TwitchGuru examines the art of the gunfight in movie history and counts down the greatest shootouts ever committed to film, from Hong Kong action movies to classic Westerns.
 
http://www.twitchguru.com/2007/07/ [...] shootouts/

 
Not a single war movie.  In essence...lame..
 

From the first paragraph:
 
"First and most importantly, we decided on a simple rule: no war movies. Our thinking is that the action scenes in war movies, while impressive in their own right, aren't meant to be enjoyed the same way action movies are."

The main one I think you missed was...
 
"Equilibrium"
 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238380/
 
There are several great shootouts but the best is the fight to get into "Father's" chamber. Another one would be scene at the beginning when Preston busts down the door and blows everyone away in the dark. Ok... so you don't really see what happens but the effect if unforgettable. This movie is based on the idea of a "gun-kata" so you know the shootouts are gonna kick *.
 
The only other one I think you could have included would be "The Fifth Element"
 
There is the shootout when Korben "negotiates" with the mangoloids. And of course the shootout in the main hall of the cruise ship.
 
I know there are a few others but these are the main ones.

 
Like I said, this author is lame.  
 

Well... I understand what he means about not including war movies. You don't really have "shootouts" in war films. Granted, you have a bunch of guys on each side wailing on each other but I think he was focusing on one-on-one scenes or few-against-many scenes. But I also understand what you mean. "Enemy at the Gates" would have been a good one. Not a lot of action in the shootouts but it was still mainly one-on-one and a great film to boot.

IMO the biggest one missing is Air Force One where the Terrorists take over the plane.
 
Also being a Michael Mann fan I think Miami Vice's finial shoot-out and the Club scene in Collateral deserve mention even though he still grabbed the #1 spot.

I guess I can understand not including war movies, although that rules out probably 10 movies that would make this list (with #1 likely being the entire movie "Blackhawk Down" ).  I think you should have included the big gun battle at the end of "Proof Of Life", the rest of the movie wasn't anything special, but I will always remember the first time I saw that scene. I guess I just like the more military / stealthy combat.

Collateral was on the list in the early stages.
 
Proof of Life...yeah, I do remember that last scene being pretty damn good.

Collateral's Fever shootout was excellent and was definitely considered for the list. Might have made it if we expanded it to 25. Maimi Vice's climax was decent, but pretty standard and predictable.
 
Air Force One was good, too, but special effects sequences -- fuel plane explosion, the F-16 dogfights -- were better.
 
Proof of Life's shootout was pretty good, especially David Caruso's completely over-the-top performance.

Disappointments , The scene in The Crow was left off and HEAT was #1

I'm a former U.S. Marine and have always been a bit concerned about the depiction of gunplay in movies as non-representative of reality and to some extent, glorifying gun violence.  Of course I also understand that these are movies, designed mainly for our entertainment, and don't have any responsibility as a format to depict reality... even though some writers / directors decide to.

I totally agree with your decision to not include war movies.  Some are more accurate than others, but many are just as sensational as their cops/robbers counterparts.  Saving Private Ryan had its parts... of course the amphibious forced entry, also the scene where the team makes an impromptu assault on the AA battery gave me the willies - a slight connection with a real tactical situation - but the last half of the movie was a bit hollywood, like the tank bursting over/through a wall much in the same cinematic mechanism that would otherwise be reserved for a dinosaur in a movie like Jurassic Park.

Anyways, back to the point - not talking about war movies but serious cinema gunplay...  I actually like many of the movies listed here.  However, when I see gunplay used as a dramatic tool, it detracts from the experience for me.  I guess it would be akin to seeing a magic show, but seeing all of the props and prep for the tricks - it takes away your ability to take in the illusion.  The first two movies that I thought of before getting too deep into your article was LA Confidential and Heat.  Both gave me the impression of having the opportunity to see an event, as if we were witnessing a documentary or having the perspective that only cinema can give us, to be able to be with the characters, living the plot as if it were their real life.

