Total Film’s Top 50 Villains
December 6th 2007 00:18
Well, it took me a while to get around to posting the rest of the list, sorry about that. Life got in the way. So here we have it, Total Film’s Top 50 of villains.
I’m surprised to see The Joker at number one, I didn’t think he was that scary, especially when compared to others like Hannibal Lector (I’m still recovering from that one, lifts have stayed difficult). But I guess it depends what you judge the films by, is it scariness, effectiveness, believability... it can be subjective.
There’s definitely a lot more on this list than on my hero list, I found it easier to identify the villains rather than the ‘heroes’, mine are:
Hannibal Lecter - Silence of the Lambs
Freddy Krueger - A Nightmare on Elm Street
Nurse Ratched - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Frank Booth - Blue Velvet
Norman Bates - Psycho
John Doe - Se7en
Baby Jane Hudson - Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
Combo - This is England
Verbal Klint/Keyser Soze - The Usual Suspects
Patrick Bateman - American Psycho
Begbie - Trainspotting
Mr Blonde - Reservoir Dogs
Max Cady - Cape Fear
And here's the official list. As always, feel free to comment, cry, scream or boo:
1 The Joker (Batman: The Movie)
2 Darth Vader (Star Wars)
3 Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs)
4 Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
5 Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street)
6 Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
7 Anton Chigurh (No Country for Old Men)
8 Michael Myers (The Halloween series)
9 Frank Booth (Blue Velvet)
10 Norman Bates (Psycho)
11 Bridget Gregory/Wendy Kroy (The Last Seduction)
12 Jason Vorhees (Friday the 13th series)
13 Saruman the White (The Lord of the Rings)
14 John Doe (Se7en)
15 Baby Jane Hudson (Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?)
16 Peyton Flanders (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle)
17 Gordon Gekko (Wall Street)
18 Alex Forrest (Fatal Attraction)
19 The White Witch (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the witch and the
wardrobe)
20 Captain Videl (Pan's Labyrinth)
21 Annie Wilkes (Misery)
22 Tony Montana (Scarface)
23 Catherine Tramell (Basic Instinct)
24 Michael Corleone (The Godfather)
25 Dr Christian Sezell (Marathon Man)
26 Reverend Harry Powell (The Night of the Hunter)
27 Ray (Nil by Mouth)
28 The Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz)
29 John Ryder (The Hitcher)
30 Suzanna Stone Maretto (To Die For)
31 Combo (This is England)
32 General Zod (Superman)
33 Hans Gruber (Die Hard)
34 Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)
35 Ivan Drago (Rocky IV)
36 Daniel Cleaver (Bridget Jones' Diary)
37 Verbal Klint/Keyser Soze (The Usual Suspects)
38 Lex Luthor (Superman)
39 Don (Sexy Beast)
40 Begbie (Trainspotting)
41 Phyllis Dietrichsonn (Double Indemnity)
42 Mr Blonde (Reservoir Dogs)
43 Dr Elsa Schneider (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)
44 Frank (Once Upon a Time in the West)
45 Max Cady (Cape Fear)
46 The Child Catcher (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
47 The Truck (Duel)
48 Hans Beckert (M)
49 Mrs John Iselin (The Manchurian Candidate)
50 Mr Potter (It's a Wonderful Life)
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Comment by Ash
Flashes of memories
Interesting to note that you found it easier to find villians than heroes - that`s us down to a T hey! I tried to think of more heroes after your last post... nada!
Bad boys? ooohhh my downfall - we women are crazy aren`t we? 'The Joker' was a surprise for me as Number 1... hhhmmm
There are some movies on here that I haven`t seen before. 'It`s a wonderful life' seems to be the talked about movie on quite a few posts at the moment.
Freddy Kruger terrified me for many a night though = and also that clown from 'It'. bbbrrrrrrr I don`t do scary movies these days, my feathers have grown and I am quite happy to admit that I am a chicken!
Great list. Have a super day... the clouds are starting to grow overhead again, let`s hope it means more rain
Ash
Comment by Damo
They were not even trying.
