B104-DES59
Villains, Heroes, Film, & Lists
Copyright © by Dan Schneider, 6/7/03 

  Time for some fun. After another run of more deep, probing essays it’s time I have a little pop cultural fun. A week ago the American Film Institute held its 6^th annual countdown list on the CBS network. The AFI has done best films, love stories, humor, among others, but this year took on the 100 best heroes & villains- 50 of each. Of course this is really just a 3 hour infomercial designed to drive VHS & DVD rentals & sales, but- who cares? Action superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger hosted the special & was delighted that his 2 turns as a Terminator android was the only character to make it into both lists.
  Of course these things are designed to provide water cooler debates as to the ranks, who’s included & who’s left off, etc. My essay will have a little fun with this as well. 1^st off the lists, then I’ll go down them to say who should be off, who should be higher or lower, then who’s missing- from their list of 400 characters to choose from, as well as that list of 400, & give my own version.
  But 1^st let’s scan the AFI’s own rules for this show, as well as some problems that can crop up:

The Criteria

The jurors were asked to consider the following criteria while making their selections:

*Feature-Length Fiction Film: The film must be in narrative format, typically more than 60 minutes in length.

[This eliminates many great heroes & villains from the days of the serials- from Buster Crabbe’s Flash Gordon & Buck Rogers to his enemies Ming the Merciless & Killer Kane. I will rectify that.]

*American Film: The film must be in the English language with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States.

[This leaves out Anthony Perkins’ Joseph K from Orson Welles’ version of Franz Kafka’s The Trial, Peter Lorre’s pedophilic child killer in Fritz Lang’s M, as well as other classics like the women from the original Les Diaboliques, or the Demon, or cult leader Julian Karswell from the British horror classic Night Of The Demon- not to mention the films of Jacques Tourneur. I won’t.]

*Hero: For voting purposes, a "hero" was defined as a character(s) who prevails in extreme circumstances and dramatizes a sense of morality, courage and purpose. Though they may be ambiguous or flawed, they often sacrifice themselves to show humanity at its best.

[The AFI’s list has some questionable calls- how does 1 rate a conquering hero like Spartacus vs. a loner like Norma Rae or Karen Silkwood?]

*Villain: For voting purposes, a "villain" was defined as a character(s) whose wickedness of mind, selfishness of character and will to power are sometimes masked by beauty and nobility, while others may rage unmasked. They can be horribly evil or grandiosely funny, but are ultimately tragic.

[Same problems apply as to hero role- & more. Is Little Alex from Clockwork Orange a villain? Or is he merely a product of his world? Even more ambiguous is Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver- a psychotic, a killer, but also an emotionally damaged Vietnam veteran, & savior of a young girl from possibly more villainous characters.]

*Cultural Impact: Characters who have a made a mark on American society in matters of style and substance.

[AFI makes a mistake by having characters from films that are too recent- a decade is needed, unless under VERY special circumstances.]

*Legacy: Characters who elicit strong reactions across time, enriching America’s film heritage while continuing to inspire contemporary artists and audiences.

[See the previous comment & double it.]

The special is the sixth installment in AFI's centennial celebration of American cinema, following the five critically-acclaimed network specials– AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies, AFI's 100 Years…100 Stars, AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs, AFI's 100 Years…100 Thrills and AFI’S 100 YEARS…100 Passions– which, each year, spark a national discussion of America's film history among movie lovers across the nation. Each year the AFI program has garnered the highest rating for its time slot.

  Let’s start at the bottom & work our way up both lists- with my comments & objections interpolated within.

  On the hero side Maximus is only a couple years old- & a glorified B film despite the Oscar. Putting aside the need for a few years’ distance, if Maximus makes it then all the B film monsters, heroes, & villains should be included- with a # more worthy. He does not make my cut. Philadelphia is a genuinely horrible movie- all the Tom Hanks character does is die. Should bad movies be included? I guess if the characters are good- but Beckett is a cliché. Bye-bye. As a hero T2’s Terminator is a good choice but probably should be a bit higher. Karen Silkwood is at about the right spot, but I’d put Batman a bit higher. As for the villains, Training Day is a year old film, I’ve never seen it, & Denzel Washington cannot act- I doubt he deserves to be on this list- In 2 tyears no one will remember the film nor role. Goldfinger should be quite a bit higher- a classic over-the-top villain. Have not seen The Usual Suspects so I’ll let Spacey’s character remain. The original Scarface should place a bit higher- but where’s Al Pacino’s Tony Montana? Have not seen but a few minutes of any of the Die Hard films- but there’s no way any character from this film ranks ahead of Goldfinger. 

