My Monday box-office reports seem to be running the same news on a continuous loop. Yes, it's The Dark Knight again.It's nice that Will Ferrell is back on his game, with Step Brothers grossing a solid $30 million, but do you really care that the second X-Files movie tanked with a paltry $10.2 or that women are still showing up in droves (or $17.8 million worth) to support the tin-eared Mamma Mia? In money terms, The Dark Knight is still the only game in town. Having already scored the best opening day ($67.2 million) and best opening weekend ($158.4 million) in history, the Batman movie now racks up best all-time second weekend ($75.6 million). Total take so far: $314.2 million. Want more? The Dark Knight is now the fastest movie ever to reach $100 million (2 days), $200 million (5 days) and $300 million (10 days). Can $400 million be far away, what with the repeat business? Shrek 2 managed the trick in 43 days. Warner Bros thinks the Batman and his Joker will do it in 18 days. I wouldn't bet against it. The new goal is $500 million and maybe even a shot at the all-time domestic record—Titanic at $601 million. What do you think? What I'm thinking at this moment is this:
You've all had a chance to see The Dark Knight at least once, so let's vote on the question that's been nagging at me for weeks"
Is Heath Ledger's Joker the best movie villain of all time?
Or is it Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal the Cannibal in Silence of the Lambs?
Or how about Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones) in Star Wars?
You can put in a write-in vote for a movie villain I've missed. But these are the unholy three in my book. Ok, let it rip.
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ichi the killer | September 13, 2008 6:39 AM
my top villains are.
1 sadomasochist Kakihara/from ichi the killer.
2 kevin spacey/ in seven
3 jigsaw/ saw series
4 the joker/ the dark knight
5 the women at the end of switchblade romance
by the way not the joker character himself but heath's version of the joker reminds me of kakihara so much i think they might of seen it and thought thats wat we want the next joker to be.
gfather | August 17, 2008 3:55 PM
gotta go with Ed Harris and William Hurt respectively in "A History Of Violence" plus John Goodman in "Barton Fink"
scarface | August 13, 2008 11:14 AM
One of the greatest villans of all time is Ralph Fienns in Schindler's List whom is one of cinemas' most evil,cruel
and diabolical villans. And we cannot forget Laurence Olivier as the nazi dentist in Marathon Man. In the years to come we can see how Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh stands as one of the greatest and most evil villans of all time.
Anonymous | August 12, 2008 1:10 PM
Angela Lansbury - The Mancurian Candidate. Runner up - "Bruce" in Jaws. By the way, does the Joker even really qualify as a villan in the Dark Knight? I identified with him much more than Bruce Wayne.
jetro | August 11, 2008 1:57 AM
One of the most underrated villains ever has to be Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs. I agree with everybody that Hannibal is in the top 3-5 in best villains ever but he has overshadowed Buffalo Bill and he could be top 10. He was a freak!
Here's my all time list
1.Hannibal
2.The Joker(Heath)
3.Anton Chigurh
4.Frank(Hopper)-Blue Velvet
5.Darth Vader
6.Norman Bates
7.Col.Kurtz
8.Max Cady(Deniro)-Cape Fear
9.Buffalo Bill
10.John Doe- Seven
11.Kaiser Soze
12.Marcellus Wallace
13.Tommy- Goodfellas
14.Nurse Ratchet
15.Daniel Plainview
16.The Man with No Eyes
17.Agent Smith
18.Bill the Butcher
19.Hal 2001
20.Tyler Durden
21.Patrick Bateman-Am Psycho
22.Amon Goeth-Schindler's List
22.Drexel- True Romance
23.Alonzo-Training Day
24.Jack- The Shining
25.Ed Norton in Primal Fear
25.Gordon Gekko
jetro | August 11, 2008 1:22 AM
A couple that i haven't seen mentioned yet on here that were classic villains were Robert Deniro in Cape Fear and Kevin Spacey in Seven. What about Spacey in Usual Suspects? Kaiser Soze. Another all timer. I didn't read all the posts but i read a bunch and didn't see these mentioned. What about Marcellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction? Another one of my favorites is Drexel(Gary Oldman) in True Romance. Tommy(Joe Pesci) in Goodfellas.
SpottieOttieDopaliscious | August 6, 2008 10:39 PM
These are the villains that I haven't been able to shake to this day::
The Joker (Heath Ledger)- The Dark Knight
Bill The Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis)- Gangs of New York
Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem)- No Country For Old Men
Nurse Ratchet (Louise Fletcher)- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix)- Gladiator
Captain Vidal (Sergi López i Ayats)- Pan's Labyrinth
Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates)- Misery
Bill Lumburgh (Gary Cole)-Office Space
T-1000(Robert Patrick) Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis)- There Will Be Blood
Mr Blonde(Michael Madsen) - Reservoir Dogs
Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd )- Who Framed Roger Rabbit
They've made an impression for either being psychologically unsound, ruthless, or just pure evil.
Jason Moss | August 6, 2008 10:56 AM
And the Oscar for best villain of all time goes to...
Mercedes McCambridge, who voiced the demon that possesses Linda Blair in "The Exorcist".
I was listening to NPR while driving a few years back, when McCambridge was the subject of an interview. Inevitably the host asked her if she could "do" a little bit of her infamous character...I can only describe what I heard next as the infernal roar of Satan coming through my car radio speakers!
"Merrin! Merrin!" I nearly had to pull over.
Incidentally, McCambridge had to sue Warner Brothers for credit for her performance. Most people assumed it was an effect - like a slowed-down voice - but it was in fact a terrifying growl that the actress was able to recreate on the spot 20 years later. Pure acting genius.
Jason Moss | August 6, 2008 10:31 AM
Scariest villain? Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter (will have to look up the character name)..."Chil-dren!! Oh Chiiil-dren..." Yikes!
manau | August 5, 2008 4:39 AM
yo! how about agent smith? now that is a villain...
TankCat | August 4, 2008 12:51 PM
Hannibal is still the best villain ever, followed by Darth Vader. But I would include Ledger's Joker in a short-list of the best ever with these two, which is say A LOT.
Tony | August 3, 2008 11:39 PM
How about Gollum from the Lord of the rings trilogy, i think is a bad ass, and he's scary with big mean eyes.But we can also consider that the true vilain in this movie/book is the little ring.
For an original movie, i must say that the thing in «The Thing» (1982) is freaking scary, i was a kid when i saw that movie for the first time and in the middle of the film, i went to my room to play legos. lol
By the way, Darth Vader is not very scary, it's the Emperor who is the real vilain.(From the point of vue of a huge SW fan)
Dangerdave | August 3, 2008 10:39 PM
You can't pick the most evil villain of all time; it would be like trying to pick the best Coen Brothers movie. (Speaking of villains- the Cyclops from O Brother, Where Art Thou; Anton Chigurh from No Country For Old Men; and Gaear Grimsrud from Fargo.)
But you can pick the most evil AND badass villain of all time, and that villain is Heath Ledger's Joker. He plots horrific crimes, but keeps the audience in stitches while he does it. A clown is the best description for the Joker: a make-up smeared trickster playing tricks and spouting one liners that I'm sure were even more fun to say than they are to hear, like the script was made of bubblegum or chocolate.
Silent Night: Deadly Night Part 2 | August 3, 2008 3:26 PM
Gotta give it to the garbage day guy:
GARRRBAGE DAYYYYY
easily the most menacing villain to ever appeared on screen (or a youtube video)
to those who have not seen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7gIpuIVE3k
JD | August 3, 2008 6:33 AM
If you haven't seen Guillermo Del Torro's The Devil's Backbone you're missing out on the most evil dude I have ever seen on film.
Dude blows up an orphanage , shoots his girlfriend in the stomach, and is so evil that his own henchmen bail on him. And he kinda looks like a Spanish Billy Zane.
