On the theme of 'best of' lists, I am trying to make a list of movies, animations, tv shows, and cartoons that show Wizard vs. Wizard battles. The more magic the better, and with scenes of any length.
Does anyone have a good suggestion?
I can think of:
o The animated Lord of the Rings
o Wizards (the cartoon)
Disney's Sword in the Stone has the 'polymorph-off', which was pretty cool. The only other thing I can think of right off is in Scanners...which is more of a psionic battle but still a contest of wills between two 'wizards', which ends in an exploding head...so that's nice. I will try to think of others and chime back in.
Today I thought of:
o Thundar the Barbarian - a cartoon I remember watching as a child. It had one or two sorcere battles I can vaguely remember.
o Harry Potter - obviously
o Buffy - I think I remember Willow standing toe to toe with someone once. Did this happen or wishful thinking?
hmm...
My favorite animated wizard duels come from Dungeon & Dragons the cartoon. Any fight with the main baddie Venger!
Venger vs Kelek : in an episode with unicorns
Venger vs his Sister
Venger vs ticked off Spirits of Heroes
Venger vs the DM
By the way, what was Venger? And what was with that one horn?
This fits definitely into the category, and i've always loved it, but at the same time, because of the tone of the piece, i'm not sure how some will feel about my suggestion for this...but...
I've always loved the duel in the comedy version of the Raven, directed by Corman, between Vincent Price's Dr. Craven and Boris Karloff's Dr. Scarabus. The effects are cheesy to a point, the humor overdone at moments, but there are also some great moments in it. The swirl of the palm to make a shield in the air that hangs in a glow, the magic darts from a jerked pointing of a finger, the bat turned into a fan, the snake turned into a kerchief...the false death (sawdust)....
funny but good.
Don't forget Egg Chien and Lo Pan's fight in Big Trouble in Little China.
Holy crap, someone else thought of that . . . I knew I could trust your taste in things James!
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16
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Just thinking of wizard duels in general is challenging...
Movies with magicians that come to my mind: Willow & Record of Lodos War (anime). Willow's climax had a duel and while I can't recall Wizard vs wizard combat in Lodos I'm certain there was something.
Sci-fi channel's upcoming Dresden files is bound to have some too but that's a ways off yet.
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I'd have to nominate the battle between Lo Pan and Egg Shen from Big Trouble in Little China.
"You never could beat me Egg Shen."
By far my favorite! Actually that movie is my favorite for EVERYTHING! :-)
I know its awfully cheesy, but I also like the simple wizard duel between Mako and the bad guy wizard in Conan the Destroyer (the dude with the ching-ching metal bracers), the music is great, and I have used that track for lots of similar wizard duels in gaming.
Which Lo Pan? The little old basket case on wheels or the ten foot tall roadblock?
Which Lo Pan? The little old basket case on wheels or the ten foot tall roadblock?
:-)
Now I gotta watch it tonight...damn you all...I have so much stuff to do! Big Trouble in Little China always takes precedence though. ;-)
Well, you know what ol' Jack Burton always says ....
Man, I need to get that movie...
My favorite animated wizard duels come from Dungeon & Dragons the cartoon. By the way, what was Venger? And what was with that one horn?
(I still have some of those episodes on VHS that I recorded years ago!!)
I don't know what was up with that one horn, but in one of the last episodes, it was suggested that Venger was the Dungeon Master's son.
Who'd a thunkit?
Ultradan
Merlin v. Queen Mab from the 'Merlin' miniseries a few years back. The finger arrows v. palm shield; windblast v. flight; fireball v. oaken door and the fanale: "We're not going to fight you Mab, we're going to forget you. We just don't care anymore." What an awesomely great line!
I'm with Tequila Sunrise. Those were grand wizard moments. Knowing the backstory between Merlin and Mab made the confrontation juicier. In other words, the story sold the battle, not the effects themselves.
About the only thing I can think of, besides LOR & HP, is anime. You may want to check out the Manga sites. If you find any good titles post them.
Funny thing, I Googled for 'Wizard Duels' and this thread was the first hit. haha
hmm... I am a trying-to-be water color artist, and my new motif is Wizard Duels. Hope this explains my starting this thread.
Maybe, in a year, I'll be able to submit for possible publication.
Thank you all for the indirect pointings.
Interesting thread in that it makes clear how rare wizards and conflicts between them are. Anime and Kung Fu films are the closest.
Clearly their is room for a good wizards duel.
Dragonslayer - wizard versus dragon but still
Big Trouble in Little China
Wizards - when the one wizard just shoots the bad guy
LotR
Judge - anime
Star Wars the whole series - multiple fights that could be considered wizard versus wizard.
Kung Fu Hustle - its a martial arts film but the kung fu is magic
The Last Dragon - its a martial arts fight but there is "magic" in their hands
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I read somewhere that the rights to the book series 'Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever' by Stephen R. Donaldson, was bought up for the express purpose to make a movie/s. He was, arguably, the JRR Tolkien of the 80's--very original and very good reading. If memory serves, there were more than a number of wizard scenes in the series--all good. If you havent read the books, then please do so; you wont be disappointed.
One more thing: I wouldnt mind a movie made about Drizzt based on 'The Dark Elf Trilogy' by RA Savatore. Better yet, make 3 movies-one for each book!
Thoth-Amon the Mindflayerian Atlantian
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I wonder how they will handle the rape scene in the Covenent book, you can't just gloss over or he loses his anti-hero statis. If you leave it in then he will probably be viewed as a monster by some watchers. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. BTW this is the third or fourth time I have heard about the Covenent on the big screen proposition. Hope it isn't just hype.
