# THE SDMB Top 50 Movie villains List **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 5, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804 "2003-06-05T12:47:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/1 "2003-06-05T12:47:14Z")
The Rules are simple. Pick Five of your favourite film Villains with a brief explanation as to why they were chosen. You may choose from any film from any country at any length from the last century (1901-2000) After a set time (say when no one has posted for 48 hrs) I will tabulate the votes and announce the list of the top 50 choices. At which point we may dissect and argue about how wrong or dumb our list was. You may vote only once but may ask for a change by listing which you wish removed from your choices. ---
**Author:** ![Kn\_ckers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/96bed5/32.png) [@Kn\_ckers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kn_ckers)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/2 "2003-06-05T13:36:44Z")
1. **Keyser Soze, The Usual Suspects** _“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”_… Nuff said. 2) **Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs** Cold, calculating, brilliant. For a man with an almost supernatural air, Hannibal is nevertheless a multidimensional human character, and Anthony Hopkins’ performance is fantastic. 3) **Antonio Salieri, Amadeus** Jealousy, spite, ego - they make fiends of us all. Salieri is a villain we can sympathize with. 4) **HAL, 2001: A Space Odyssey** Who says villains have to be people? Well, nobody does, cause HAL broke the mold. 5) **Darth Vader, Star Wars** The voice, the mask: creepiness-wise, he’s got it all. Plus, he’s pure evil, which never hurts when your talking bad guys. How would you like to find out this dude’s is YOUR dad? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/3 "2003-06-05T13:53:27Z")
**Wicked Witch of the West** from _The Wizard of Oz_ **Kahn** from _Star Trek II the Wrath of Kahn_ **Nurse Ratchet** from _One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest_ **The Child Catcher** from _Chitty Chitty Bang Bang_ **Cristof** from _The Truman Show_ WWW is a great villian. She cackles, she has an army of flying monkeys, and the part where she appears in the crystal ball she is so gleeful about freaking Dorothy out that it shows how evil she is. Kahn, well for starters I am a ST Geek. Plus he killed Spock. Then there is the fact that he induced the Kahn scream. But really he is one badass mo-fo. Nurse Ratchet, HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THIS MOVIE! She is EEEEVIIIIIILLLLLL. She takes on Jack Nicholson and wins. It took Hannibal Lecter all night of talking to Multiple Migs to get him to kill himself but Ratchet takes all of 2 minutes to talk Billy into killing himself. Plus she is supposed to be good. She wears white. She is a nurse. She is supposed to be helping these guys but since she is completly evil she only uses them for her own amusement. The Child Catcher, ok he scared me a little as a kid but I know so many adults that shiver when ever you mention this guy I thought he deserved a mention. Cristof is a great villian. Not really even evil but his love for Truman has become so twisted that he can’t even see what he is doing is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![merge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9f8e36/32.png) [@merge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merge)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/4 "2003-06-05T14:02:27Z")
#1. \*\*Hannibal Lecter \*\* #2. **Darth Vader** #3. **The Shark** from jaws… That damn fish has haunted me for years… #4. **Alonzo Harris** training Day… Dezel did a helluva job with the role… #5. **Keyser Soze** reasons mentioned below… great movie… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/5 "2003-06-05T14:19:46Z")
#1. Darth Vader – for reasons already given. #2. Hannibal Lecter – again, for reasons already given. #3. Khaaaaaaaaaan! – Montalban did such a fantastic job with this role. The Ahab-like fixation on Kirk was perfect. A model bad guy. #4. The Wicked Witch of the West – Let’s be frank: Margaret Hamilton defined the modern picture of the fairy-tale witch. When you think of what a witch is supposed to look and act like, that’s the image that pops into your head. #5. Max Cady (_Cape Fear_ – the 1962 version) – Robert DeNiro’s got nothing on Robert Mitchum. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/6 "2003-06-05T14:21:10Z")
