion capture stuntman and stunt coordinator for Kratos in the 2016 video game God of War. Jacobus' own YouTube channel is filled with masterfully crafted fight scenes and he's occasionally delved into feature-length movies with a certain hallucinatory rooftop knife fight from his film debut Contour being worthy of an honorable mention. Though his later film, Death Grip, has possibly an even better one.
Directed by and starring Eric Jacobus himself, Kenny Zemacus must save his autistic brother from a satanic cult lead by former power ranger and anime voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch. Aided by his background in Taekwondo and Hapkido, much of Jacobus' work is inspired by the action comedy stylings of Jackie Chan. Unlike those more light-hearted projects, Death Grip has a much darker tone resulting in grittier fight sequences, similar to the #9 Jackie Chan entry. Especially the knife fight between Eric Jacobus and a cult member played by Alvin Hsing. Jacobus arrives unarmed and must survive a relentless flurry of stabs and swings by Alvin Hsing and his two butterfly knives only evening the odds halfway through after grabbing a hold of one of the knives. Hsing's prior training in Kung Fu and contemporary Wushu is obviously a great fit for Jacobus' approach to screen fighting as the speed and complexity of their choreography puts to shame most of the better known blockbuster productions out there.
#5. Re:Born (2016)
(skip to 1:00 for specific fight scene discussed on this list)
(skip to 2:40 for specific fight scene discussed on this list)
For our second Japanese movie to make this list we have Re:Born. Underrated martial arts action star Tak Sakaguchi portrays ex-Special Forces operative Toshiro who is hunted by his former boss. Throughout the film, Sakaguchi's character demonstrates such superhuman levels of badassery that it makes John Wick look like a wimp proven in particular by the epic forest sequence.
I couldn't compromise on choosing just one fight from this segment so I'll break the rules just this once and go with two. First, Sakaguchi takes on a pair of soldiers, knocking one of their knives into the throat of the other before slicing them both into ribbons. It isn't long before he's forced to take on multiple camouflaged guillotine suited squads alone, easily eliminating one with nothing but a karambit whilst using the numerous thin trees for cover and even some of the soldiers themselves as hostages/meat shields. Sakaguchi is so insanely fast that he can dodge gunfire to the point of being able to kill a sniper after calmly walking towards their direct line of sight without being shot. Realizing their firearms are rendered useless, the squad leader orders his men to engage Sakaguchi in melee which of course in the end proves to be a completely futile effort. For the sake of variety, a list of top knife fights could use a 1 vs. many scenario and the warehouse scene in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice came close but was ultimately edged out by Re:Born's ridiculously entertaining one-man army battle.
Tak Sakaguchi was in fact an underground street fighter before beginning his acting career and had learned Boxing, Kickboxing, Shorinji Kempo, and Bajiquan. For Re:Born, he was taught an advanced Japanese military martial art called "Zero Range Combat" through its founder Yoshitaka Inagawa. Inagawa, who also played Abyss Walker, former partner of Sakaguchi's character, based his combat system on Muay Thai, Sambo, Eskrima, and Systema. Inigawa, Sakaguchi, and the film's director, Yuji Shimomura, all adapted an extreme form of Zero Range Combat for the movie. This helped develop the protagonist as an efficient killing machine perfectly captured by Sakaguchi's stoic eccentric demeanor and bizarre shoulder-rolling wave-like body motions. Although the final face-off between Sakaguchi and Inagawa's Abyss Walker is notable, the forest fight is the stand-out action scene of a film that marked an incredible comeback for Sakaguchi who had until then been in retirement for several years.
#4. The Hunted (2003)
The 4th best knife fight of the list also involves some spec ops soldiers. And by that I mean 2003's The Hunted. Benico Del Toro plays former US Delta Force sergeant Aaron Hallam who kills two deer hunters out of disrespect for their use of scoped rifles. Tommy Lee Jones is L.T. Bonham, a military survivalist and Hallam's past instructor who agrees to help the FBI track down Hallam. Under Siege has Tommy Lee Jones starring as the villain opposite Steven Seagal in another engaging knife fight but the climactic confrontation between Jones and Benicio Del Toro in The Hunted is definitely superior.
In a dramatic duel near the side of a roaring waterfall, the student must face their teacher. Del Toro uses his own personally constructed knife made of scrap metal as he and Tommy Lee Jones take turns mutilating each other with Del Toro even utilizing his own blood to temporarily blind Jones. In contrast to the balls-to-the-wall supersoldier massacre that is Re:Born, The Hunted might be the most realistic knife fight of this entire list. Unless you count the famous knife catch move featured in it that was apparently so cool that it was later borrowed in SPL, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the aforementioned indie actioner Night Shooters, and even Game of Thrones. Otherwise this fight scene is almost completely grounded in real knife fighting due to Del Toro, Jones, and the entire stunt crew being trained in a style of Filipino Kali called Sayoc which specializes in knife tactics.
