The Envelope: Behind-the-fight-scenes looks at ‘Mad Max: Fury Road,’ ‘Legend’ and ‘Sicario’

Of all conflicts that play out during a movie, the fight scene is its own fantastical universe. As anyone who’s ever been in a fight knows, filmed fisticuffs are nothing like real life — yet must feel real when unspooling for an audience.

“It’s a physical extension of the conflict the characters are in,� says producer Stacey Sher (the upcoming “Hateful Eight�). “There’s a level of fantasy and wish fulfillment and surprise.�

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So what makes a good fight? Here’s a look behind the scenes at three films up for awards consideration this year that feature unique fight scenes — and deliver the right kind of punch.

‘Mad Max: Fury Road’

Fighters: Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) and Furiosa (Charlize Theron) vs. Polecats/War Boys

Here’s the beef: Max, having escaped being lashed to the front of a racing vehicle, is traversing the tanker truck driven by Furiosa and being attacked on all sides by so-called polecats and must reach the front of the vehicle to assist her in fending them off.

Into the ring: Hardy is thrust in the middle of nearly two hours’ worth of nothing but fights of varying intensity, all fought and filmed as vehicles raced across the Namibian desert at up to 50 mph. “We played everything as practical as possible and everything for real,� says stunt choreographer Guy Norris. “In editing you might only see one attack on one side of the tanker, but at the same time an attack was still happening on the other side. It all worked in one total piece. You can clearly see it’s Tom Hardy on top of the tanker as he goes into his fight sequences, and you can clearly see it’s Charlize Theron in the cabin doing her sequences. We rehearsed for several months, and Tom was able to do the scene in one whole run — which was about 41/2 minutes’ worth of action.�

Punch-drunk truths: “With any fight scene or any piece of action, action is unspoken dialogue,� says Norris. “It has to fit into the stories, the tone and the overall film. Tom has such a physical presence about him — he looks like a giant cat walking into the room who just wants to get out. That’s part of his talent pool, and when you let him go, fantastic things happen.�

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‘Legend’

Fighters: Reggie Kray (Tom Hardy) vs. Ronnie Kray (Tom Hardy)

Here’s the beef: Ronnie wants to have one-on-one time with his twin (and fellow gangster), Reggie, but he needs to get Reggie’s wife, Frances, to take a hike. Words won’t work, so out come the fists.

Into the ring: Technically, Hardy can’t fight himself, so his stunt double Jacob Tomuri had his face “replaced� via motion capture. But Hardy still had to perform every take of every shot of the big fight twice, once as each twin. Stunt coordinator Julian Spencer suggested the twins should start out “slap boxing.� “They’re furious with each other, but in the backs of their heads they’re not trying to kill one another,� says writer-director Brian Helgeland. Since the slaps actually did land, Hardy asked specifically how many takes Helgeland planned on filming. “I said ‘three takes,’ and he said, ‘I can pace that,’ and I said, ‘That’s three takes for Reggie and three for Ronnie.’�

Punch-drunk truths: “The best fight scenes should further reveal who a person is,� says Helgeland. “No real fight goes like a movie fight — but this one pays off in the end, which is a pure dramatic scene between Ron and Reg. The reasons why they fight are much more important than the being clever aspect of making it look like Tom fought himself.�

‘Sicario’

Fighters: Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) vs. Ted (Jon Bernthal)

Here’s the beef: Kate and Ted are heading for a love match (or a one-night stand) until she finds evidence that ties him to laundered money. While she tries to get him under control, he nearly kills her.

Into the ring: “The challenge with Emily Blunt is she’s not a very physically imposing person,� says producer Basil Iwanyk. “Jon had to get up close and grapple with her, throwing her to the ground and choking her. Emily has said that Jon told her, ‘I’m an ex-boxer, you can hit me as hard as you can.’ And she doesn’t hold back — there are a lot of actors who love getting dirty, and it was important in ‘Sicario’ that it felt as real and intense as possible as part of the tone of the movie. We were shocked at how far she was willing to push it.�

Punch-drunk truths: “A real fight is dirty and brutal and ugly,� Iwanyk adds. “Fight scenes in movies are choreography and dance. It’s art. What people love about fight scenes is it transports them into a physical and emotional space that doesn’t exist in real life. If I watch a great action sequence, I laugh through it. Not because it’s funny, but because you can’t believe what you’re seeing.�

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