  Zorro definitely belongs- but he made his mark in the serials, not feature films. He’d be a bit higher in my book. Popeye Doyle- OK, about right. I’m not religious but should not Chuck Heston’s titanic portrayal of Moses rank a bit higher? & here’s a hint- Judah Ben-Hur did not make the cut- huh? The priest from Boys Town- NO! Forget all the pedophilia but the character is a cardboard cutout. Mr. Chips? I’ve only seen the Peter O’Toole version- mediocre film. No. On the villainous side the Joker is about right where Nicholson’s over-the-top performance should put it. Baby Jane Hudson was a psychopath & a great performance- a good choice & place. I saw The Little Foxes when a child- don’t remember a thing- certainly not a memorable villain- adios. Cagney’s Tom Powers is a good choice, as is Faye Dunaway’s Joan Crawford- but ahead of Baby Jane, who came 1^st? Perhaps they gave points for being based on a real person? 

  Serpico’s about right. But Lassie? Listen, I grew up on the films & the TV show- but no animal should be on this list. Why not Rin Tin Tin or Benjy? Sorry. The Tramp as a hero? I love Chaplin, & silent films are severely under-represented on these lists. But no. Obi-Wan Kenobi? Star Wars had impact but Han Solo is on this list higher up while Luke Skywalker- the 1^st trilogy’s hero- is missing? I’m no Star Wars fan but that’s downright ridiculous. Bye-bye Ben. True Grit? There are better Western heroes & better John Wayne characters. Goodbye. On the villain side- Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare On Elm Street makes it? But his antecedents- Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13^th, Michael Myers from Halloween, Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or Krug from Last House On The Left don’t? No- priority & impact rule Freddy out. Cruella De Vil- from a cheesy Disney cartoon & terrible live action remake? No. Captain Hook might be a better choice. Little Caesar is about right- although Tom Powers should be ahead of him. Harry Lime is way undervalued- he’s a Top 10-15 villain just for his speeches alone- + he’s a believable character. Blue Velvet’s Frank Booth is not really scary- more just freaky. If he’s here where’s Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now? Adios to Frank.  

    Sergeant York should be on the list, but lower down. Tarzan’s OK, but Marge Gunderson? A dull caricature from the worst Coen Bros. movie- a failed comedy that scared no one? The worst choice on the lists- even over Cruella De Vil- & too recent a film. Bogey’s Philip Marlowe makes the cut, as does Erin Brockovich- but perhaps a tad too high. But 1 of the best ‘real’ heroes- even if the film’s not too old I’ll grant an exception. Never even heard of the film Sweet Smell Of Success so I’ll leave the character alone- but not as high. Dr. Szell? For the dentist’s drill, I suppose- but no Dr. Evil, or Dr. Strangelove- not to mention Dr. Moreau or Dr. Cyclops? On 2^nd thought, there are more worthy evil doctors. Adios. Count Dracula- about right. Bonnie & Clyde- OK. But Mrs. Danvers- sorry, especially not ahead of Baby Jane or Mommie Dearest- so long!  

  Back to the good guys- Cool Hand Luke might make the cut- but not this high- where’s John Shaft, then? Talk about impact! Patton, OK. Juror #8 should be on the list but not so high. Woodward & Bernstein- OK, but too high. Superman is fine- but ahead of Batman- hmmm? On a list of all-time great characters Travis Bickle is Top 10 material- but is he a villain? OK, but my ambivalence locks him in midway- just about where he’s ranked. The 2 Robert Mitchum thugs are good choices, but neither should be ahead of Travis Bickle. Martians? The TV show lumps them in generically from all the films they’ve been in, but it might be better to them Extraterrestrials. Yet, as a group- why don’t the Nazis make the cut? They’re the generic bad guys in more films than can be counted? Or American Indians- a racist portrayal, but they’re archetypal bad guys nonetheless. Cody Jarrett is 1 of the great psychopaths in film history- he’s at least a dozen spots too low. 

