It explains, among other things, why Xena is not on the list.
50. Maria Ford
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Bram Stoker must turn over in his grave every time some low-budget producer uses his name to sell a bad movie.
“Burial of the Rats” is just one of those movies. Maria Ford is a looker who does her best in this stinker. She looks great in it, as she does in all of her movies. Sadly, all that got her was a career full of slasher movies and bit parts on TV.
Here’s a quick summary of “Rats”: The leather bikini-wearing man-haters team up with the flesh-eating rats to go after some dude named Bram Stoker. No joke — I can’t make up stuff that good!
Maria Ford saves the day, but not even she can save the movie.
49. Rebekah Kochan
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Rebekah Kochan plays a hottie pirate in “Pirates of Treasure Island”. In that movie, she’s a back-stabbing pirate up against Long John Silver and a dreadful script. Rebekah’s great looking, but the movie is downright terrible. Or maybe it’s supposed to be that way?
A few other beauties get in on the sword fighting action but do yourself a favor and watch Rebekah in one of her better roles. Unless you’re addicted to sword fighting babes. In which case, by all means check it out.
48. Sarah Carter
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There aren’t THAT many good movies that started out as video games. In that context, “DOA: Dead or Alive” is not bad. And Sarah Carter overcomes the movie’s deficiencies to deliver a convincing performance. Even though she doesn’t get top billing, she gets in some of the movie’s best licks during a duel with twenty or so hapless bad guys.
Sarah is now best known for her role in the TV series “Shark”. Sadly, she does not use a sword in that one.
47. Florinda Bolkan
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Brazilian actress Florinda Bolkan barely speaks a word of intelligible English in “Royal Flash”. Her swordplay is pretty brief and mostly unbelievable as well.
So why is she on this list? Because she’s a babe, that’s why.
The movie is not half bad either. It’s a 1975 star vehicle for Malcolm McDowell that features lots of swordplay, some decent acting and loads of cheesy fun.
46. Lauren Hutton
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Lauren Hutton is a good actress and a classic beauty.
How do I know this? Because I’ve seen her flash that gap-tooth smile right on cue. Sadly, she may have made a poor choice when signing up for “Zorro: The Gay Blade”. That movie is no classic beauty.
Lauren wields a saber toward the end of this flick, so skip to the end if you want to see it. No way “Gay Blade” stands up to today’s political correctness, but Lauren has aged quite well. Hopefully we’ll get to see her in another sword fight sometime soon.
45. Natalie Dormer
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Natalie Dormer wields a blade in “Casanova” alongside Sienna Miller and Heath Ledger. We only get a glimpse of her technique, which makes me think there must’ve been more on the cutting room floor. Either way, it’s enough to see her pull off the old “hey buddy, here’s your hat — oh no wait, sorry that’s not your hat, it’s the sharp side of my sword!” trick.
Natalie’s a looker and an up-and-coming actress too. She did a great job in the recent series “The Tudors”, so maybe she’ll start to get some bigger roles. And hopefully some more sword work as well.
44. Daryl Hannah
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Daryl scores most of her points for her blade work. Her looks are a little too Rocky Balboa for my taste. And she’s also not much of an actress. Try to sit through “Legal Eagles” more than once, I dare you.
But she does bring home a gold star for “Kill Bill”. In that flick, she pulls off a convincing clash of swords with killing machine Uma Thurman and walks away having only lost an eye.
She could probably move up on this list if only she showed us a bit more “Blade Runner” and a little less “Splash”.
43. Sybil Danning
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Sybil Danning has starred in some of the worst movies of all time. With dozens of terrible movies under her belt, she’ll forever be remembered as a sexy B-movie queen.
But it’s her sword fighting that got her on this list. Her career reached its pinnacle in 1983, when she played a stunning swordswoman accompanying Lou Ferrigno in the otherwise-forgettable “Seven Magificent Gladiators”. A bookend to her career peak came just four years later when she got to swing her blade in “The Warrior Queen”, another poor excuse for a film.
