Favorite Movie Villains

[Menard]

This is probably a subject which has been covered before; favorite movie villains. Where would the good guy be without a particularly nasty villain to foil. Even if we don't like the good guy that much, a well played bad guy can still have us rooting for the good guy.


Two bad guy actors of note are without question Richard Lynch and William Smith who inhabited probably the majority of bad guy roles in the 70's. These were guys you loved to hate.


One of my favorite movie villian performances was by Andy Robinson as Scorpio in the movie 'Dirty Harry'. Andy Robinson defines the psychopathic personality in his role as Scorpio. This is a character who is completely unremorseful and is without a drop of humanity in his soul. There is a classic scene in the stadium where Harry has shot Scorpio in the leg and holds his foot to the wound as the camera pulls back while Scorpio is screaming in agony "I have rights...I have rights". Of course Scorpio has kidnapped and murdered a young teenage girl and only has remorse for himself. What can you say about a guy who pays someone to beat him up, so he can make it appear like police brutality, and cackles gleefully as he is being hit. The only downside is that Scorpio is killed too quickly. He is the type of character you would prefer to see die a slow agonizing death.


Another actor who did some good villian roles was Anthony Zerbe who player the main bad guy in 'The Omega Man'.


Does anybody else have any favorite bad guy actors or actresses, or particularly favorite villain roles?

[odinn7]

I have to disagree that Scorpio died too quickly. Although it was abrupt, it worked out quite well. He sat there for the few minutes listening to the "Do you feel lucky" speech while deciding whether or not to go for his P-38. The camera kept focusing on him as you could see him sweating and shaking trying to decide if he could out gun Clint.  In his madness he decided to go for it but all the while knowing deep down that he wasn't going to be able to win this one. I think that even though he wasn't tortured, he still didn't die as quickly as the final gunshot would make it seem just for the fact that he went through all the inner turmoil. Too bad for him that he wasn't completely aware that nobody out guns Dirty Harry and his .44 Magnum...nobody.
By the way, excellent choice for a villian, Menard.

[Menard]

No doubt it worked out well and that Scorpio's final pitiful attempt to challenge Harry failed so miserably for Scorpio was both poetic justice and completely what we had come to expect from Scorpio. Of course I do believe that when Harry asks Scorpio if he feels lucky, that everybody watching wanted Scorpio to feel lucky and go for it, and that is exactly what he did. Of course the look on his face when he was shot was certainly worth it; much the same look as when Harry plunges the switchblade into his leg earlier in the movie. There is, perhaps, a certain metaphor to Scorpio's death at the end; after he is shot and falls into the water, the water is calm again as the movie ends.


Andy Robinson also brought his distinctive skills as an actor to television in the role of the Cardacian tailor Garrick(sp) in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.


Bob

[Ozzymandias]

Two of the my favorite movie villians of the 70s: Darth Vader from STAR WARS and Douglas C. Needermyer from ANIMAL HOUSE.

I've known guys like Needermyer. I also knew some creepy guys in college who thought Needermyer was the hero!

"You are worthless and week! Drop and give me twenty!"

[Menard]

Needermyer was certainly a classic. In the updates at the end, wasn't his something like, "Shot by his own troops in Vietnam."? The actor who played Needermyer, primarily a stage actor, was also in a Twisted Sister music video.--Bob

[ulthar]

Okay, okay, okay, I know this one is VERY cheesy, but I liked John Lithgow as the villian in CLIFFHANGER.  Talk about a movie that has you rooting for the bad guy.

I hated the part where he shot the chick, tho.  That was cold.

Alan Rickman always seems to be cast as a bad guy, and he seems to have the personality for it.

[Wence]

VINCENT PRICE (as Dr. Phibes, Lionheart etc.)
Darth Vader
Lumpy (SWHS)
Zarth Arn
The Gremlin-Iroquese-Leader (Gremlins)
Alex-Boy (Clockwork Orange)
The Troll GRINDEL in Troll 3 (that´s a real s**tface!)
The opponents of Bud Spencer/Terence Hill - as a SpencerHill-hardcore-fan one remembers the faces and they return in every movie!

[JohnL]

>The actor who played Needermyer, primarily a stage actor, was also in a
>Twisted Sister music video.--Bob

He also played The Master, a vampire leader, in several episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and one episode of Angel.

[Ozzymandias]

And the Mistro on Seinfield.  "I want to be called the Mistro!"

Oh yeah, Happy Festuves!

[Wence]

Funny villains are all these mad scientists and morbid doctors:

Dr. FU MAN CHU (probably the first "mad scientist" in movie-history)
Dr. MABUSE (a famous villain in old german movies)
Dr. PHIBES
Dr. MOREAU (he owns an Iland where he generates monsters)
Dr. DEATH
Dr. NO
Dr. GIGGLES  etc.

[Menard]

Does Mesagog from Power Rangers DinoThunder count as a mad doctor villain? Unlike some of the villains from the previous series (Lothar, for example), Mesagog has no sense of humor; he is just plain bad.--Bob

[peter johnson]

Christopher Lee
I just finished watching him in Lord of the Rings, as Sarumon, again . . .
Style, manners, nuance, and a slimy little viciousness that he imbues all his Bad Guys with . . .
Dracula, Im Ho Tep, Fu Manchu . . .
Anyone else get the homage to Hammer Dracula that Peter Jackson did via having Sarumon die on the spokes of a wheel?
Anyway, Lee is my very favorite bad guy . . .
Vincent Price, Oliver Reed, Peter Ustinov, Lee Van Cleef, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre . . . etc. etc., all run a close second.
Lee is the man I boo and hiss . . . and love doing so . . .
peter johnson/denny crane

[Menard]

I was just posting a review on Amazon.com for 'The Godsend' (the 1979 movie starring Cyd Hayman and Malcolm Stoddard; yes I am behind the times). One of the players of note in this movie is Wilhelmina Green who plays the older Bonnie, the godsend child. She is particularly devious, and what a look too.

[Master Blaster]

Oh crap, I didnt catch that. That's awsome. I have to admit though it was a clunky scene. I understand why it was cut.

My new favorite bad guy is the guy with the huge mouth that gets his head cut off. He actually frightened me. If that crazy bastard would have started yapping at me like that I'd have surrendered right there, told him where Froto was and then killed myself. OK I know it's the Mouth of Sauron played by Bruce Spence.

My actual favorite bad guy is Angel Eyes from The Good the Bad and the Ugly played by Lee Van Cleef. I saw it in highschool and I still want to grow up to be Lee Van Cleef. He's just such a badass.

[Menard]

I picked up a copy of Shock Cinema magazine (Number 26/Fall 2004) which has an interview with William Atherton. For those not familiar with the name, he has been in 'Ghostbusters' as Peckler, 'Die Hard' 1&2 as the over zealous reporter, and 'Real Genius' as the popcorn hating professor.

Many of his characters in movies are people we love to hate. He brings a certain satisfaction to seeing his character being zapped with a stungun or nearly being buried alive in popcorn.

Other interviews in this issue include: William Sanderson, Joe Cortese, Eric Bogosian, and Eddie Romero.