  I’m a New York Yankee fan- but I question sports heroes, & other sorts like it- but since this is the Mother Of All Sports film heroes, I’ll keep the Iron Horse- but he’s about 20 spots too high. Thelma & Louise? They were outlaws, not heroes. If they’re heroes so are Bonnie & Clyde. But they’re not impactful enough in either category to qualify- adios. Terry Malloy- the working man’s hero- good choice. Spartacus & Gandhi may be a little undervalued, but they make the cut. Quintessential Nicholson- Jack Torrance is like Travis Bickle- but is he a villain, or a pawn? Gordon Gekko- perhaps makes the cut, but well overrated. Eve Harrington makes it- but overrated. The original Schwarzenegger Terminator is about right. 1 of the best picks for a villain, & it shocks me they made it, is the prescient tabbing of Angela Lansbury’s Mrs. Iselin from the neglected The Manchurian Candidate - the mother from hell & mastermind behind a Presidential assassination plot.

  The heroes again. Butch & Sundance? In reality they were killers & villains, despite the film, which does not really portray them as heroes. Adios. Virgil Tibbs- OK. Robin Hood- a bit overrated, but should be on the list. Dirty Harry is more an antihero, but he makes it. Shane is a bit overrated. ‘Man’- the collective noun- from Bambi? Puh-leeze! Captain Bligh’s overrated, but belongs. No animals- so I’d drop old Jaws. But if you keep the shark where are King Kong, Godzilla, the Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, etc.? Annie Wilkes from Misery? Ugh- no. Noah Cross (John Huston) from Chinatown? If he makes it it’s barely under the 50 mark.

  On the good guy side Norma Rae is a good choice for a ‘real’ film hero. Han Solo? If he makes it it’s barely- but with no Luke Skywalker- bye-bye. Oskar Schindler? Terrible film, bad character, bad portrayal. Liam Neeson is Lurch from the Addams Family. Goodbye. Tom Joad- OK, but a tad too high. Same with Mr. Smith. The Schindler’s Nazi? Talk about an off-the-rack Nazi. No. The Alien- is it not more a force of nature? It stays. HAL? Don’t we learn in 2010 that it was not the computer’s fault? But, tossing the sequel- OK, HAL stays. Little Alex? Problematic ala Travis Bickle- but he stays. Michael Corleone is about right- but where’s his dad?

    OK- I’m cool with Lawrence being so high- but how does his pal Dr. Zhivago not even make the list? Sorry- George Bailey is the protagonist of the classic Xmas film It’s A Wonderful Life- but not a hero by the criteria. If Ripley & Rocky make it where’s Sly Stallone’s Rambo? Clarice Starling? Maybe squeaks in to the Top 40, but way overrated. On the dark side- sorry, no Disney cartoon/buffoon villains. Regan MacNeil- perhaps squeaks in to the Top 40- but overrated. Barbara Stanwyck is overrated as Phyllis Dietrichson- she belongs, but down around Baby Jane. Lemme get this- Glenn Close’s Alex Forrest is #7 but Sharon Stone’s Catherine Tramell from Basic Instinct is not on the list? Is this the gay thing again? Both belong- Close in the 40s & Stone in the high 20s or 30s. Ridiculous. Bye-bye to Mr. Potter- if George Bailey is not a hero then Mr. Potter is not a true villain. If so, where’s Ebenezer Scrooge or The Grinch? 

  On to the Top 5. Will Kane belongs but is about 15-20 spots too high- but is the top western hero. Rick from Casablanca? OK, Bogey, but too high. James Bond below Indiana Jones- no way. Bond is Top 3 & Indy barely makes the cut- recall, he’s a composite of all those better 1930s & 1940s serial characters. #1 is Atticus Finch- hey, a great ethical hero- but barely a Top 25 character, at best. Nurse Ratched is the bad guy in her film- but no real villain. She is not evil, just has ‘issues’. She should be 20 or 30 spots lower. Oz’s Wicked Witch is the only cartoonish character that should make the cut- but in the 40s, not #4. Darth Vader- the only Star Wars character that should be a lock for this list, & perhaps Top 10- but too cartoonish. Norman Bates easily tops Hannibal Lecter. This is ridiculous. Norman is believable in Psycho- forget the silly sequels. Lecter (played by Anthony Hopkins) is just Freddy Krueger without the makeup. Even in The Silence Of The Lambs the character is over the top. In Hannibal he’s ridiculous & in Red Dragon passable- only when portrayed by Brian Cox in Manhunter is Lecter truly memorable.
  So, by my count I have removed 14 heroes & 14 villains. Believe me, that’s sheer coincidence. Plus I’ll scramble the lists a bit. But before I give my own picks of what characters should be inserted where let’s look at some of the rejected characters who did not make the cut but were nominated, & which of those I’d agree were deserving. So let me cull some of the more intriguing options from the AFI’s own list, that did not make the cut, then opine: (in alphabetical order) 

