Empire's 100 Greater Movie Characters

[chaosapiant]

The dude is the most quotable character in modern cinema.

I suppose I should just be happy Plissken made the list...

I have two bumper stickers on my car.  One is an Iron Maiden one, and the other is a Lewboski fest one that says "phone's ringing dude..."

 

[Forostar]

Here some of my favourite character roles. I decided to mention just one film per actor, but honestly, most of these actors have played more than one great role, so this was just the pick of the day. Still, the Henry Fonda role is surely a top 3 one, and the Anthony Quinn role would be in my top 5 as well. The three Japanese guys I mention are sublime actors, who made many films I would recommend to anyone (especially the ones in the 1950s and 1960s, directed by Akira Kurosawa and Masaki Kobayashi).


Juror #8 by Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men (1957)

Col. Andrea Stavros by Anthony Quinn in The Guns of Navarone (1961)

Kôichi Nishi by Toshirô Mifune in The Bad Sleep Well (1963)

Kambei Shimada by Takashi Shimura in Seven Samurai (1954)

Kaji by Tatsya Nakadai in The Human Condition (trilogy) (1959, 1959, 1961)

Lt. Commander Phillip Queeg by Humphrey Bogart in The Caine Mutiny (1954)

Terry and Ruth Collins by Olivia de Havilland in The Dark Mirror (1946)

A family ancestor in a portrait, Young Ascoyne D'Ascoyne (son of Lord Ascoyne D'Ascoyne), Young Henry D'Ascoyne (photographer), Reverend Lord Henry D'Ascoyne, Lady Agatha D'Ascoyne, Admiral Lord Horatio D'Ascoyne, General Lord Rufus D'Ascoyne, Ethelred D'Ascoyne and 8th Duke of Chalfont Lord Ascoyne D'Ascoyne (Banker, 9th Duke of Chalfont)

Spoiler

(in order of death)

by Alec Guinness in Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

Dr. Henryk Savaard by Boris Karloff in The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)

Roger Thornhill by Cary Grant in North by Northwest (1959)

Richard Dadier by Glenn Ford in Blackboard Jungle (1955)

Atticus Finch by Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Dr. Luther Brooks by Sidney Poitiers in No Way Out (1950)

John J. Macreedy by Spencer Tracy in Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

Jefferson Smith by James Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Mr. Slade, the lodger by Laird Cregar in The Lodger (1944)

Sherlock Holmes by Basil Rathbone in The Scarlet Claw (1944)

Victor Grandison by Claude Rains in The Unsuspected (1947)

Otto Becker / Baron Hugo Von Detner by Conrad Veidt in Nazi Agent (1942)

Alicia Huberman by Ingrid Bergman in Notorious (1946)

Eric Gorman by Lionel Atwill in Murders in the Zoo (1932)

Louise Howell by Joan Crawford in Possessed (1947)

Col. Dax by Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory (1957)

Ben Stride by Randolph Scott in Seven Men from Now (1956)

Gustave 'Gu' Minda by Lino Ventura in Le deuxième souffle (1966)

Marshal Will Kane by Gary Cooper in High Noon (1952)

Professor Richard Wanley by Edward G. Robinson in The Woman in the Window (1944)

Sefton by William Holden in Stalag 17 (1953)

 

[Cornfed Hick]

Where is Bluto Blutarsy?????!!! 

Ahem.  <<Cough.>>  Again, I present for your consideration:

Though I love The Big Lebowski too, Bluto was more "Dude" than The Dude.  The greatest lazy slob in the history of lazy slobs.  Do the Bluto.

 

[LooseCannon]

THEY TOOK THE BAR! THE WHOLE FUCKING BAR!

 

[Cornfed Hick]

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor??

 

[LooseCannon]

Face it, Flounder. You fucked up. You trusted us!

 

[Cornfed Hick]

Grab a brew.  Don't cost nothin'.

You know, I can think of a couple other characters from Animal House that belong on that list.  E.g., Otter, Flounder, D-Day, Dean Wormer. All are more memorable and timeless than, say, Amelie.   

 

[LooseCannon]

Pinto's shoulder demon.

 

[Cornfed Hick]

Face it, Flounder. You fucked up. You trusted us!

I think Otter said this. 

Other Bluto gems:
"My advice to you is to start drinking heavily."
"Seven years of college down the drain.  Might as well join the fucking Peace Corps."
"I'm a zit.  Get it?"
And, though not uttered by Belushi, who can forget:  "Mr. Blutarsky...Zero. Point. Zero."

Seriously, how is Bluto not on the list.  Ditto Carl Spackler or Judge Smails (Caddyshack).

 

[LooseCannon]

Right. Bluto then said:

"My advice to you? Start drinking heavily."

And Otter goes:

"Better listen to him, Flounder. He's in pre-med."

 

[national acrobat]

Here some of my favourite character roles. I decided to mention just one film per actor, but honestly, most of these actors have played more than one great role, so this was just the pick of the day. Still, the Henry Fonda role is surely a top 3 one, and the Anthony Quinn role would be in my top 5 as well. The three Japanese guys I mention are sublime actors, who made many films I would recommend to anyone (especially the ones in the 1950s and 1960s, directed by Akira Kurosawa and Masaki Kobayashi).

Forostar, an interesting list and I certainly share your appreciation of the dozen or so that I've seen there. The latest role you've mentioned is from 1963 - is it simply that your favourite characters happen to be from older films or were you trying to counter-balance the (unfair) weight on more recent films in the original list?

Also, I had a chuckle at the Kind Hearts and Coronets mention (a whole list in itself ) - I haven't seen it for years but it was actually on TV this morning - at 4 a.m. and I forgot to set the tape.

 

[Forostar]

Forostar, an interesting list and I certainly share your appreciation of the dozen or so that I've seen there.

Glad you took time to check the list and liked some of the characters as well.

The latest role you've mentioned is from 1963 - is it simply that your favourite characters happen to be from older films

This. But I can also think of a few later characters e.g. Tom Stall by Viggo Mortensen in A History of Violence (2005) or Nikolai by the same actor in Eastern Promises (2007).

or were you trying to counter-balance the (unfair) weight on more recent films in the original list?

A bit, but generally I prefer the older films. So that certainly counts.

Also, I had a chuckle at the Kind Hearts and Coronets mention (a whole list in itself ) - I haven't seen it for years but it was actually on TV this morning - at 4 a.m. and I forgot to set the tape.

Hehe, these performances were really stunning. Very funny stuff.