The Greatest Movie Character is…

Empire strikes back! Once again another controversial list from the magazine that brought the 500 Greatest Film of All Time, The EMPIRE Magazine. Last month (I think) when I first saw this list, Empire’s 100 Greatest Movie Character, I was excited to see who’s on the top spot. But I make it nice and slow so I browse it from bottom to top. I was surprised on some of the movie character I knew that I wouldn’t think will be included on the list. But what surprises me a lot is the Greatest Movie Character that tops the list. I have here the Top 13 of the list. Any violent reaction?

13

 “Master is our friend! / You don’t have any friends; nobody likes you.” Gollum

Played By: Andy Serkis

Film: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Return of the King

Why He’s On The List: Similarly to Yoda, our first fascination with Gollum is with his appearance and his strange speech pattern (as well as being a digitally imposed character), but as the second instalment of Lord Of The Rings progresses, it becomes apparent that he’s not one person, but two. It’s all galvanised by one fascinating, heartbreaking, classic scene, but Serkis’ performance continues to consistently display the demented halfling’s highly volatile state.

Finest Hour: His two personalities arguing over Frodo’s sincerity and fate.

12

 “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!” John McClane

Played By: Bruce Willis

Film: Die Hard 1-4

Why He’s On The List: The role that turned TV’s Bruce Willis into a movie megastar, John McClane had to be one hell of a character to stop Hans Gruber from swallowing the movie whole. Luckily, he was - a foul-mouthed, wisecracking, no-nonsense New York cop with an itchy trigger finger, an aversion to Eurotrash terrorists, and a never-say-die spirit. McClane may be hard as nails, but he also has more depth and dimensions than was expected of ’80s action heroes.

Finest Hour: His emotional breakdown over the blower to Sgt. Al Powell (Reginald Veljohnsen). Hard to imagine Arnie doing the same…

11

“Auric Goldfinger. Sounds like a French nail varnish.” James Bond

Played By: Sean Connery
Film: Goldfinger

Why He’s On The List: With so many incarnations to choose from, it’s a wonder the Bond camp wasn’t hampered by a split vote, but that’s clearly not a problem. Despite the huge surge in popularity for Daniel Craig’s reboot, it seems you’re all a bunch of purists at heart, opting for the Connery classic. What’s left to say about this British institution? It’s all here - suave? Check. Quips? Check. Gadgets? Check. Etc.? Check.

Finest Hour: Removing the wetsuit to reveal a tuxedo. Smoove. 

 10

 “A man that doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.” Vito Corleone

Played By: Marlon Brando

Film: The Godfather

Why He’s On The List: Although he’s the title character (and Brando is top billed, naturally), it’s often a surprise for newcomers to The Godfather to find that Don Vito isn’t the primary focus of the film. It’s an epic ensemble piece, but it’s his youngest son Michael who’s the spine of the story. Still, Vito is the one who everybody loves most, as the family man so honourable and dedicated that somehow nobody cares that he’s the head of a massive criminal empire. Maybe it’s something to do with feeling safe. Brando gives one of his trademark ‘performances of a lifetime’ (he gave about a half dozen of those, by our count), and there’s a nice parallel in the role with the ‘old man’ providing love and guidance to this collection of next generation stars (Pacino, Caan, Cazale, Shire and Duvall), but it’s always, always his show. Don by name, Don by nature.

Finest Hour: After his retirement, advising Michael of how his enemies will move around him.

 9

 “Get away from her, you bitch!” Ellen Ripley

Played By: Sigourney Weaver

Film: Alien 1-4

Why She’s On The List: The highest-placing female character on our list, Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley is, of course, the heroine of Alien - and though Sigourney Weaver, then an unknown, does a sterling job there, it’s still essentially a slasher film stereotype: scream a lot, run about a bit, show us your knickers. It’s only in Aliens, under the watchful eye of Jim Cameron, that Ripley comes to layered life. Initially a nervous wreck, her life torn apart by the xenomorph, Ripley is reborn as a warrior when her maternal instinct kicks in and prompts her to go through hell to save surrogate daugher, Newt. It’s a dream role for Weaver, who handles both Ripley’s softer side and kick-ass demeanour with considerable aplomb.

