Dingus
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2. Zulu
Taps
Kelly Wand
3. Rio Bravo
2. Flesh+Blood
Dredd
Tom Chick
3. Ironclad
2. Straw Dogs
Dawn of the Dead
What are your favorite examples of sieges that don’t suck in movies? Also, what’s your opinion on whether or not a siege has to have a minimum duration in order to be considered a siege? Listen to the show to hear us talk, often quite excitedly, about our choices, and to hear Tom read a bunch of great listener picks.
Yeah, as usual, we totally missed some of the best picks. We had some great listener submissions this time.
-Tom
P.S. For anyone who thinks Dredd was a siege, look what word doesn’t occur in its IMDB keywords! Boom! Case closed. The court finds you guilty of violating the laws of 3x3 and you are hereby sentenced to the 3x3 pokey for a week without probation.
I listened to the podcast yesterday, and found that Tom was arresting people left and right. I’m probably going to get the book thrown at me for this, but one of my favorite sieges not listed is in The Watchmen, when the inmates attempt to break into Rorschach’s cell during the riot.
As much as I enjoy sending in picks, I kind of like listening to the show first and hearing all the other choices. It forces me to go back and dig for those hidden gems rather than just using the first things that pop into my head. Not that these are hidden gems, but at least it was fun to have to think about it some more.
Signs - Everyone hates M. Night Shamylan, but do they hate him more or less than they now hate Mel Gibson? Either way, this siege of a farm house by aliens worked on me as a horror movie. Maybe I’m just a sucker, but all of the build up and fleeting glances of shadows gave me the creeps, especially the Mexican birthday party video footage, and I think the pay-off is good. It’s kind of weird that Mel heads out in the middle of the siege for a cameo by M. Night, though. It is a siege if you get to leave the house if you really want to? Also, this shares a lot in common with one of my runners-up: Critters (which also includes my favourite flamethrower).
Shaun of the Dead - The siege of The Winchester pub is essentially a micro version of Dawn of the Dead, and Shaun touches on all of the aspects of zombie mythology while still maintaining a great comedic tone. The idea of the walking dead can be fairly silly, they way they shamble around, but it’s the humans who are really the silly ones.
Runners-up: Young Guns, Critters. I was going to choose Lockout as an example of a siege from the perspective of an infiltrator, but it’s a stretch. I really just wanted to mention Guy Pierce’s huge guns (ie. biceps) in that movie.
Related: anyone remember some 70s/80s film about a guy who bunkers down in his house/company to defend it from it being taken away from him either by foreclosure or eminent domain? Sets some booby traps at possible entry points etc. May have been made for TV, I believe he’s portrayed as the hero but my memories of it are all pretty vague.
You guys are so good at movies and I know these are bad movies but I don’t care. Epic sieges on film are semi-rare and I love when they are there at all, even when they are in bad movies. With that huge caveat!
Oh how about a young King Arthur breaking the siege of Sir Leondegrances castle just after pulling the eponymous Excalibur? And to an absolutely cracking soundtrack no less.
Officer Chick of the 3x3 Police Force here, filing his paperwork.
Recommending Commendations of Valor awarded Citizen Baren for Rorschach’s cell siege in Watchmen, Citizen kentdog for Signs, Citizen Woodlance for 3:10 to Yuma, and Citizen Knives for Killing Zoe. I think. I’m pretty sure about those last two. But definitely for the Watchmen pick. Unsure whether a police standoff qualifies as as siege, but will consult with district attorney about whether charges will have to be filed instead. Was unable to answer query about The Last Castle on the grounds that I’m pretty sure the only Robert Redford prison movie ever is Yaphet Kotto’s Brubaker. Also unsure about legality of whatever that crazy YouTube video is of a bunch of people assaulting a handwriting school. Why would they do such a thing? China, man. Donald Trump might be right.
Resuming patrol for anyone caught asserting that Dredd is a movie about a siege. Lethal force approved.
Paul Verhovens first movie, Flesh & Blood featuring a young Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh, has some an awesome siege, and a great way to end it. You just lop a plague ridden corpse over the wall, and let the defenders die of plague. Problem solved!
Legion is a siege of a diner by demons and angels but quite frankly is rubbish.
Does being besieged by insect eating hobos in the present and besieged by TV crews in the future count? In terms of being trapped though, Prince of Darkness might be shoehorned into this.
Did anyone recognise the image in my post above? I’m sure being surrounded by Lord Humongous and his gang count.
Ooh. I love that I Am Legend pick, ReptileHouse! I didn’t even think of that. It’s perfect and that movie is totally in my movies-I-love-that-the-other-two-don’t wheelhouse. Well done.
I love remembering the huge metal shutters he has rigged (if you can call them that). And the bathtub that he hunkers down in with Sam during the scary, nightmare time at night. That image is so painfully beautiful.
Great pick.
-xtien
“I just…I was saving that bacon. I was saving it.”
I just remembered another one I love. In Black Sheep, the titular genetically-modified killer sheep totally lay siege to a farmhouse. As killer animal movies go, I love how this one walks the line between silly and scary. Trailer here.
