Another Lazy List: Screen Villains
Posted by Dirty Harry on Monday, July 28th, 2008
This isn’t me being a snoot. My additions are commercial, mainstream films made for commercial, mainstream purposes. There’s not an obscurity on the list — not a single title some show-offy usual-usual would name. I’m not even arguing my picks are definitive. But, come on!, just a couple of older films — just a little Golden Age literacy would be nice now and again… How sad that so many are missing these wonderful pre-Spielberg two hour drugs we call movies.
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Ratherreadon 28 Jul 2008 at 8:16 am 1Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear and Night of the Hunter is still my ultimate villain. Mitchum didn’t need to tattoo himself with scary symbols or spew four letter words. He just had to look at you to scare the bejesus out of you.
Robert Lindseyon 28 Jul 2008 at 8:42 am 2Good grief, I can’t believe this list. It keeps shutting my browser down, so I didn’t get a good look at it, but The Shining is all the farther back they go?
I don’t think Darth Vader is really that evil of a bad guy, only in a comic book sort of way. No apologies to the geeks out there.
JohnLockeon 28 Jul 2008 at 8:47 am 3What about the Hitchcock villains? Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates? Raymond Burr as Thorwald?
Although it is nice to see Kevin Spacey’s John Doe get some recognition.
NeoConJedion 28 Jul 2008 at 8:51 am 4Those names go without saying — especially Cagney and Mitchum.
My FAVORITE are:
1. Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid, Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith): All at once seductive and lethal. This guy — along with Christopher Lee — GETS Star Wars. He’s a truly wonderful actor.
2. Dracula (Gary Oldman, Bram Stoker’s Dracula): No villain list is complete without Gary Oldman. He could’ve been named for any film, but he sinks his teeth into this one — no pun intended.
3. The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Terminator): Relentless, unemotional, cold, and completely frightening. I saw this in the theater when I was eight, and it still grips me.
4. The Joker (Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight): Still fresh in my mind, I have a feeling this will stick. No origin story, no understanding this guy — the personification of evil.
5. Darth Vader (David Prowse, Hayden Christensen, James Earl Jones; the Star Wars saga): How many villains have we watched take their first and last steps all on screen? This is really the ultimate look at evil to me.
Gottafangon 28 Jul 2008 at 9:13 am 5Just off the top of my head:
5. Auric Goldfinger - simply for his almost jolly response when 007 has a laser creeping toward his “boys” and asks if Goldfinger expects him to talk. “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.”
4. Phillip Vandamm - from NORTH BY NORTHWEST, played cool and dry by the Mighty James Mason.
3. Gollum - greedy for power, rationalizing, paranoid, desperate, manipulative. . .really just like anyone who posts to Democratic Undergound.
2. Aristotle Kristatos - from FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, a rich crook who throws his friends under the bus and takes no sides. A bit too real.
1. The Joker - Heath Ledger version, obviously. Pure. Sociopathic. Evil.
Honorable Mention: The Master - Not from the movies, but from last season’s three-part finale of DOCTOR WHO. He takes on the name John Saxon and manipulates his way into becoming Prime Minister. He’s youthful, claims that the nation needs to be healed, and the citizens like him because he makes them feel good. Sound familiar?
[IMH]on 28 Jul 2008 at 9:16 am 6Joseph Cotten as Uncle Charlie in Shadow of a Doubt.
John Wayne in Red River. (Not really a villain, but certainly the antagonist, and a damned formidable one, through most of the picture.)
William Bendix as the ape in The Glass Key.
James Mason in North by Northwest.
Burt Lancaster as J.J. Hunsecker in The Sweet Smell of Success.
And pretty much everyone Harry already mentioned.
Troyon 28 Jul 2008 at 9:17 am 7Robert Mitchum is probably the uber-villian, but a few extra
1. Peter Lorre — Hans Beckert — “M”. Creepy….
2. Heath Ledger’ Joker — DK
3. Stephen Boyd — Messala in Ben Hur. Even in death — the relish in telling Judah his mother and sister are alive and lepers.
4. Gary Oldman in The Professional
5. Jean Hagen as Lena Lamont in Singin’ in the Rain — mean, vain, untalented, conniving and willing to destroy studio and lives — and high-larious.
Addison DeWitton 28 Jul 2008 at 9:30 am 81. David Prowse / James Earl Jones Star Wars
2. Javier Bardem No Country for Old men
3. Arnold Schwarzenegger The Terminator
4. Robert Mitchum Night of the Hunter
5. Heath Ledger The Dark Night (already Iconic)
I haven’t read the other posts yet so maybe somone has already made this observation, but it seems that (in my list at least) the scifi/fantasy genre is overrepresented. Not suprising when you consider that it is much more difficult to portray “pure evil” in a realistic movie setting.
