Online Film Critics Society Names Greatest Screen Villains

Posted on November 20, 2002

The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS), an international association of Internet-based cinema journalists, is sharing its love with the character we're supposed to hate. The OFCS has announced its new list celebrating the Top 100 Villains of All Time and the greatest screen villain of all time, according to the 132 members of the OFCS, is Darth Vader played by David Prowse and voiced by James Earl Jones in the original Star Wars trilogy.

Following Darth Vader in the Top 10 sector of the Villains list is Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates in Psycho, Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber in Die Hard, Dennis Hopper's Frank Booth in Blue Velvet, Robert Mitchum's Rev. Harry Powell in The Night of the Hunter, Douglas Rain as the voice of the HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, Max Schreck as Graf Orlock in Nosferatu, and Ricardo Montalban as Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

"The Villains list spans the history of motion pictures, from Max Schreck's landmark performance in the 1922 silent version of Nosferatu to Anthony Hopkins reprising his Hannibal Lecter role yet again in the new Red Dragon feature," says Erik Childress, editor of eFilmCritic.com and a member of the OFCS Governing Committee. "In many ways, the Villains are the most important aspect of classic films--what would Star Wars be without Darth Vader or The Wizard of Oz without the Wicked Witch of the West'? With this list, we can unapologetically say that we love a great villain!"