Sandra’s pushing sixty now, so I doubt we’ll see her in another sword fighting role. But we can look forward to more B-movies, I’m sure.
42. Brigitte Nielsen
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Brigitte Nielsen starred in “Red Sonja”, which may just be the best movie ever starring an ex-supermodel and an ex-Mr. Universe.
No, wait. “Terminator 3″ was better. Okay, so “Red Sonja” is the best movie ever starring an ex-Danish supermodel and an ex-Mr. Universe.
Brigitte, of course, enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame as a model and actress-wannabe. She also enjoyed an equally meteoric flameout. Still, it was fun while it lasted and, for a brief moment, she was considered one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood.
Brigitte was also well known for marrying Sylvester Stallone (aka “Rambo”), so there probably was lots of lively swordplay in that household.
41. Sandahl Bergman
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For a generation of young men, a single performance represented the epitome of hotness. And that performance belonged to none other than Sandahl Bergman. As Valeria in 1983’s “Conan the Barbarian”, she was tough, sexy, and could handle a sword.
She also wowed the boys with her sultry performance in “All That Jazz”.
For a moment, it looked like Sandahl might become a lasting star. Her sword work in “She” and “Red Sonja” was impressive but, alas, it was not to be. She’s been around in supporting roles ever since but never again has returned to such lofty hights.
RSS
July 30th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Uma Thurman was way too high on the list. She has giant man-hands.
July 30th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
[...] 50 hottest celebrity females that know how to handle a sword. (Only [...]
July 30th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Where’s Lucy Lawless, one of the sexiest sword fighters on TV, ever.
July 30th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Movies only for now. TV swordswomen coming soon. The intro mentions that, but it’s not in bold or anything
Update: now it is in bold. Sorry it wasn’t clearer earlier!
July 30th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Meiko Kaji, star of Lady Snowblood. Noteworthy for doing her own swordwork plus starring in two sequels, but also famous as the character the world’s highest paid plagerist, Quentin Whatanassho, stole when he “made” Kill Bill.
July 31st, 2008 at 12:51 am
I prefer Uma Thurman to the rest! Beautiful but great in action (using swords).
July 31st, 2008 at 1:11 am
[...] Die 50 Hottest Women Sword Fighters auf Only Knives. Viele bekannte Gesichter, aber auch Filme von denen ich noch nie gehört habe (was vielleicht auch [...]
July 31st, 2008 at 2:20 am
Well done list, mate. Now go over it and give us the best swordfighting scene of each girl as a Youtube vid…
(Thanks for the great work)
July 31st, 2008 at 4:52 am
Where’s Maureen O’Hara? (At Sword’s Point - 1951)
July 31st, 2008 at 5:12 am
Where’s Summer Glau?
She was crazy-hot in Serenity.
July 31st, 2008 at 6:22 am
You Kate Beckinsale ranked lower than some absolute mongrels. Should be at least top 20. Some of them have faces like a bag of hammers.
July 31st, 2008 at 6:36 am
Kate Beckinsale should be way higher. She’s hotter than Uma by far.
July 31st, 2008 at 6:57 am
Maybe because it was a show it wasnt considered, but Xena Maybe?
July 31st, 2008 at 8:03 am
lucy lawless…as xena?
July 31st, 2008 at 8:26 am
Having Kate Beckinsale #38 is a crime. Way too low.
July 31st, 2008 at 9:25 am
LUCY LAWLESS?! PSSH! You suck for not including her in the list.
July 31st, 2008 at 9:42 am
[...] we are filthy minded, we though this list of the 50 hottest women sword fighters was referring to … uh, something else; turns out that it’s just a list of fifty hot [...]
July 31st, 2008 at 11:13 am
regarding Shu qi: The picture in the middle is actually Vicky Zhao Wei holding the sword, not Shu Qi
Shu Qi didnt do any swordfighting in So Close, for reasons i wont spoil here.