Addison DeWitton 28 Jul 2008 at 10:00 am 9Hey JohnLocke As far as Hitchcock villans go, how about Leopoldine Konstantin in Notorius?
Larry Kepharton 28 Jul 2008 at 10:00 am 10Nobody delivers a savage beating with demonic glee like Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance.
JohnLockeon 28 Jul 2008 at 10:04 am 11It’s still early for me, so I’m probably overlooking a few major ones, but:
1. The Joker (Heath Ledger) - Terrifyingly beautiful. Heath just disappeared into the character and BECAME him.
2. Hannibal Lecter - Absolutely iconic. He may have inspired nearly two decades of pathetic attempts at replicating the “cat-and-mouse” mastermind serial killer, but damn is he chilling. Even better is how (at least until that godawful prequel from last year) there was no attempt to rationalize or explain his behavior, why he was a deranged monster. Like Ledger’s Joker, he just was.
3. Norman Bates - Again, he would also inspire half-assed copycats, making split personalities a horror staple, but Anthony Perkins absolutely owned the role and made an ordinary lonely guy into a nightmare.
4. Michael Myers - Just forget all the sequels. I’ve watched the original every Halloween for years, and it still creeps me out. And again, the fact that there’s no explanation for his evil makes him all the more terrifying.
5. Patrick Bateman - Christian Bale + axe + Huey Lewis and the News = awesome.
Honorable mentions to Lars Thorwald, John Doe, Hans Gruber, Anton Chigurh, and Brad Pitt’s Jesse James.
Ratherreadon 28 Jul 2008 at 10:07 am 12I’m glad you mentioned Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valence, how about the character he played in The Big Heat? Vince Stone stubs out a cigar on someone’s hand, then throws a pot of boiling coffee in Gloria Grahame’s face.
Evil, evil I tell you.
Carolynon 28 Jul 2008 at 10:12 am 131. Anthony Hopkins in “Silence of the Lambs”
2. Richard Widmark in “Kiss of Death”
3. Dirk Bogarde in “The Servant”/”HMS Defiant”.
4. Robert Mitchum in ‘Cape Fear’/'Night of the Hunter’
5. Anthony Perkins in “Psycho”
NeoConJedion 28 Jul 2008 at 10:12 am 14That’s an awesome call, Addison. Notorious may be my favorite Hitchcock film.
I also agree with your take on villains. I’d also argue that Bardem’s Chigur fits into that philosphy very well. It’s not sci-fi, but much of the character’s strength is garnered from his metaphorical side.
Written as the embodiment of something different, he’s almost alien: He uses weaponry that is different (the hydrolic bolt), and completely alien (a silencer on a shotgun that makes a weird sound). And his look is odd: the denim suit, wedge haircut. He’s also able to repair himself, which is shown in a scene similar to the one in The Terminator, and we have no idea of his origins.
gzirraon 28 Jul 2008 at 10:12 am 151. Ted Levine - Jame Gumb - Silence of the Lambs
2. Raymond Burr - Thorwald - Rear Window
3. Lena Olin - Mona Demarkov - Romeo is Bleeding
4. Bela Lugosi - Count Dracula - Dracula
5. Peter Lorre - Abbott - The Man Who Knew Too Much
I guess my villains rate high on the “creepy” scale…
Stephanieon 28 Jul 2008 at 10:22 am 16Voldemort? WTF? Not my idea of a bad guy……..
Lets see
Heath Ledger The Joker, in the Dark Knight……Can’t describe how freaked out I was after seeing him….a revelation.
Anthony Hopkins Hannibal Lecter…Have the Lambs stop screaming Clarice….SHUDDER
Christian Bale Patrick Bates….wtf? ARGHHHHHH
Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth in Schindler’s
Edward G. Robinson Key Largo
Robert Mitchem Night of the Hunter
Gary Oldman in Dracula or The Professional….damn he is awesome.
Russell Crowe Virtuosity
Tony Perkins Psycho
Ben Foster Charlie Prince in 3:10 to Yuma
Michael Biehn Johnny Ringo in Tombstone
Powers Booth Curly Bill Brocious in Tombstone
Jack Palance Shane
RWAon 28 Jul 2008 at 10:22 am 17Alan Arkin WAIT UNTIL DARK.
Addison DeWitton 28 Jul 2008 at 10:32 am 18NeoConJedi
Another thought on “villany”. It seems that the “realistic” villans are made more frightening by their ability to be duplicitous. To hide their evil intent behind a benevolent facade e.g. Emperor Palpatine, Claude Rains mom in Notorious, Hannible Lector (he could be a perfect gentleman).
I expected someone to mention Roger Eberts oft qouted statement that the HAL 9000 computer in 2001 was the greatest movie villan.
