If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. – Atticus Finch
•••
Clarice Starling: If you didn’t kill him, then who did, sir?
Hannibal Lecter: Who can say? Best thing for him, really. His therapy was going nowhere.
I was looking at the American Film Institute top 50 heroes and villains from the movies. The above two quotes were from the characters who claimed the top spot in their respective categories. (Clarice Staring was number six on the heroes list.)
You could probably add the misunderstood Boo Radley from “TKAM” to the list of heroes.
One character actually made both lists. Remember when the Terminator came back reprogrammed as a helpful cyborg in the second film?
Nurse Ratched in the cuckoo’s nest came in as the fifth worst villain. Was anyone ever despised more?
Hannibal the Cannibal was actually kind of funny, even likeable, in a creepy sort of way.
Norman Bates at number two was totally mad, but not really mean. But “mother” was a different story.
Three and four are Darth Vader and The Wicked Witch of the West. But in the end, even Lord Vader came back to the light. We also learn in Gregory MaGuire’s novel, “Wicked,” that the main villainess from Oz started life early as the heroine Elphaba.
Which brings me back to the cruel Nurse Ratched. I can still feel my hands clinch while I watched R.P. McMurphy try to choke her out of this life.
Moving down the list, there is Alex Forrest from “Fatal Attraction,” every guy’s worst nightmare. I’ve not felt the same about boiled rabbit since.
There was Regan MacNeil, but the Devil made her do it.
Michael Corleone, from “The Godfather II.” If whacking your big brother doesn’t earn a spot, then nothing should.
HAL 9000, from “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Where’s a good virus when you need one?
Amon Goeth, from “Schindler’s List.” Nazis of the world must be disappointed he didn’t crack the top ten. Reminds me of another classic quote, this time from “The Blues Brothers” –
Elwood: Illinois Nazis.
Jake: I hate Illinois Nazis.
Annie Wilkes in “Misery” – another one who needed choking. Annie was really more crazy than mean, so the nastiness award should still belong to Nurse Ratched.
Next comes The Shark, from “Jaws.” Please, it’s his turf we’re talking about here.
On down there are other great villains like Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street,” Jack Torrance in “The Shining,” Max Cady in “Cape Fear” and Baby Jane Hudson, played by Bette Davis.
But they also placed Travis Bickle from “Taxi Driver” on the villain list. Did I miss something there?
Anyway, the guys win the most on the top 50-villain list with 26. There are 11 women, one couple (Bonnie and Clyde), one witch, three cartoons (The Queen from Snow White, Man from Bambi and Cruella De Vil), a computer, an alien, a shark, a cyborg, Martians and a vampire. Also coming in were Freddy Krueger, and Nicholson again as The Joker.
The heroes’ list is packed with star power: Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey and Mr. Smith in Washington, Henry Fonda as Tom Joad and one of the “12 Angry Men,” Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy and Cool Hand Luke, Robert Redford as Sundance, and Bob Woodward, and Bogey as Phillip Marlowe and Rick the café owner.
Only one actor made it onto the list for three of his portrayals – Gary Cooper, who was everyone’s hero in “High Noon,” “Sergeant York,” and as Lou Gehrig.
The only non-humans on the list are Superman, Arnold’s good Terminator, and a dog named Lassie.
That leaves us with 39 men (I count the Man of Steel) and six women. There are three couple superheroes – Butch and Sundance, Woodward and Bernstein, and Thelma and Louise. Which gives the ladies a final hero count of eight, and the guys 43.
Let’s throw in Lassie with the girls and take them up to nine.
I wonder if this gender breakdown of villains and heroes would be valuable information to any of the current presidential candidates.