Top Ten Film Characters (Plus 'The Last Detail' clip I promised ages ago)

[DGMacphee]

Here's that clip from The Last Detail I promised from the "Story behind your avatar" thread.

Now everyone will know the deal behind my avatar plus see a great scene from my fav movie.

http://www.sylpher.com/DGMacphee/Photoshop/TheLastDetail.wmv (2mb)

Anyway, it also got me thinking about my favourite film characters -- So, here's my top ten (in no particular order)

* Billy "Badass" Buddusky from The Last Detail(played by Jack Nicholson) -- Before escorting a young sailor tot he brig, he promises to show the kid the time of his life. So, he buys him beer, gets him laid, they go ice skating, then have a BBQ in the snow. The whole film is a critique about those who hide behind authority and claim they're "just doing their job". Buddusky is the ultimate anti-authoritarian trapped in service of one of the most authoritive groups: The US Navy.

* Sgt. Hartman from Full Metal Jacket (played by R. Lee Emery) -- This whatever-dude article explains it best: http://www.whatever-dude.com/posts/166.shtml

* Hawkeye Pierce from M*A*S*H (played by Donald Sutherland) -- I prefer Alan Alda's Hawkeye from the TV series (he's way more wackier), but I love the whole M*A*S*H trinity (the film, the series, and especially the book) anyway.

* Marge Gunderson from Fargo (played by Frances McDormand) -- I just love the idea of a simple, small-town police chief who's preggers. She gets the job done without resorting to corrupt bully-boy tactics (a la Popeye Doyle) or using her sexuality to gain information (a la Erin Brockovich). All she uses is just clean, honest detective skills. Good on her!

* Verbal Kint from The Usual Suspects (played by Kevin Spacey) -- Nearly every line that come out of this guy's mouth is a classic. Like: "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

* Elwood P Dowd from Harvey (played by Jimmy Stewart) -- A man who talks to a six-foot invisible rabbit. Do I smell a recipe for wackiness?

* Ben from Leaving Las Vegas (played by Nicholas Cage) -- My favourite love story. A suicidal drunk meets a lonely prostitute and they form a marriage-like relationship. Only problem is, he still wants to drink himself to death. Cage researched this character by hanging out with drunks and taping himself drunk so he could study his speech patterns.

* Karl Childers from Sling Blade (played by Billy Bob Thornton) -- Billy Bob may sound like a hillbilly from Deliverance, but he's a talented actor and writer. I saw this film in high school and Karl became the subject of many mirth-filled impersonations for my drama teacher. (I'm also hanging out for Bad Santa to hit Australia)

* Mark "Chopper" Read from Chopper (played by Eric Bana) -- My favourite Aussie movie. Whenever I watch this film, I feel so patriotic. This film is an unbiased look at Australia's toughest criminal (Oh yes, Chopper could mop the floor with Ned Kelly and then use his gizzards for wax). Bana was previously known for his stand-up comedy -- then he showed his sinister, hard-arsed side in this film. He bulked up a la Raging Bull's De Niro and delivered a most memorable performance.

* The Dude from The Big Lebowski (played by Jeff Bridges) -- Another Coen Bros character. But Jeff is totally the man. He's The Dude! I can just imagine the pitch the Coens had to make to the heads of production: "Okay, we want to make this detective story, right? But the main character is a hippy who goes bowling a lot. Oh yeah, and his best friend is a pissed-off Vietnam vet..."

That's the list but other honourable mentions include: Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, Hannibal Lector from Silence of the Lambs, Fast Eddie from The Hustler, Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather (I and II), Leonard Shelby from Memento, Jules from Pulp Fiction, Indy from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Joe Buck and Rizzo Ratso from Midnight Cowboy, and the list goes on and on.


So, who are your favourite characters from films?

[Privateer Puddin']

Indiana Jones(Played by Harrison Ford) - The greatest action hero, i may like him more because of the games though :O I just love the action, and theme

Dark Helmet(Played by Rick Moranis) (Space Balls) - A hilarious parody of Darth Vadar and the giant helmet

Darth Vader(Played by David Prowse, Voice by James Earl Jones) - The ultimate baddie, with the use of his force powers, he can squeeze your balls from across the room!

