Top Ten Tuesdays

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

HEROES AND VILLAINS

Heroes

1. Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck, To Kill a Mockingbird)
2. George Bailey (James Stewart, It's a Wonderful Life)
3. Jefferson Smith (James Stewart, Mr Smith Goes to Washington)
4. Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart, The Big Sleep)
5. Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart, Casablanca)
6. The Tramp (Charlie Chaplin, City Lights)
7. Juror #8 (Henry Fonda, 12 Angry Men)
8. Father Karras and Father Merrin (Jason Miller and Max von Sydow, The Exorcist)
   
9. The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Terminator)
10. Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon)

Villains

1. Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins, Psycho)
2. Dr. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse)
3. Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore, It's a Wonderful Life)
4. Harry Lime (Orson Welles, The Third Man)
5. Michael Corleone (Al Pacino, The Godfather Part II)
6. Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman, Die Hard)
7. Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro, Taxi Driver)
   
8. The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terminator 2: Judgement Day)
9. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs)
10. The Joker (Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight)

I think these two are the wrong way around, Nos!

[Demoncrat]

This one I could have skipped ... but I've given it my best shot. These are in no order ... just from memory yes ... I know.

Heroes
Charlie Allnutt (Bogart) "The African Queen"
Luke Wright (Stafam) "Safe"
Travis Bickle (De Niro) "Taxi Driver"
Abraham Gentry (Kress) "The Gore Gore Girls"
Det. Insp. Harry Callahan (Eastwood) The Dirty Harry series.
Gil Westrum (Scott) "Ride The High Country"
Remo Williams (Ward) ...go on, have a guess
Peter D. Carter (Niven) "A Matter Of Life And Death"
Oh Dae-su (Min Sik) "Oldboy"
Father Urbain Grandier (Reed) "The Devils"
Phew!!


Villains
Norman Bates (Perkins) "Psycho"
Vukmir Vukmir (Trifunovic) "A Serbian Film"
Red Leary (Kennedy) "Thunderbolt & Lightfoot"
Dr. Obrero (O'Brien) "Zombi Holocaust"
Saul Femm (Wills) "The Old Dark House"
Carl ("Max") "Forced Entry"
The Photographer (Garrett) "Murder Set Pieces"
Randolph & Mortimer Duke (Ameche/Bellamy) "Trading Places"
Donny Kohler (Grimaldi) "Don't Go In The House"

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

I think these two are the wrong way around, Nos!

All spotted – they're now in the right sections!

[nosferatu42]

It's interesting that Nos no.1 places Travis Bickle in the Villain category and Demon places him in the heroes.

I'd be more inclined to place him in the heroes list but i think it's a fine line as he is obviously mentally disturbed, paranoid and a ticking bomb waiting to explode, but in the film this ultimately leads him to use the pent up rage within him to save a young girl in trouble.

Leading him towards a place of redemption and readjustment.

But it is also apparent in the films final moments that a relapse could be around the corner at any moment.

I'd say struggling against his mental demons and using that destructive power positively makes him more heroic in my mind.

[nosferatu42]

Top Ten Heroes

Han Solo
Indiana Jones
Batman
Dirty Harry
Spiderman
Ripley
Van Helsing (Hammer films)
Mad Max
Man With No Name
Dale Cooper (Twin Peaks, "Fire Walk with Me")

12977-twindalecooper.jpg

I don't think it's really necessary to pin point which films for most of these as everyone knows who is what.

[nosferatu42]

Villains

Dracula
Darth Vader
Nurse Ratched - One flew over the cuckoo's nest.
Margaret White - Carrie
Frank Booth - Blue Velvet
Damien Thorn - Omen films
The Hitcher
John Doe - Seven
Joker
Alex DeLarge - A Clockwork Orange

carrie-se_shot5l.jpg

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by nosferatu42

It's interesting that Nos no.1 places Travis Bickle in the Villain category and Demon places him in the heroes.

I'd be more inclined to place him in the heroes list but i think it's a fine line as he is obviously mentally disturbed, paranoid and a ticking bomb waiting to explode, but in the film this ultimately leads him to use the pent up rage within him to save a young girl in trouble.

Leading him towards a place of redemption and readjustment.

But it is also apparent in the films final moments that a relapse could be around the corner at any moment.

I'd say struggling against his mental demons and using that destructive power positively makes him more heroic in my mind.

Cheers nos!! A stouter defence I couldn't hope for.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by nosferatu42

It's interesting that Nos no.1 places Travis Bickle in the Villain category and Demon places him in the heroes.

I'd be more inclined to place him in the heroes list but i think it's a fine line as he is obviously mentally disturbed, paranoid and a ticking bomb waiting to explode, but in the film this ultimately leads him to use the pent up rage within him to save a young girl in trouble.

Leading him towards a place of redemption and readjustment.

But it is also apparent in the films final moments that a relapse could be around the corner at any moment.

I'd say struggling against his mental demons and using that destructive power positively makes him more heroic in my mind.

He is someone who, using the criteria I put in the initial post, could probably fit in both categories:

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

– Hero: someone who prevails in extreme circumstances and dramatises a sense of morality, courage and purpose. Though they may be ambiguous or flawed, they often sacrifice themselves to show humanity at its best.

– Villain: someone who 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.

Bickle seems to have "a sense of morality, courage and purpose" and arguably sacrifices himself "to show humanity at its best". (I see the end of the film as a dying hallucination, assuming he died in the shootout.) However, he is also "horribly evil or grandiosely funny, [and is] ultimately tragic", so it's with you can overlook the appalling racism and propensity for a violent solution to a situation with which he disagrees and see something heroic in this. He is either a flawed hero or a villain whose actions have a positive consequence.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

As the beautiful weather continues, it's great to see so many contributed varied, interesting and thought-provoking list of your cinematic heroes and villains. This week, following the suggestions by nosferatu42, the topic is going to be a bit easier and will hopefully, if you can put these characters (not the actors) in order, as interesting.

HORROR ICONS

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Just to clarify is it a list of names you want - Pinhead, Jason etc or a list of top ten films starring horror icons - Hellraiser, F13th part 2 and so on.