JohnLockeon 28 Jul 2008 at 10:34 am 19“Hey JohnLocke As far as Hitchcock villans go, how about Leopoldine Konstantin in Notorius?”
Sadly, I’ve never seen it. I’ve also never seen “Cape Fear,” but it’s on my Netflix list.
mido505on 28 Jul 2008 at 10:43 am 20Charles Laughton - Dr. Moreau - The Island of Lost Souls (1932)
Bela Lugosi - M. Legendre - White Zombie (1932)
Leslie Banks - Count Zaroff - The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
Christopher Lee - Fu Manchu - The Face of Fu Manchu (1965)
Boris Karloff - Master George Sims - Bedlam (1946)
Albert Dekker - Dr. Thorkel - Dr. Cyclops (1940)
Judith Anderson - Mrs. Danvers - Rebecca (1940)
Vincent Price - Edward Lionheart - Theater of Blood (1973)
Walter Brennan - Old Man Clanton - My Darling Clementine (1946)
Gunnar Hansen - Leatherface - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Audietooon 28 Jul 2008 at 10:55 am 21Off the top of my head and before I read the comments:
Clifton Webb in Laura
Robert Wagner in A Kiss before Dying (you asked for some old ones.)
Robert (having a senior moment) in Strangers on a Train
Mitchum in anything in which he wasn’t the hero
Kiton 28 Jul 2008 at 11:18 am 22In no particular order:
Godzilla: The ultimate unstoppable force.
The Terminator (1st one) : He doesn’t open doors, he steps on them.
The Joker: Heath Ledger’s smiling sociopath.
Hannibal Lecter: He may eat you… but he will show good table manners when doing it.
Hans Gruber: He’ll teach you a lesson in the real meaning of power.
Honourable Mentions:
Buffalo Bill (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS): This guy was a FREAK!
Liquid Metal (T2): Like Arnold and Godzilla, this guy was just unstoppable.
Amon Goeth (Schindler’s List): Pure sociopath -and a real one too.
Norman Bates (Psycho): He wouldn’t harm a fly…
I know, I know, I need to see some more classics.
Kiton 28 Jul 2008 at 11:19 am 23Oh, I forgot.
HAL 9000 from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.
PaladinXon 28 Jul 2008 at 11:34 am 24A little off the path — but Bruce Dern in “John Wayne and the Cowboys”. The scene where he goes after the young boy at the river is chilling.
avagraceon 28 Jul 2008 at 12:01 pm 25Anthony Perkins-Psycho-Saw it as a teen and to this day I cannot watch that movie. I actually have it blocked on my cable so I won’t accidentally come across it, and if I see any movie that has a man dressed as a woman, or even with a wig on, I freak out. LOL, my son gets angry with me for being so “irrational”.
Ernest Borgnine-Emperor of the North
Robert MItchum- NOTH (Chil-dren!) & Cape Fear
Gary Oldman/Christopher Lee-Dracula
Denzel Washington-Training Day/Alan Rickman-Die Hard
gzirraon 28 Jul 2008 at 12:20 pm 26Two I forgot:
1. Yul Brenner - the Gunslinger - Westworld (please, no! It’s got the go-ahead for a remake!)
2. Lawrence Olivier - Dr. Christian Szell (The Dentist) - Marathon Man
Stephanieon 28 Jul 2008 at 12:21 pm 27OK forgot Alan Rickmen in Die Hard.
And I gotta say Avegrace if you see Dark Knight the Joker will totally freak you out then..can’t say why……..freaked me out.
numbernexton 28 Jul 2008 at 12:43 pm 28Captain Quigg (spelling?)
Captain Bly - Charles Laughton or Anthony Hopkins
Christine - the car
Kathy Bates in Misery
Nurse Ratchid
Bridgeton 28 Jul 2008 at 1:09 pm 29And where’s Paul Giamatti as Pig Vomit in “Private Parts”??
JohnFNWayneon 28 Jul 2008 at 1:30 pm 30Pre-VCR, does Wayne in The Searchers count? Gian Maria Volonte from For a Few Dollars More is my personal favorite. He grips that necklace the whole movie, leaving you thinking he has some shred of humanity - then they show you how he came about getting it.
NeoConJedion 28 Jul 2008 at 1:51 pm 31I was going to add HAL 9000 — I don’t know why I didn’t.
I’m also glad to see Christopher Lee get a mention. Among his MANY others, I just watched The Man With The Golden Gun, and he was even good in that.
avagraceon 28 Jul 2008 at 2:13 pm 32Stephanie, I saw The Dark Knight and yes Heath Ledger was quite creepy. Of course, the creepiest part for me was that scene I know you’re speaking of. I just bowed my head until it was over.
