Does being a Shiksa qualify one as a villain? 
Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer), aka Sergius Bauer, in Gaslight. The only movie I’ve ever been to where the audience actually hissed the villain.
Some of my unmentioned favorites:
Ian McKellan as Magneto had some depth to him.
Asami Yamazaki from the Japanese film Audition.
Cruella De Ville (How could nobody have mentioned her yet?)
Graf Orlock, the rat-faced vampire wfrom “Nosferatu.”
the Borg Queen from Star Trek: First Contact (A great villain, even if she did seem to contradict the collective nature of the Borg.)
and last but definitely not least…that sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania…Dr. Frank’n’Furter.
Donovan Grant in From Russia With Love
Seconding Jaws.
Considering the effect that shark had on getting people out of the water, I think he could be argued as one of the scariest villains of our time.
Jack Torrence deserves a mention, I’d imagine.
Rosemary’s Baby has Guy Wodehouse. He lets his wife be drugged, raped and impregnated by Satan without letting her in on the plans because he wants to get his big break in show biz. His explanation to her is “They promised me you wouldn’t be hurt and you really haven’t been, have you? If you had a baby and it died, it would be much worse. And we’re getting so much in return, aren’t we, Ro?”
In response she spits on him.
Nurse Ratchet from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
De Niro goes wonderfully over the top as Max Cady in Cape Fear.
So does Gary Oldman as crooked DEA agent Max Stansfield in Leon (a/k/a The Professional).
Both are the sort of villains who like to show off their erudition via rants-during-the-action.
Amen.
Missed the edit window.
One of my fave villains is The Alien from “Predator”. I love that movie. Don’t know why, but I do.
carnivorousplant:
No, being a cold-hearted social-climber does.
Annie Wilkes in Misery
Also, Nicholson’s Joker cross-contiminated personal care products to “get that grin- agin and agin” (“Love that Joker!”) AND mutilated Jerry Hall & drove her to suicide.
Ledger tho- pure chaotic evil.
Malcolm McDowell’s Alex in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
Chris Lee’s Dracula- No romance or elegance or sadness a la Lugosi, Chaney Jr, Carradine, Palance, Jordan, Langella or Oldman- just ravenous hunger.
Peter Cushing’s Victor Frankenstein, most of all in CURSE OF F…
Freddy Kruger
Actually, Scarlett thinks like a social climber, but most of her actions are based on necessity. She will wililng to lie, cheat, steal, marry her sister’s fiance, and marry Rhett all for very practical reasons. The only impractical thing about her is her childish dream of Ashley Wilkes.
Tim Roth as Archibald Cunningham in Rob Roy. Seemingly just a fop, he can handle a rapier pretty well and is just pure e-e-e-evil.
Speaking of unspeakably evil Englishmen: Col. William Tavington (Jason Isaacs) in The Patriot. He burned down a church filled with refugees, for crissakes! Isaacs also plays Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, and is similarly sleekly amoral in those…
Scorpio as portrayed by Andy Robinson in “Dirty Harry.” What a murderous, hateful, slime that character is; his death is one of the more satisfying moments in cinema.
Agreed. He was the ONLY memorable thing from that movie, but man was he memorable. I can still remember that nasty look on his face as he takes off in a helicopter after being freed from his armored truck… Someone here described it as banal indifference, and it was a good description. He looked at Tom Cruise like he was a pimple that needed squeezing.
Damn you, Drain Bead! You stole my nomination!
And you too, DesertDog!
Seriously, these are *awesome *villains.