:: St. Stephen's Musings ::

:: Monday, August 16, 2004 ::

Top 5 Movie Villians: 1974-2004

Yes, this is a silly post topic but once in a while I get in the mood to write about something a little less serious. Humor me!

When I was a journalist I wrote for the "A&E" section occasionally and enjoyed doing film reviews. Here are my top 5 movie villain characters from the last 30 years:

1) Darth Vader, "Star Wars: Episodes IV-VI"
Is this even debatable? His sinister costume, mesmerizing voice, immense spiritual power, relentless will to dominate and (in the end) human fragility make him the best villain of all time.

Best line: "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

2) SS Commandant Amon Goeth, "Schindler's List"
A chilling ruthlessness mingles with a tortured conscience in what might be the finest portrayal of a Nazi in cinematic history.

Best line: "I realize that you are not a person in the strictest sense of the word..."

3) Hannibal Lector, "Silence of the Lambs" + "Hannibal"
What is it about extremely well-educated people? They always go off the deep end. Lector, as the postmodern anti-hero, gives evil a sophisticated face. And a horrifying palate.

Best line: "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chanti!"

4) John Lawrence, "Karate Kid I"
I know this is a controversial selection. But this character really embodies, in a way no one has done since, everything wrong with high school jock culture. Some say I look eerily similar--sans the 80's feathered mullet.

Best line: "You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you, you little twerp! Well now you're going to pay!"

5) Hans Gruber, "Die Hard"
Alan Rickman in one of his most entertaining performances. The script for this character is one of the best ever for a villain, IMO. Intelligent and witty.

Best line: Well, you know what it is! (he repeats one of McClain's lines)

Honorable Mentions:

* General Kaal, "Willow" The costume alone is worthy of mention.
* Francis Dolarhyde, "Red Dragon" (another brilliant performance by Ralph Fiennes)
* Agent Smith, "The Matrix"

:: Karl :: 8:32:00 AM [Link] ::