Benicio Del Toro himself actually suggested Kali experts Rafael Kayanan and Thomas Kier to be brought on set for this reason allowing stunt coordinators Hiro Koda and Dino Haynes to choreograph the fight sequences with just the right degree of realism. There may be a few too many quick cuts than are necessary as is the norm for Hollywood film-making, but they do help emphasize the lethality of each single slash and strike. Further reinforcing the element of reality, the film's plot is based on the alleged real life experience of the movie's technical advisor Tom Brown Jr. who was purportedly asked by FBI agents to assist in the capture of a rogue Special Forces operative. This anecdote so far seems to be unfounded but it did provide the premise for one of the most visceral knife fights put to film.
#3. The Raid 2 (2014)
In 2011, The Raid took the world by storm with its absolutely brutal style of action soon inspiring other Southeast Asian films to try emulating that same aesthetic. The Vietnamese thriller Furie is one such film and it's got an incredible final knife fight but for the #3 spot on this list, The Raid 2 wins without question. Indonesian action star Iko Uwais and Welsh director Gareth Evans reunite for this sequel where Uwais reprises his role as Rama who must bring to justice corrupt members of Jakarta's police department that are working with local crime syndicates.
Featuring the Indonesian martial art, Pencak Silat, Iko Uwais is forced to take on one of the deadliest of the local crime organization's assassins played by Silat master Cecep Arif Rahman in his cinematic debut. The two meet in the middle of the room crossing one another's forearms in an almost traditional Kung Fu fashion followed up with a furious exchange of open-handed combat. When the fight appears to favor Uwais, Cecep Arif Rahman sneakily pulls out two karambits from his backside cutting the underside of Uwais' knee. Placed in the same situation as Eric Jacobus was in Death Grip from earlier in the list, Uwais finds a way to disarm Rahman of one of his dual karambits in order to level the playing field. In what may be the most violent fight sequence of this list, the once bright, pristine, spotless kitchen is transformed into a blood-soaked slaughterhouse as Uwais and Rahman slice each other's limbs and torsos with the bloodshed only coming to an end when Uwais lands a fatal stab into Rahman's throat.
Director Gareth Evans stated that this is his favorite fight scene of the whole film. And it isn't surprising as to why given its incredible blend of gritty realism and stylized quality intensified by its moderated use of shaky cam. Next to the Ninja 2 fight featured, this knife duel from The Raid 2 has the most versatile unarmed combat ranging from punches, elbows, knees, kicks, trapping, grappling, throws, and possibly the only instance of clinch-fighting ever seen in a knife fight. Aside from 6 months of training with the cast for the movie as a whole, an additional 6 weeks of planning and a total of 8 days were required to film this fight sequence alone. Star Iko Uwais as well as Yayan Ruhian ("Mad Dog" from the first Raid film) served as the fight choreographers along with Undisputed 3's Larnell Stovall making a guest appearance giving us one of the bloodiest knife battles caught on camera. Did I also mention that this is Samuel L. Jackson's favorite film?
#2. SPL (2005)
A few years before his career-defining lead role in Ip Man, a lesser known crime action thriller named SPL became successful enough to help launch Donnie Yen into future superstardom. Called Kill Zone in the west, this movie was directed by Wilson Yip, the man behind the Ip Man series as well as another Donnie Yen hit, Flash Point. Yen stars as Inspector Ma Kwun who is tasked with taking down notorious triad boss Wong Po played by Hong Kong action genius Sammo Hung. Wu Jing plays Wong Po's top killer, Jack.
Donnie Yen makes his way into an alley way towards a visibly excited Wu Jing all while being accompanied by an epic operatic techno soundtrack by Japanese composer Kenji Kawai who also composed the music for other Donnie Yen films directed by Wilson Yip like Flash Point and the Ip Man series. Drawing his expandable baton like a gunfighter in a Western, Yen and Wu Jing charge down the middle of the alley. I've already told you before that there's a badass knife catch move in this fight scene probably influenced by The Hunted but SPL may be more responsible for having popularized it. It was certainly the first time I saw it. Both Donnie Yen and Wu Jing were champions of competitive Wushu before entering the film industry and you can sort of catch this in the manner in which Wu Jing employs wide circular movements with his knife common in traditional Wushu as opposed to the tighter motions seen in most knife fights. Donnie Yen even starts out with some stances and lunging attacks that kind of resemble Chinese sword techniques.
This fight sequence was put together by Donnie Yen and his own hand-picked action team including Kenji Tanigaki who's choreographic work was listed earlier in the Rurouni Kenshin entry. The team also consisted of other highly experienced fight choreographers like Yan Hua, Jack Wong Wai-Leung, Junya Iwamoto, and So Tung. Many segments of the fight were improvised as is evident in the longer takes where Yen and Wu Jing wildly swing at each other while taking brief pauses to calculate their next strategy. This mixture of preconceived and ad-libbed moves conveys a unique sense of realism while also retaining the Hong Kong stylish flair that fans are accustomed to. SPL 2 interestingly reverses the roles where Wu Jing ends up with a baton against a knife-wielding aggressor. The two Wolf Warrior movies also includes Wu Jing in a few knife fights versus Scott Adkins, Aaron Toney, and Frank Grillo. Still, it's SPL that truly showcases the talents of two martial arts masters at the top of their game.