THE OFCS TOP 100 VILLAINS OF ALL TIME

  1. Star Wars etc. - Darth Vader - David Prowse/James Earl Jones
  2. Silence of the Lambs, The etc. - Hannibal Lecter - Anthony Hopkins
  3. Psycho etc. - Norman Bates - Anthony Perkins
  4. Die Hard - Hans Gruber - Alan Rickman
  5. Blue Velvet - Frank Booth - Dennis Hopper
  6. Night of the Hunter - Rev. Harry Powell - Robert Mitchum
  7. 2001: A Space Odyssey - HAL 9000 - Douglas Rain (voice)
  8. Wizard of Oz, The - The Wicked Witch of the West - Margaret Hamilton
  9. Nosferatu - Graf Orlock - Max Schreck
  10. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - Khan Noonien Singh - Ricardo Montalban
  11. Clockwork Orange, A - Alex - Malcolm McDowell
  12. Usual Suspects, The - Keyzer Soze - (mystery/actor's name withheld)
  13. Third Man, The - Harry Lime - Orson Welles
  14. Schindler's List - Amon Goeth - Ralph Fiennes
  15. Halloween - Michael Myers (aka The Shape) - Nick Castle
  16. Batman (1989) - The Joker - Jack Nicholson
  17. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Nurse Ratched - Louise Fletcher
  18. Manchurian Candidate, The - Mrs. Iselin - Angela Lansbury
  19. Jaws - The shark - himself
  20. Se7en - John Doe - Kevin Spacey
  21. Terminator, The etc. - T-800 - Arnold Schwarzenegger
  22. Misery - Annie Wilkes - Kathy Bates
  23. Shining, The - John 'Jack' Daniel Torrance - Jack Nicholson
  24. Once Upon a Time in the West - Frank - Henry Fonda
  25. Amadeus - Salieri - F. Murray Abraham
  26. M - Hans Beckert - Peter Lorre
  27. In the Company of Men - Chad - Aaron Eckhart
  28. Alien etc. - The alien - himself
  29. Shadow of a Doubt - Uncle Charlie - Joseph Cotten
  30. Nightmare On Elm Street, A etc. - Freddy Kreuger - Robert Englund
  31. Apocalypse Now - Col. Walter E. Kurtz - Marlon Brando
  32. Chinatown - Noah Cross - John Huston
  33. Fatal Attraction - Alex Forrest - Glenn Close
  34. Full Metal Jacket - Gunnery Sergeant Hartman - R. Lee Ermey
  35. Blade Runner - Roy Batty - Rutger Hauer
  36. Matrix, The - Mr. Smith - Hugo Weaving
  37. Dracula (1931) - Dracula etc. - Bela Lugosi
  38. Marathon Man - Christian Szell - Laurence Olivier
  39. Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The - T-1000 - Robert Patrick
  40. It's a Wonderful Life - Mr. Potter - Lionel Barrymore
  41. Exorcist, The - Pazuzu - Mercedes McCambridge (voice)
  42. Touch of Evil - Captain Hank Quinlan - Orson Welles
  43. Leon (The Professional) - Norman Stansfield - Gary Oldman
  44. Cape Fear (1991) - Max Cady - Robert De Niro
  45. Goldfinger - Auric Goldfinger - Gert Frobe
  46. Richard III - King Richard III - Ian McKellan
  47. Strangers On a Train - Bruno Antony - Robert Walker
  48. Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, The - Albert Spica - Michael Gambon
  49. Double Indemnity - Phyllis Dietrichson - Barbara Stanwyck
  50. American Psycho - Patrick Bateman - Christian Bale
  51. Hitcher, The - John Ryder - Rutger Hauer
  52. Goodfellas - Tommy DeVito - Joe Pesci
  53. All About Eve - Eve Harrington - Anne Baxter
  54. Bad Seed, The - Rhoda - Patty McCormack
  55. Kiss of Death - Tommy Udo - Richard Widmark
  56. White Heat - Arthur "Cody" Jarrett - James Cagney
  57. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - The queen - Lucille La Verne (voice)
  58. Rebecca - Mrs. Danvers - Judith Anderson
  59. Cape Fear (1962) - Max Cady - Robert Mitchum
  60. Dr. Strangelove - Jack D. Ripper - Sterling Hayden
  61. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery etc. - Dr. Evil - Mike Myers
  62. Taxi Driver - Travis Bickle - Robert DeNiro
  63. Basic Instinct - Catherine Trammell - Sharon Stone
  64. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The - Leatherface - Gunnar Hansen
  65. Wall Street - Gordon Gekko - Michael Douglas
  66. Rosemary's Baby - Minnie Castevet - Ruth Gordon
  67. Deliverance - Mountain men - Bill McKinney and Herbert "Cowboy" Coward
  68. Training Day - Alonzo Harris - Denzel Washington
  69. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? - Jane Hudson - Bette Davis
  70. 101 Dalmatians - Cruella De Vil - Betty Lou Gerson (voice)
  71. Metropolis - The evil Maria - Brigitte Helm
  72. Duel - The truck driver - Carey Loftin
  73. In the Line of Fire - Booth - John Malkovich
  74. Phantom of the Opera, The (1925) - Erik - Lon Chaney
  75. Last Seduction, The - Wendy Kroy - Linda Fiorentino
  76. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer - Henry - Michael Rooker
  77. Sexy Beast - Don Logan - Ben Kingsley
  78. Wait Until Dark - Roat - Alan Arkin
  79. Reservoir Dogs - Mr. Blonde - Michael Madsen
  80. Aguirre, the Wrath of God - Aguirre - Klaus Kinski
  81. Fight Club - Tyler Durden - Brad Pitt
  82. Batman Returns - Catwoman - Michelle Pfieffer
  83. Rob Roy - Archibald Cunningham - Tim Roth
  84. Graduate, The - Mrs. Robinson - Anne Bancroft
  85. Casablanca - Major Heinrich Strasser - Conrad Veidt
  86. Back to the Future etc. - Biff Tannen - Thomas F. Wilson
  87. Ferris Bueller's Day Off - Ed Rooney - Jeffrey Jones
  88. Roger & Me - Roger Smith - himself
  89. Unforgiven - Little Bill Daggett - Gene Hackman
  90. Frankenstein etc. - The monster - Boris Karloff
  91. Flash Gordon (1980) - Ming the Merciless - Max Von Sydow
  92. Stepfather, The - Henry Morrison/Jerry Blake/Bill Hodgkins - Terry O'Quinn
  93. Primal Fear - Mystery Villain - actor's name withheld
  94. Shane - Jack Wilson - Jack Palance
  95. Peeping Tom - Mark Lewis - Carl Boehm
  96. Mutiny On the Bounty (1935) - Captain William Bligh - Charles Laughton
  97. Legend - The Lord of Darkness - Tim Curry
  98. Last House On the Left, The - Krug - David Hess
  99. Lolita - Clare Quilty - Peter Sellers
  100. Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The - Dr. Caligari - Werner Krauss



More from Writers Write


Writing Contests
upcoming contests
Write Jobs
find a job
Writing Memes
funny writing-related memes
Stephen King Quotes
quotes from the master
Grammar Tips
improve your writing
Writing Prompts
spark your creativity