Best Movie Characters of All Time: Discussion

[Gabriel]

I know...

Only John McLane made it on to my list.

Note;

I dont consider him a book character, I just dont consider him one of the greatest movie characters because he was first in a book and he was cooler in the book too. Darker etc. Plus you'd have to say the Bond/actor in question too.

TD's Bond was the darkest and a better more complex character (To Me) than the rest. To say Bond is to say the idea of Bond, which is in essence the book Bond.

Whereas teh McClanes, Corleones etc would be (In my opinion) chosen because of the character yes but also the way they were portrayed, eg Willis, Pacino, Brando etc etc.

[LivingDeadGirl]

Heineken said:

#4 is Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) in
PULP FICTION

Another one from my list...

John McClane was from a book? I didn't know that...

[Termination]

Didn't pick Bond either, too many actors had that same role imo. which is why it must have slipped my mind when I picked my top 30.

Alright, I think I would have had to smack someone if Jules Winnfield didn't make the list. I put him down as 3/30 coolest.

[Termination]

#3 is Marlon Brando as Don Corleone in The Godfather.

[Bartwald]

neptunes said:

TD's Bond was the darkest and a better more complex character (To Me) than the rest.

neptunes - since you seem to be a Bond expert, I hope you'll eventually go here - bartboard.proboards3.com/index.cgi?board=dvd&action=display&n=1&thread=8 - and to the other three Bond threads in DVD Ruined My Life to point out your favourite movies in the series.

By the way, for me Bond is more of a movie than book character: I have seen all (but one) films and only read two or three books. The problem with choosing our favourite movie characters is that we all use different definitions for who they actually should be; but doesn't it make the poll even more interesting?

[Gabriel]

Totally, Im not chastising anyone...

I was just saying why I didnt put him down.

And I aint a Bond expert, I just made the point that there are too many people playing him to consider him a great movie character (although technically the fact he has lasted so long could be interprted as he is), so to me, and just to me, it would be a certain Bond one would pick, be it Lazenby (shudder) Brosnan etcetc etc.

For instance, Sebastian Valmont is one if mine... but its the RYAN PHILLIPPE one, not the piss form the second 'prequel'...

[Heineken Skywalker]

livingdeadgirl said:

John McClane was from a book? I didn't know that...

DIE HARD was based on a book by Roderick Thorp entitled "Nothing Lasts Forever" which was a sequel to another book entitled "The Detective", which was made into a film starring Frank Sinatra.

Info courtesy of IMDB.

[Termination]

Wow the first match;

#2 Dr. Henry 'Indiana - Harrison Ford - Indy Jones Trilogy (on my list #2)

[Termination]

My cards are on the table for the #1 Best Movie Character of All Time..

Heineken Skywalker's avatar.

[Bartwald]

Alright! So I think we all know WHO is number 1, right?

[Heineken Skywalker]

Termination said:

My cards are on the table for the #1 Best Movie Character of All Time..

Heineken Skywalker's avatar.

I'm gonna have to agree with Termination that he'll probably be #1, but you guys are going to find this ironic. I did not vote for Vader as my #1 character. In fact he was actually #10 on my list. Indiana Jones was my #1. I don't wanna get too predictable around here and I'm pretty sure everybody expected me to vote him at #1. ;D

[Heineken Skywalker]

LOL!!
Nice one Smitty! I never would've imagined him at #1!! ;D

[LivingDeadGirl]

Heineken said:

DIE HARD was based on a book by Roderick Thorp entitled "Nothing Lasts Forever" which was a sequel to another book entitled "The Detective", which was made into a film starring Frank Sinatra.

Info courtesy of IMDB.

Ahhhh grasshoppa....I see. Thank you very much sir.

[LivingDeadGirl]

Heineken said:

I'm gonna have to agree with Termination that he'll probably be #1, but you guys are going to find this ironic. I did not vote for Vader as my #1 character. In fact he was actually #10 on my list. Indiana Jones was my #1. I don't wanna get too predictable around here and I'm pretty sure everybody expected me to vote him at #1. ;D

He wasn't my #1 either, but he WAS #2 after Vito Corleone.

[Heineken Skywalker]

Now that we know the complete list, let the bitching commence! ;D

Okay, so here's my complete list so everyone can see what I actually voted for and in what position. I've put a * next to the ones that actually made the list.

1. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) *
2. Captain Quint (Robert Shaw) "JAWS" *
3. Randle McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) "ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST" *
4. Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) "THE GODFATHER" *
5. Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) "GOODFELLAS" *
6. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) "ALIEN" series *
7. James Bond (Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, etc.) *
8. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) "ROCKY" *
9. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) "SILENCE OF THE LAMBS" *
10. Darth Vader "STAR WARS" trilogy *
11. The Little Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) *
12. Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) "BACK TO THE FUTURE" series *
13. Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) "PULP FICTION" *
14. Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) "RESERVOIR DOGS"
15. Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) "THE GODFATHER" trilogy *
16. Yoda "STAR WARS" series *
17. Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) "FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH" *
18. Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) *
19. Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) "FARGO"
20. John McClane (Bruce Willis) 'DIE HARD' trilogy *
21. George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE"
22. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN" *
23. Roger "Verbal" Kint (Kevin Spacey) "THE USUAL SUSPECTS" *
24. Karl Childers (Billy Bob Thornton) "SLING BLADE"
25. Lt. Kilgore (Robert Duvall) "APOCALYPSE NOW"
26. Luke (Paul Newman) "COOL HAND LUKE"
27. Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) "THE PINK PANTHER" series
28. 'Dirty' Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) 'DIRTY HARRY' series
29. Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) "AUSTIN POWERS" series
30. The Bride (Uma Thurman) "KILL BILL"

So, 20 out of my 30 choices made the final list. Not bad. Some of the characters that did make the list I considered, ie: Travis Bickle, Han Solo, etc., but I ended up leaving them out to give some lower profile characters a shot.

Some of my biggest surprises with this list:

1) That only one female, Ripley, made the list. No Sarah Connor, Princess Leia, The Bride (With all the Tarantino freaks we have?). I had three females on my list and I thought for sure at least a couple of them would make it.

2) That Inspector Clouseau, Dirty Harry & Lt. Killgore didn't make the list. Far more iconic than a few that did make it. Agent Sands? I liked him, and I'm a big Depp fan, but one of the all time greatest characters? Riddick? I've really gotta see PITCH BLACK now. Sebastian Velmont? I saw that movie once and I never gave that character a second thought.

3) That Jimmy Stewart made the list as Mr. Smith and not Billl Bailey. I would've thought "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE" would be the more popular movie here.

4) As popular as "JAWS" is on this site, that Quint placed so low at #38.

5) That when compiling my list, a few characters completely got by me, and as they appeared on the main list I had to give the requisite 'D'oh!!' Especially Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey), Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) & Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt).

6) Kudos to everyone who remembered as far back as the silent era to give Chaplin's Little Tramp a spot on the list. I was sure he'd be overlooked.

7) No Karl Childers (SLINGBLADE). One of the all time brilliant performances. Anyone who doubts Billy Bob Thornton's talent only need watch this film. Not only stars in it, but directed it and wrote it as well.

8) I'm a little surprised this list is completely Mel Gibson-free. No Martin Riggs (LETHAL WEAPON), no Mad Max, no William Wallace (BRAVEHEART).

9) Four STAR WARS characters! Luke, Han, Yoda & Vader! The Force is strong with this message board.