  Heroes: The Sheik from The Sheik, Babe the pig from Babe, Ben-Hur from Ben-Hur, Foxy Brown from Foxy Brown, Rhett Butler from Gone With The Wind, Charlie Chan, Nick & Nora Charles, El Cid, Sarah Connor from The Terminator films, Davy Crockett, Edmond Dantes from the Count Of Monte Cristo, Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, Fred Dobbs in The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, Gandalf from The Lord Of The Rings, Forrest Gump, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Jekyll, Captain James T. Kirk from the Star Trek films, Klaatu from The Day The Earth Stood Still, Bruce Lee, The Lone Ranger, Randle McMurphy from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Audie Murphy, The Three Musketeers, Neo from The Matrix, Eliot Ness, Buford Pusser from Walking Tall, The Saint (Simon Templar), John Shaft from the Shaft films, Sinbad, Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars films, Homer Smith from Lilies Of The Field, Colonel George Taylor from Planet Of The Apes, Dick Tracy, Jeffrey Wigand from The Insider, Malcolm X 

  Let’s pick out the best of the best who we can possibly slot into the 14 open spaces (they are in bold italics). The Sheik & Rudolph Valentino had impact it is not big today, Babe is just silly. Judah Ben-Hur makes it- while the film is not as good as Spartacus, Heston is towering- better than as El Cid or Moses in The Ten Commandments. I’d love to put Foxy Brown there, but too 1970s & passé. While I do not like the overrated film he’s from Rhett Butler has to be considered. Charlie Chan & Nick & Nora Charles are also too 1930s & 1940s. Sarah Connor & Rick Deckard are not big enough heroes, Davy Crockett’s reality dwarfs his filmic mythos, Dantes is too literary & Dobbs is not equal to Rick Blaine in the Bogey canon. Gandalf is bigger in literature than film, Gump is silly, Holmes & Jekyll are bigger in literature & Captain Kirk is a titan on TV, not film. Klaatu is memorable, but falls short, Bruce Lee (whatever the character’s name) has to be given consideration as representative of all the martial arts heroes that followed, & The Lone Ranger became a star in the serials- he makes the cut. If Cuckoos’ Nest’s Nurse Ratched is so high shouldn’t the hero be ranked? No. Nicholson has better performances. Audie Murphy was the best hero mentioned from all the real life heroes- Joe Clark, Jaime Escalante, etc.- & playing himself in films is a plus- but he’s too B film, & not too good an actor. The Three Musketeers are too literary & Neo too new- but close. Eliot Ness was bigger on TV, but Buford Pusser is a great underrated choice- but misses despite Joe Don Baker’s towering portrayal. The Saint is not up with James Bond, & Shaft suffers from the Foxy Brown syndrome- too 1970s, Sinbad is too literary, but Luke Skywalker has to be listed- even if the films do nothing for me. Homer Smith does not match Virgil Tibbs in the Sidney Poitier canon, but Heston’s Taylor is 1 of the great (anti-)heroes- he makes it. Dick Tracy is too comic strip, while Jeffrey Wigand is too new & the filmic Malcolm X had nowhere the impact the real man did. So, the 6 heroes we can add from the AFI are Ben-Hur, Rhett Butler, Bruce Lee, The Lone Ranger (no Tonto?), Luke Skywalker, & Taylor.
  On to the villains:

  Villains: James Allen from I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang, the Birds in The Birds, the Blair Witch, The Blob, Mr. Blonde (Vic Vega) from Reservoir Dogs, Buffalo Bill (Jame Gumb) from The Silence Of The Lambs, Al Capone, Carrie White from Carrie, Vito Corleone from The Godfather films, Tommy DeVito from Goodfellas, John Dillinger, Dr. Henry Frankenstein, Johnny Friendly from On The Waterfront, The Creature from Creature From The Black Lagoon, Henry from Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer, The Headless Horseman, Mr. Hyde, The Invisible Man, Jack The Ripper, Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan, Kit & Holly from Badlands, King Kong, Stanley Kowalski from A Streetcar Named Desire, Colonel Walter Kurtz from Apocalypse Now, Dr. Josef Mengele from The Boys From Brazil, the Frankenstein Monster, the Mummy, Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With The Wind, The Phantom Of The Opera, The Predator from Predator, Captain Hank Quinlan from Touch Of Evil, General Jack D. Ripper from Dr. Strangelove, Antonio Salieri from Amadeus, Bugsy Siegel from Bugsy, Perry Smith & Dick Hickock from In Cold Blood, Dr. Strangelove, Svengali, the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Thing from The Thing (From Another World), Catherine Tramell from Basic Instinct, The Wolfman, the Zombies from George Romero’s Living Dead films 

