"Best female cinema swordswoman?" Topic

Without the double-posting yet empty content BUG this time:

Who is your choice to back you up in a sword fight among the great heroines of the silver screen? Or television screen? So many worthy nominees -- let's start with some of the classics:

Valeria (Conan the Barbarian) (Sandahl Bergman)
Elena Montero (The Mask of Zorro/The Legend of Zorro) (Catherine Zeta-Jones)
Xena (Xena: Warrior Princess) (Lucy Lawless)
Athena (in Xena: Warrior Princess)(Paris Jefferson)
Callisto (in Xena: Warrior Princess) (Hudson Leick)
Eloise D'Artagnan (Revenge of the Musketeers aka La fille de d'Artagnan)
Justine de Winter (The Return of the Musketeers)(Kim Cattrall)
Anne Providence (Anne of the Indies aka The Pirate Queen)(Jean Peters)

The nominees should be actual people doing at least some of their own work, not complete stunt doubles, and certainly not CGI effects. Swordswomen, not archers or martial artists. Who am I forgetting?

Mrs Brown

Frodo.

Eowyn (Lord of the Rings) (Miranda Otto)
Yu Shu Lien (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) (Michelle Yeoh)
Jen Yu (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) (Zhang Zhiyi)
Beatrix Kiddo (Kill Bill) (Uma Thurman)

Jamie Alexander – Sif in the Thor movies.
Gal Gadot – Wonder Woman

Brienne of Tarth, Game if Thrones HBO adaptation, Gwendoline Christie.

What's her name, from the Kill Bill episodes.

Slayed a bunch of swordsmen and women in the Japanese tavern.

River Tam.Played by Summer Glau.

OK, so she only fought with swords the once I think, but that was after a whole series and a film build up waiting to see what she could do when unleashed.

Saved everybody in the whole damn 'verse.

Well, Malc would probably say he did.

Azumi.

Rey- The Force Awakens (Daisy Ridley) Brilliant fight scene, best lightsaber battle since Return of the Jedi.

Maureen O'Hara far and away in, "At Swords Point" and "Against All Flags."

Leksa kom Trikru

Indra kom Trikru

Don't forget Geena Davis in Cutthroat Island: YouTube link

Faye dunaway as Milady with a acid filled glass dagger in the Four Musketeers is not to be forgotten.

Valeria (Conan the Barbarian) (Sandahl Bergman)

Red Sonja with Brigette Nielsen.

O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill I & II (Lucy Lui)

Uma Thurman(or her stunt double) handled that katana forged by Sonny Chiba quite well too, in that one.

+1 Ragbones!

Maureen O'Hara did all of her own stunt work in many films, but she was particularly known for her swordsmanship in films.
These were lengthy sequences, not quick 2 second shots cobbled together so that ANYONE with a prop sword can be made to look good.

Maureen O'Hara--drop dead beautiful, an "actress" when the word meant something, and possessed of more real heart and courage than a dozen of what passes for talent today.

Why, "No," I'm not PREJUDICED.

TVAG

Link YouTube link

I have to give credit to Patricia Velasquez and Rachel Weisz.

+1 TVAG & Ragbones

+1 from me also. And that one had another interesting actor--Cornel Wilde. Check out "The Naked Prey",a film he fought for years to make. IIRC,he also did all his own stunt work--at age 52,and ill most of the time!

youtu.be/0SHMCN-6-IM

youtu.be/ZpJvQAs3_98

(OT, I know. Watch the movie anyway!)

Take a look at 1:13 in and you'll see an example of why Maureen O'Hara was suggested: youtu.be/16T1clzMqLw

I'm impressed.

YouTube link

Into the Badlands: The Widow.

Buffy. Preferred ax, crossbow or pointy stick but did use swords.

To be fair, the film version used a different actress and wasn't as good, so TV Buffy but I'm looking at character…

If you accept TV, then Lagertha (Katherine Winnick) from "Vikings" gets my vote.

Dagnabit, I forgot to type SOPHIE MARCEAU for "Eloise D'Artagnan" up above, and now it's too late to edit it. But credit where credit is due. Sophie performed marvelously in that film and looked like she was having a ball.

Selene, Underworld
Quorra, Tron: The Daft Punk Music Video
Red Sonja, Red Sonja
Babydoll (?), Sucker Punch
Fiona Birch, Naked Weapon

And these, I guess … link

Honorable Mention: Taarna, Heavy Metal … after all, she isn't CGI.

EDIT: Also, the girl on the Rumple Minze posters in the 80's.

I think I have to go with Uma Thurman in the "Kill Bill" movies – the sheer number of skilled adversaries dispatched has to put her way ahead of everyone else.

Second is Michelle Yeoh in "Crouching Tiger", on the strength of the scene where she defeats Zhang Zhiyi's invincible sword by letting it break her own.

There are certainly some other good candidates among the fluff though.

Red Sonja

Lagertha all the way. She is in real life, good with a sword.

O-Ren died at the hands of Uma, in Kill Bill, so…….

Michelle yeoh in just about any movie she used a sword in

Cheng Pei-Pei as Golden Swallow
Come Drink With Me (1966)
She really set the standard for Wuxia film!

YouTube link

Another vote for Maureen O'Hara.

It is hard, being restricted to female 'swordswomen' , but given the ambiguity inherent in the categorisation, I would go for Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones.

Mollinary

Maureen O'Hara with Valeria and Lagertha tied for 2nd.

The Bride.

Though female swordswoman… you just mean swordswoman…

Maureen O'Hara.

Quite right DBL, rather obscurely and tongue in cheek, that was what I was getting at!

Mollinary

Explaining my "other" vote:

Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride.

You killed my father. Prepare to die.