TRy the ID monster from Forbidden Planet.
Comment by Mike Crowl
Webitz
Work Report
What about the character Michael Douglas played in The Perfect Murder? He was nasty to the bone.
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
But still there are a lot of changes I would make! Hard to know what exactly they are judging it on. Some of them are villains I 'love' and some scare me almost to death, some are cool, some are kind of comical...
Michaelie
Comment by Mountain Fog
that is ludicrous having The Joker at number one! WHat kind of list were they thinking of? The Most Funny, Whacky Psychopaths in Film?
Dumb arses!
Anyhoo...my vote gets Baby Jane...WHAT A BITCH!!! fabulous movie too. And I am a HUGE Bette Davis fan, and do a good imitation, and went to see her live show at the Opera House in the late seventies...a wonderful night too.
I think the list should be split into categories;
"Most entertaining maniac in a humorous way" (Joker, Penguin, etc)
"Most scary!" (Fredie Kruger)
"Most unrepentantly vile!" (American Psycho...refused to see it after reading a scene description!)
"Most pathetic!" (Robot Monster, Killer Tomatoes, etc)
"Cutest" and "Most IMisunderstood!" (King Kong )
I could go on...and on and on....
cheers
fog
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Hope you’re well. Have you had much rain up near you? It’s been quite torrential here but today was uncomfortably humid. I don’t think the next rainfall is far away though, which I don’t mind at all.
Ah, I’m glad I’m not the only one that was surprised to see The Joker at number one. Yes, Freddie Kruger did a good job of scaring me too, as did Hannibal Lector. I still look up in lifts...he has a lot to answer for. Oh yes, that clown from It was petrifying. I also don’t watch that many horror/scary films these days, as I’ve got older I’ve become wimpier.
Yes, it was easier to think of ‘villains’ compared to ‘heroes’...that must mean something... do I like bad boys after all? I also couldn’t think of any more heroes too...ah well.
Byee and thanks for popping in,
Tracy
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Yes, I thought that was peculiar too...
I haven’t seen Forbidden Planet, so I looked it up. It sounds eerie and intriguing...I might try and track a copy down,
Byeee
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
I haven’t seen The Perfect Murder. I just looked it up and discovered that it’s a remake of Hitchcock’s Dial "M" for Murder. Intriguing....
Thanks for popping in,
Tracy
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Here are the villains in the list that I enjoy, though my order would be much different and I doubt all would make my Top 50 of all time. (Nice to see Manchurian candidate, marathon Man, Blue Velvet, M, Double Indemnity, Night of the Hunter and Cape fear etc)
As everyone else has commented it’s a pretty broad spectrum of character traits they have listed. Joker at number one is a bit of a leap, Jack was fun in a scenery chewing way but there wasn’t much menace there really.
2 Darth Vader (Star Wars)
6 Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
8 Michael Myers (The Halloween series)
9 Frank Booth (Blue Velvet)
10 Norman Bates (Psycho)
11 Bridget Gregory/Wendy Kroy (The Last Seduction)
14 John Doe (Se7en)
15 Baby Jane Hudson (Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?)
17 Gordon Gekko (Wall Street)
22 Tony Montana (Scarface)
24 Michael Corleone (The Godfather)
25 Dr Christian Sezell (Marathon Man)
26 Reverend Harry Powell (The Night of the Hunter)
27 Ray (Nil by Mouth)
28 The Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz)
29 John Ryder (The Hitcher)
32 General Zod (Superman)
33 Hans Gruber (Die Hard)
34 Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)
37 Verbal Klint/Keyser Soze (The Usual Suspects)
38 Lex Luthor (Superman)
39 Don (Sexy Beast)
41 Phyllis Dietrichsonn (Double Indemnity)
42 Mr Blonde (Reservoir Dogs)
44 Frank (Once Upon a Time in the West)
45 Max Cady (Cape Fear)
47 The Truck (Duel)
48 Hans Beckert (M)
49 Mrs John Iselin (The Manchurian Candidate)
Here are a few Fictional villains that pop to mind: (Following the broad definition set)
Donovan Grant (From Russia With Love)
Bruce the Shark (Jaws)
The Toothfairy (Manhunter)
Shere Khan (The Jungle Book)
The Lieutenant (Bad Lieutenant)
Tracy Flick (Election)
Han (Enter the Dragon)
Serpico (Dirty Harry)
Louis Cyphre (Angel Heart)
Terminator (The Terminator)
Captain (Cool Hand Luke)
Noah Cross (Chinatown)
Lester Long (Clay Pigeons)
Comment by Mike Crowl
Webitz
Work Report
Comment by James Rickard
unlucky_ fishermen.com
Angling Fish
Check this out...