Yoda | August 2, 2008 10:24 PM
Obviously it's Vader... Hannibal gets it for people who don't have supernatural powers though I think... I've seen The Dark Knight and No Country For Old Men three times each, and you can't put the Joker in a separate class from Chigurh. The main knock on Chigurh is that he's in a movie that flies over the head of the general public... which is kinda sad considering he murders people like a more focused version of Tony Montana hahaha
reality writer 87 | August 2, 2008 4:15 PM
1. the joker heath ledger AND Anton chigurh Javier Bardem
2 dude from third die hard
Jeremy Irons.
3 T1000 Jason Patric terminator 2
4 peter storemare-gaear grimsrud
fargo
5 the green goblin willem dafoe.
alex | August 2, 2008 2:46 AM
don't forget about bates in PSYCHO without him there would be no lecter or no joker
Terdman | August 2, 2008 1:30 AM
My brother mark is the worst villian ever, he murders rabbits JUST FOR FUN!!!!!
little jimmy | August 2, 2008 12:20 AM
i thought the mean guy in the star wars movie was the scariest!
Jerry | August 2, 2008 12:03 AM
How about Ben, the rat from "Willard", and it's sequel "Ben"?
Sure, he was a rat, but a damn smart, conniving, and particularly villainous little bastard.
Plus, he inspired that awful Michael Jackson ballad (yep, it's true). That was a bit of villainy that reached right out of the screen and invaded the real world. For that alone he gets my vote as best villain ever!!
Bruno | August 1, 2008 11:57 PM
Hey, Q-Ball...
Scroll down to the July 30th posting from Roy. He's giving a shout out to your boy Hans.
I'll concur. It even helped that he had that German accent that sounded so reminiscent of all the Nazi baddies from films-gone-by.
Matt | August 1, 2008 10:19 PM
Joker kicks ass. Greatest villian ever. Other honorable mention to Angel Eyes (The Bad) in The Good, the bad, and the ugly.
Philpot | August 1, 2008 6:29 PM
There is this guy I know who comes to my church who is kinda strange. We all know he's got mental issues. When we went to see the dark knight, the instant Ledger came on screen doing his thing, I leaned over to my girlfriend and said "who does he remind you of?" instantly we both had the same answer, the guy from church. Its crazy, everyone we know who's seen the dark knight and knows this guy has compared them.
Ledger's joker was great, he's tied for number one villian with many others.
Anonymous | August 1, 2008 4:07 PM
I'm sorry, but anyone who thinks Heath's "Joker" (which was brilliant, just to clarify) was better than Anthony Hopkins' "Hannibal Lecter" is completely out of their mind. No comparison.
Q-Ball | August 1, 2008 3:34 PM
Has anyone considered Hans Gruber? He was pretty ruthless.
Q-Ball | August 1, 2008 3:31 PM
That's a great question to ask, and I'd have to judge on how you could connect with the villain.
Now, Darth Vader is a guy you could have some pity for. Everyone knows the story of loosing his wife, limbs, best friend, etc. etc. And you have some sympathy for Hannibal Lector because he could hold a relationship with Clarice Starling. But, the Joker. He's something else. This guy has no reason to do what he's doing all for the thrill of a kill. He has no one and chooses not to have anyone. He is evil at his finest.
1: The Joker
2: Darth Vader
3: Hannibal Lector
JRl | August 1, 2008 12:19 PM
It's hard to beat Captain Vidal in 'Pan's Labyrinth." I'm not a huge fan of that movie, but the villain was evil incarnate. I have a soft spot for James Spader in "Pretty in Pink," Jason Patric in "Your Freinds and Neighbors," Jason Isaacs in "The Patriot," and the over the top goons in "Karate Kid III."
Newton | August 1, 2008 1:13 AM
A few I've already seen listed and want to give an amen to: Robert Mitchum in "Night of the Hunter," Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) in "No Country for Old Men."
A few I have not yet seen mentioned: the Nihilists in "The Big Lebowski" ("Say what you will about the Nazis, but at least they had a basic ethos"), the guy on the motorcycle in "Raising Arizona," Peter Stormare in "Fargo," and the melty-faced Nazi in "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Nobody that quite matches Darth Vader or The Joker, just a few more names to consider.
Also, in response to Bernadette's post: you're right, if we decontextualize this discussion then Michael Corleone can be called a villain. However, we are speaking in the context of film (a form of story/play), which means the proper definition to use is "4 : a character in a story or play who opposes the hero." As such, I don't think Corleone can be considered anything more than an anti-hero; the villains of "The Godfather" movies are all the rival mobsters (Don Barzini, "The Turk" Sollozzo, Hyman Roth, etc.). They are the ones opposing the Corleone family, and from the point of view of the world of organized crime (which is the point of view we are given while watching the films) they are the villains.
Joe | August 1, 2008 12:33 AM
Why do many people name Robert De Niro's Max Cady (a good choice, by the way) but not Robert Mitchum's version? In my opinion, as chilling as De Niro was, he couldn't hold a candle to Mitchum's version. De Niro had a pretty good reason for being angry; Mitchum didn't. Mitchum also could be incredibly menacing just by the way he stood looking at the family. Again, no fault to De Niro, but watch the original and see a REAL villain. by the way, kudos to the person who mentioned Mitchum's "Night of the Hunter," his second best creepiest performance behind the original "Cape Fear."
Wemma | July 31, 2008 7:13 PM
My top 5 villians
1)Heath Ledger-The Dark Knight
his preformance was so chilling everytime he appeared on the screen i almost feel of my seat
2)Norman Bates-Psycho
Truly A Ground breaking film so scary!!
3)The Shark-Jaws
I saw the unrated version where they show thegusy beening eaten gross!!
4)the aliens-war of the worlds(remake)
i was young when i saw it i couldn't sleep for days
5)Cruella De vil-101 dalmatians
Who could be so horrible??
thomas france | July 31, 2008 5:58 PM
Hi, just a few that comes to mind: the vilain from "Saw", the Terminator in TerminatorII, Annibal Lecter (numero uno), the Devil's Reject family, Denzel Washington in Training Day, kevin Spacey in Seven AND in The usual suspects.
Matty D | July 31, 2008 5:56 PM
I WAS JUST ABOUT TO MENTION COLONEL KURZ!
I was reading heart of darkness by Joseph Conrad and watching Apocolyse Now and was blown away. Probably my favorite Marlon Brando performance.
My vote goes to Darth Vader... but only in the first movies (esp if you stick to Empire Strikes Back). Hannibal Lechter I'd go with but he did HELP clarice, does that really make him ENTIRELY a villain?
And the jury's still out on the joker. I'd like to see this movie another 4 times before I rank him amongst anyone. I want to be sure I'm digesting this past the postmortem hype. Mindblowing performance by Heath Ledger nonetheless.
The Sink | July 31, 2008 5:25 PM
Col. Kurtz in "Apocalypse Now" (my favorite movie ever) was, indeed, a memorable villian. However, because you came to know all about him throughout the course of the movie --via the dossier -- you understand why he is who he is. He was taking his orders from the jungle. So the jungle was the true villain!
Leonardo | July 31, 2008 4:06 PM
Michael Corleone is the greatest of all time...then I can rank Vader, Joker and Mr. Lecter.
That is until someone shots a biography of George W. Bush...then he will become the greatest villain in the history of movies.
Nathan | July 31, 2008 3:55 PM
Ledger's Joker is brilliant. If he doesn't get nominated, there's something wrong. Hannibal the Cannibal is also a great villain, but his legacy has been destroyed by countless terrible sequels and an even worse prequel.
Hunter | July 31, 2008 3:07 PM
Wire hangers - Mommie Dearest
Bernadette | July 31, 2008 12:47 PM
To all those who disagree with Michael Corleone being qualified as a villain...
Merriam Webster's dictionary defines a villain as such -
Main Entry:
vil·lain
Pronunciation:
\ˈvi-lən\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle English vilain, vilein, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin villanus, from Latin villa
Date:
14th century
1 : villein 2 : an uncouth person : boor 3 : a deliberate scoundrel or criminal 4 : a character in a story or play who opposes the hero 5 : one blamed for a particular evil or difficulty
The definition of villain only has one part of a villain fighting against a hero. A villain is mainly the bad character. There isn't always an enemy needed.
