30) William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting (Gangs of New York) - Daniel Day-Lewis
2002 - As much as Adrien Brody's performance in The Pianist was definitely Oscar worthy, Daniel Day-Lewis deserved to win Best Actor the most. As "Bill the Butcher" Cutting in Martin Scorsese's phenomenal Gangs of New York, Day-Lewis is unrelentingly ruthless as he leads his gang of men known as the "Natives" during the New York Draft Riots of 1863. All you need to see is his opening scene when he steps outside and flashes that sinister grin of his toward the rival Irish gang, the "Dead Rabbits", to realize just how sadistic he really is. Even more intense is his scene involving a knife throwing skit with Cameron Diaz's Jenny Everdeane as the target.
29) Jane Hudson (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) - Bette Davis
1962 - In this great 1962 classic, Bette Davis proves once again why she's one of the greatest actresses in the history of cinema. A former vaudevillian child star turned a bitter, washed up alcoholic, Jane now takes care of her crippled sister Blanche (Joan Crawford), also a former, glamorous star. When I say take care of, by the way, I mean she's abusive, belittling, and maddening drunk. You'll never forget the scene where she's singing "I've Written a Letter to Daddy" and then sees what she's become in the mirror, years after her days in the limelight It's a terrifically entertaining yet still unsettling performance of a former star now an embittered shadow of her former self.
28) Colonel Walter Kurtz (Apocalypse Now) - Marlon Brando
1979 - Despite only appearing near the end of the film, the late, great Marlon Brando's Colonel Kurtz is still the centerpiece of this masterful tale set amidst the horrors of the Vietnam War. The character of Colonel Kurtz is beyond a mystery. A former, highly decorated, U.S. Special Forces Captain having gone insane, Kurtz now leads a cult-like following with his own troops inside Cambodia. Special Forces Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen), sent by the army to terminate Kurtz, describes it best upon meeting him. When Kurtz asks Willard if his methods are indeed unsound, Capt. Willard simply responds, "... I don't see any method... at all, sir." The scene I just played is brilliantly intense. No music, just the sound of water slowly dripping and the buzz of wildlife in the background while Kurtz clearly puts up no fight whatsoever against Willard. It's almost as if he's begging for death to take him away from what he's become. Sheen displays just the right amount of anxiety as he faces the insane yet tranquil Kurtz, not quite knowing what to make of the situation he has been put in. The use of lighting as well making the appearance of Kurtz fade in and out was brilliantly executed. It's his "horror" speech though that will leave the biggest impression on you.
27) Angel Eyes (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly) - Lee Van Cleef
1966 - Quite a lengthy scene, mind you, but well worth it. Who says your villain needs to have that lengthy, grandiose speech? Lee Van Cleef's Angel Eyes, from Sergio Leone's masterpiece The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (the final entry of "The Man With No Name" trilogy) starring Clint Eastwood, is proof you can have a villain that's just as sadistic and terrifying, if not more so, in the quieter moments where not a single word is spoken. He's not in the film as much as Eastwood's Blondie or Eli Wallach's Tuco are, but like film critic Michael Phillips once said, "You don't over-exploit a terrific villain." Angel Eyes is in the film at just the right moments when he needs to be and the final trio gun showdown between Blondie, Tuco, and Angel Eyes is one of the greatest, heart pounding intense, cinematic moments ever. In fact, Van Cleef's performance inspired another great director to craft the next villain on this list.
26) Colonel Hans Landa (Inglourious Basterds) - Christoph Waltz
2009 - Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz won his first of two Oscars (both from Tarantino films, by the way) for his role as Colonel Hans Landa, the savage yet very charismatic Nazi aptly nicknamed "The Jew Hunter". It would've been so cliche and predictable to portray Colonel Landa as this over the top, angry buffoon like some Nazi caricature. Landa though is bright, intelligent, eloquent, multilingual, and yes, sadistic in his quest for exterminating the Jewish people. The scene I just played was enough to merit Waltz the Oscar, but an even better moment is the dinner scene between him and Shosanna (Melanie Laurent), aka the girl that got away in the beginning. The viewer knows that Landa is well aware who he's having dinner with, but it's that quiet tension of "Is he or isn't he gonna get her?" that gnaws at you. The subtle fear he gives Shosanna while she holds in her emotions until the moment he leaves the room is just one reason out of the many why I think Tarantino is the great writer he is and one of my personal favorite filmmakers.