Duralon 28 Jul 2008 at 2:23 pm 33Eleanor Audley as Maleficent is without a doubt my favorite villain. You won’t see many villains in animated movies today that are the devil incarnate.
Matt Helmon 28 Jul 2008 at 2:38 pm 34Lawrence Tierney in The Devil Thumbs a Ride, and Born to Kill.
Robert Ryan in The Racket, and in Act of Violence.
Alain Delon in Purple Noon.
Peter Lorre in M.
Basil Rathbone in The Adventures of Robin Hood.
Hume Cronyn in Brute Force.
Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar. (Did anyone notice that Ledger played the Joker with an Edward G. Robinson impression?)
Stephanieon 28 Jul 2008 at 2:44 pm 35Matt
Ledger did? I just thought he was merely being off the wall. Explain.
Stephanieon 28 Jul 2008 at 2:48 pm 36Stephanie, I saw The Dark Knight and yes Heath Ledger was quite creepy. Of course, the creepiest part for me was that scene I know you’re speaking of. I just bowed my head until it was over.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
(My Joker laugh)
Matt Helmon 28 Jul 2008 at 4:37 pm 37Stephanie,
I’m not sure what Ledger’s intention was but his voice sounded just like Robinson’s most of the time, to me. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did do it intentionally, because the Joker’s taking power away from the crime lords of the city, is reminiscent of the movie Little Caesar.
Luke Hon 28 Jul 2008 at 4:43 pm 38My five in no special order:
Christopher Walken - At Close Range
Denzel Washington - Training Day
Gert Fröbe - Goldfinger
Anthony Hopkins - Silence of the Lambs
Robert Mitchum - Night of the Hunter
And honrable mention to Andy Griffith for A Face in the Crowd.
Luke
Stephanieon 28 Jul 2008 at 4:46 pm 39I never noticed. I am gonna see it again this week and I will be listening closer to the inflections.
Addison DeWitton 28 Jul 2008 at 5:20 pm 40Matt Helm and Stephanie
I read somewhere that Ledger studied ventriloquists prior to the shoot in order to give his voice a “disembodied” feel to it. He did sound like Robinson a little, with a midwestern twaing.
Opuson 28 Jul 2008 at 9:24 pm 41NeoConJedi
“I expected someone to mention Roger Eberts oft qouted statement that the HAL 9000 computer in 2001 was the greatest movie villan.”
Technically he wasn’t a villian, he’d been given instructions to lie to the crew. He wasn’t capable of lying thanks to his programing and came up with the only solution that would satisfy his conflicting orders. Kill the crew so he wouldn’t have to lie.
Dural
“Eleanor Audley as Maleficent”
I think you would have to include the name of the lead animator for Maleficent, Marc Davis. Audley did the voice,Davis did the body. He also did Cruella De Ville.
I have a hard time with these types of lists as I like different ones for different reasons.
Betty Davis, in “Whatever Happen to Baby Jane”, I think that was the title.
Mercedes Mcambridge for the voice of the devil in The Exorcist. It’s a voice that will be stuck in my head forever.
Another Disney Villianess, Madame Medusa from “The Rescuers”. A woman who says to a cute little orphan girl that she won’t ever get adopted because who would want a homely little girl like her. Just thinking about it I want to smack her.
Buck Turgidsonon 28 Jul 2008 at 9:58 pm 42Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate.
Andrew Robinson in Dirty Harry.
Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter, natch.
Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men.
Jane Fonda in anything.
Phoenixon 28 Jul 2008 at 11:42 pm 43“I’ll get you, my pretty, -and your little dog too!”
That’s just unnecessarily wicked.
Buck Turgidsonon 29 Jul 2008 at 4:57 am 44I forgot to add Kurtwood Smith in RoboCop.
Robert Lindseyon 29 Jul 2008 at 6:46 am 45Ronald Regan in The Killers!
Paulon 29 Jul 2008 at 8:29 am 46Andy Robinson - Scorpio - “Dirty Harry”Set the pattern for “Starsky and Hutch” psycos for years to come. But he’s the master. “Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream….”
Harry Connick, Jr. - Cullum - “Copycat” Poster boy for capitol punishment if there ever was one. Even if all of his victims were San Francisco leftys.
Ernest Borgnine - Shack - “Emperor of the North” So mean, he once shot a man for snoring. Hammers Lee Marvin.
And, the guy who played the pig feeding, child raping, reminds me of my CC from Navy boot camp, head of the Burmese army group of terrorists - “Rambo” He got the disembowling we deserved.
Tayloron 29 Jul 2008 at 10:57 pm 47I love Christian Bale and think his finest work is ahead of him yet, but I don’t think Patrick Bateman belongs on this list. You could put him in a cage match with Jimmy Shaker (Gary Sinise/Ransom) and Det. Shaker would emerge with Batemans gonads as cufflinks.