However, still for those who need a hero in a movie for there to be a villain, consider this. Just like others on this forum, the hero does not necessarily have to be a PERSON. The hero in The Godfather could be considered family, society, or humanity in general. What Michael Corleone did was inhumane. His coldness was disgusting. He went against his wife and children - against the hero, therefore making him a great villain. I'd definitely put him on my Top 5.
But then consider this - what he did was also to help his "family" - makes him a great hero too.
Mitchapalooza | July 31, 2008 12:33 PM
Maybe I've read over someone's comment, but how come nobody's mentioned Jack Nickolsen (sp?) in the Shining??
Parker | July 31, 2008 12:10 PM
My top villians
1. The Joker
2. Hannibal Lecter
3. dude from No Country
4. Christopher Lloyd in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. When I was a kid he traumatized me. Still creeps me out.
5. ringwraiths from Lord of the Rings.
I love Star Wars. But Vader never scared me, even as a kid.
the band | July 31, 2008 11:31 AM
the joker
audit monkey | July 31, 2008 10:58 AM
Hannibal in Manhunter (remade, badly, as Red Dragon) as played by Brian Cox is far, far better than the hammy version played by Anthony Hopkins, full of menace and threat and physically imposes himself, even though he barely moves. Also Christopher Walken in, well, pretty much anything but especialy True Romance and Things to do in Denver When You're Dead
Tom Thumb | July 31, 2008 1:40 AM
My favorite villian has to be Cody Jarrett in "White Heat" played by the best, James Cagney!
Boomer | July 31, 2008 1:23 AM
Clarence Boddicker from Robocop was a real bastard!
miles | July 31, 2008 1:15 AM
#1 The Joker/The Dark Knight
#2 Alex/A Clockwork Orange
#3 The Russian/Rocky IV
#4 Almost Everyone/The
Godfather
#5 Hannibal Lecter/The Silence of The Lambs
#6 Daniel Plainview/There Will Be Blood
#7 Anton Chigurh/No Country For Old Men
#8 Francis "Frank" Costello/ The Departed
#9 Darth Vader/Star Wars
#10 Michael Bay/for ruining movies
Downing | July 31, 2008 1:04 AM
The Joker - Ledger and Nicholson have both given us amazing takes on the character where its a love/hate relationship where your want to hate this maniacal character but in the end you just keep begging for more.
SDBarton | July 31, 2008 12:12 AM
Nurse Ratchett - Coockoo's nest- a purer sadist has never graced the screen. Her ultimate goal was control of the human soul. As a fictional villain, (unlike Goeth in Shindler's list), there has been none more sinister.
Hannibal Lecter - SOTL only So wonderfully mesmerizing
Olivia deHavilland - Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte
She tortures Bette Davis for decades.
Orson Welles- Touch of Evil.. it's in B/W, but you can still see the bloodshot eyes of the man
Ledger's Joker - was amazing. He was Tommy from Goodfellas mixed with Lecter for SOTL.
anon | July 30, 2008 9:33 PM
In case you didn't know, the "wrong stuff," as defined by "The Right Stuff," is: anybody who isn't American, gravity, Lyndon B. Johnson, malfunctioning spacecrafts, monkeys, and women with personalities
anon | July 30, 2008 9:29 PM
The wrong stuff--The Right Stuff
anon | July 30, 2008 9:28 PM
Electricity--Witness
anon | July 30, 2008 9:28 PM
Hot water--Rain Man
Anonymous | July 30, 2008 9:05 PM
Well, Heath's Joker might just be my favourite. But I also love:
- The sadomasochist Kakihara from the japanese movie Ichi the Killer.
- Tyler Durden of Fight Club
- Patrick Bateman
Nick | July 30, 2008 6:37 PM
Ledger's Joker by far!
You know his character has rubbed off on you when you're sitting in the theatre, for the second time around, paid that extra few bucks for IMAX (mainly for the Heat-inspired opening scene), waiting for the Joker to pull out his disappearing pencil trick then howling at the pain Heath's twisted creation deals out in spades for the rest of the film.
It's painfully difficult to root against the bad guy in The Dark Knight, especially when Heath's Joker is so spectacularly fleshed out and delivered in the most memorable display of villainy in contemporary cinematic memory.
The Devil always gets the best lines and Ledger's malicious Mephistopheles fails to disappoint any way you cut it.
Best. Villain. Ever.
Joker77 | July 30, 2008 6:33 PM
Joker is #1, easy. No villian is more enjoyable, freaky, scary, and unpredictable.
2 is Darth Maul not Vader.
3 is DeNiro in Cape Fear
GreatGallbo | July 30, 2008 4:58 PM
How can you list Darth Vader...
and not Senator/Emperor Palpatine?!
Vader does realize his faults and becomes "good" and has his little pow-wow in epi. 6 w/ Yoda and Obi-wan. That's not what villans are made of.
From epi. 1-6 (or 4-6, then 1-3... w/e) Palpatine is the personification of evil that really threads all of the darkness of the Empire together. Remember, Darth Vader was just a tool. I remember being more terrified of Emperor Palpatine shocking Luke at the end of epi. 6 as compared to anything Vader ever did. And his face, shrouded in that cloak, and his voice, subtle and mischevious.
So, maybe not the top villan of all time, but I can;t see how Palpatine has been totally left out of the discussion
Celeste Agresta | July 30, 2008 4:37 PM
Heath Ledger's performance was so engrossing that I was too disturbed to laugh at the funny parts. So subtle and nuanced that he truly disappeared in the character. His death has been made all the more tragic by the amazing talent he brought to the part at such a young age. Such a waste...
Da Villian69 | July 30, 2008 4:36 PM
O
1. Joker
2. Anton Chagur
3. Darth Vader
BrightSide | July 30, 2008 4:24 PM
Mac, very well stated. I agree totally. That motive of the Joker and theme gives the film so much power.
The Dark Knight has everything: popcorn thrills, a compelling plot with great characters, actors who shine in their roles, a beautiful score that enhances the film and gives it mood and excitement, countless memorable scenes, and a very intelligent script. This movie will be highly remembered for a very long time.
It's probably the only time I literally had butterflies in my stomach while watching. It really touched a nerve.
Ringo Kid | July 30, 2008 3:35 PM
Asa Watts, played by Bruce Dern, in The Cowboys (1972).
The bastard shot John Wayne... in the back!!!
Dodie | July 30, 2008 3:24 PM
Cruella de Vil
Ripley | July 30, 2008 3:19 PM
A few posts have mentioned the Alien(s) from the films of the same name(s). I think you have to view them more as great movie monsters, not villains. But, it got me thinking...
In Aliens, Paul Reiser (of all people) played Carter J. Burke, the corporate lawyer for the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Remember, he was ready, willing, and able to serve up anyone and everyone to the Aliens in order to find a host to get a specimen of the species back to earth. Two-faced, greedy, unethical, murderous, unrepentant. Pretty villainous in my book.
Mac | July 30, 2008 2:40 PM
Ledger's performance will only grow with time - it isn't gimmicky or over-the-top in any way. As the Joker flatly puts it early in the movie, "I'm not insane." Ledger took a brilliantly written role and multiplied it. Instead of the archetypal nihilist who just enjoys violence, you have a villian with a very real motive - to show how thin the social fabric really is. He wants people to see that their true nature is selfish. And Batman stops the Joker because he gets too ambitious (the ferry plot), not because the Joker's outlook is inaccurate. He doesn't tear things down merely for the sake of it, he tears them down because he thinks they're lies... and he's sort of right.
So the movie's lasting message, which it spells out somewhat directly at the end, is that we need those lies - that human nature is too ugly and flawed to look at directly; we must avoid this real truth in order to keep society together at all. We must support things like idealized heroes because to look at ourselves with complete honesty would be to lose hope completely. The power of that message and the force with which Ledger brings the Joker's side of it to life is what propels the movie to such heights.
John | July 30, 2008 2:39 PM
As long as people call the Shark from Jaws and Alien some of the best villains, I think we need to include the first Predator.
