The ferocious feud between father and son Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker in Star Wars has been named the most memorable rivalry in cinema history in a poll of film fans.
The pair from George Lucas’ classic science fiction yarn got almost a quarter of the votes cast (22%) forcing magical rivals Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort into second place (20%).
The sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his criminal counterpart Professor Moriarty came third with 10% of the vote in the poll which saw 1,100 film fans questioned by movie rental and streaming service LoveFilm.
Fourth were caped crusader Batman and the Joker (8%) from Tim Burton’s 1989 film, with Dorothy and the Wicked Witch of the West in fifth place (7%).
Others that made the top 10 include Russell Crowe’s Maximus and Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus from Ridley Scott’s epic historical drama Gladiator, Neo and Agent Smith in Matrix and Bill and the Bride in Kill Bill.
The poll was carried out to mark today’s premiere of Ron Howard’s Formula One drama Rush which is about the racetrack rivalry between drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda.
LoveFilm editor Helen Cowley said: “The rivalry between the hero and the anti-hero is often what makes a film or TV show so compelling and in a lot of cases is one of the reasons we fall in love with the character in the first place.
“Batman wouldn’t be what he is without the Joker and the same can be said of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader and we love to watch these power struggles play out.”
The top 10 most memorable on-screen rivalries are:
1 Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader 22%
2 Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort 20%
3 Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty 10%
4 Batman and the Joker 8%
5 Dorothy and Wicked Witch of the West 7%
6 Maximus and Commodus 6%
(equal) Superman and Lex Luthor 6%
8 Neo and Agent Smith 4%
9 The Bride and Bill 3%
10 Achilles and Hector 2%
Others: 12%