1. Darth Vader. I like Hannibal too, but come ON. Darth Vader is THE movie villian of all time, the absolute king of villians. He’s such a great villian that they ended up trying to make him the actual hero of the story when initially that wasn’t the plan. 2. Hannibal Lecter. 3. HAL 9000. “I can’t let you do that, Dave.” An archetypical machine-vs.-man. 4. The Wicked Witch of the West. Nurse Ratchet was evil, but, come on. She couldn’t have beaten the Witch. The source of more child’s nightmares than you could count. 5. The Shark. The alpha and omega of movie monsters. An animal, but in a sense, a machine. Every other movie monster pales in comparison. No remorse, conscience, good or evil. Just a big, big appetite. You’re gonna need a bigger boat. Honorable Mentions: Annie Wilkes (You dirty, dirty bird!) Nurse Ratchet, Goldfinger, Dr. Evil, Hans Gruber, Keyser Soze, The Alien, Mr. Joshua, Sauron, Salieri, Major Strasser, Jason, Alex Forrest. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/7 "2003-06-05T14:26:23Z")
**Norman Bates** from _Psycho_. Not really that evil, more just messed up, but the facial expressions and lines like “Hate the smell of dampness, don’t you? It’s such a, I don’t know, creepy smell” and “She might have fooled me, but she didn’t fool my mother” make him my all-time favorite. **WWW** from _Wizard of Oz_. She IS really that evil. The **Witch/Dragon** from _Sleeping Beauty_. Scared the crap out of me when I was little. **Sauron, The Dark Lord** from _LotR_. Just a minion, yeah, and kind of a bit part, but a nasty one. **The alien** from _Alien_. Slimy, nasty, almost impossible to kill. I didn’t care for the movies that much, but the bad “guy” was great. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/8 "2003-06-05T14:32:09Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Kn_ckers \* > **Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs** > Cold, calculating, brilliant. For a man with an almost supernatural air, Hannibal is nevertheless a multidimensional human character, and Anthony Hopkins’ performance is fantastic. > > … > > **Darth Vader, Star Wars** > The voice, the mask: creepiness-wise, he’s got it all. Plus, he’s pure evil, which never hurts when your talking bad guys. How would you like to find out this dude’s is YOUR dad? Both of these guys belong in any top-50 villains list. I second both of them. #3) **Caligula, Caligula** – his reputation precedes him. Makes the list on sheer cruelty. #4) **The Terminator, The Terminator** – Virtually unkillable relentlessness. With other villains, you can usually be comfortable that said villain will see his/her way out of the movie at some point just because … well, they’re the villain, and heroes always win. But with the Terminator: Who else wasn’t so sure this thing wasn’t dead at the end? #5) **Tony Montana, Scarface** – _“Say hello to my little friend!”_ The ultimate depiction of unchecked avarice’s effect on the psyche. ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/9 "2003-06-05T14:35:43Z")
**Hannibal Lecter** - covered already **Michael Corleone** (The Godfather I & II) - I don’t think I’ve seen a stare as cold as his. Put that together with what he did at the end of GFII and you can’t help but despise him **Keyser Soze** - Evil, evil man! **Freddy Krueger** (sp?) - Can give anyone nightmares **HAL** - already covered ---
**Author:** ![Ben\_Hicks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@Ben\_Hicks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben_Hicks)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/10 "2003-06-05T14:47:10Z")
1. **Hannibal Lecter** - Silence of the Lambs. Already Covered. 2. **John Doe** - Seven. In the (paraphrased) words of Roger Ebert “The scariest thing about this guy is that unless you’ve led a _really_ virtuous life, he’d be able to think of a reason to kill you.” 3.\*\* L’il Ze\*\* - City of God. This is a dude who goes on a mass killing rampage when he is _ten years old!_ One mean son of a bitch. 4. **Gunnery Sergeant Hartford** - Full Metal Jacket. Kind of a strange choice, maybe, but his character has not one redeeming feature and he drives Pt. Pyle completely insane. 5. **Tony Montana** - Scarface - This is a guy who, when confronted with a psychotic Colombian gangster about to chainsaw his head open, says “Fuck you!” Possibly the toughest son of a bitch ever committed to celluloid. Say 'ello to my _leeeeetle friend_ BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!!! ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/11 "2003-06-05T14:54:22Z")