Best movie villain in my book is Dr. Evil second comes Goldmember :)
Clane | July 30, 2008 2:35 PM
The Joker gets the top spot, and here's why I think he deserves it. Those other villians I can watch and appreciate, but Ledger take made me uncomfortable, nervous, and even a little scared. He may be a comic book villian, but what the Joker was in DK was a terrorist with no ransom list and bottomless ambition to see people hit bottom. He may have even shown us a little of what it looks like.
Roy | July 30, 2008 2:19 PM
How about Hans from the first Die Hard?
I know, I'm reaching back, but how can we forget the sophistication, culture, erudition, and the late 80's Armani style! The dude had panache. Not to mention a Eurocentric snobbishness that you loved to hate.
Death, mayhem, destruction and murder, all for money. The perfect villain to bring the 80's to a close???? His death in the film was necessary to put the "Greed is Good" philosophy behind us and carry us into the 90's.
Speaking of "Greed is Good", what about Gordon Gecko from Wall Street?
And yes, I've seen other movies since 1988 :)
jer | July 30, 2008 1:14 PM
Oops!
I forgot Amon Goethe from "Schindler's List" - Fiennes easily propels that character into the top 5.
bombastic kevin | July 30, 2008 1:10 PM
How about Alien from the first movie? Even if its gotten a little stale the creature is still sweet looking. Also, how about Bill from kill bill?
jer | July 30, 2008 1:05 PM
O
I'm on board with the Joker, here. But it's going to take some time before I'm willing to give the late Mr. Ledger's work the top spot (I'm not saying never - it's just too soon to call it - let's let the well-deserved hype subside a bit first.)
Other top considerations include:
-Bill Cutting (aka "the Butcher")
-Alex from "A Clockwork Orange"
-Norman Bates
-pre-1983 Darth Vader (he lost a lot of cred. once he stopped being James Earl Jones and started being Sebastian Shaw - and let's not even bring Jake Lloyd or Hayden Christensen into this)
-Hannibal the Cannibal (but only in SOTL - at one time, he would have been incontestable, but after watching Anthony Hopkins cash in on the character for two awful sequel-prequels, I just can't look at that 1991 performance the same)
-Annie Wilkes ("hush, darling")
-Anton Chigurh
-Michael Corleone (forgetting part III, of course)
-Col. Kurtz (sure, Brando was a nightmare to work with - but still, "the horror, the horror")
Toto | July 30, 2008 1:04 PM
Hello All,
What do you think of this option...
The Wicked Witch of the West, from the Wizard of Oz.
She's mean. She even hates dogs. She's vengeful.
The figure she cut as the green-skinned, cackling, hook-nosed, wart-covered, boney-fingered, black-clad, pointy-hatted, broom-stick-flying shrew has become iconic the world over. This image is synonymous with fear, nightmares, and general meanness. It has transcended culture and time.
She even had those creepy flying monkeys!!!
There is no redemption for her in the end, as with Vader. She has no soft spot like Hannibal (he did cut off his own hand rather than hurt Clarice, after all). She's not a textbook sociopath like the Joker. She's just mean to the core. It's her nature. The other three were born good, and all had some sort of emotional trauma as children, or young adults, that made them rotten.
As for Vader, Yoda nailed it. Fear and anger lead to the dark side. Anikan Skywalker was generally good, even ultimately in the end. He was just naive and insecure, and it made him easily manipulated.
Lecter was an innocent boy whose emotional security was devastated by the horrors of war.
We are given hints that The Joker had an abusive father.
The Wicked Witch was just rotten to the core. Sure, the story of "Wicked" provides a background that gives a different perspective, but that concept was a latter day add-on by a different author, it's not part of the original character.
Really, the Travers' big three are all just shades of the Witch. Vader has her "magic" powers and black garb. The Joker has her creepy voice, laugh, and generally macabre appearance. And Lecter eats people, which is something you certainly assume the Witch would do. She's the creepy best of all of them!!!
shmee | July 30, 2008 11:04 AM
Rob De Niro - Louis Sifer - Angel Heart?
Jersey Girl | July 30, 2008 10:27 AM
Okay, So I know I am going to get alot of heat for this but, I have never seen Star Wars and missed the age where Vader ruled...and I mean that with all do respect for those still hanging on to that starlactic dream.
What Hopkins did with Hannibal gave me nightmares as a kid...he completely embodied the role and he will always be remembered... but..
Ledgers performance was something I will never forget. I was a big fan of the guy, especially for his roles in Brokeback, Lords of Dog Town and I'm Not Here. What I loved about his performances is how I could never quite distinquish the actor from the character. He was diverse in every role and I rarely found any Ledger qualities.
That being said, this Batman was going to be a hit regardless of Ledger's tragic death. And I believe that his Joker still would have been the talk of the town even if he was alive.
I have to admit when I first heard that Ledger was taking on the role, I was like "What are they thinking?" I couldn't see anyone else playing that role but Jack Nicholson.
But as I heard interviews with the late actor and the process that he was going through to create the dark, sinister villian I knew that Ledger's serious approach to the role was going to make it the best it could possibly be.
This movie was not a comic book movie. It didn't feel like one and Ledger didn't act like a comic book villain.
For this age, he is the best... and if they do make a third Batman for this series.. his shoes will be impossible to fill.
T-Bag | July 30, 2008 9:47 AM
You can't forget about Frank Costello from The Departed. He made all of Boston's criminal underworld fear him, and he even scared the undercover cop (DiCaprio) shitless.
Also, there's:
LeChiffre- Casino Royale (who else would be evil enough to whack him in the balls with a monkey's fist?)
The T-Rex- Jurassic Park
Bill- Kill Bill
Sauron- Lord of the Rings
"Just do it already!"- Knocked UP
Magneto- X-Men
And last but certainly not least, one of the most spine-chilling villians in modern movie history:
Bill Lumburgh- Office Space
Cooley | July 30, 2008 9:46 AM
Tracy Flick, "Election"
Jason Patric, "Your Friends and Neighbors" (can't rememberhis character's name)
General Zod, "Superman II"
Bobby Peru, "Wild At Heart"
Frank Booth takes the cake, though. The nicest thing he says is "Let tit see her kid."
Anonymous | July 30, 2008 2:12 AM
MICHAEL MYERS!!!!!!!well hes a serial killer but that still counts as a villian right???
anyways heaths joker is definitely somewhere in the top 5.
Kevin | July 30, 2008 12:37 AM
O
I know it was a TV show, but...The Nazis in Hogan's Heroes!!
Talk about hardcore..
Baneet Singh | July 29, 2008 11:55 PM
Oh man guys, has no one seen Gangs of New York - Daniel Day Lewis as the Butcher takes the cake.
Clare Horan | July 29, 2008 9:17 PM
VOLDERMORT anyone? He comes back from the dead (multiple times) to kill Harry/rule everyone...you can't really get more evil than that
Anonymous | July 29, 2008 8:09 PM
the shark from jaws
Anonymous | July 29, 2008 7:45 PM
laura linney in Truman show
Jeff J | July 29, 2008 7:39 PM
Ok this Joker was great and recently there have been great villians with No Country and There Will Be Blood. Along side these I would not forget Don Logan from Sexy Beast and Francis Begbie in Trainspoting.
cbc | July 29, 2008 7:38 PM
Nurse Ratchet in One Flew Over the Cuckoos nest
shagenlo | July 29, 2008 7:34 PM
It's tough comparing comic-book villains to other genres, as they are generally more straight forward in their cause/intent than other more complex characters. But here's my two cents worth:
(in no real order)
Norman Bates- Psycho
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman- Full Metal Jacket
Annie Wilkes- Misery
John Doe- Seven
Jack Torrance- The Shining
Hannibal Lecter- Silence of the Lambs
Frank- Once Upon a Time in the West
Alex DeLarge- A Clockwork Orange
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan- Khan
Darth Vader- The Empire Strikes Back
Jane Hudson- What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
The Joker- The Dark Knight
Esco | July 29, 2008 6:56 PM
1) The Joker (The Dark Knight)
2) Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs)
3)Anton Chigurh (No Country For Old Men)
4)Keyser Soze (The Usual Suspects)
5)Darth Vader (Star Wars)
Bon | July 29, 2008 6:03 PM
I have to agree, Darth Vader, although an iconic image, ultimately chooses good.
