Favorite Big Screen Villains
My posts of late have touched on the questionable and controversial. I need a break from writing about such heavy topics, so now seems an opportune time to celebrate some cinematic sinners. I present below a hastily produced, not entirely spoiler-free list of my ten favorite villains from the movies.
10. Hans Gruber from Die Hard, played by Alan Rickman. No one has a voice like Rickman, and he put it to good use as the high-tech, murderous thief facing the unstoppable John McClain. I also enjoyed Rickman’s Sheriff of Nottingham.
9. Frank Booth from Blue Velvet, played by Dennis Hopper. The kind of villain you’d expect (yet never expect) to find at the end of an investigation beginning with the discovery of a severed ear in a seemingly peaceful town.
8. Eris from Sinbad, voiced delightfully by Michelle Pfeiffer. The effectively animated goddess of discord who fails to understand the heart of Sinbad.
7. The Borg Queen from Star Trek: First Contact, played by Alice Krige. Simultaneously sexy and repulsive. She almost makes you want to get assimilated. Yeah, I think she’s even a better villain than the vengeful Kahn.
6. Keyser Söze from The Usual Suspects, played by Kevin Spacey. The film explores the possible identity and existence of the master criminal though a blend of true and false narratives.
5. Mr. Hand from Dark City, played by Richard O’Brien. Creepy. Creepy. Creepy.
4. John Milton from The Devil’s Advocate, played with fun and flare by Al Pacino. The devil heads a law firm. Go figure.
3. Agent Smith from The Matrix, played by Hugo Weaving. The voice alone makes him memorable.
2. Stansfield from The Professional, played by Gary Oldman, who knows how to play the villain. Here he’s a devious, music-loving, psychotic, drug-addicted cop.
1. The Joker from The Dark Knight, played perfectly by Heath Ledger. I don’t know how well he corresponds to the comic book character, and I don’t care. Ledger’s Joker doesn’t just do evil, he discovers people’s personal moral principles and places them in situations where, to break free, they must violate their most deeply held beliefs.
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Rickman,’s Nottingham on cutting one’s heart out with a spoon:
“‘Cause it’ll hurt more you idiot!”
And also:
“And cancel Christmas!”
GOLD.
Ledger’s work was also simply brilliant.
I like your picks that I know so well, that I’m tempted to watch the ones I haven’t seen yet.
Here are some of my other favorites (as I think of them):
Baron Harkonen
Khan (sorry, the borg are a cheap knock off of the Cybermen)
Roy Batty in Blade Runner
Darth Vader
Agent Smith from The Matrix, played by Hugo Weaving.
Wasn’t that Jeremy Irons?
Alan Rickman is such a good villain that he’s been typecast.
And in the spirit of the other video:
Margaret Hamilton in “The Wizard of Oz”. Bela Lugosi in “Dracula”.
Cruella De Vil (Betty Lou Gerson) in “The Hundred and One Dalmatians” (Disney version).
That dude from No Country for Old Men was tough.
Reynaud de Chatillon in Kingdom of Heaven was brief, but haunting.
Keith Ledger’s performance in Batman is still heartbreaking for me, because it came out after his death, and reminded everybody of what a tragic loss it was to film.
Salieri from Amadeus – great villain, undone by his own pride.
Col. Hans Landa (played by Christoph Waltz) from “Inglourious Basterds” has to be on this list.
Great listed -loved Pacino in Devil’s Advocate!
The nazi in Inglourious Basterds.
Ben Linus in Lost.
Syler in Heroes.
I would think Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars movies deserves a mention. Anyone who can manipulate an entire galaxy to war for his own political gain has got to get at least a nod!
Darth Vader
Hannibal Lecter
T-1000, from Terminator 2
Alright, Matt! Something a little vintage!
Well, I’m a little vintage, Rodak :)
Harry Powell played by Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter — the gold standard.
Warden Norton played by Bob Gunton in The Shawshank Redemption.
Capt. Hank Quinlan played by Orson Welles in Touch of Evil.
And for a more realistic take on villiany, Cromwell played by Leo McKern A Man for All Seasons
And (how could I forget) The Captain played by Strother Martin in Cool Hand Luke. “What we got here is… failure to communicate.”
Moi aussi.
How about Kathy Bates in Misery?
“I’m your number one fan!”
Kathy Bates is a good one.