Villains. Who's the best at doing them in the movies? What makes for a "good" villain anyway? And how important are they in stories? That's what we're going to get to in today's post. Lets begin with a clear definition of what a villain is. Courtesy of E.C. Henry's American Heritage Dictionary (which he ALWAYS has ready to reference on his writing desk):
Villain: 1. A wicked or evil person; scoundrel. 2. A dramatic or fictional character who is typically at odds with the hero.
This post is highly influenced by a Screenwriting Expo class taught by Marilyn Horowitz that I attended in September 2011, and actually referenced in a earlier post. The power of a "good" villain cannot be understated. Personally, I think it's more important for the writer to "nail" a memorable villain, than it is to write a good protagonist. Blasphamy? I think not. Let me explain.
As Marilyn Horowitz sold me on, it's the villian NOT the hero that propels the story onward. As Marilyn Horowitz so profoundly atriculated and convinced me of, it's the hero who spends all his or her time trying to "be good", and it's the villian who gives the hero his or her opportunity to shine.
So what makes for a "good" cinematic villain? First off their are different kinds of villains. In the slasher, horror films. It's the guy (or girl) behind the mask. They tend to be rather superficially, many times havingno overt goal other than increasing the body count: Michael Myers from "Halloween," the ghost-faced killer from "Scream", Jason Veehores from "Friday the 13th," Freddy Kruegger from "A Nightmare on Elm Street." Now the passionate defender of the slasher genre may differ from me. But of all the different flavors of villains to me this the easiest to dismiss, as their agenda is too boring. Slasher movies work on the thrill of the chase: get a villain with a creepy enough look and set them against some hottie in peril. Bore-ing! Michael Myers in the original "Halloween" did it best. And since then many have followed, but none did it as well as the original pale-faced, man-with-a-knife.
I'm of the opinion that a "good" villain needs to a believable character -- just one with a skewed sense of morals. A "good" villain needs to be believable. Not just e-vil, rather someone that is three dimensional with a purposeful agenda of their own. They need to have stakes of their own. They need to have a purposeful goal. Basically, a good, memorable, villain needs to be the hero of their story.
With that in mind lets look at E.C. Henry's favorite villains of all time:
(Note: this list was updated March 15, 2014, April 21, 2015)
1. Maurice Evans' Dr. Zaius from "Planet of the Apes" (1968). As referenced in an earlier post, I LOVE the fact the Dr. Zaius is an intellectual in his world. He's the minister of science, and the defender of the faith. And his world is shaken by the arrival of Bright Eyes, Charlton Heston's Taylor -- the speaking human! From his perspective Dr. Zaius is the hero; he's trying to save the foundational beliefs of his culture against an outside threat, who threatens to undermine the beliefs on which his society is built on.
Dr. Zaius is the best conceptual villain ever created and depicted on film. I love the fact that it is Dr. Zaius who is the intellectual, pitted against Taylor: the swosh-buckling hero. Brilliant. Totally defies the simpleton's mere pitting of two, near equals duking it out. Dr. Zaius and Taylor are not equals. They come at each other from distinctly different points of view.
2. Jack Nicholson's Joker from "Batman" (1989). Me and my brother spent YEARS mimicking this memorable villain. The Joker starts out as a high falutin mobster. Then after his accident at Axis Chemicals realizes he can no longer be the same man he was before, and decides to re-imagine himself and take-over the mob which betrayed him. Snap! A monster with a grudge. A monster with a vengeance. Jack Nicholson's Joker is so much fun to watch on screen. Forget Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne/Batman. The Joker IS the movie. And he carries "Batman" (1989) on his back, and makes it memorable.
3. Edward Norton's Mike Shiner from "Birdman (or the Unexpected Vitrue of Ignorance)" (2014). This villain not only terrorizes the main protagonist, he also is a hurdle for a supporting character to overcome. What's so cool about this villain is that he shows that he has a conscious, but he deliberately ignores that voice of caution.
4.Gary Oldman's Stansfield from "The Professional" (1994). Remember that drugged-out, crooked cop? Gary Oldman hit one out of the park with his portrayal of Stansfield, a cock-sure, living-on-the-edge police detective, who's trying to cover his tracks.
5. Jason Issac's Colonel William Tavington of the British army from "The Patriot" (2000). I loved how the screenwriters wrote a scene with Colonel William Tavington getting offered a primo estate by Tom Wilkinson IF he will be the henchmen and squelch the uprising that Mel Gibson's character is the ringleader over. Colonel William Tavington is motivated by the promise of riches and a position in the new world. Sure, he's going to have to get his hands dirty to get there, but that's a comprimise that Colonel William Tavington is willing to make. Believable stakes. And Jason Issac's deliverers in the acting department -- with flying colors. LOVED that villian.
