What makes a great movie villain?
Obviously, he must be evil. And relentless in persecuting the hero. And it doesn’t hurt if they are without conscience or any redeeming qualities at all, although that last is not necessary as we shall see.
I think the last thing that makes a great movie villain is that the part must be either well written or played by a great actor. There are plenty of villains who had the potential for greatness but never quite made the grade due to an inferior script or bad performance. Henry Fonda in Once Upon A Time In The West comes to mind. Hard to get over the image of Fonda as Mr. Everyman which made his portrayal of the child killer Frank difficult to accept.
The following are not necessarily the greatest movie villains of all time – just my favorites. I’ve left out villains like the Wicked Witch of the West and the evil queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs not because they’re not evil but because they’re not really believable, are they? At any rate, let me know what you think of my choices.
10. Roger “Verbal” Kint – The Usual Suspects
For sheer surprise, I had to include “Kaiser Soza” in my top ten list. The incongruity of Kevin Spacey’s mild mannered Kint placed against the terrorist Soza (and the way the film revealed the surprise) was extremely well done.
9. Mr. Zorg – The Fifth Element
Has there been a campier villain than Zorg? Gary Oldham’s over the top performance was outstanding. And as a foil for Bruce Willis, he was perfect.
8. The Shark – Jaws
I’m still afraid to go in the water. I first saw the film at the old Chicago Theater – wide screen and the place was packed at midday. Every time John William’s “shark” music started, a noticeable murmur would run through the crowd. People were terrified of that mechanical beast. And I still can’t watch it without getting chills sometimes.
7. Frank Booth – Blue Velvet
Dennis Hopper could easily be on this list three or four times. But his portrayal of the maniac Booth whose sexual proclivities and homicidal nature combine to make him by far the weirdest villain in movie history, was a tour de force performance. (His turn as Howard Payne in Speed was also memorable).
6. Khan – Star Trek II
Only because I’m a sucker for any villain that quotes Melville and Shakespeare.
5. Booth – In The Line Of Fire
John Malkovich as the disturbed presidential assassin in one of Eastwood’s best roles and directing efforts. So much in control. So sure of himself. And in the end, so dead.
4. Casper Gutman – The Maltese Falcon
Probably not on too many people’s top ten lists but this is my blog and I’ll do what I like. Actually, Sydney Greenstreet had some redeeming qualities. He was charming and jolly. He was also someone you could trust only as far as you could throw his 300 pound body. I love the plot of Falcon plus the novel by Dashiell Hammett was faithfully brought to the screen by John Huston.
3. Masala – Ben Hur
Stephen Boyd is not the best actor in the world. But the way the role was written contrasted perfectly with Heston’s Judah. Unforgettable.
2. Hannibal Lector – The Silence of the Lambs
I didn’t care for Anthony Hopkins in any of the sequels, (although the remake of Manhunter with Edward Norton was pretty good). But his absolutely stone cold portrayal of the impossibly dangerous serial killer in Lambs was bone chilling.
1. Darth Vader – Star Wars
Could there be anyone else at #1? Darth is number one in so many ways – literary, mythological, cinematic, biblical – he rivals Satan in our culture as an icon of evil. He has no equal.
Note: Some honorable mentions:
1. Norman Bates – Psycho
2. The Alien – Alien films (except the execrable Alien vs. Predator).
3. Gollum – Lord of the Rings
4. Mr. Smith – The Matrix films
5. Freddie Krueger – Nightmare on Elm Street films
That ought to keep you guys busy for a while.
1:22 pm
I also saw “Jaws” at the Chicago theater and it had a lasting effect on me too.
First anecdote: I lived in the ‘burbs at the time (but grew up in Chicago). The day after seeing the movie I went out to the pool for a swim. I stood by the glistening water, and felt … fear. Dread. I looked around, I’m still in the suburbs, I’m far from the ocean (I kept telling myself), yet, I felt fear. Strange, no? (I did go for a swim … eventually.)
Second anecdote: Many years later I went with my SO and his kid to the Museum of Science and Industry for an exhibit on movie special effects. There was a full-size mock-up of the shark, and next to it a TV playing the scene where the guy slips down the deck and into the shark’s jaws. Shuddering, I turned away, just in time to see that the “moc-kup” was animated! And there, in front of the thrashing jaw, was my SO’s five-year-old, wide-eyed, frozen in place, catatonic. Oh Hell no! (Folks, watch your kids every freakin’ minute!) I knew he realized how easily his diminutive body could slip into that gaping maw.
I know I have some leftover fears from things I’ve watched or seen as a kid (Twilight Zone episodes, for example), I can only imagine what he’s going to remember from that scene.
3:20 pm
Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon.
Max Von Sydow
3:39 pm
Some questionable calls, but all in all a good list. Norman Bates and especially Freddy Krueger, I think, should be on the list. “The shark” should have been higher on the list – besides Vader and Lecter, is there a greater villain in all of movies?
Of course Vader is number one. Indeed, he has no equal. Which makes it all the more difficult when you go back and watch Star Wars, Empire and ROTJ and realize it’s Hayden Christensen under the mask…
3:58 pm
I haven’t seen all of these films, but I agree big-time with villians 1, 2, 5, 8, and 10. Psycho and the Matrix flix are good honorable mentions. One villian that immediately popped into my head is Rutger Hauer in the original The Hitcher (hasn’t there been a remake lately?). The version with Hauer’s lately been on Cinemax, etc., but I haven’t had a chance to catch it again. Tom Berenger’s Sergeant Barnes in Platoon would be a good honorable mention, or might even make the top-ten list, no? Maybe I’ll come back with some more as they come to me later. Nice post!