  Paul Muni’s James Allen was great but cannot match some of Jimmy Cagney’s creeps, the Birds fail if Jaws the shark does, the Blair Witch is too new & not realy scary nor villainous, the Blob- c’mon!, Mr. Blonde does not even dominate Reservoir Dogs, & Buffalo Bill cannot compare to Manhunter’s Francis Dolarhyde (Tom Noonan), Capone was worse in reality, Carrie is not really a villain, Vito Corleone is not as bad as his sons, Tommy DeVito is a stereotype & not really scary, while John Dillinger is in the same boat as Capone. Dr. Frankenstein is more misguided than villainous, Lee J. Cobb is killer as Johnny Friendly- but just misses, the Creature is misunderstood, Henry is from a minor film, the Headless Horseman is too literary. Ditto Mr. Hyde. The Invisible Man is not too villainous, Jack the Ripper is too real. Khan from Star Trek 2 is such a great over-the-top performance by Ricardo Montalban that he makes it. Kit & Holly are great, but Bonnie & Clyde are more cinematic & cover the same ground- even though Badlands is a better film. King Kong’s no villain, & Colonel Kurtz gets the villainy nod over Stanley Kowalski in the Brando canon. Kurtz is in. Mengele’s just another Nazi- they have to be collectively nominated like the Martians. The Monster, Mummy, & Phantom are more misunderstood than bad- same for Scarlett O’Hara. The Predator is just that- not evil. But Hank Quinlan is- he’s in. The Strangelove guys are more funny than scary, Salieri’s pathetic, & Bugsy Siegel is good- but misses. So do Dick & Perry, as well as Svengali. The Thing & the Wolfman are not evil- just out of place. But, the T-1000 is 1 of the great all-time villains in a truly great, but underrated film, Catherine Tramell has to make it if Alex Forrest does, & the Zombies from the Dead film- while not evil- collectively, are 1 of the best screen nemeses ever. By exception they make the cut. So, there are 6 more villains: Johnny Friendly, Col. Kurtz, Khan, the T-1000, Catherine Tramell, & the Living Dead.
  That means I need 8 more good & bad guys each. Before I proceed let me state that some of the characters are great characters- but their greatness comes from other areas: reality, TV, theater, fiction, etc. Let’s posit 8 more good & bad guys.
  On the good side of the ledger let me throw up these folk: Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Colonel Dax from Paths Of Glory, John Murdoch from Dark City, Dave Bowman from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Leonard Shelby from Memento, Joe Kenehan from Matewan, Jim Garrison from JFK, Bud White & Ed Exley from LA Confidential, Lt. Willard from Apocalypse Now, the underrated but chilling Wilson (played with avenging ferocity by Terence Stamp) in The Limey, & Dr. Zhivago- there’s a baker’s dozen to choose from.
  On the black hats’ side lemme nominate Francis Dolarhyde from Manhunter, the Nazis as a group, the Strangers from Dark City, Dr. Morbius from Forbidden Planet, Dr. Caligari, Charles Foster Kane from Citizen Kane, Ming the Merciless from the Flash Gordon serials, & Count Orlock, the vampire from Nosferatu- a ripoff of Dracula- but indelible & far more fear-causing. How about the indelible Jake La Motta from Raging Bull? As for monsters- the original Godzilla is a classic villain. & considering all the screen villains who have been doctors- lemme throw in a Shakespearean status performance by Martin Landau as Dr. Judah Rosenthal, the murderous eye doctor, from Woody Allen’s Crimes And Misdemeanors- his end speech to Woody is 1 of the screen’s most scary- chilling, & there are far more Judah Rosenthals than Dr. Moreaus in the world. Also, forget Hannibal Lecter, Anthony Hopkins was far scarier as Richard Nixon in Nixon. Another recent indelible criminal is Ben Kingsley’s anti-Gandhi from Sexy Beast- gangster Don Logan. A foreign film but who cares? That said- throw in Peter Lorre’s unnamed pedophilic child killer in M. That’s 14 more bad guys to choose from.
  Granted, you will see my appreciation for great filmmakers like Orson Welles, Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, John Sayles, Woody Allen, & Stanley Kubrick reflected in these picks. So what? They’re worthwhile. Let’s pick the best from them. As for the nominated good guys, Flash was there before Buck, & gets the nod. Kirk Douglas’s Dax is a towering figure of morality in 1 of the best war films ever. Dark City is only 5 years old but John Murdoch is a far more well-rounded Messiah figure than Neo from The Matrix. 2001’s Dave Bowman makes the cut because- well, has there ever been a hero more totally alone, who succeeds as triumphantly? Joe Kenehan is a working class hero, a unionist, but just is not as BOLD as some others- sorry. Jim Garrison- played by Kevin Costner- is Kenehan on steroids, despite people who hate the film because it cuts too close to the truth- he makes it. White & Exley are a great duo- but cancel each other out, while Martin Sheen’s Willard is more an antihero, while not being as villainous as Brando’s Col. Kurtz. Wilson from The Limey is a character that will be appreciated year from now as a new breed that combines hero & antihero- he’s in. & last in is Dr. Zhivago- I mean if T.E. Lawrence is in, how can Zhivago NOT be in?
  On the villains’ side Francis Dolarhyde is great but there have been alot of great psycho-killer characters, as for a group the Nazis beat the Strangers from Dark City because of volume over originality, Doctors Morbius & Caligari are more misguided than evil, but Charles Kane is the villain in cinema’s almost universally acclaimed best film- he’s in. The serials had no more wicked a man than Ming the Merciless, ruler of the planet Mongo- he was Darth Vader before Darth Vader. No one who's ever watched Max Schreck as Count Orlock EVER forgets it- he’s a shoo-in. La Motta is an ugly, brutal animal- but a villain only to himself- no. Godzilla is more a force of nature than evil- sorry big guy. But Dr. Judah Rosenthal is another overlooked gem of a villain. Only at film’s end do we see an evil rarely ever seen in art. Richard Nixon- no more need be said- he’s in. Sexy Beast’s Don Logan is the evil equivalent of The Limey’s Wilson- a recent, but epic portrayal. He gets the nod, as does M’s killer over the worthy challenger from Manhunter. Let’s look at the nominees before we redo the AFI list:

