Who is the best swordsman?

Well, it looks like Yoda is no.1, since Dooku had to retreat after his little move that he used on Obi Wan didn't work with Yoda. But he is up there probably 2nd place. We don't know much on Windu, but I'll give him 3rd. I guess Darth Maul would be next, since he handled Obi and Qui-Gon Jinn at the same time, and killed Qui-Gon Jinn. We has better than Obi Wan, but lost because he thought the fight was over. Anakin is not that great yet, and even at his best I think Luke was eventually better. I'm not to impressed with Obi Wan, he never seemed to attain a high level with the light saber.

Well Mace didn't look too comfortable with a lightsaber. He just swung it around a bit. Yoda definitely looks like he's at or near the top, but Dooku seemed to do okay considering how fast his opponent was and Obi-Wan and Anakin weren't even close to his ability. I think there is a lot more to being a successful Jedi than swordsmanship, which is why Mace is so high in the council. Maul was a very entertaining fighter but at the moment Dooku is my favourite because he is so controlled.

No doubt Yoda at 1.

I thought Anakin was actually better than Kenobi in AOTC but I thought Kenobi was far better in TPM than he was in AOTC. Dooku was pretty good too - not up to Yoda but he he was more than enough for Kenobi and Anakin.

My list from TPM and AOTC would be:

1) Yoda 2) Count Dooku 3) Darth Maul 4) Mace Windu 5) Kenobi* 6) Anakin 7) Qui-Gon 8) Kenobi*

*Kenobi is at 5 based on TPM but at 8 based on AOTC.

Hard to say for the likes of Vader and Skywalker - the swordsmanship was so very different in the original trio.

Go ahead 'Jay', make my day...

Sadly we didn't get to see him in a lightsabre duel with Tyranus but check out his moves as he leaps down into the arena after being set on fire by Jango Fett. As he falls to the ground, backwards and in flames, he deflects a number of blaster bolts fired at him in mid-air. It's clear from this move and his backhander to a Battle Droid as he's running along the ground that he's someone with exceptional skill.

Errol Flynn???

On 5/24/02 1:15 PM, in article

On 5/24/02 1:15 PM, in article

Dooku gave up the fight when he realized it was more important to save the Deathstar plans that it was to defect Yoda.

I think it was stated somewhere that Mace Windu is second only to Master Yoda with the light saber.

I believe Dooku tried everything he had on Yoda, and knew he could not beat him, and would eventually lose. He had crossed sabers with Obi Wan, held for a moment, then proceeded to take him out. He tried to do that with Yoda, and couldn't do it. He immediately retreated at that point.

No. Bob Anderson...who taught Flynn everything he knew. Incidently, Anderson was still alive and teaching swordsmanship a couple of years ago on the LOTR set.

Obi-Wan & Anakin ARE great swordsmen

Cool! A bit of Hollywood trivia I didn't know. Thanks!

Actually, Sam Jackson has said he's a big fan of Kurosawa movies (and other samurai films). If you ever watch those (say, Yojimbo or Seven Samurai), you see true swordmaster's at work (in the form of off-screen experts and trainers). The action is quick, straightforward, and deadly. You don't see any swinging, flipping, spinning blades a'la McGregor's Obi-wan. Therefore, I was quite pleased to see Sam's fighting style was very similar to those epics. Conservation of effort, especially in the way he dispatched Jango Fett. It made Anakin's style seem especially wasteful of energy.

A fellow Kurosawa fan,