4:28 pm
“Mr. Zorg – The Fifth Element”
Such a good film.
“although the remake of Manhunter with Edward Norton was pretty good”
Obscure claim to fame moment. When you’re watching the blind girl in that film (Dana) you’re watching Emily Watson pretending to be my wife
She followed us around for a couple of days as prep for playing a VI person.
But no Alan Rickman in the top ten? Harsh…
7:10 pm
My all time favorite movie villian: Tim Roth’s Archibald Cunningham from Rob Roy
And the villian from my all time favorite movie: James Earl Jones’ Thulsa Doom from Conan the Barbarian
7:36 pm
I agree about the two Booth’s, especially “Blue Velvet.” Speaking of Lynch, Robert Blake in “Lost Highway” was chillingly eerie.
Let’s see, Nicholas Cage in “Face Off” was pure evil.
9:21 pm
How about Walter “Jack” Palance in Shane? His first movie and his credit as Walter.
11:00 pm
Sorry, but as enjoyable a movie as “In The Line Of Fire” was, Clint Eastwood did not direct it. That was a Wolfgang Petersen joint.
I agree that Malkovich was a really good villain. Another honorable mention should go to John Hurt as Caligula in “I, Claudius.”
1:41 am
Robert Mitchum in “The Night of the Hunter.”
HAL in “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
11:31 am
The bad guy in the first “dirty Harry” movie.
12:02 pm
Ah, yes WasatchMan, Mitchum in Cape Fear too (as well as DeNiro in the remake).
1:24 pm
How about Christopher Walken as Vincenzo Coccotti in True Romance?
Bill McKinney as the sodomizinng degenerate hillbilly in Deliverance?
1:27 pm
Robert DeNiro as Max Cady in the remake of “Cape Fear” – all those tattoos!
5:54 pm
Walken as Gabriel in Propechy.
5:27 pm
My choice for one of those Top Ten Villian slots would have to go to the tag team of Alan Rickman and the late Alexander Godunov in the original Die Hard. Rickman exuded suave, debonair malice as the terrorist leader “Hans Gruber,” perfectly complemented by the rugged, in-your-face thuggery of Godunov as “Karl,” Rickman’s second-in-command.
Up until I saw Godunov in Die Hard, I thought ballet dancers were wimps.
4:07 pm
Good list, great movies with one major exception: Darth Vader. If you take all three of the first movies as a whole, you are really seeing the story of the redemption of Darth Vader. You see his continued downward spiral and bounce off the bottom until he works for good and not evil. Most of the moments when he is evil he is REALLY evil, but near the end of the second movie you start to see a change. Is it Lucas’ belief in the ultimate goodness of humanity, and his optimism in seeing that goodness surface? Or am I just reading too much into it? Who knows….
5:07 pm
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with Vader. History Channel had a fascinating 2 hour piece on the legacy of Star Wars including Joseph Campbell talking about the mythology behind it. The redemptive aspect of Lucas’development of the character is seen time and again in mythology. Of course, the rule is, he dies redeeming himself.
But Vader will still be considered a villain despite his wavering. Remember what he did to Han in Empire Strikes Back – even after he had expressed some doubts about killing his own son which I assume is where you see the redemptive process beginning. And Luke saw no such redemptive potential until after he fought him – but the audience wasn’t with him at that point I don’t believe.
If Lucas had bothered to get a decent actor to play Aniken Skywalker, the evil Darth could really have taken on a new life. But Hayden Christiansen couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag and only made the transition from Revenge of the Sith to New Hope awkward.
Lucas is evidently working on the definitive Star Wars DVD collection – nearly 100 hours of movies (with scenes never before seen), outtakes, interviews – the whole shebang. I read where it may take 20 discs and cost $350.
Time to start saving…
3:16 am
Clint Eastwood did not direct ‘In the Line of Fire’ (Wolfgang Petersen).
—My favorite Movie Villain: Hannibal Lecter.
2:45 pm
You don’t really need or want that lifestyle, it might hurt y’all slowly more…....Just tell him you
don’t wanna repeat something your not too proud of z7uas.
6:12 pm
This is a good list. You did a good job. No list CAN EVER be final and all-encompassing, but here are some notable villains who deserve more than a mention:
Bruno Anthony played by Robert Walker in Strangers On A Train.
Calveras played by Eli Wallach in the Magnificent Seven
Jack Wilson played by Jack Palance in Shane.
Robert DeNiro’s version of Al Capone in the Untouchables.
Cody Jarrett played by James Cagney in White Heat.
Liberty Valance played by Lee Marvin
Tony the husband played by Ray Milland in Dial M For Murder.
These are just a few, but I happen to think that they stand out as exceptional. Thanks forthe opportunity to share my thoughts. Enjoyed it very much
Yes, you nailed some good ones. I might disagree with DeNiro if only because he didn’t get the screen time the others got. But I forgot about Walker’s brilliantly diabolical performance – absolutely worthy of being included on any list. As for Cagney – maybe because his performance was so good it became a cliche or a parody later – I don’t know. Liberty Valance has DeNiro’s problem of limited screen time but God, what a debut for Marvin.
Thanks for contributing.
ed.