And as for the villains who gave me nightmares, who haunted me beyond the initial viewing of the movie...
Hannibal has to be the top,
HAL is so frightening and chilling,
and here's the controversial pick: Agent Smith of the (FIRST) Matrix. Say what you want about the dialogue, but Agent Smith's monologues are so chilling and well delivered, and he's an indestructible murderous computer program. I'm 18 and that's a villain for my generation.
And as for all of you that say Heath wouldn't be getting this praise if he weren't dead, you're wrong. I left the theater not thinking of a dead actor, but of a truly frightening character. The Joker belongs on the list of top 5 (with Hannibal, HAL, and NOT Vader). Oh yea and...
O
Jon | July 29, 2008 5:08 PM
Darth Vader, simply put, cannot be the greatest villain of all time. Granted he is an iconic villain, but he's sympathetic. He saves Luke from the Emperor. Ledger's Joker, Hopkins' Hannibal and Day-Lewis' Bill the Butcher get my vote
Nick | July 29, 2008 4:41 PM
Don't read this comment if you've never seen Chinatown (one of the greatest films ever). Seriously, don't spoil a great mystery... I can see how the villain played by John Huston could be overlooked in this poll, perhaps because he was about 80 in the movie and was not known to be the villain for a significant chunk of the plot, but I am nominating his role. It's not because he dominated the screen (he hadn't many scenes), nor because he personifies the morality barren power-brokers that are the real villains of our society. It has to do with the final scene after he has essentially had the police shoot his daughter so he can reclaim the other daughter/grandaughter he had with her (seem evil yet?). The woman is screaming over her mothers corpse, but too distraught to be processing the situation. Huston comes up behind to comfort his daughter/grandaughter, but really to revel in his renewed immunity and reclaim her as property. He hugs her from behind as he looks at Jack Nicholson. His look brims with malicious joy at having won at his scheme. His daughter/grandaughter starts wailing with uncontrollable grief, and Huston begins to mimic her while still looking at Nicholson. His eyes overflow with delight as he realistically mimics cries of grief over the body of the daughter that he had killed. Those eyes show him taking a greater delight in the purity of the human tragedy that he has created than he could have ever gotten just by winning his political games again. Not only is this the most stunning display of evil I have ever seen portrayed, but it suggests a purity of evil behind the relatively common power games of man.
alex | July 29, 2008 4:30 PM
Henry or Ottis from "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer"
Anonymous | July 29, 2008 4:13 PM
Jon G: Good call. Bill the Butcher.
Him, and:
Mr. Smith
Alien
Chigurh
Daniel Plainview
gringo jack | July 29, 2008 4:03 PM
all-time worst movie villain:
jesco (the devil in his self) when he's not being jessie or elvis.
El Marko | July 29, 2008 2:33 PM
Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) in "Night of the Hunter"
nomas | July 29, 2008 2:30 PM
What makes Ledger's Joker great is what the plot line allowed him to do. We all know Batman isn't going to die and thats a boring end anyway. This is a trilogy and Joker has a weird ying yang relationship with Batman that ties their existence in his mind. But look what the Joker did. Terrified a city, killed the love interest, turned a good man into a murderer and made the hero the villian to Gotham. He succeeded in what he set out to do.
Also great villians make you laugh and almost root for them. Who doesn't want to be the one who goes bump in the night? Ledger did all these things.
limelight | July 29, 2008 1:56 PM
what semi obscure movies?
this is a movie blog
you are expected to know movies
IK | July 29, 2008 1:34 PM
I am enjoying how half the people posting are simply attempting to show off their movie knowledge by listing semi-obscure movies that they hope other people haven't seen to make themselves feel better than everyone else.
As for The Joker, he was a good villain but I get the feeling that this discussion probably wouldn't be on if Heath Ledger was still alive.
William Ferlis | July 29, 2008 1:09 PM
I'm not arguing with people choosing Heath, but I think their is one villian that all the other posters have ignored so far. Lil Ze from City of God. He is just too cold. Also in the running would have to be Pooh Bear (played by Vincent Donofrio) in the Salton Sea. Both are cruel, remorseless sociopaths. However, I object to so many people listing Adam from a Clockwork Orange. Sure he goes from antagonist to protagonist and back again, but I think for those who actually watch Clockwork Orange the real villain is the government and Alex is the victim.
Marcus | July 29, 2008 12:34 PM
Joker wins hands down, I have never been more worried about the safety and welfare of other characters on the screen because of the presence of this villain. I was even worried for batman.
Jon G. | July 29, 2008 12:23 PM
Malcom McDowell's Alex in "Clockwork" was as much of a hero as a villain. I've yet to see "Dark Knight"; until I do, I'd have to say De Niro's Max Cady and Day-Lewis' Bill the Butcher.
EvilMulder | July 29, 2008 12:22 PM
Darth Vader is the man you love to hate, but the performance is the work of two people - David Prowse and James Earl Jones. And although Jones breathes life into the character, it's the character and not the actor who makes you fall in love (or loathe) with him. In the case of Anton Chigurh, Hannibal Lecter and - yes - Ledger's Joker, it was an amazing performance wrought by amazing performers at the top of their game. Add to this list Bela Lugosi (Dracula), Marlon Brando (Kurtz), Donald Pleasance (Blofield), Dennis Hopper (Frank), and just about the entire lead cast from "Sin City," an overlooked film on every level. There are a host of others, to be sure (Lo Pan from "Big Trouble," anyone?) but I think these are the heavy hitters.
Sean | July 29, 2008 12:06 PM
Anyone who wants to bring up inflation-adjusted box office should realize that today's movies compete against:
5 new movies opening every week
DVD rentals and sales
On demand movies
pirated copies
etc, etc.
Times have changed beyond just inflation.
If only Hollywood tracked movie ticket sales the way the music industry tracks album sales.
Anonymous | July 29, 2008 11:49 AM
charles barkleys special juices - space jam
Anonymous | July 29, 2008 11:48 AM
lack of real vagina - mrs doubtfire
anonymous | July 29, 2008 11:02 AM
hot wax - The 40 Year Old Virgin
Anonymous | July 29, 2008 10:54 AM
Have to agree with Caitlyn, comments by people like extreameavalaunch are really uncalled for
Anyway, I thought Ledger was great, and the Joker is certainly up there for most memorable. Never found Lector that bad actually, and theres been too many films with him now, which have lessened his effect
So it will have to be Darth Vader
anonymous | July 29, 2008 10:37 AM
jetwash - Top Gun
zosi | July 29, 2008 10:17 AM
kevin spacey in Seven
Christian | July 29, 2008 9:57 AM
The measure of a great villain is the sick feeling you get whenever they are on screen. In short, you know something dreadful will happen when they appear. Not in a campy, oh-this-isn't-real-so-I'll-laugh-anyway style. I mean dread. So, for my money, the top five:
Hannibal Lecter- For the creepy opening scene alone. "Do you really think you can dissect me with this blunt little tool?"
Anton Chigurgh- The fate of a coin toss, the air gun, the dead tone in his voice. The heart races at the thought.
The Joker- A villain of actual depth. Pain is his source of anger. "I'm like a rabid dog chasing a car. I mean, I wouldn't even know what to do with it if I got it!"
Frank Booth: "Daddy's cumming! Daddy's cumming!" Weeping Jesus on a cross, he's sick.
Chad (In the Company of Men)- OK, so he doesn't physically kill someone. But the emotional damage he inflicts on everyone around him, his selfishness, his complete lack of conscience about anything marks him as a villain for all time. I defy anyone to leave that film with anything other than dread.
Anonymous | July 29, 2008 8:58 AM
jack in the shinning was awesome ...
heath joker was great - but ...
its a batman film + his drug use turned me off from him
George | July 29, 2008 8:25 AM
Heath Ledger was amazing as the Joker, definitely one of the best villains of all time. This might sound silly but i also love Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger. Sure, he might not have been scary after the first couple of movies but he still ranks high in my list.
