Top Ten Sieges in Movies

published August 5, 2009

The massive army is at your doorstep, trying everything they can to get in. Sieges in movies are among my favorite situations movies can offer. I'm talking about castle or fort sieges on a mass scale. It's an awesome situation but difficult to pull off. Here are ten of my favorite sieges in movies.

Just Missed: Saving Private Ryan (technically not a siege), King Arthur (the bad guys just walked through the walls), Sands of Iwo Jima (war siege of an entire island), Narnia: Prince Caspian (decent), Braveheart (The only siege was way too short)

#10 - Monty Python and the Holy Grail - This is on the list because it's a fine scene in a fantastically funny movie. The Kniggits are hard pressed to get through the defense of the French, armed with armor piercing insults and catapults with farm animals as ammo. Arthur and the Knights try the ol' Trojan Bunny routine, only to forget to be inside it. This is a classic.

I would like technique to be used more often.

 

#9 - Willow - While this may be outdated, it sure was a great film at the time. It featured Val Kilmer at his finest, a hot red headed seductress, and a bad ass general with a skull helmet. The final siege was almost for nothing when the army was turned into pigs. Thanks to Willow turning the sorceress Raziel to normal, the army was restored and the battle was on. A nice climactic battle for a fun fantasy movie, good enough for #9.

Mad Martigan smashed the skull helmet of the evil General Kael.

 

#8 -The Messenger: The Story fo Joan of Arc - The movie as a whole got mixed reviews. Some loved it, some hated it. I thought it was on the goodish side once I got past Joan of Arc's whiny and over-emotional behavior. The sieges were proper and violent with almost all the tools used, including a siege tower used to knock over the wall. While there was a cheese moment or two, all in all they were good sieges, at least from the attackers standpoint.

The siege tower falling over.

 

#7 - Glory (Fort Wagner) - This is still considered the best civil war movie by far, even though I found it quite cheesy in many parts. It probably would've been better if Ferris Bueller and Cary "as you wish" Elwes were replaced. It was just difficult to take them seriously. The final siege was a frontal assault on the confederate controlled Fort Wagner. The results were disastrous, but it was a proper finale for a moving story about the all-black 54th.

They may have been better camoflauged at night time.... why are you booing?

 

#6 - Army of Darkness - Finally we a have a siege where the good guys are the defenders. The attackers were an army of skeletons and zombies led by evil zombie Ash! While the effects are now outdated, it was a fantastic concept and a fanastic final battle for a film that has become a cult classic. There are tons of classic lines, and if you've never seen it, check out this .

Is this Mary Kate or Ashley?

 

#5 - Kingdom of Heaven (Jeruselam) - This movie as a whole was a disappointment. Lots of things didn't make sense. Some plotlines moved too fast while some dialogue scenes dragged on forever. One thing that cannot be denied, is that Saladim's siege of Jerusalem is one of the best sieges ever. Ridley Scott seems to do the epic battle sequences great - the whizzing of arrows going both ways, the barrage from trebuchets and catapults and the bloody hand to hand combat. Though it ended in a protagonist surrender, the results were still good as the people who would've surely been routed were spared.

Epic Battle Sequence.

 

#4 - The Empire Strikes Back (Hoth) - This is sort of a different siege that I nearly left off the list, but it's just too damn classic. It's one of the best battles ever, and pits the rebel army defending against the seemingly invincible imperial walkers. The good guys have no chance but to escape with as many as possible. This movie single handedly makes the first trilogy great, because it adds an element of mortality and true danger that seems to be missing in most movies today.

 

#3 - Troy - I don't like this movie. It has the worst music I've ever heard in a movie. It was a whiny high pitch moaning of a woman that wavers in pitch, and that destroyed the movie for me. Also I had just read "The Iliad" before watching the movie. They butchered the portrayal of every character and completely removed the element of the gods. That being said, it still is a great siege, considering the whole movie is one. It's one of the classic siege stories of all time, and even though we know the result, we hate to see Troy burn. I would still love to see a better version of Troy, depicted a little more like "The Iliad" with tolerable music that doesn't break the movie.

Funnest bathtub ever.

 

#2 - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Minas Tirith) - This siege was quite an undertaking. An absolute marvel of a city is under siege from scores of orc, uruk-kai, and ring wraiths atop their flying beasts. Thankfully the cavalry arrived to mow them down. But then the olliphants show up and destroy the horses! But there's more, the pirates arrive, only it's not the pirates, it's the ghosts! The whole siege was an amazing watch, but the ghost army detracts from it a bit. However it was a fine job at such an epic undertaking making it an terrific cinematic voyage.

And because it's totally awesome, here is the Minas Tirith cake.

 

#1 - Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Helm's Deep) - This is truly the best siege ever. The situation is set up perfectly. Holed up in a keep, with no escape - an impossibly big army approaches. There is a true feeling of dread and hopelessness as they approach. There is a slight boost when the elves come to help. By all means necessary, the walls cannot be breached. Through the treachery of Saruman, a portion of the wall explodes and the flood of black is let in. The good guys retreat and all seems lost, until daylight and the arrival of Gandalf and the cavalry. This is easily the finest siege in cinematic history. There was a true sense of despair and danger. Oh, and the tree's destroying Saruman's tower was badass also.

U2 concert! I can almost see Bono!

 

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