FH
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I wonder how they will handle the rape scene in the Covenent book, you can't just gloss over or he loses his anti-hero statis. If you leave it in then he will probably be viewed as a monster by some watchers. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. BTW this is the third or fourth time I have heard about the Covenent on the big screen proposition. Hope it isn't just hype.
FH
They can if they elect not to make a movie intended for all audiences. I hate it when they do that.
Most likely, the scene in question will be taken out or re-written in some way, regardless.
Thoth-Amon the Mindflayerian Atlantian
I wonder how they will handle the rape scene in the Covenent book, you can't just gloss over or he loses his anti-hero statis. If you leave it in then he will probably be viewed as a monster by some watchers. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. BTW this is the third or fourth time I have heard about the Covenent on the big screen proposition. Hope it isn't just hype.
FH
Indeed. I remember when I read the Covenent series for the first time - I almost couldn't believe the words in front of me. I love the fact that the hero is not a knight in shining armor, and I love the fact that the author wasn't afraid to show all of his (many) warts.
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Indeed. I remember when I read the Covenent series for the first time - I almost couldn't believe the words in front of me. I love the fact that the hero is not a knight in shining armor, and I love the fact that the author wasn't afraid to show all of his (many) warts.I wonder how they will handle the rape scene in the Covenent book, you can't just gloss over or he loses his anti-hero statis. If you leave it in then he will probably be viewed as a monster by some watchers. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. BTW this is the third or fourth time I have heard about the Covenent on the big screen proposition. Hope it isn't just hype.
FH
This is exactly why i hope they leave everything in and not make it for children. People arent perfect, yet can do good things. This is life.
Thoth-Amon
I find the use of magic in The Dresden Files ok. Other than that I can't say I have seen magic on magic much.
I am sure Fantasy producers pour over this website, so to you Mr./Mrs. Producer make more action packed high level magic clips.
What about in Conan the Destroyer when Mako and that warlock dude are duelling with that big stone door?
That scene also has the awesome bit where Conan yells out "enough talk!" and throws a dagger into the bad guy who is negotiating with them. Classic PC behaviour...
Disney's Sword in the Stone has the 'polymorph-off', which was pretty cool. The only other thing I can think of right off is in Scanners...which is more of a psionic battle but still a contest of wills between two 'wizards', which ends in an exploding head...so that's nice. I will try to think of others and chime back in.
I have to agree this just seemed so cool when I was younger and still does for that matter. BAM turtle BAM goat BAM tiger BAM rhino BAM elephant BAM mouse BAM dragon BAM germ...
Fizz
Heh, I didn't even notice. Gumball is a necromancer.
When noticing the title of the thread (which I had apparently missed the first time), the first movie which popped to mind was Raven by Roger Corman. I wonder if it has been released on DVD...
So, it's been over a year - how's your project going Tensor?
Didn't get the t-shirt, only a mess.
In the end, everything turned into a picture of my three cats. Imagine a much singed, long bearded, classic wizard. He is on his knees, his legs burning black and red. He arches forward with his right arm fully extended holding a wand. The wand is delivering fantastic fury to his mortal foe because his life depends upon this shot.
At the receiving end, another classic, grey robed spell weaver is holding a staff in front of himself. The faint outline of a sphere surrounds him. His left arm is gone; it has been withered away by mighty arcana. Destiny screams as the staff shatters. The bolt has penetrated and the body bows outward with the hit. The impact is enough to blow off pieces of flesh.
Now, one of my cats is sitting on the hearth in the background watching sleepily (and smiling.) My other cat is jumping up with his paws trying to touch the shiny, magical stuff in the air, and my third cat is sitting in the foreground absent mindedly grooming his tail.
Yes, I make muffins better...
My favorite animated wizard duels come from Dungeon & Dragons the cartoon. ...
By the way, what was Venger? And what was with that one horn?
I think that one bent horn turned to the side was an anti-unicorn thing.. or, a Hip-Hop Thor helmet.
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My favorite animated wizard duels come from Dungeon & Dragons the cartoon. ...
By the way, what was Venger? And what was with that one horn?I think that one bent horn turned to the side was an anti-unicorn thing.. or, a Hip-Hop Thor helmet.
Venger replies,"The bent horned helm is just how I roll, bit#hes!"
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From Willow, Razel vs Bavmorda.
This is my favorite wizard battle because one of them punches the other in the face.
All these posts and no one remembers the classic Vincent Price vs. Boris Karloff duel from The Raven? Well shot, fun, and still holds up all these decades later.
I have to agree with Mrannah and Carlson. The Raven is just so calssic it might well be the definitive (though campy) wizard battle.
The movie seemed to end with a Wizard Duel.
Although, the overall tone was one of science fiction mentalism: " a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans "
Oh, I have to add, I think the show with the most spell-battles I have ever seen is "Charmed" on the WB. Funny that..
I found a >picture< .
Well, since you mentioned animations, Full Metal Alchemist.
I 100% agree. That series SCREAMS Wizard duels!
I wish I could recall the name of it, but there was another 80's movie about two wizards. The final battle in a museum has animated skeletons of a mammoth and T-Rex. I think they both wanted a staff that manipulated space and time.
are you talking about dr mordrid ???
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Today I thought of:
o Thundar the Barbarian - a cartoon I remember watching as a child. It had one or two sorcere battles I can vaguely remember.
o Harry Potter - obviously
o Buffy - I think I remember Willow standing toe to toe with someone once. Did this happen or wishful thinking?
hmm...
Must have been Darth Rosenberg vs. aan empowered Giles, though the Duel was rather short...
The Wizard Duel in Order of the Phoenix is grat, one of the best I've seen on Screen. I'm not quite sure if I remember correctly but wasn't there some kind of wizard duel in the movie Stormriders!?