Oh and Xilef get a life!Who said about grossing $600 million within 2008? Or even if the did, why not? You bitching about it not being able to reach Titanic, well news flash: Titanic was pretty much a family film, mostly pitched at women as well. You can fairly compare that to an almost Mature audiences rating for the Dark Knight? What the Dark Knight has managed to achieve is nothing short of awesome, apart from the records it broke it also managed to get excellent reviews from both experts and regular folk like me. The success of the movie was largely due to Heath Ledger but he was indeed amazing. So quit complaining as if you directed the Titanic (IMHO one of the most over rated films in history)
MartyB | July 29, 2008 7:55 AM
Heath Ledger as the Joker
Mitch Leary (John Malkovitch)-In the Line of Fire
Bill the Butcher
Anton Chigurgh
matt vargas | July 29, 2008 7:52 AM
Too many to choose from but probably darth vader
Presuming Ed | July 29, 2008 5:32 AM
It's nice to see a larger percentage of thoughtful responses to this week's question concerning The Dark Knight. Last week it seemed as though everyone became best friends when they discovered they had their love for the movie in common. And I envisioned this mass exodus towards the bridge.
But I sense more people are on the come-down.
Beyond the three villains Travers has put in play, I don't really believe there are a lot of other options. But, since others have mentioned their close runners-up, I will take that liberty as well.
A couple of villains I quite fancy are Boss Godfrey (The Man with No Eyes) from Cool Hand Luke, and Rutger Hauer's memorable Roy Batty from Bladerunner. What makes Godfrey so menacing and ultimately terrifying is that he rarely talks and then kills the hero of the film, and all you the viewer ever gets from him is a reflection. Batty I like as a villain because he has purpose. He was a slave and has only exactly 4 years of life. He wants to live just as everyone else does. Sadly, on his to journey to extend his life he is made to be an outlaw by his creators. (And he has some epic lines!)
Other villains that have made an impression on me, but certainly not what I would consider for the running of best villain are Agent Smith from the Matrix, Brando's AWOL Col. Kurtz from Apocalypse Now, Kevin Spacey's incredibly mind-fucked John Doe from Se7en. Also, the other villain from the Silence of the Lambs, Buffalo Bill, I found to be much creepier than Hannibal. I don't consider creep factor to be a necessity to attain villain status, but it helps. And along the lines of creep factor Pennywise tops them all, but Pennywise is IT, and for me the villain cannot be the main character (even though Hopkins got the best actor nod and dominated that movie, I consider Foster's Starling the main character) and there isn't really a definitive movie that exists. Also, I will throw in the Wicked Witch of the West.
Now, to discuss Vader and Lecter. I disagree with others that Vader's villainy cred is shot when he becomes good at the end. I think all the havoc he wreaked prior to that moment still won him the title of Bad Ass Mother (shut yo mouth). The logic behind this for me can be found in the new testament. Doubting Thomas didn't believe in the power of Christ, and he ultimately became a believer, but everyone still knows the guy as Doubting Thomas. Darth Vader is the iconic villain in all of film. Hannibal Lecter is a different kind of villain. In terms of sheer volume, he falls well short. We know of a few kills of his and that he eats people. Amazing the man didn't catch the Mad Cow, although I would say he's certifiable. What makes Lecter the great villain that he is, for me, is that all the while brooding in his dungeon behind plate glass with guards-a-plenty, he is still more dangerous than any villain with a loaded gun.
Why I believe Ledger's Joker trumps these two is simple. But I will naturally give a complicated answer. He's already become iconic, just surfing around the net you will see the glare in profile with money burning in the background, or the head on stare, hands about to be clapped. Regardless of the fact that Ledger's performance is epic whether or not he died, his death has turned the role into the last thing people will remember him by. And it is Ledger's performance that makes the villain. I don't believe this villain was born out of the movie. There are times throughout where you can see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice, and certainly know it by his action. Ledger's Joker is the personification of evil. And that makes this the villain of villains. The film itself didn't deliver on all that mumbo jumbo about a man without a plan. Aahhh, hell, this has gone on way too long, and I just realized I don't even agree with my own argument.
Yes, Ledger's performance is one for the ages, but Darth Vader is the greatest villain. Put Ledger's Joker at no. 2
Xilef | July 29, 2008 4:30 AM
P.S. Grossing $600 million in 2008 would put The Dark Knight barely into the Top20 all-time inflation-adjusted domestic box office. Still a huge success but please keep some perspective!
Xilef | July 29, 2008 4:23 AM
Everyone goes nuts over the money that Dark Knight is earning, yet no one considers inflation. How can you compare the numbers from Titanic (1997) or even better Star Wars from (1977) with a movie that openend 10/20 years later?!
Hood | July 29, 2008 4:21 AM
I guess no one in this post has ever seen THE SHINING... I think we have a winner
limelight | July 29, 2008 2:48 AM
yeah ... and i forgot
daniel plainview in there will be blood
and
orson welles as Hank Quinlan in touch of evil
Kevin | July 29, 2008 2:30 AM
Im not gunna choose just one. i think Heath's Joker was fantastic and should earn him at least an oscar nomination if not a win. But I have a few others I would like taken into consideration.
Hal: 2001 A Space Odyssey
alex: Clockwork orange
Shark: Jaws
Nazi(Ralph Fiennes): Shcindlers list
Anton Chigur: No Country
Bill The Butcher: Gangs of
Terrorists: United 93
and for laughs...
Eminems Stomach: 8 Mile
Black People : Crash
Mantaray's: Fear and Loathing
Conversation : Gus Van Sants Gerry
The Missing 13 Dates in: 50 First Dates
Cocain Addiction: Requiem for a dream
And The AssPaddle: Dazed and Confused
limelight | July 29, 2008 1:29 AM
alex in a clockwork orange
Caitlyn | July 29, 2008 1:14 AM
Wow, I can not believe how insulting some of the people are on here. He asked for your opinion. He didn't say "Give your opinion, and then bash everyone else."
The comment that caught my attention the most was made by ExtremeAvalanche, calling American's stupid just because they like a movie. Just because you didn't like the movie, and others did doesn't mean you have to call American's retarded.
Anyway, my choice would have to be Ledger's Joker. Hannibal to me wasn't scary. He didn't really do anything remotely bad until near the end. Sure, he ate human flesh..but I didn't find him frightening at all. Heath's Joker was funny and scary at the same time. The way he delivered his lines made me actually believe he was insane. He definitely beat Nicholson's Joker by far. Jack's Joker was more clown like..he didn't act insane he was just being funny. It's more intimidating, in my eyes, when you can be malicious AND humorous at the same time.
Eljambon | July 29, 2008 1:07 AM
From the perspective of evil, Vader was weak, the "good in him" ultimately prevailed. Agent Smith was evil personified, from start to finish. Honourable mention for Anton Chigurh (thanks Twitchkid).
djoyaux | July 29, 2008 1:03 AM
ooops, forgot one of the best villains ever, because this one's real. i'm sure not many of you have seen it, but go rent "king of kong: a fistful of quarters," the documentary on the all time scoring champs of the donkey kong videogame. billy mitchell should be on any list of the greatest villains in history. when he refers to himself in the third person in an interview and says "oh, billy mitchell's always got something up his sleeve," i immediately hated him more than any other character in any movie i'd ever seen, because that line wasn't scripted, it's just who he was.
djoyaux | July 29, 2008 12:56 AM
everybody seems to have trouble defining villain, but to me it seems quite obvious. a film only has a villain if it also has a hero. michael corleone, daniel plainview, and travis bickle, while certainly some of the greatest acting performances of all time, (and among the greatest films, for that matter), cannot be qualified as villains for this discussion because their films contain no "heroes" with which to mirror their actions.