Finest Hour: The Alien Queen, a stowaway on the Sulaco, is inches away from killing Newt, when a docking door opens, to reveal… Ripley, in a power loader, with a determined expression on her face. Game on.

 8

 “I think we’ve all arrived at a very special place. Spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically.” Captain Jack Sparrow

Played By: Johnny Depp

Film: Pirates Of The Caribbean 1-3

Why He’s On The List: If you had told Johnny Depp, just before he opened the script of Pirates Of The Caribbean, that a movie based on a Disney theme park ride would provide him with his most unforgettable character, he’d probably have told you to eff off. But there you go: the dandyish, dishevelled, permanently addled Sparrow was already there on the page, but it was Depp’s genius in basically nicking the personality, voice and appearance of his mate, Keith Richards, that brought Cap’n Jack to life and fuelled Pirates’ extraordinary success. The rum do on the part of the sequels was sidelining and failing to develop Sparrow in favour of the bland Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, a mistake that Disney and Bruckheimer are keen to rectify for the forthcoming Pirates 4.

Finest Hour: His drunken, bewildered outrage at discovering that Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Swann has burned all the rum. 

 7

 “Yeah, well, that’s just, like… your opinion, man.” The Dude

Played By: Jeff Bridges

Film: The Big Lebowski

Why He’s On The List: His Dudeness, Duder, El Duderino, if you’re not into the whole brevity thing - Jeff Bridges has had a lot of great roles in his career, but does anyone (apart from his Mum, who apparently wasn’t too impressed) love any of his characters as much as The Dude? To have this guy at the centre of a Raymond Chandler-esque kidnapping/rug theft plot is so totally inspired, you almost can’t fathom it upon first viewing - that is superb writing. The story goes that The Dude is actually based on a real person - two people, actually. The first is a fella by the name of Jeff Dowd, who drinks White Russians and was a member of the Seattle Seven. Second is a guy named Pete Exline, who amongst other things, really did have a rug that tied the room together. But from wherever he’s devised, there’s nothing like him, and that’s something to celebrate: the Dude abides. Don’t know about you, but we take comfort in that.

Finest Hour: Paying for a discounted, past use-by carton of milkwith a cheque.

6

“It’s not the years, honey - it’s the mileage.” Indiana Jones

Played By: Harrison Ford

Film: Raiders Of The Lost Ark

Why He’s On The List: Hands up any who was ten or under when they first saw Raiders, and didn’t want to be an archaeologist afterwards? Liars. The poster promised the return of great adventure, and they delivered. Of course it would have all been worthless without a great character holding it all together, but boy did they nail that one. You all know the Tom Selleck story by now, but that doesn’t make trying to picture anyone but Ford in the role today any easier. So why does Indy work? Well there’s no secret to the formula: charming everyman on the side of the angels (quite literally, in this case), involved in high adventure, always triumphing over the odds - not without significant obstacles to overcome - and easy to hate bad guys. Add a laconic sense of humour and a lack of appreciation from those he works for, and you’ve got the ideal hero. All you need after that is a brilliant script and a production team to match…

Finest Hour: After being thrown through the windshield of a truck and dragged under it, fighting his way back into the cabin, Jones finally gives the Nazi driver a taste of his own medicine. 

 5

 “I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old friend for dinner.” Dr. Hannibal Lecter

Played By: Sir Anthony Hopkins

Film: The Silence Of The Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon

Why He’s On The List: A sociopath so notorious he’s kept like a trophy by the prison that holds him, it’s certainly not a well-kept, unimposing man you’re expecting to see at the end of that dank corridor - but that’s all in Thomas Harris’ sublime original material. What Hopkins brings is that eerie stillness, that unnerving sense of cold, calm calculation. This is because our view of him, other than through the glass, is shaped by stories of his notoriety. All his Lecter need do therefore, is wait for you to make a mistake - and he has a lot of patience. More pure animal than human, it’s never demonstrated better than through the stories of his cannibal tendencies. In Lambs, Lecter’s character is dependent on a good foil, and therefore owes a significant debt to the similarly well-written Clarice. What we benefit from as an audience then, is a beautifully balanced, carefully built relationship between the two, before the story kicks up a notch and the unthinkable happens…

Finest Hour: His blood-soaked escape.