  I’ve put my nominees in red so that when I redo the list you can see where I’ve inserted them. Go gander:

  These are all overrated heroes from the original AFI list. On the good side we have men of morality & woman crusaders, while on the dark side we start with 2 characters from films I’ve not seen- but Burt Lancaster & Kevin Spacey are good enough actors that I’ll go with the consensus. Gordon Gekko & Noah Cross are antagonists more than villains, & Regan MacNeil is so over-the-top she’s not really scary nor bad, but comical. 

  How could Bruce Lee- whatever the character was called- have not made the cut- me sees genre-bashing going on. 3 overrated heroes slide way down- Indiana Jones is just too generic, Clarice Starling too weak, & Dirty Harry too predictable. Oz’s Wicked Witch is too cartoonish to have been ranked so high, & Nicholson is far more over-the-top as the Joker. The 1^st Bob Mitchum creep lines up right behind a run of she-devils- the overrated & misunderstood Nurse Ratched & the conniving Phyllis Dietrichson. 

  The only surprises with the heroes are newby Luke Skywalker, who was originally overlooked, & the overrated Rocky Balboa. For the villains the she-devils continue- with a precipitous slide by Glenn Close’s Fatal Attraction diva, while the collective George Romero Zombies (if not Z’s from all films) make a bold move in to the rankings. 

  For the heroes we get 3 standup guys followed by 2 superheroes- both of whom make multiple film appearances to bolster their rankings. For the villains we see the collective (& awfully dull) Nazis finally appear, Captain Bligh nosedive, but not nearly as much as the AFI’s #1 bad guy, Hannibal Lecter- here a mere 2^nd division runner-up.