Comment by Mrs M
Mum's Word
While we're on Scorecese films:-
Jake LaMotta
and the characters Joe Pesci played in Casino and Goodfellas. Who knew Joe Pesci could be so scary.
Love & stuff
Mrs M
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Yes, the number one doesn’t seem right does it? I agree that the list should be split into categories, I like yours, you seem to have them all covered especially:
"Most unrepentantly vile!". That really made me laugh.
Feel free to add more if you think of any,
Byee
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Hi John
That’s an interesting list, I think Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) is definitely worthy of being up there and close to the top. I agree with your shuffling, some of those characters needed to be closer to number one.
These were great thoughts too:
Donovan Grant (From Russia With Love)
Bruce the Shark (Jaws)
The Toothfairy (Manhunter)
Shere Khan (The Jungle Book)
The Lieutenant (Bad Lieutenant)
Tracy Flick (Election)
Han (Enter the Dragon)
Serpico (Dirty Harry)
Louis Cyphre (Angel Heart)
Terminator (The Terminator)
Captain (Cool Hand Luke)
Noah Cross (Chinatown)
Lester Long (Clay Pigeons)
Yes, Serpico (Dirty Harry) and Louis Cyphre (Angel Heart) definitely should be in there. I haven’t seen some of the others you mentioned.
Thanks for popping in,
Tracy
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
I know what you mean, some are scary, others funny and some ridiculous...I like fog's categories for the list,
Byee
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Thanks for that info about the film. I like the sound of it,
Tracy
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
I think Travis Bickle definitely counts, what a great one. Yes, there are a few scary ones in those Scorsese films you mentioned.
Byee
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Sounds like you're really happy to see Darth Vader up there, that's great.
Tracy
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
Pop Culturist
Pop Rock Factory
I'll put a vote in for Castor Troy from Face Off and The Shark out of Jaws.
Nice list.
MNG
Comment by Jickle
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
Its hard to remember all the ones I love...I cant remember the name of the villian in 'Tank Girl' but I loved him. My all time fave villian is actually from a book!
Comment by Nathan P. Mahney
NerdBlog
Some inclusions that should have been there:
The Kurgan (Highlander)
Harry Lime (The Third Man)
Agent Smith (The Matrix)
Magneto (X-Men)
Roy Batty (Blade Runner)
Just off the top of my head.
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Thanks for your votes, I haven’t seen Face Off but I’ve heard it’s very good.
And yes, that shark was definitely villainous. I still find it hard to get back into the water....
Byee
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Yes, Blue Velvet. I know what you mean. I saw the film years ago and I’m still affected by Frank Booth when I think of it. His presence definitely stays around for a while. It’s an eerie film isn’t it?
Thanks for popping in,
Tracy
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
It’s good to see you, hope you’re well. I'm glad you enjoyed the list.
I haven’t seen Tank Girl, it’s good to hear of other villains. I’m curious who is your other favourite one...feel free to share
Tracy
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Thanks for your list. I agree, The Joker is far too high , especially when compared with some of the other treacherous villains.
I just bought Blade Runner so I’m looking forward to seeing it. I can’t believe I haven’t seen it before, ah well.
Byee
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
My other all time fave that never dies is Lestat....I never get tired of him. Dustin Hoffman plays an awfully mean Devil in 'Joan of Arc'
Its hard for me cos I LOVE the villians, Im always going for the baddies!