6. Judy Greer's Lucy Wyman/Tom-Tom from "13 Going on 30." What did you think I'd neglect my favorite genre of the them all? Lucy Wyman's Tom-Tom started out being superior to Jennifer Garner's Jenna Rink, but over time Jenna blossomed and became the dominate one. I loved how Lucy Wyman is secretly bitter over all of Jenna's successes. This is a villain who is playing second fiddle the hero of the story -- and wants to be the top dog again!
Sure "13 Going on 30" is a romantic comedy, but that doesn't mean that it can't have a villain too! I love how Lucy Wyman's attempt at rescuingthe place she works, "Poise" magazine, fails. BUT then she learns that her best friend had been undermining the magazine for some time, so she decides to change tactics and beat her former best friend at her own game -- and she does! Study this film, like I have, and you'll find that Lucy Wyman is pretty fleshed out villain. She's bitter over Jenna's active sex life with a hokey player, and she's sick of her best friend's success and admiration from her boss, played by Andy Serkis. Lucy Wyman is a motivated villain: she's out to reclaim her career and prove that she's back to being the top dog again; she's the hero of her own story. A brilliantly conceived villain -- in a rom-com no less!
7. Hans Gruber played by Allan Rickman in "Die Hard." I loved how Hans is the mastermind of a layered, elaborate heist, yet at the same time this memorable villain knows how to act on his feet too, when Bruce Willis' character runs into him, and Hans pretends to be one of the hostages that escapes. A villain with a brain who can think on his feet. And the way Allan Rickman delivers his lines. Very fun to watch. Huge fan of Allan Rickman.
8. Detective Jimmy Shaker played by Gary Sinese in "Ransom" (1996). Much like Hans Grubber, Detective Jimmy Shaker is the mastermind of a crime. Only his crime doesn't work out, the protagonist, played my Mel Gibson, decides not to pay the ransom, and the kidnapping to extortion attempt falls apart. What happens when the bad guys plans fall apart?
A well-conceived bad guy adapts. And that's what Gary Sinese's Deterective Jimmy Shaker did! And that's why I loved him. He shoots his accomplices, then shoots himself to make himself look like the hero, and meet his goals. I LOVED the looks on his face that Gary Sinese delivers in the coffee shop when Mel Gibson is seen on the TV set. Good acting on display there. More good acting on display when Gary Sinese meets up with Mel, after his son is returned, just before he finally pulls a gun on Mel when he realizes that he's been marked as the abductor.
Detective Jimmy Shaker is a thinking man. And that's what I like. He adapts to the changes. He's not a one-note character. He wants to the money from Mel Gibson so he can go off with his girlfriend.
9. Dr. Evil played by Mike Myers from the "Austin Powers" franchise. The villain of a spoof of the James Bond series. Dr. Evil is just funny to me. He makes me laugh. Imagine that, a villain who make you laugh. And Mike Myers pulls it off beautifully. Forget Austin Powers. I want more screen time given to Dr. Evil.
And as Dr. Evil alluded to in his picture. YES! E.C. Henry does have a role envisioned for Mike Myers in one of his scripts; the role of Bob Lemon: the "evil", used car salesmen in "Love, Music and Monkeys: Give It Up for Chimpy II."
10. Gordon Gecko played by Michael Douglas in "Wall Street." A villian in the high money world of Wall Street. Like how a schemer like Gordon Gecko gets his comeuppance by a man he was trying to mentor to be just like him! "Greed is good," indeed!
11. Agent Smith played by Hugo Weaving in "The Matrix." I may be crazy here, but I got the vibe throughout the series that Agent Smith actually wanted to be human. Sure he was the program sent out to stop Neo, but his dialog throughout makes it sound like he's tryingto understand what it's like to be human. And the serious faces that Hugo Weaving can deliver on. Good stuff.
Not enough villains listed? Okay jackass, I'll more than double down--and go to 50!
