OK, I watched this in lieu of Miss Universe. I'm not running through the top 100, but here were the top 3. #3 Villain-Darth Vader "Star Wars" #3 Hero-James Bond "James Bond Series" #2 Villain-Norman Bates "Psycho" #2 Hero-Indiana Jones "Indiana Jones Trilogy" #1 Villain-Hannibal Lecter "Silence of the Lambs, etc." #1 Hero-Atticus Finch "To Kill a Mockinbird" Atticus Finch?!? What the hell!!! He's the lead played by Gregory Peck in "To Kill A Mockingbird" And I bet I can count on one hand the people here who have seen this movie. Ahhhh, CBS..... Catering to the Geritol Bunch for over 50 years! (I hate countdown shows.)
Yea, I just got done watching this too with the sound turned down while I was listening to these new Horace Silver CDs that came today. Indiana Jones and James Bond both should have come ahead of Atticus Finch; I can't argue with the villains, though.
Where was Luke Skywalker!?? I watched most of it. Pretty interesting. I haven't seen most of the movies, but I know of them.
Yeah, I know. They put up Han Solo at like #11, but Luke is nowhere on the list. That made no sense, whatsoever.
If only a handful of people on this board have seen To Kill A Mockingbird, then we have a seriously cinematically-challenged group here. Atticus Finch was a great choice and certainly not a character that's any "older" than James Bond (who also debuted in the 1960s). I only caught the last 25 so I was really worried that they were going to name Charlton Heston's Moses as the greatest hero. Some of the villain choices were pretty iffy, like the girl in the Exorcist. She seems more like a victim than a villian. I'm guessing Luke Skywalker didn't make the list because he's pretty bland compared to Han Solo.
Subatomic: Bland or not, Luke was the frickin protagonist in the movie. I loved both Han and Luke as a child, but the story was clearly behind Luke. I still remember the arguments back in the day.... "I'm Luke and you're Han!" or "I'm Ponch and you're Jon!" And as far as being cinematically challenged, c'mon! 99% of the population doesn't watch many movies that were made 30+ years after they were born.
Luke Skywalker not being on that list is an outrage. I could accept Atticus Finch as the best hero, mainly because he's not the traditional hero. And geez, I may be just saying this cause I'm young and all, but how many friggin' gangster movies did they put on this list? It seemed like they were running dry of villains.
What's Geritol? A suppository? Even an ardent fan of Atticus Finch such as I am was pleasantly surprised by this. Have you seen the movie? I have touted it here in any number of RM95's or Sonny's movie threads. It is awesome. The book is even better; I read it in Paris' Luxembourg Gardens in the summer of 1978... sweet memories. Later I named one of my cat's Scout.
Why was Vader not number 1? I mean, get it together people! Also, Luke should have been #1 hero. And yes, I am a Star Wars Freak!
Okay, I have to balance out the Star Wars Freak with better fantasy movies so.... #1 Frodo Baggins #2 My name is Inigo Montoya - you killed my father, prepare to die! #3 Samwise
I'm thinking after all is said and done, Hugo Weavering's Agent Smith character will belong on the Top Villains list. And I agree about Luke and Han deserving to be included in the top 5...
Where were Superman and Batman? You figure that the two most popular comic book heroes of all time could crack the top 10, at least...
Actually, I would guess 100% of 30+ year olds who watch new movies are doing just that - watching movies that were made 30+ years after they were born. However, I will guess that you meant that most of the population doesn't watch many movies that were made 30+ years before they were born. And you're probably right. However, just because they are stupid should not prevent Atticus Finch from being named the greatest hero in movies. I would argue that they should have eliminated all characters (Gandhi, for example) from historically accurate movies. To me, lists like these should celebrate creativity by the writers and actors. A historical character really doesn't demand the same kind of character development that a fictional character does. BTW, I know Superman was in the list (but not the top 10). And Batman really hasn't been a great hero in the movies and since this is an American Film Institute list . . . BTW, one great villain that probably didn't make the list was Don from Sexy Beast. He's an absolutely terrifying character and Ben Kingsley played him full hilt. Of course, I think the film is Brit and again, this is an American Film Institute list . . .
I thought Hans Gruber from Die Hard should have been higher on the list of villains. How Luke and Frodo didn't make the heroes list, I'll never know. Having said that, I enjoyed watching this and the Astros game last night!
How about Micheal Cage or Joe Klein?? I can't believe some people are trying to discredit this list because of the number one hero. To Kill a Mocking Bird is one of the greatest movies ever, period. Star Wars is a great movie in its genre, but please people, it's not To Kill a Mocking Bird. Two totally different levels, and yes, Atticus Finch is one of the greatest characters in American Cinema history.
I'd have to vote for Rock Ridge's biggest badass as best villain...... Hedy Lamarr "THAT'S HEDLEY!!!"