Zhao Wei did all of it, and shes way hotter. So maybe she should be number 22 instead :<
Author’s Note: Great catch, Danny, thanks! And nice call on Vicky. I’ve updated number 22.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Elizabeth Gracen, from Highlander the series (for your TV list, of course).
July 31st, 2008 at 6:05 pm
When you compiled this list and proclaimed that these were the top 50 hottest women sword fighters, I assumed you would have sword fighters. A sai is not a sword, so say goodbye to Rachael Weiss and Jennifer Garner, both of whom are using sais. And where the hell is Cynthia Rothrock, Cat Sasoon, and Karen Sheperd ??
July 31st, 2008 at 6:22 pm
This list is a rip-off. This is the 50 hottest actresses who happen to have held a sword in a movie once…this has nothing to do with being a hot sword-fighting female character. Blech.
1) It should have been by character, not by actress.
2) If you held a sword for less then ten seconds of film time, IT DOESN’T COUNT!
August 1st, 2008 at 2:28 am
I have nothing but scorn for this obvious “I-love-somewhat-ugly-brunettes-only” list. I mean really. Every good-looking blond or brunette is rated lower than those actresses who are generally acknowledged to be “okay-looking”.
Since the author is obviously playing extreme favorites within his/her narrow experience, the list is a waste of time for all those people who really wanted to see a good, definitive list.
August 1st, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Thanks for the tip
But according to Google I’m more of a Slayer not a sword woman!!!
http://totally-pissed-off.blogspot.com/2008/08/dawn-needs-miracle.html
August 1st, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Aya Ueto as the title character in Azumi. Amazing sword fighting by a super-hottie. How did you miss this one?
August 1st, 2008 at 7:41 pm
[...] 1, 2008 · No Comments Courtesy “Only Knives,” here’s a list (with copious pics) of the 50 hottest female sword-swingers from movie history. Let’s make [...]
August 1st, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Where’s Kelly Hu??? She’s hotter than at least 45 gals on this list and is quite skilled with a sword…
August 1st, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Great list. You’re not going to EVER please everyone, though.
Gotta throw another vote for Summer Glau in Serenity, though. Now THAT was an awesome scene…
August 2nd, 2008 at 12:42 am
You have done a good job in making a list of something that was very hard to do.
No doubt you will have others complaining about who they want on the list but if they were to really think about their choice and place them against the ones on your list. They should realize their choice was a bad one.
With Uma and Catherine, I would move them further down the list and move Ziyi,Yeoh, Cheung and the others further up the list. Mind you Ziyi is beautiful but her swordplay would put her below Yeoh.
Otherwise you did a kick ass job with a very hard subject.
P.S. Rai is hot as hell, no wonder she won the Miss World contest at the age of 19 back in 1994.
August 2nd, 2008 at 7:31 am
Hatge to diappoint the creator of this list, but Kate Garner did NOT weild a bladed weapon in Daredevil or Elektra. They were sai. Sai are daggers, not swords, plus they don’t have an edge for cutting, they’re for stabbing. She did look hot in Daredevil, though, I will agree.
August 2nd, 2008 at 7:37 am
Oops, I should have read the whole list first. Those weapons in Rachel Weisz’s hands in The Mummy Returns? They look an awflu lot like sai daggers like the ones Kate Garner weilded. And, as I satated before, sai daggers are thrusting weapons,not blades.
August 2nd, 2008 at 4:01 pm
[...] The 50 Hottest Women Sword Fighters - [...]
August 3rd, 2008 at 1:21 pm
[...] about women of the world. With swords. Keira Knightly finishes [...]
August 3rd, 2008 at 3:30 pm
[...] Read it. [...]
August 3rd, 2008 at 4:01 pm
[...] The 50 Hottest Women Sword Fighters - [...]