  Take note that the closer we get to the tops of the heap the more errors the AFI made. Continuing from the top of the last 5 we get all serial &/or comic book type heroes- with the Lone Ranger & Flash Gordon crashing the party. On the villains side Khan from Star Trek 2 earned his way there- whether you’re a Trekky or not. Then a couple of gangsters, the Martians/Extraterrestrials, & lead psycho-bitch Catherine Tramell, played by screen siren Sharon Stone, from Basic Instinct. 

  3 new heroes crop up: the towering & memorable Chuck Heston’s 2^nd appearance- as the gifted blue eyed human Taylor in Planet Of The Apes- tops his Moses portrayal, & 2 ass-kicking avengers of recent vintage- Memento’s mnemonically-challenged Leonard Shelby, who’s out to avenge his wife’s ‘death’, & the surnominally singular Wilson, from The Limey, who’s out to kill his daughter’s ‘killer’. The original Scarface, & original Cape Fearmonger, presage the appearance of Peter Lorre’s M killer, & James Bond’s #1 enemy- the underrated Goldfinger. Since James Bond is the #1 good guy here, how could his top rival be as low as the AFI had him?

  The good guys are all ethical heroes here- including the AFI’s #1 saint, Atticus Finch, whose tumble is steep- but not as bad as his counterpart former #1 villain. On the V-side Robert Patrick’s almost totally unappreciated turn as the fluidic T-1000 Terminator from T2 almost should usurp Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bad guy from the original- but not quite. Priority & all. The exceedingly gray character of Travis Bickle moves up not for villainy, just by the towering characterization alone. So does Angela Lansbury’s mom from hell. Even though it’s a minor supporting role Marlon Brando’s Col. Kurtz is so fucked up & weird he barges in to the Top 20. 

  Brando’s Terry Malloy, from On The Waterfront is joined by crusading Norma Rae, the How-Did-That-Happen? omission of Rhett Butler, the backsliding Rick from Casablanca, & the truly great performance of Rufus Sewell as the savior of Dark City- John Murdoch. Cody Jarrett from White Heat gets a little more respect than the AFI gave him, & the villainy of Ben Kingsley’s Sexy Beast Don Logan is apparent from the 1^st screen shot we see of the back of his bald head. Now, the 1^st of 3 towering Orson Welles villains appears- Touch Of Evil’s corrupt & murderous Sheriff Quinlan, followed by 2 unearthly & inhuman bad guys. 

  The Top 10 is in for a big re-ranking. 3 unranked heroes burst through- the incredibly overlooked Judah Ben-Hur- Heston’s 3^rd good guy, 2001’s Dave Bowman- I mean if HAL is so bad he must have a helluva hero defeat him- right? Kevin Costner as Jim Garrison- only the JFK-haters could deny him this ranking. Then come 2 ascendant liberators- Gandhi & Spartacus- the only gladiator who could beat Ben-Hur. Darth Vader makes #10 more on impact in the culture than on the screen. But if he’s #10 the model for him (Flash Gordon’s enemy Ming the Merciless) has to top him. Nosferatu’s Count Orlock clocks in at #8- just watch the film! Then Little Alex from Clockwork Orange, played by Malcolm McDowell. At #6 we get old Citizen Kane himself. Tell me how this Wellesian giant was not even on the AFI’s list? Citizen Kane is routinely hailed as the art’s greatest triumph, yet its titular villain is nowhere to be found? Unbelievable! 

  Even more incredible is that 2 newbies make the Top 5- the AFI was slacking off. Dr. Zhivago has to be right behind T.E. Lawrence, & Kirk Douglas’s towering Col. Dax soars to #3- if you like Atticus Finch you’ll love Dax. We end it all with the female & male duo of the Alien films’ Ripley & Bond, James Bond. Imagine if they procreated! Of the villains? The killer eye doctor from Crimes And Misdemeanors is the worst film doctor of all- why? Because you could actually meet a doctor like him! Then we get the murderous Michael Corleone, the incredibly underrated Harry Lime- Orson Welles’ greatest bad guy (his specialty). The top 2 are a disgraced leader who descends- forget Hannibal Lecter, Richard Nixon is Anthony Hopkins’ masterwork- after 20 minutes you forget what the real Nixon looked like. This is, as a friend of mine once called it- the Joycean Nixon! & how could Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates NOT be #1? It’s an incredible performance of an incredible character.
  OK, no list is perfect & I left off Les Diaboliques & many others I’d have liked to have considered. Maybe you can do better. Regardless, it’s fun to argue over. Ciao!

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