Other moments that I "liked" (not that I revel in bloodshed, but for one that respects life - seeing it taken, even if only on the silver screen, is a very dramatic event with impact) include Mr. Pink unloading a full clip from his semi-auto at the pursuing police as they round the bend of the building... like Val Kilmer who followed a criminal "rules of engagement", once Pink decided that he needed to apply force to effect his escape, he did it decisively.  Benny Blanco from the Bronx popping a cap into Carlito - just as things are about to come together.  Delivering a fatal gunshot wound to Pacino at this moment is not fair, your heart breaks for a man, who although dealt in criminal matters in the past, was trying to break free of a life that he was tragically not destined to escape from.  gunfights don't have to have a build up and be long and drawn out to be effective.  One moment your doing your own thing, bam, next thing your dead - can't get much more realistic than that.  Of course most of the other gunfights in Carlito's Way were pretty well done.  I also remember liking Sean Penn's performance in State of Grace - nothing spectacular from a technical standpoint, but I like the absence. of sound and the slow motion treatment.  If you ever fired a weapon, it can be surprisingly loud.  Cinema just can't reproduce that dynamic SPL level, so sometimes not having sound at all can be more effective than putting in foley popgun effects.  I found the "go loud" scene in Proof of Life pretty memorable too.

(tongue in cheek) and of course Val Kilmer's first cinematic debut... Nick Rivers engaged in a gunfight with the Nazis and playing a game of tic-tac-toe through the window - abstracting the whole concept of a gunfight into a borderline poor joke... just as borderline as Taco Bell is south of the border.

My point, I find relief that different people with different perspectives can come to the same conclusion.  HEAT  The sound was not overly hollywooded it made me start looking for cover and apparently was entertaining as a scene too.  

As i neared the end of the list and wasn't seeing Heat, i thought "it better be #1. Happy it was. I have great respect for this movie, i regard it among my list of best movies ever, it definitely more than deserves #1.  
 
In regard to the posts concerning war movies, I see the author's point about not including them, but one war movie scene that I hold in very high regard and definitely deserves this list is D-Day in Saving Private Ryan. That was one of the most intense action sequences ever, not to mention realistic.(Utmost respect for Steven Spielberg)
 
Also, the final showdown in Once Upon a Time in the West, though just one bullet is fired, the entire scene is absolutely gripping, the music, the camera work, the acting, the ambiance and the culmination of all the  hints throughout the movie leading to the revelation of Harmonica's true motive: Simply Brilliant! (best movie ever made, by best director to ever walk this earth- Sergio Leone; also, I'm not one of those annoying guys who overate old movies, this movie IS absolutely amazing!)

forgot to say, i really liked this list, normally i don't agree with most of the choices on these types of lists, but i think the author really analysed the movies well, and also has good taste  
 
One of the most unforgettable scenes in Heat(was impressed the author mentioned it, gained respect for his taste from that) was when Van Kilmer noticed the police, smirked, then firmly and switly raised his rifle and started unloading lead- exhilerating

I just remembered one more thing that I am surprised not to see. Not one of the "El Mariachi" movies made the list (El Mariachi, Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico). Those have some great gun battles as well. Of the three I would probably have liked to see Desperado on the list but any of the three if not all would qualify.

In regards to "Heat". It is one of my all time favorites (personal top 10). However, I do feel that there are other films with better "shootout" scenes (see my first post). I did think this list was much better than most other's I've seen (ie: Rotten Tomatoes). It is sad that a site centered around movies doesn't even get it right... lol.
 

This is the authors opinion of what he thinks are the best 20 shootouts he%u2019s ever seen, I think I could name about two hundred that are better.  

 
200? Really, BadDad? Well, be my guest and fire away (pun intended). I'm not trying to call you out or anything -- I'm geuninely interested in seeing what you can come up with. I'm sure there are some movies that we've either forgotten or never seen that could make this list.
 
 
Jeverson, we considered Desperado for the second half of the list -- both the guitar case bar fight and the big showdown with El Mariachi and his bandmates (I loved the rocket launcher guitar!). But we felt the other films between 11 and 20 were better.
 
One that we didn't consider was The Crow. How could we forget that?!?!? Thanks for mentioning it, Colejv.
 
BTW, for everyone who has cited "the author" of the article, I would just like to clarify that there are actually two authors -- myself and Travis. You can see which author wrote about which shootout at the end of every entry.

Yeah, who ever made this list needs to watch Proof Of Life again.  That gun fight at the end is exactly what is described in the qualifications for this list.  It's not a war movie.  Both sides are shooting.  It is unquestionably the best part of the movie.  It's tactical, flashy, and highly entertaining.  Proof of Life for write in ballot...

What where is Young Guns??  

Obviously 200 movies was meant to get my point across, see the little LOL face, but I’ll give you one off the top of my head The Last Man Standing.

I agree with those last two movies... Young Guns "did you see the size of that chicken?" Priceless!! and Last Man Standing was full of great shootouts.
 
 
Also... was just curious if the authors ha