Who is your all-time favorite movie villain?

Easy...

Henry Fonda as Frank in Once Upon A Time In The West.

"People scare better when they're dying."

- Walter.

Oh... there are so many "good" bad-guys..

One of the most convincingly, sinister and effortlessly evil characters is John Woods' Bishop in Ladyhawke.  "I believe in miracles.. it's part of my job."

The high point of Waterworld was Dennis Hopper's Deacon.. "Don't just stand there, shoot something!"

Darth Vader had an amazingly effective presence in the first two "real" Star Wars films.. (New Hope and Empire.) 

And, as Ron pointed out, just about any "bad" character played by Alan Rickman.  The high point of the Kostner Robin Hood... "I'm gonna cut your heart out with a spoon!"

Haven't seen Die Hard in a long time.. maybe I'll have to go back and check that out.

Leo

Terrence Stamp as General Zod in "Superman II."

"General Zod does not take orders.  He gives them!"

"KNEEL before Zod!!!"

The President: Oh, God!

General Zod (Corrects him): Zod.

He can rule Planet Houston anytime he wants.

Honorable Mention to Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor in the first 2 Superman movies but, as a puny human, he just can't compete with General Zod.

Some great choices already, I'll add Stephen Boyd as Messala from Ben-Hur (1959). "Kill me and your mother and sister will die, nailed to crosses in front of you. Go on Judah. Kill me."

And a more recent favourite, Christopher Lee as Saruman the White, in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Shatner says it better than I ever could:  http://www.khaaan.com/

Anthony Perkins, how could you keep your mummified mother in a hotel.

It's so hard to pick just one. My favorite villain from more recently released films has got to be Sergi Lopez' Captain Vidal in "Pan's Labyrinth." The man was completely evil - an intelligent stone-cold killer; calmly sadistic and unrepentantly narcissistic, driven by self-loathing. His malevolence was palpable. What a performance!

Vader comes first for me

But then

Dr Evil :)

That was what first popped into my head.

Lot of the other ones I would have went with have been mentioned. I'll throw out Biff/Griff/Buford Tannen from the Back to the Future movies.

Noah Cross in Chinatown (1974).

He sees no boundaries, but he doesn't know he's evil.

He doesn't realize he's doing bad things.

He just wants to be loved, to succeed, and to leave behind a legacy.

He even says so, and he's completely sincere.

"Some people never have to find out they're capable of anything," he tells Jake Gittes.

The Wicked Witch of the West

Maybe not typical villains but...

HAL-9000 & Hannibal Lecter.

-- glitch --

I totally agree that Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (1991) is a very likable villain. Although he is jailed and kills two police officers in a very brutal way he acts as a father figure or protector for Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster). Especially in that scene when she is bothered by Miggs. 

‘I don't think Miggs could manage again quite so soon, even though he is crazy. [shouting] Go now!’

My faves...

The Joker (Heath Ledger) "The Dark Knight"

Darth Vader (David Prowse/James Earl Jones) "The Empire Strikes Back"

Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) "The Silence of the Lambs"

Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) "No Country for Old Men"

Archibald Cunningham (Tim Roth) "Rob Roy"

Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) "Blade Runner"

Khan (Ricardo Maltalban) "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"

Chancellor Palpatine/Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) "Revenge of the Sith"

Scar (Jeremy Irons) "The Lion King"

Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) "The Matrix

What, no love for Tony Montana?

Going off the beaten path. . .

Satan in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.

James Woods as Max in Once Upon a Time in America.

Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice.

And of course, Billy Zabka as Johnny!

Hmmm... so many...

The Joker (The Dark Knight)

Darth Vader ( The Empire Strikes Back)

Bill The Butcher (Gangs of NY)

Hans Gruber (Die Hard)

Kyung-chul ( I Saw The Devil - wait until this film becomes more popular in a few months time. Best villian prob since Lecter)

Anton Chigurh(No Country For Old Men)

Hal9000 (2001 A Space Odyssey)

Hannibal Lecter (Silence of he Lambs)

Daniel Plainview (There Will Be Blood)

Generel Zod (Superman 2)

Roy Batty (Blade Runner)

Khan (The Wrath Of Khan)

Patrick Bateman (American Psycho "I have to return some videotapes")

Vito & Michael Corleone (The Godfather 1& 2)

Norman Bates (Psycho)

Darth Vader....by a pretty wide margin for me. 

BTW, GREAT list there Terry. Great list. 

Dr. Evil

Dark Helmet

The best villains aren't those who twirl their mustaches and cackle, but those who believe in what they're doing. To that end, I'd suggest Dr. Zaius is among the all-time greatest movie villains. As "defender of the faith" (and denier of the truth), he shows us the dangers of ignorance of those in power. 

And a villain closer to real life, Ralph Fiennes' Amon Goeth in Schindler's List is as sadistic as they come, and represented some of the most powerful evil the world has ever known.

I can't name one.. too many that are too different.   But here are a few I always enjoy:

Frank in "The Searchers"  Henry Fonda is such a great bad-ass "bad" guy who appears so good :)

Audrey II - Little Shop of Horrors.   Such a great villain who is made into a villain by an unwitting accomplice to her end goals

Stay Puff Marshmallow Man - Ghostbusters     How can you NOT love this as a bad guy???

good call Sam on Ralph Fiennes in SL. Unforgettable. 

As a close second to General Zod, for pure creepy menace, it's hard to beat Robert Mitchum's Preacher in The Night of the Hunter.  Also, Buffalo Bill is the real villain in Silence of the Lambs and, for my money, way nastier than Hannibal Lecter.

Not so much villains, but not really honest individuals...Vince Vega & Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction.

They made being hitmen look like a decent job.

Another favorite...Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg from The Fifth Element.

I wasn't rooting for him though.

Oldman is money as the bad guy. (The Professional, too)

For me, The Emperor from Return Of The Jedi will always be top. Just pure, wicked evil.

The Headless Horseman from Sleepy Hollow.

Satan (Viggo!) from The Prophecy

The Terminator

Joshua from War Games

Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator (I hate his character so much I want to kill him myself.)

Ok, I agree with most of the ones that have already been said. I will add....

Maj. Vic 'Deak' Deakins (John Travolta) in Broken Arrow

Nurse Ratched - One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest......what a cunt.

Judge Smails - Caddyshack

Billy Bob and Bruce Willis - Bandits

Kurt Russell - Death Proof

Javier Bardam - No Country For Old Men

Nichole Kidman - Malice

The Fratelli's - Goonies

Darth Vader? Hannibal Lecter? Oh, pshaw. Angela Lansbury's Mother From Hell in the original "The Manchurian Candidate" could wipe the

floor with those wusses. Evil personified!!