**WWW** , from The Wizard of Oz (1939), for the reasons cited above. Bela Lugosi’s **Dracula** (1931), the first great horror villain. Theda Bara’s **Vampire** from A Fool There Was (1915), the screen’s first evil siren. Barbara Stanwyck’s **Phyllis Dietrichson** from Double Indemnity (1944), probably the greatest noir villainess. A three-way tie between Jimmy Cagney’s **Public Enemy** , Paul Muni’s **Scarface** and Edward G. Robinson’s **Little Caesar** , the three great early gangsters. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/12 "2003-06-05T14:56:53Z")
Bruce Dern’s character in “The Cowboys.” Just plain ol’ bad, bad, bad. ---
**Author:** ![Skijumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Skijumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skijumper)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/13 "2003-06-05T15:10:31Z")
1. **Hannibal Lecter** in Silence of the Lambs - That voice. That look. That…charm. ‘Hello, Clarice.’ You want to run but you’re rooted to the spot. 2. **John Doe** in Seven - already covered. 3. **Boba Fett** in The Empire Strikes Back - He didn’t say very much but he was ominous. 4. **Tommy DeVito** in Goodfellas - Not your most subtle baddie, but there were a few moments where I was genuinely pissed scared - “Funny? Funny how? I’m here to fuckin’ amuse you?” 5. **Cruella de Ville** in the animated 101 Dalmatians. First animated character to freak the living daylights out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/14 "2003-06-05T15:25:21Z")
My top 5… #5 **Dean Wormer** from _Animal House_ - He wants to put the party house down! But seriously, John Vernon made a career of playing heavies and heartless authority figures, and the way he dresses down the Deltas in his office is classic, especially when he snarls this line to Flounder: “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.” #4 **Doug Neidermeyer** from _Animal House_ - such a cool villain, Twisted Sister uses him in their videos. The way he relishes torturing those weaker than him, humiliating them and making them do demeaning tasks, then spits at them “You’re all WORTHLESS and WEAK!” #3 **Hans Gruber** from _Die Hard_ - Master genius, diabolical, manages to fake out Bruce Willis by acting like a scared yuppie, steals the movie practically. Alan Rickman is also the villain in Robin Hood, and steals that movie too, but in that case Kevin Costner practically gave it to him. #2 **Bricktop** from _Snatch_ - Nasty disposition, feeds people to pigs, tortures dogs, burns Brad Pitt’s mother to death, but mainly for this line: “Do you know what NEMESIS means? A righteous indignation of violence manifested by an appropriate agent. In this case, a right 'orrible cunt…ME!” #1 **Kaiser Sozhe** from _The Usual Suspects_ - Master Manipulator, Stone Cold Killer, but best at convincing everyone the devil doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/15 "2003-06-05T15:30:29Z")
Ok My List: 1. Hannibal Lecter… Nuff said 2. John Doe… I mean this guy was so messed up that he wanted himself a victim to finish his plan and didn’t think Twice. 3. Norman Bates-- After all a boy’s best friend is his mother especially when he is his mother. 4. Hal 9000-- He took nano seconds to decide the crews fate. 5. M (Peter Lorre) from the Film M. Here we have this baby faced Child killer luring little girls with baubles and candy while being hunted. He was cowardly and creepy and his only defence was “I can’t control this evil thing inside me!” Truly a disturbing fellow and a superb performance by Lorre ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/16 "2003-06-05T15:49:50Z")
