“Commander, tear this ship apart until you’ve found those plans. And bring me the passengers. I want them alive!”
– Darth Vader
Continuing the American Film Institute’s series of lists, this latest collection gathers together the 50 greatest heroes and the 50 greatest villains in cinema, as voted upon by a membership of actors, filmmakers, critics, and other industry professionals. Criteria for the selections included feature-films only, those made predominantly in the English language with creative elements and financing from America, cultural impact, and inspirational legacy. Additionally, heroes were defined as characters who dramatize a sense of morality, courage, and purpose, and, though they may be ambiguous or flawed, they often sacrifice themselves to show humanity at its best. Villains were defined as those whose wickedness of mind, selfishness of character, and lust for power may be masked by beauty or nobility, but tend to display obvious evils (or are simply inhuman monstrosities), while ultimately revealing tragic motives and outcomes.
The exclusive television special, entitled “AFI’s 100 Years … 100 Heroes & Villains,” debuted on CBS on June 4th, 2003, with special host Arnold Schwarzenegger, who received recognition in both the hero and villain categories through his portrayal as a Terminator. Click the titles to read the full reviews!
AFI’s 100 Years … 100 Heroes & Villains (2003)
The Heroes:
1. Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
2. Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
3. James Bond, Dr. No (1962)
4. Rick Blaine, Casablanca (1942)
5. Will Kane, High Noon (1952)
6. Clarice Starling, The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
7. Rocky Balboa, Rocky (1976)
8. Ellen Ripley, Aliens (1986)
9. George Bailey, It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
10. T.E. Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
11. Jefferson Smith, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
12. Tom Joad, The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
13. Oskar Schindler, Schindler’s List (1993)
14. Han Solo, Star Wars (1977)
15. Norma Rae Webster, Norma Rae (1979)
16. Shane, Shane (1953)
17. Harry Callahan, Dirty Harry (1971)
18. Robin Hood, The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
19. Virgil Tibbs, In the Heat of the Night (1967)
20. Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
21. Gandhi, Gandhi (1982)
22. Spartacus, Spartacus (1960)
23. Terry Malloy, On the Waterfront (1954)
24. Thelma Dickerson & Louise Sawyer, Thelma & Louise (1991)
25. Lou Gehrig, The Pride of the Yankees (1943)
26. Superman, Superman (1978)
27. Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein, All the President’s Men (1976)
28. Juror #8, 12 Angry Men (1957)
29. General George Patton, Patton (1970)
30. Luke Jackson, Cool Hand Luke (1967)
31. Erin Brockovich, Erin Brockovich (2000)
32. Philip Marlowe, The Big Sleep (1946)
33. Marge Gunderson, Fargo (1996)
34. Tarzan, Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
35. Alvin York, Sergeant York (1941)
36. Rooster Cogburn, True Grit (1969)
37. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars (1977)
38. The Tramp, City Lights (1931)
39. Lassie, Lassie Come Home (1943)
40. Frank Serpico, Serpico (1973)
41. Charles Edward Chipping, Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
42. Father Edward, Boys Town (1938)
43. Moses, The Ten Commandments (1956)
44. Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle, The French Connection (1971)
45. Zorro, The Mark of Zorro (1940)
46. Batman, Batman(1989)
47. Karen Silkwood, Silkwood (1983)
48. Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
49. Andrew Beckett, Philadelphia (1993)
50. General Maximus Decimus Meridus, Gladiator (2000)
The Villains:
1. Dr. Hannibal Lecter, The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
2. Norman Bates, Psycho (1960)
3. Darth Vader, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
4. The Wicked Witch of the West, The Wizard of Oz (1939)
5. Nurse Ratched, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
6. Mr. Potter, It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
7. Alex Forrest, Fatal Attraction (1987)
8. Phyllis Dietrichson, Double Indemnity (1944)
9. Regan MacNeil, The Exorcist (1973)
10. The Queen, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
11. Michael Corleone, The Godfather Part II (1974)
12. Alex De Large, A Clockwork Orange (1971)
13. HAL 9000, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
14. The Alien, Alien (1979)
15. Amon Goeth, Schindler’s List (1993)
16. Noah Cross, Chinatown (1974)
17. Annie Wilkes, Misery (1990)
18. The Shark, Jaws (1975)
19. Captain Bligh, Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
20. Man, Bambi (1942)
21. Mrs. John Iselin, The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
22. Terminator, The Terminator (1984)
23. Eve Harrington, All About Eve (1950)
24. Gordon Gekko, Wall Street (1987)
25. Jack Torrance, The Shining (1980)
26. Cody Jarrett, White Heat (1949)
27. Martians, The War of the Worlds (1953)
28. Max Cady, Cape Fear (1962)
29. Reverend Harry Powell, The Night of the Hunter (1955)
30. Travis Bickle, Taxi Driver (1976)
31. Mrs. Danvers, Rebecca (1940)
32. Clyde Barrow & Bonnie Parker, Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
33. Count Dracula, Dracula (1931)
34. Dr. Szell, Marathon Man (1976)
35. J.J. Hunsecker, Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
36. Frank Booth, Blue Velvet (1986)
37. Harry Lime, The Third Man (1949)
38. Caesar Enrico Bandello, Little Caesar (1931)
39. Cruella De Vil, One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
40. Freddy Krueger, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
41. Joan Crawford, Mommie Dearest (1981)
42. Tom Powers, The Public Enemy (1931)
43. Regina Giddens, The Little Foxes (1941)
44. Baby Jane Hudson, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
45. The Joker, Batman (1989)
46. Hans Gruber, Die Hard (1988)
47. Tony Camonte, Scarface (1932)
48. Verbal Kint, The Usual Suspects (1995)
49. Auric Goldfinger, Goldfinger (1964)
50. Alonzo Harris, Training Day (2001)