so where does the joker rank? well, it's impossible to compare him to darth vader, because darth vader has become (probably) film's all time most iconic villain, and a title like that can only be gained over time, so that argument will have to be revisited years down the road. hannibal lector in the original silence of the lambs is a great comparison though because both characters immediately grip you every second they are on screen and create in you that mental fear that says "there are no rules, anything might be about to happen." i would say the two performances are nearly equal on most terms. i would only give a slight edge to lector because the joker reveals too early on that he has no wish to kill batman, whereas with lector, we're never quite sure how he feels about clarice. a better question might be (between lector and the joker), which character has a better "escape from custody" scene? both are equally terrifying in my book.
as for other villains in the mix, anton chigurgh absolutely deserves to make the list a top 4. michael caine's line in the dark knight about how "some people aren't looking for anything logical, some people can't be bargained or rationalized with..." never is that truer than with anton chigurgh. few movie villains have ever operated under a more personalized and impenetrable code of conduct.
amon goeth deserves consideration simply by being the utter absence of all morality--in that sense, he might be the most frightening character on this list. bill (kill bill) is up there by virtue of having the greatest villain death scene ever. deniro in cape fear is up there because of the immortal "counselor? is that you? are you there counselor?" line. hans gruber is just an overall fantastic villain in what has become one of the greatest and most influential action movies ever made, so he must be considered.
and, even though it's hard to take the movies seriously, i would throw clubber lang and ivan drago in there to round out my top ten. movie dialogue has never been as deliciously bad as when lang said "my prediction? pain," or when drago said "if he dies, he dies." other than the score, rocky and apollo's awkwardly effeminate man-hug on the beach, and the unintentional comedy of james brown in the 80's, those villains are keeping the tnt rocky movie marathons alive for decades to come.
Salieri | July 29, 2008 12:50 AM
God – Amadeus
Spicoli | July 29, 2008 12:48 AM
Mr. Hand from Fast Times At Ridgemont High
Johny fairplay | July 29, 2008 12:39 AM
Heahts Joker Hands Down!
Giant Boy | July 29, 2008 12:38 AM
Manifest Destiny - Dances With Wolves
Adults - The Breakfast Club
the captain | July 28, 2008 10:37 PM
the joker has always been my favorite villain in comics and now finally the movies heath was so awesome and what he does in the dark knight is so crazy so id have to go with him as number 1 cause im pretty much jokers b**** lol my second is vader and my third hannibal but i think anton chigurh from no country should get props as well and also tony montana i know he was the main character but he was pretty much a villain as well he was killing ppl left and right
Anonymous | July 28, 2008 10:34 PM
Plants-The Happening
anonymous | July 28, 2008 10:28 PM
Quintin Tarantino--Pulp Fiction
anonymous | July 28, 2008 10:27 PM
women--Brokeback Mountain
Rad Pie | July 28, 2008 10:18 PM
Alex DeLarge - Clockwork Orange hands down.
other notables are -
Patrick/Stan - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Frank - Donnie Darko
anonymous | July 28, 2008 10:14 PM
Jews--The Passion of the Christ
Newton | July 28, 2008 10:14 PM
We need to draw a distinction between a villain and, to use the parlance of our time, an "evildoer." Travis Bickle in "Taxi Driver," Daniel Plainview in "There Will Be Blood," and Michael Corleone in the Godfather films do awful things, and certainly must be considered bad people, but they are not villains; they are the primary characters in their story, not the villain. They are, at best, anti-heroes. To consider them villains would be akin to calling Jake La Motta the villain in "Raging Bull," Bugsy Siegel in "Bugsy," Bonnie and Clyde in "Bonnie and Clyde," or even Macbeth in "Macbeth.
I'm with Mr. Travers on The Joker and Darth Vader as the great villains, and would also add Bill the Butcher from "Gangs of New York" and HAL in "2001: A Space Odyssey" (though it is debatable if he can truly be called a villain).
Anonymous | July 28, 2008 9:52 PM
extra chromosome - radio
Jimmy10 | July 28, 2008 9:33 PM
Cheney in Fahrenheit 9/11
bombastic kevin | July 28, 2008 9:24 PM
I have to say Keyser Soze from Usual Suspects number one
don't care | July 28, 2008 9:04 PM
see above
Tony | July 28, 2008 9:00 PM
Norman Bates should receive some consideration.
Rod | July 28, 2008 8:51 PM
My favorite villain has gotta be Chad from "In the Company of Men."
Anonymous | July 28, 2008 8:50 PM
cardiac arrest - batman 3
adotguy | July 28, 2008 8:48 PM
speed - speed
Anonymous | July 28, 2008 8:47 PM
time - back to the future
Anonymous | July 28, 2008 8:45 PM
Mr Rooney - Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Dude Bro | July 28, 2008 8:41 PM
Bees - My Girl
Anonymous | July 28, 2008 8:38 PM
shooter mcgavin - bambi 2 the return of happy gilmore
devin | July 28, 2008 8:11 PM
saw it for the third time this weekend and was not bored for a moment. this movie gets better every time i watch it. i will see it again probably.
TheGhostOfElvis | July 28, 2008 7:54 PM
Mr. Blonde, from Reservoir Dogs.
Rutger Hauer in the original Hitcher.
Conrad | July 28, 2008 7:14 PM
Love the Joker but it has to be Lector. Joker a close second
Hunter | July 28, 2008 7:04 PM
Man in Bambi
saad | July 28, 2008 7:02 PM
finally saw batman, and even though i don't think it is the masterpiece everyone is making it out to be (it's a great movie none the less), especially with the so so ending, ledger's joker will probably go down as one of the top 50 best villians of all time. but the top? probably not.
jargandargan | July 28, 2008 6:25 PM
Whoever was the first to mention Frank Booth - kudos to you.
Mr. Sluggworth has always been my dark horse best villian candidate. Not to mention christoper lloyd in Roger Rabbit.
adotmovie guy | July 28, 2008 5:48 PM
the mountain lion - milo and otis
that kid next door, billy maybe? - toy story
the giant baby - honey i blew up the kids
the insects - honey i shrunk the kids
mr freeze - the best batman movie. he could freeze people!
the food - airplane
BabelBear | July 28, 2008 5:23 PM
I agree that Pacino in the Godfather is the best villain. The final scene in the original Godfather film is as dark and demented as anything Ledger does in this movie.
Also, would Damien in The Omen be considered a villain? If so, I'm putting him up there.
Egor | July 28, 2008 4:36 PM
Define villain. If we are talking of memorable performances in equally memorable and genre films then the list would differ than that of a film where the character blurs the line of good and bad. Such deeply conflicted character not only commits a crime but any putrefying act, as Chad did In The Company of Men.
There is also something very rotten of Hoah Cross from Chinatown and Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II, that surpasses a witty cannibal. The will to harm your own kin doesn't fare well with most of society's members including myself. Another memorable role that blurs the line of a "villain" is Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. We can also add Amon Goeth from Schindler's List (who is the perfect example of what I am talking about, as well as based on a true person) and Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now.
How can we say who is the best when the category can be deconstructed based on what makes one. Even the creature of Frankenstein played by Boris Karloff in the James Whale film cannot be put in category since he was someone without a conscience and any will to do harm.
Here is the line with some of the usual suspects and an update as memorable villains.
Count Orlock - Nosferatu
Death - The Seventh Seal
Norman Bates - Psycho
Noah Cross - Chinatown
the shark - Jaws
Darth Vader - Star Wars
Michael Myers - Halloween
Hannibal Lecter - The Silence of The Lambs
Mickey and Mallory Knox - Natural Born Killers
Anton Chigurh - No Country For Old Men
The Joker - The Dark Knight
Why Are There People in the World Like Frank? | July 28, 2008 4:21 PM
Good call on Frank Booth.
He'll send you a love letter, straight from his heart, f***er.
zentropa | July 28, 2008 4:14 PM
Robert Duvall////STALIN////Trust me.Not even close.
bluesbrother49 | July 28, 2008 4:12 PM
Wow, what a movie. I agree with everyone that this is more than a super-hero movie (obvious to Heat as well as Kubrick cinematography) and Heath's performance keeps us on edge, even when he's not on screen. The only film villian's I remember doing this is Nicholson in "The Shining" and DDL in "There Will be Blood". I think the true sense of a villain is making you feel uncomfortable in his unpredictability on screen.