#1. The Man From Nowhere (2010)
One region of the world we have yet to venture into so far is South Korea. And on the subject of knife fights there are several candidates that came close to claiming this spot like the calendar vs. knife brawl in A Company Man, the Hapkido-inspired final showdown in Revenger, and the ridiculously fun two vs. many brawl in The City of Violence. Ultimately, The Man From Nowhere dominates all the others and ranks in at #1. Won Bin plays Cha Tae-sik, an enigmatic loner who develops a close friendship with a young girl who is suddenly kidnapped after her mother hides a bag of heroine from the local drug lord. The final act sees Cha locate the supposed whereabouts of the girl where he engages in a quick gun fight before running out of ammo and proceeds to use a knife to cut apart the tendons and arteries of every gang member in the room until reaching their top enforcer, Lum Ramrowan played by Thai actor Thanayong Wongtrakul.
Thanayong flips out his karambit and the two begin a vicious battle of blades in a rather brief but short sequence of pure knife action. In spite of Won Bin more effortlessly defeating his opponent than the rest of the entries on this list, he does so with such stylish efficiency. There's also what could be the coolest tactical method of biting a person's hand to kill an enemy combatant that you might ever watch on screen. It's unclear who the fight choreographer was but the movie's director Lee Jeong-beom may be the one behind it. Jeong-boom was highly influenced by the Jason Bourne series when creating the film which is more obvious when considering that the character of Cha Tae-sik is a retired government agent. The fight between Won Bin and Thanayong does start off with a longer wide shot but the remainder of the sequence borrows heavily from the Bourne mode of camerawork implementing shakier more frequently edited moments. It's even got a few first-person perspectives for good measure and despite this form of cinematography coming off as less coherent than other entries on this list, it is nonetheless effective for this movie and subjectively immerses the viewer in the action and Won Bin's vengeful fury. Along with the tension-building absence of background music similar to The Hunted , which was placed at #4 on the list, The Man From Nowhere is filmed in a similar manner except that the choreography hits a satisfying intermediate level of more flashy yet practical combat.
Won Bin in fact has a black belt in Taekwondo but he may have trained in Filipino Kali which director Lee Jeong-boom mentioned was another element of the Bourne films he wanted to integrate into The Man From Nowhere also giving it one more commonality between it and The Hunted. The Indian remake titled Rocky Handsome also deserves to be checked out for its over-the-top Bollywood flavor of action. But in terms of cinematic knife fights, the end duel from The Man From Nowhere is simply a "cut" above the rest and serves as an amazing send-off for the fifth and final film in Won Bin's illustrious career.
So there you have it. The 12 best cinematic knife fights of all time. Comment down below on whether The Man From Nowhere does indeed deserve to be #1 or if it's simply too over-edited to be ranked so highly. For the handful of you that are reading these the next listicle will be on staff fights. As in fight scenes involving big long sticks. If you're new to this website then don't hesitate to subscribe so that you're notified of the next article through email. You might be wondering why some of your personal favorite knife fights were disregarded so I have some more listed down here in no particular order.
Legendary Weapons of China (Lau Kar-leung vs. Lau Kar-wing)
The Big Boss (Bruce Lee vs. Han Ying-Chieh)
Unleashed/Danny the Dog (Jet Li vs. Mike Lambert)
Undercover Punch and Gun (Vanness Wu vs. Aaron Aziz)
Chain of Command (Michael Jai White)
Brotherhood of the Wolf (daggers vs. snake sword final fight)
Kill Bill Vol. 1 (Uma Thurman vs. Vivica Fox)
Extraction (Chris Hemsworth vs. Randeep Hooda)
The Gunman (Sean Penn vs. mercenary in stadium)
Eastern Promises (bathtub fight)
A Grand Arte (various)
Quantum of Solace (hotel fight)
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (Rebecca Ferguson vs. mercenary)
Hanna (various)
Wild Card (sharpened spoon fight)
The Expendables 2 (church fight)
And just like our last sword fights list, here are some indie fight scenes straight out of YouTube with knife fights that could in some ways be considered even better than the official list. Subscribe to those channels if you wanna see more of those!
Formless (technically not from a channel but an unfinished project worth watching)
Night Watch
Arthur
Cyberpunk 2077 - Phoenix Program
(knife fight at 21:00)
Kali Diaries - Entry #3
No Way Out (original w/ higher quality)
No Way Out (re-upload on current channel)
Express Delivery
Rush
Alex Hashioka vs. Bryan Sloyer
Monster
Hands down ”Man From Nowhere”