The 100 Greatest Film Characters of All Time (according to Premiere magazine) (1 Viewer)

[Jon_Are]

From the current issue of Premiere, here is the list of the 100 greatest movie characters of all time (I thought it would be more fun to identify them by character name only):

100. Roger Kint
99. Kevin McCallister
98. Antoine Doinel
97. Ace Ventura
96. Tommy DeVito
95. Oda Mae Brown
94. Rose Sayer
93. Harry Lime
92. Dil
91. Mrs. Iselin
90. John Malkovich
89. Sandy Olsson
88. Raymond Babbitt
87. Jack Sparrow
86. Melanie Daniels
85. Stanley Kowalski
84. Darth Vader
83. William Cutting
82. Jack Torrance
81. Aurora Greenway
80. Sam Spade
79. Hans Beckert
78. Max Rockatansky
77. Annie Wilkes
76. Tony Manero
75. Dr. Strangelove
74. Tony Montana
73. Norma Rae
72. Lloyd Dobler
71. Harry Powell
70. Judy Benjamin
69. Terry Malloy
68. Alex DeLarge
67. Jacques Clouseau
66. Navin Johnson
65. Edward Scissorhands
64. Rocky Balboa
63. Carrie White
62. John Shaft
61. J.J. Hunsecker
60. George Bailey
59. Bill Kilgore
58. Phyliss Dietrichson
57. Tom Powers
56. Alan Swann
55. The Dude
54. Frank Booth
53. Ninotchka
52. Howard Beale
51. Freddy Krueger
50. Blondie
49. Chance the Gardener
48. John Blutarsky
47. Mrs. Robinson
46. John McClane
45. Mary Poppins
44. Jules Winnfield
43. Forrest Gump
42. Harry Callahan
41. Jane Craig
40. The Terminator
39. Michael Dorsey
38. Willy Wonka
37. Jake Gittes
36. Alex Forrest
35. Dr. Evil
34. Bonnie Parker
33. Ratso Rizzo
32. Holly Golightly
31. Norma Desmond
30. King Kong
29. Daphne / Jerry
28. Captain Quint
27. Marge Gunderson
26. E.T.
25. Gordon Gekko
24. The Little Tramp
23. Ethan Edwards
22. Travis Bickle
21. Susan Vance
20. Virgil Tibbs
19. Rick Blaine
18. Carl Spackler
17. Dorothy Gale
16. Robin Hood
15. Hannibal Lecter
14. Randle Patrick McMurphy
13. Atticus Finch
12. Charles Foster Kane
11. Margo Channing
10. Gollum
9. Jeff Spicoli
8. Ellen Ripley
7. Indiana Jones
6. Annie Hall
5. James Bond
4. Norman Bates
3. Scarlett O'Hara
2. Fred C. Dobbs
1. Vito Corleone

Jon

 

[Jon_Are]

Travis Bickle seems low at 22.

Marge Gunderson is a pleasant surprise, as is The Dude.

And Atticus Finch, for me, belongs just behind Vito Corleone.

Jon

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Well, it is a list of characters, and they certainly are characters, so they are valid choices. But HAL should be on the list.

And forget Kevin McAllister - what the hell is Ace Ventura doing on the list.

Nice to see Marge on that list - and rather high up it as well. Marge is wonderful.

 

[Steve Christou]

Yep Darth Vader at no.84? What happened? One of the screens most famous bad guys (until he turned hero in chapter 6). 20 years ago he might have been in the top 5, now he's almost off the chart. Sad news.

I blame Episode's I & II for completely diluting the Dark Lord of the Sith by having him portrayed in his younger years by two underwhelming young actors.

Nice to see Ripley the Alien Slayer in the top 10 though.

 

[Holadem]

Erik, come on now, that is a HUGE spoiler!

Definitely Tyler.

--
H

 

[Blaine Skerry]

Thanks Erik. I completely missed that one. I was wondering who the hell Roger Kint was. Ah well, back to catatonic land.

 

[Jacinto]

It's nice to see ol' R.P. McMurphy get the credit he deserves, but overall, Cuckoo's Nest got shafted here. Nurse Ratchett, Billy, Harding, Cheswick, Chief, and Martini are all better characters than Annie Hall, for crying out loud.

 

[Erik.Ha]

Sorry

 

[Christ Reynolds]

i agree with jacinto, the characters in cuckoo's nest got shafted. nice to see marge gunderson, but i would have preferred to see jerry lundegaard. totally motivated, pathetic character. brilliant acting btw. and where is HAL?
should have called him "six double five three two one"'

where is frank from donnie darko? no jake lamotta? nice to see ratso rizzo. no walter kurtz? scottie ferguson? pete venkman? charlie meadows from barton fink? marty mcfly? doc brown? MAX FISCHER? in the words of billy bibbit... "b-----boy."

CJ

 

[Jon_Are]

Good call, Christ; however, I think there's plenty of room for both Marge Gunderson and Jerry.

Another nice surprise: Lloyd Dobler (Say Anything).

Another oversight: Angelo Maggio (Sinatra in From Here To Eternity).

And YO! Where's Tom Joad???

Jon

 

[Chris]

I agree, if you're going to include the likes of ET, etc. and non-actors, then I can't see how "HAL" is not on the list, as probably one of the best villains ever to grace the screen

 

[Christ Reynolds]

oh so do i, but i didnt give much credit to the writers of a list that includes ace ventura and dr evil

CJ

 

[Jacob McCraw]

Ralphie Parker!

 

[RodneyT]

At no point in that list do I see Yoda mentioned.

The list is therefore meaningless to me.

 

[Ralph Jenkins]

I was left wondering why only characters from American movies were represented. Are there no memorable characters from foreign films? How come King Kong made the list but not Godzilla?

It's a pretty strange list.

 

[george kaplan]

M. Hulot immediately pops to mind.

 

[Chris]

Inspector Clouseau as another not on the list.

 

[rich_d]

I'm glad to see that others reacted to the Annie Hall position as I did. But do you think that the creators of the poll honestly believed that Annie Hall is a top ten movie character?

Unfortunately the measure of a magazine poll differs by who measures it. For the magazine it is not about creating a great list but about creating a list that sells or promotes their magazine. That's why these polls are constantly peppered with the odd choice (or several). Publicity. A very old trick. Proof in the pudding is that we are discussing it now.

Rather than drone on about Annie Hall as a poor choice, here are some women roles/characters of merit.

Evelyn Mulwray - Chinatown
Blanche du Bois - A Streetcar Named Desire
Mrs Danvers - Rebecca (if the male equivalent (Norman Bates) can garner the 4th slot - Mrs. Danvers should (at least) merit a mention)
Ellen 'Ellie' Andrews a.k.a. Brat - It Happened One Night


I also concur with

Alex de Large - A Clockwork Orange

 

[Cees Alons]

"90. John Malkovich"
OK, OK, although that wasn't his strongest character.


"40. The Terminator"
Which one? Arnie alone played three of 'em.


Cees

 

[Jon_Are]

He's there at number 67, Chris.

Jon

 

[george kaplan]

I saw this in the bookstore today, and out of curiosity read the blurb they had on Annie Hall. I remain unconvinced, and needless to say did not waste any money buying it.