You really should check out 'Tank Girl' its an OLD movie made from an even older comic - all set in Australia! Sort of a mad max theme. We found it in a discount bin for $8. Its an awesome film for girl power! The villians best line is -
"That was a stupid thing to do - if I were you I wouldnt have done it. I would have killed me first"
Now thats a man to be admired!
There are so many others Im trying to remember, but like I said, its hard when you love them all!
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Thanks for poppping back and telling me more. I must say I haven't heard of the characters you described, but I will keep an eye/ear open for them.
Tank Girl is one of those films I was interested in seeing, but just didn't get around to doing it. I like that quote you mentioned!
Feel free to come back if you remember more,
Tracy
Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
You are so right about The Joker...
My top 5 list:
Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs)
Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)
Verbal Klint/Keyser Soze (The Usual Suspects)
Mr Blonde (Reservoir Dogs)
What about
Aaron Eckhart (Chad) in "In the Company of Men
Annie Wilkies(Kathy Bates) in "Misery"
Bette Davis in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"
Frank Fitts (Chris Cooper) -in American Beauty?
Mis
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
It's good to see you. Your top five is quite similar to mine.
I also thought of Kathy Bates and Bette Davis and wondered why they're not in the list....
Byeee
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
Just saw spiderman 3. Ive loved Venom for awhile, but OH! That evil spiderman.....I never got the fuss over Tobey Maguire, but suddenly(with a rinse in his hair, soot under the eyes and a blank stare) hes the hottest thing alive!
Oh, and Callisto, from Xena. Shes one cold blooded bitch.
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
It's good to see you. How did you manage to see Spiderman 3 already, that's great work!! Or am I out of touch?!
You have me intrigued by your description of Tobey. Usually I find him quite boyish, but now he's sounding hot and interesting. My husband loves the Spiderman films so I think we'll be seeing it. I'll let you know what I think when we do
Bye and thanks for popping in,
Trace
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
Its pretty cool. I watched the commentary yesterday(I adore Sam Raimi - he made Xena too) and laughed my arse off. I thought Tobey got a bit cute with the muscles, but even in the commentary they giggle about how much eyeliner he's wearing once he's infected by the black suit! I guess I just love bad boys....In his nerd gear, I dont get it, but all evil and dark I just think he's gorgeous!
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
You're right about Tobey's eyeballs...they're really affecting...
I imagine my husband would like to have this on DVD...thanks for the pricing info
Comment by Alex M
Other villains I would've included on the list would've been
-Jake "The Muss" Heke from Once Were Warriors (my personal favorite)
-Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange
-Col. Kurtz from Apocalypse Now
-Jack Torrance from The Shining
-Bill The Butcher from Gangs of New York
-Antonio Salieri from Amadeus
-Det. Alonzo Harris from Training Day
-Amon Goeth from Schindler's List
-Count Rugen from The Princess Bride
-Agent Smith from The Matrix
-Biff Tannen from Back to the Future
-Woo-jin Lee from Oldboy
-Stansfield in Leon/The Professional
-Lil Ze in City of God
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
You named some great ones, especially Jake from Once Were Warriors and Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange, two scary characters. Great additions!
Thanks for popping in,
Tracy
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
I haven't seen The Cell. I'm not sure I could handle if it is Hannibal Lectoresque...
Thanks for popping in!
Tracy
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Joey Blue
Murdered his own brother.
Made young Simba to believe Mufasa's death was his fault forcing him to live in shame.
Caused an entire prosperous kingdom to fall and become a barren deathland of depression for his own selfish reasons.
need I go on?
Comment by Whesker13
-cyrus the virus (conair)
-simon (die hard with a vengence)
-pennywise (IT)
-zorg (fifth element)
-evil ash (army of darkness)
and how come everyone love freddy kruger i hate him good concept with the whole paedo that dies and takes revenge by killing in dreams but i mean they made him so annoying i like a villain with charisma like hannibal but hes just over the hill annoying.