[ol][li] **The crowd** in King Vidor’s _The Crowd._[/li]–Everybody’s worst nightmare: the pressures of society and the burden of dreams.[li]Henry Fonda’s **Frank** in Sergio Leone’s _Once Upon a Time in the West_.[/li]–The devil has blue eyes.[li]Patty McCormack’s **Rhoda** in Mervyn LeRoy’s_The Bad Seed_.[/li]–Makes Veruca Salt look like Heidi; hell, makes Hannibal Lecter look like Heidi.[li] **The birds** in Alfred Hitchcock’s _The Birds_.[/li]–Nature’s terrorists: feathery suicide bombers determined to drive out the colonizers of the planet.[li]Gunnar Hansen’s **Leatherface** in Tobe Hooper’s _Texas Chainsaw Massacre_.[/li]–Raw infantile rage, coupled with the appetites of a growing boy.[/ol]Honorable mentions:[ul][li] **Social conformity** in Douglas Sirk’s _All That Heaven Allows._[/li]–It’s cold outside, but I have Rock Hudson. [li]Tony Todd’s **Candyman** in Bernard Rose’s _The Candyman_.[/li]–Be my victim. [li] **The Catholic Church** in Carl Dreyer’s _The Passion of Joan of Arc_.[/li]–Tiny minds wielding vast power. [li] **Homophobia** in William Wyler’s _The Children’s Hour_.[/li]–Hate and fear can kill. [li]Ian McKellan’s **Richard III** in Richard Loncraine’s _Richard III_.[/li]–Conscience is but a word cowards use. [/ul] ---
**Author:** ![joshmaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a587f6/32.png) [@joshmaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joshmaker)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/17 "2003-06-05T16:41:45Z")
Most of my picks have already been named: • **Darth Vader** • **Norman Bates** • **Tommy DeVito** Two of my picks are not on the list already: • **Count Orlok** from Murnau’s 1922 silent film Nosferatu. The long fingers, the way his shadow moves across the wall, he is the ultimate onscreen vampire. [Picture of Orlok](http://www.duke.edu/~ekn/nosf.gif) • \*\* The Strangers \*\* from Alex Proyas’ Dark City. Very sinister, with pale faces, long black coats, and a tendency to float, The Strangers experiment on the denizens of the city while they sleep… Plus that strange lilting, hissing, speech pattern they have is really creepy “Mister Murdoc Yessssss?” [Picture of The Strangers](http://www.eskimo.com/~noir/ftitles/darkcity2/dc05.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/18 "2003-06-05T16:51:38Z")
laurence olivier in marathon man is it safe? is it safe? ---
**Author:** ![Optihut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/edb3f5/32.png) [@Optihut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Optihut)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/19 "2003-06-05T17:17:15Z")
Great villains need - in my opinion - the following things: Style and memorable lines. The former disqualifies Peoples Hernandez (Shaft) and the latter disqualifies the Shark (Jaws), imho. Lawful Evil Alignment is optional, but a definite plus 😉 1. Darth Vader (Star Wars). While the Emperor was more powerful than Vader and Grand Moff Tharkin was more evil, Vader just struck the right balance. 2. Goldfinger (James Bond Goldfinger). It can’t be quoted enough: “Do you expect me to talk?” “No. I expect you to die, Mr. Bond!” 3. Johnathan Matthias (Omega Man). 4. Simon Gruber (Die Hard) - the bomb riddle with the water containers had all of my friends thinking about the solution in the cinema. Very cool moment! 5. The Terminator ---
**Author:** ![PeppermintPatty85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PeppermintPatty85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeppermintPatty85)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804/20 "2003-06-05T17:31:39Z")
1. Wicked Witch of the West- not exactly scary in my eyes, but if I could play any villain I would want to play her. 2. Malificent- From Sleeping Beauty, she’s dark, she’s scary, she can turn into a dragon and kick some ass. That’s pretty cool in my book 3. Captain Hook- He’s a real pansy for any villain, scared of everything really, but in any adaptation of Peter Pan he’s always the most lovable character villain ever. 4. Darth Vader- post Anakin years. He was a wuss back in Attack of the Clones, but I’ll take some Darth during the Empire Strikes Back, anyday. 5. The Cameraman, Jude Law in Road to Perdition. Definitely the scariest, creepiest character I’ve seen on tv in a long time. Give it some time til the movie gets better known, he will get credit where it’s due. An awesome performance I think. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-top-50-movie-villains-list/179804.md?page=2)