Matt08 | July 28, 2008 3:44 PM
Is it REALLY so hard for a highly-paid actor to play over the top like Ledger does here?!?
A deep character -villian or otherwise- has subtlety and makes the audience anxiously anticipating "What next?".
Think Javier Bardem in No Country, Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List, Humphrey Bogart in The Caine Mutiny, etc.
Sorry guys, I realize that this movie is blowing up the box office charts, but once the sugar high wears off, we'll put things into proper perspective...
Donovan | July 28, 2008 3:31 PM
Gotta go with Ledger as the Joker
Juan Carlo | July 28, 2008 3:29 PM
Guys, some of you are missing the point here. It's not the best PERFORMANCE by a villain, it's the best VILLAIN --the guy that we never, ever want to meet in person 'cause then we know we're frickin' dead. I'd put a tie with Joker, Lecter and Bardem's Chigurh-- these are the stuff nightmares are made of. Hey, and I hold a "special" place in my heart for Tony Roy in Disney's HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. Call me crazy, but a guy that creepy who thinks he's the good guy? Freeakyyyy....
frank | July 28, 2008 3:02 PM
i'm surprised peter didn't mention javier bardem in no country for old men, i've seen very few travers reviews as enthusiastic as that one!
JasonTHX | July 28, 2008 3:02 PM
Gotta give it up for D. Hop (As Rainn Wilson calls him) for his Frank Boothe as the best (or worst) villian eveh.
And Bobby D's Max Cady from "Cape Fear" - 17 years later - I'm still having nightmares.
And this guy has found his way into moviegoers nightmares as well - Amrish Puri from "Temple Of Doom". That sadistic ear-to-ear grin while he's ripping hearts out burns itself into your mind.
Andrew James | July 28, 2008 2:57 PM
Hannibal has become so tired and cliche at this point. This Joker is fresh, he makes Nickelson's version seem like Jack playing himself. Frank Booth is up there. And Forest Gump scares the hell of me worse then any of them. Think about it, a retarded southern Republican spinning hillbilly kitch like its some kind of Zen Wisdom. And lets not forget Patrick Bateman (another great Bale performance). The only thing scary to me about Hannibal is that freaky lisp, whats up with that?
Steve | July 28, 2008 2:24 PM
I put Heath Ledger's Joker at the top of the list, but I'll always remember Scorpio, the villain from the original Dirty Harry. Scorpio was disturbing as much for his method of evil as has willingness to committ it...but Heath is even more so because his acting is so damn good. I honestly think the emotional drain of playing the Joker played a part in Ledger's death.
Anonymous | July 28, 2008 2:21 PM
Just because Heath Ledger is dead doesn't mean that his performance of The Joker is the best of all time. Of those three, Hannibal Lecter is obviously superior.
adm | July 28, 2008 2:01 PM
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It's such a toss-up between Hannibal and the Joker. As a character, I give it to Hannibal for his charisma, charm and sheer nuttiness. But strictly speaking of villains, The Joker. His appearance, mindset and general disregard for civility and human life in general is simply terrifying. The performance was flawless.
schultz | July 28, 2008 1:57 PM
Ledger by far is the best as far as villains go. No turning goody goody, no remorse for killing anyone, the lip smacking only added to his reptilian nature.
Yeah Hannibal raised the bar for villains, but this joker so far surpasses that bar it isn't even funny. As far as a joke in the Burton movie, yeah the Joker was in that movie, but it is like comparing Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp in Willy Wonka - you just can't do it. Two totally different movies, two totally different characters.
If Ledger isn't at least nominated for an Oscar, it just proves how far the Academy has its head up its own arse.
KVG | July 28, 2008 1:44 PM
O
No villain ever has been so dynamic, clever and creepy as heath's joker. He will forever be the best villain ever... in my opinion.
Jake | July 28, 2008 1:35 PM
Part of the reason Ledger's performance sticks with me is that it reminds of Hannibal Lecter, the way he shows an uncanny understanding of human psychology which he works to his advantage (under the guise of insanity). I'm not quite ready to say Joker is the best villain ever, but I do feel that all movie villains after this will have to step their game up big time to be taken seriously.
LDoggSizzle | July 28, 2008 1:26 PM
Ledger's the best straight up villain, and I love Hannibal. But, the best performance involving a character with villainous impulses has to be De Niro in Taxi Driver.
ExtremeAvalanche | July 28, 2008 1:15 PM
Psssh the dark knight is all hype. It's too easy to let visuals and pre-hype get in the way. Same thing happened to Titanic. TDK is NOT the best movie ever, and Heath Ledger is NOT the best villain either. The only reason the film seems so good is because they made a cheating choice to dump it in the middle of summer. Way to go. How about releasing it in January and then seeing how many people will see it then? Oh well, the best villian of all time is Smoking Man from the X-Files, no comp. Another favorite is Dracula, the meanest monster ever. And Travers should be ashamed for leaving out Daniel Plainview. Watch There Will be Blood to learn what movies are all about. TDK is popcorn entertainment, which is all dumb people can sit through anyways. And of course the Nazis in just about every movie. But c'mon, it's sad that he's dead and all but not everybody has to automatically love the movie just because their friends do. It's kinda like why Lollipop was the top song of the year so far. Americans are retarded when it comes to inspiration, and they need people to tell them what's good.
Howard the Duck | July 28, 2008 1:05 PM
How can it not be Ledger? His movie is going to gross more than all of the other movies mentioned combined (that is, if you are only counting the first Star Wars) and it is all because of his brilliant performance. As far as the excessive lip smacking, what are you talking about? That only added to the madness and mystery of Ledger's performance. Completely disagree.
OSCAR FOR HEATH! | July 28, 2008 1:04 PM
O
Heath Ledger is the best movie villain of all time in my book. TYPE THE LETTER "O" IN THE UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF YOUR COMMENT if you think heath should get the oscar
Matt09 | July 28, 2008 12:45 PM
I think Hannibal will always be the one who took villains to a new level because of the psychological depth of Anthony Hopkin's performance. Darth Vadar doesn't really have that, plus he turns goody-goody in the end. Ledger certainly has a place among the great villains now because he also adds depth to his character. And another villian? Try Buffalo Bill in the same Silence of the lambs, or Kathy Bates in Misery. And what about the leagues of Bond villains that can sit at the top. Goldfinger comes to mind first. Another one of the top of my head: Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List.
Mandela | July 28, 2008 12:44 PM
As much as I hate to stoop to a cliched movie, and to refer to it being itself what makes it so cliched, the ultimate villian of all time is Al Pacino in the Godfather. There is no other better acted, fuller drawn and illustrated character ever. The Joker is excluded first for the over the top performance by Nicholson which was perfect for the Tim Burton Batman, but a joke on to itself in the hall of villians, and Ledgers, while brillant, is flawed in that he made a bad acting choice in the interrogation room scene with his lip smacking which is distracting. I mean it. Go back and watch that scene the film again. His performance is genius but he quite simply smakced his lips three to many times. I hate to nitpick but we are talking about the best villians of all time. Hannibal Lechter esily squeezes out Darth Vader. Given a choice, who would you be more afraid to be in a room with? And back to my pick: Darth Vader chose to kill the emperor and choose good. Pacino was haunted by murdering his brother. I am pretty sure Pacino's is more villianous.
Savon | July 28, 2008 12:20 PM
Peter Travers' 1991 review of Silence of the Lambs is my favorite review he has ever written (I've been reading Travers since 1988 when he was still at People magazine). My vote is for Hannibal the Cannibal in Silence of the Lambs.
luke | July 28, 2008 11:48 AM
i would have to say Frank in Blue Velvet
Twitchkid | July 28, 2008 11:43 AM
Let us not forget HAL 9000 (2001), Orosn Welles' Harry Lime (THE THIRD MAN), Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN), Henry Fonda's Frank (ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST), John Huston's Noah Cross (CHINATOWN) and any number of creepazoids played by Peter Lorre (in M, THE MALTESE FALCON, and more). But who says we MUST choose one? The phrase is "rogue's gallery", after all.