12 - 51 of E.C. Henry's favorite villains in cinema:
# 12) Max Caddy as played by Robert DiNiro in "Cape Fear" (1991)
# 13) Michael Myers as played by Tony Moran in "Halloween" (1978)
# 14) Green Goblin/Norman Osborn as played by Willam Dafoe in "Spider-man" (2002)
# 15) Anton Chigurh as played by Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men"
# 16) Peter Callahan as played by Peter Gallager in "While You Were Sleeping"
# 17) The Deacon as played by Dennis Hopper in "Waterwold" (1995)
# 18) James Gump a.k.a Buffalo Bill as played by Ted Levine in "Silence of the Lambs"
# 19) Mitch Leary as played by John Malcovich in "In the Line of Fire" (1993)
# 20) Daniel Plainview as played by Daniel Day Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (2007)
# 21) Otto played by Kevin Klien in "A Fish Called Wanda" (1988)
# 22) Pinhead as played by Doug Bradley in "Hellraiser" (1987)
# 23) Hansel played by Owen Wilson in "Zoolander." (2001)
# 24) Fauno/the Pale Man as played by Doug Jones in "Pan's Labyrinth"
# 25) General Zod as played by Michael Shannon in "Man of Steel" (2013)
# 26) Clarence J. Boddicker as played by Kurtwood Smith in "Robocop" (1987)
# 27) Dr. Phillip K. Decker as played by David Cronberg in "Nightbreed" (1990)
# 28) Jacobim Mugato as played by Will Farrell in "Zoolander" (2001)
# 29) Terminator as played by Arnold Swarteneggor in "The Terminator" (1984)
# 30) Captain Hook as played by Dustin Hoffman in "Captain Hook" (1991)
# 31) Ravenna as played by Charlize Theron in "Snow White and the Huntsman" (2012)
# 32) Mr. Orange/Freddy Newandyke as played by Tim Roth in "Reservoir Dogs" (1992)
# 33) Major Arnold Toht as played by Ronald Lacey in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)
# 34) Dr. Phillip Barbay as played by Paxon Whitehead in "Back to School" (1986)
# 35) Colenel Miles Qualich as played by Steven Lang in "Avatar"
# 36) Richard "Stick" Montgomery as played by Adien Quinn in "Stakeout" (1987)
# 37) Seth Brundle as played by Jeff Goldbloom in "The Fly" (1986)
# 38) Burk as played by Paul Riser in "Aliens" (1986)
# 39) Victor Von Doom as played by Julian McMahon in "The Fantastic Four" (2005)
# 40) Albert Ganz as played by James Remar in "48 Hours"
# 41) Biff Tanen as played by Thomas F. Wilson in "Back to the Future" (1985)
# 42) Colonel Hans Landa as played by Christopher Walz in "Inglorous Basterds" (2009).
# 43) Bodhi as played by Patrick Swayze in "Point Break" (1991)
# 44) Lancaster Dodd as played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman in "The Master" (2012)
# 45) Bill "the Butcher" Cutting as played by Daniel Day Lewis in "Gangs of New York" (2002)
# 46) Suzzane Stone Moretto as played by Niccole Kidman in "To Die For" (1995)
# 47) Alex Forest as played by Glenn Close in "Fetal Attraction" (1987)
# 48) Jerry Dandridge as played by Chris Sarandon in "Fright Night" (1985)
# 49 T-1000 as played by Robert Patrick in "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" (1991)
# 50) David as played by Kieffer Southerland in "Lost Boys" (1987)
# 51) Major Henry West played by Chrisopher Eccleston in "28 Days Later"
Pretty varied group. Some of those cinematic villains are true monsters. But some are real-life like people that convievably you could meet in real life.
Cinematic villains come from all genres of movies. Why? Because in story construction there are good guy and their are bad guys. You need the bad guys to help create dramatic tension. If you don't have dramatic tension, chances are you don't have a story.
Villains add a key component to the movies. I think a good villain more important than having a good hero. Why? Because a villain will draw out and expose the hero. Villains set the stage for heros to do heroic things.
There is another argument to be made why a compelling protagonist is not as important as a compelling villain, and that is the audience's desire to take the role of hero themselves and experience an adventure. Why is that you're grippingyour arm rest when Clarice is in the liar of Buffalo Bill? It's because you've emotionally invested in the heroine, Clarice (Jodie Foster) and don't want anything "bad" to happen to her.
I'm of the opinion that as a watcher of the movie, audience members subliminally think they're the hero of the movie. Thus a vague "good guy" is okay. It's all about the ride. And who supplies the thrills of this cinematic roller-coaster ride? The villain, you fuckin' idiot! Hit the reset button. Start over. Haven't you been paying attention to a word I've written?!
The villain is the most critical character in the story. He or she sets the thrills in motion.
And guess what? You're not supposed to like the villain. And in most stories, the villain gets it in the end. Case. And. Point.
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