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Asummpta Serna (”Wild Orchid”; Theresa in BBC “Sharpe” series; a ton of Spanish stuff) stared in the 1992 Spanish film “The Fencing Master” (”El Maestro De Esgrima”); her sword work was incredible and she is stunning;
August 3rd, 2008 at 9:43 pm
michelle yeoh is the best swords performer, if we observe in crouching tiger and hidden dragon she plays with every kind of sword and instrument. that proves her skill in swords play
August 4th, 2008 at 8:08 am
Where’s Lucy Lawless?
August 4th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
[...] The 50 Hottest Women Sword Fighters - [...]
August 6th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Sarah Carter is very underrated in this list. Probably not so much with the acting, but her cuteness deserves her 5 stars in looks, and her moves in DOA is 5 stars in swords or all around fighting
August 7th, 2008 at 3:07 am
Where is Tessie Santiago? She is the best!
August 7th, 2008 at 6:28 am
[...] list of hot sword fighting movie actresses. The women are ranked by three factors: looks, acting ability and, most [...]
August 8th, 2008 at 6:43 am
[...] 50 Hottest Women Sword Fighters The 50 Hottest Women Sword Fighters The women are ranked by three factors: looks, acting ability and, most importantly, their skill [...]
August 8th, 2008 at 8:12 am
Great list but need an update. There are some girls on this list who just touch a sword for a moment. I missed some really sword role women. What about Elizabeth Gracen? Amanda from Highlander.
August 9th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
soooo, where’s Aya Ueto .. After two great Azumi pictures she should be in!
August 10th, 2008 at 5:06 am
Aya Ueto really should be on this list.
August 11th, 2008 at 3:15 am
[...] The 50 hottest women sword fighters. [...]
August 12th, 2008 at 8:33 am
why are they all white and blonde?
this list sucks.
August 13th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Sarah Carter was hotter than most of the girls on that list… why such a low rank?
August 16th, 2008 at 6:10 am
Geena Davis above Kate Beckinsale!!!!? Are you NUTS??
August 16th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
@ jill
Aishwarya Rai is not white
9/50 Asians are not white
18/50 blondes is not “all” (and most of them are dyed)
sorry to be picky
this is a good list
August 18th, 2008 at 7:24 am
[...] dan maak ik er een post van, zodat jullie er ook van mee kunnen genieten. Wat dacht je van The 50 hottest women sword Fighters? Speciaal voor mensen die graag naar mooie vrouwen kijken. Op ons plaatje zie je trouwens Brigitte [...]
August 23rd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
No Lucy Lawless/Xena? I don’t care if she wasn’t in a film, she still has to be on the list!
And Jennifer Garner/Elektra uses sais, not a sword.
September 3rd, 2008 at 6:14 am
Hi…
im new at this
anybody from mexico??
Uma Thurman is the best with her yellow outfitt
September 27th, 2008 at 11:37 am
No way did you leave out Xena! Lucy Lawless is the sexiest sword-wielding, scantily-dressed woman out there. I expected her to be in the Top 10.
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Cool collection of top 50 women sword fighters…
October 9th, 2008 at 11:14 am
[...] off a LOT of women fighters, so please comment and add your own! I also found this amazing list of 50 swordfighting women in movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, [...]
October 13th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
[...] didn’t make our list of The 50 Hottest Women Sword Fighters, but it wasn’t for her lack of wielding sharp-edged weapons. No, in fact Angelina’s [...]
November 22nd, 2008 at 5:15 am
Kate Beckinsale should be much higher, and the actress from Azumi should definately be on the list.
Likewise I think you missed Kristanna Loken in “Curse of the Ring: Ring of the Nibelungs” where she plays the Warrior Queen Brunnhilde (although she doesn’t fight that much). In that movie she’s good enough to earn one more star for her acting, and move into the top 10.
But it was still a great list, and I’ve found many movies that I want to see =)