25) Dr. Christian Szell (Marathon Man) - Laurence Olivier
1976 - He just wants to know if it's safe. Is that too much to ask? Don't tell me you didn't squirm when he presses hard on the cavity. Since the last villain was a Nazi, I figured why not continue the trend? The late, great Laurence Olivier's Dr. Christian Szell is on a mission to retrieve an extremely valuable diamond collection he had originally taken from Jews that were killed at Auschwitz. As you can clearly tell from the above clip, he's willing to go to rather tortuous lengths to find out where they are. The final showdown between Szell and Dustin Hoffman's "Babe" Levy is one of amusement and payback. You'll just have to watch for yourself to find out how amusing.
24) Man (Bambi) - No one
1942 - No, I'm not anti-hunting at all, and I happen to enjoy venison quite a bit, but were you expecting the villain to be Thumper? One of Disney's crowning achievements in animation also contains one of the most sobering moments for an animated film. The genius of Walt Disney here is that you never hear the hunter's voice, nor do you ever see him. It's that fear of what you can't see, yet you know it's still out there that adds to the suspense. On top of that, you get that one line from Bambi's father, "Your mother can't be with you anymore." followed by the quiet sadness on Bambi's face that still manages to speak volumes to you. It's animated films like these that prove Walt Disney was a storytelling genius.
23) General Zod (Superman II) - Terrence Stamp
1981 - Obviously, everyone knows Superman's arch-nemesis is Lex Luthor; however, General Zod, in my opinion, deserves to be second in line considering their history. Once a citizen of Planet Krypton, General Zod was exiled to the Phantom Zone where, along with his two partners in crime Non and Ursa, are unwittingly freed by Superman. Zod is calm, cool and arrogant with a lust for power and world dominance, all of which are captured pitch perfectly by Terrence Stamp. Zod's lust for power turns to revenge when he soon finds out Superman, a fellow Kryptonian and the son of Jor-El, stands in his way.
22) Phyllis Dietrichson (Double Indemnity) - Barbara Stanwyck
1944 - A top three film noir classic, Stanwyck's Phyllis Dietrichson quite possibly had husbands cancelling their life insurance policies at the snap of a finger. The term double indemnity refers to a clause in some insurance policies where the payout doubles if the cause of death is revealed to be an accident. What starts as a simple auto insurance renewal for Phyllis's husband through insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) leads to a murder plot by the soon to be former Mrs. Dietrichson on her husband. It's not just her murder plot that makes her such a bad villain. She also ups the ante by using her beauty and charm to seduce a once innocent man selling insurance into her devious scheme for money.
21) Henry F. Potter (It's a Wonderful Life) - Lionel Barrymore
1946 - It wasn't the fact that "Mean, old Mister Potter!" was a money hungry slumlord and banker. Hell, there's a little bit of "money hungry" in every one of us. It was his smarmy, smug attitude along with his total disregard for town good-guy George Bailey that really made your skin crawl. It was then his stealing of George's Uncle Billy's $8,000 deposit in order to drive the Bailey's business into bankruptcy that really makes you hate him. It's when, if you didn't hate him enough already, he looks upon George - in his most desperate hour of need - and says "You're worth more dead than alive." where you wish George Bailey, Mary Bailey, Uncle Billy, Clarence Odbody, hell anyone would just bitch slap that gimp out of his wheelchair. It's a truly brilliant performance from Lionel Barrymore, and the opposing chemistry between him and Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey is excellent. You can't help but smile and laugh a little at the end when George giddily runs by Potter's office and, after all that Potter put him through, happily yells, "Merry Christmas, Mr. Potter!", to which Potter responds, "And a happy New Year to you... in jail!"
That's all for Part III. Only two more to go 'til we reach the top ten. Feel free to let me know who you think will be my pick for the number one villain of all-time or who you think should be the number one pick.
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