 4

 “Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.” Han Solo

Played By: Harrison Ford

Film: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi

Why He’s On The List: As Jesus Christ proved on more than one occasion, carpenters can make for great heroes. And so it proved for George Lucas when he cast jobbing joiner Harrison Ford as Star Wars’ swaggering scoundrel, Han Solo. In any other hands, Solo would have been simply an arrogant, puffed-up jerk, but Ford brought so much charm and laconic cool (not to mention that bitching waistcoat) to Lucas’ can’t-say-this-shit dialogue that real man Han steals the show - and the girl - from the movie’s nominal hero, the boychild Luke Skywalker. How cool is Han Solo? He’s the only non-Jedi in the series to spark up a lightsaber, and it doesn’t look out of place in his hands. Now that’s cool.

Finest Hour: Han shoots first. Han shoots first. Han shoots first. Han shoots first. Han shoots first. Han shoots…

 3

“I’m an agent of chaos.” The Joker

Played By: Heath Ledger

Film: The Dark Knight

Why He’s On The List: “Some men,” remarks Michael Caine’s wise old butler, Alfred, “just want to watch the world burn.” Which is about as succinct a summary of Heath Ledger’s Joker as you can get. There is no rhyme to him, no reason - just an appetite for anarchy, for chaos and for destruction that marks him out as the most terrifying screen psycho in years. Jack Nicholson’s Joker was, arguably, even more psychotic than Ledger’s, but where he played the white-faced, red-lipped, green-haired clown for laughs, Ledger’s aim was to slip, insidiously, under your skin, with his flickering serpent’s tongue, penchant for close-up kills and dead, cold eyes. Ledger’s Joker is an unstoppable force of nature, and a wonderful testament to the late actor’s talent.

Finest Hour: Gatecrashing the Mob meeting, and showcasing a magic trick - “I’m going to make this pencil disappear!” - that most definitely hasn’t been sanctioned by the Magic Circle.

 2

“I find your lack of faith disturbing.” Darth Vader

Played By: David Prowse / James Earl Jones (voice)

Film: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jed, Revenge of the Sith

Why He’s On The List: To hell with the Emperor - he wasn’t even around for most of the action. Darth Vader is, to every child of Star Wars, the supreme badass in the galaxy. He is everything that scares you as a child, cutting a huge, imposing figure, wearing doom-laden black, and breathing through some kind of ominous respirator - surely enough to give any person in their formative years the willies. The masterstroke behind Vader’s design is that mask. The cold, expressionless cover is difficult to read, and makes for a much scarier experience than a human face can give. Having the bass tones of James Earl Jones doesn’t hurt either. The very definition of simple and effective, something tells us he’ll stay near the top of this list for a long time… a long time.

Finest Hour: His entrance. 

1

“You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your fucking khakis. You’re the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world.” Tyler Durden

Played By: Brad Pitt

Film: Fight Club

Why He’s On The List: Tyler Durden is not a nice man. He’ll pee in your soup, sleep with your girl, make soap out of your fat and bombs out of your soap, and beat you to a pulp. And yet he’s just been voted, against all the odds, the greatest movie character of all time. In truth, it’s not hard to see why - for Durden, as created by Brad Pitt, encapsulates that old saying about Bond, “men want to be him, women want to bed him” more perfectly than perhaps even Bond. He’s effortlessly stylish, unshakeably cool, and dangerously charismatic. He’s a rock star god, a natural-born leader, a trend-setter. He is unrestrained id, he is a monster, he is the very image of modern man (or at least how modern man would like to see himself). He looks like what you want to like, he fucks like you want to fuck, and he is an utterly indelible creation. No. 1? He deserves it, and then some.

Finest Hour: The first night of Fight Club, and Tyler takes to the floor for a little speech about rules… 

Source: EMPIRE MAGAZINE