Lester Burnham(Played by Kevin Spacey) (American Beauty) - "My job requires mostly masking my contempt for the assholes in charge, and, at least once a day, retiring to the men's room so I can jerk off while I fantasize about a life that less closely resembles Hell."

Terminator(Played by The Govenor Of California) - Childhood (I was about 6 when i saw the first movie) Hero!

Atticus Finch)Played by Gregory Peck) (To kill a Mocking Bird) - Excellent job of bringing the character to the big screen.

Peter Pan(Played by Robin Williams) (from HOOK) - Another child hood favourite i guess

That'll do for now

[Nacho]

Ok, let me try:

-Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), from fight club.
-C3PO (Jeff Daniels), From Star Wars.
-Gollum, from the Lord of The Rings (I suppose I shoul`d say Smeagol)
-Red (The Jewish revolutionary member, by John Cleese), In Monthy Python´s Life of Brian.
-Keyser Soze, (Revealing who performed him would be a spoiler...) from the Usual suspects...
-Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) from the Godfather trilogy.

I also liked that officer in "Apocallypse Now", by Robert Duvall (I love the smell of Napalm in the morning... It smells to... Victory!" I can´t remember the name of the character.

Edit: DG says his name is Kilgore.

John McLane (Bruce Willis), Die Hard I, II and III.

Dory: From Nemo.

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Deep), in POTC.

[The Subliminal Messenger]

How could anyone forget, the greatest film character of all time?

Forrest Gump!

Everyone loves Forrest Gump!

[Trapezoid]

Oooh. Inigo Montoya, from the Princess Bride.

[DGMacphee]

Farlander: Kilgore was his name.

TSM: Gump was a good character, but have you seen Sling Blade?

I found Karl Childers was a more interesting character than Gump, even though both were similar characters.

The reason why I thought Childers was more interesting was that Gump just let other people motivate him, whereas Childers had personal reasons to motivate him.

My favourite scene, if anyone has seen it, is this one (taken from the script):

Karl lays his arm on Frank's shoulder and Frank puts his hand on Karl's arm. They sit like that for a few moments, then Karl gets up with his paper sack and walks away. Frank takes the book marker out of the Christmas book. It is just a folded piece of notebook paper. On it is written 'You will be happy.' He looks up at Karl who is now thirty yards away in the trees.

Trap: Good pick!

[Timosity]

Col. Ives -  Ravenous (played by Robert Carlyle)
I loved this character, so evil and very well played.

Jack - Fight Club (played by Edward Norton)
Great movie, the character, well both of them really were a good journey through the mind.

Ford Fairlane - The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (played by Andrew Dice Clay)
Mr. Rock 'n' Roll detective, A character with more one liners than bond or Arny, and more girls, an absolute cult classic.

Danny Zuko - Grease (played by John Travolta)
When I was about 8, I thought I was a member of the T-birds, except we renamed them the Randy Roosters & the Pink Ladies were the Horny Hens, I was a dirty little kid, well nothing much has changed.

Clarice Starling & Dr. Hannibal Lecter - The Silence of the Lambs (played by Jodie Foster & Anthony Hopkins)
Don't really need to say much about this one.

Frederic - The Pirate Movie (played by Christopher Atkins)
This was a favourite movie of my sisters and I when we were kids, along with Grease, I'm sure some of you have seen it, it's a really bad pirates of penzance spoof musical comedy. You may remember Christopher Atkins from 'The Blue Lagoon' with Brooke Shields. This Movie was filmed in Australia and I've been to the castle/mansion that was in the movie down in Werribee near Melbourne.

Spud & Begbie - Trainspotting (played by Ewen Bremner & Robert Carlyle)
Two great characters from this movie

Ishmael Boorg -  Kingpin (played by Randy Quaid)
He plays this role so well, so innocent. It's a great movie, one of my favourites.

Archie Leach - A Fish Called Wanda (played by John Cleese)
He's also played many other great roles, but this is also a great one.

Melvin Junko - The Toxic Avenger (played by Mark Torgl)
well this is sort of a joke one anyway, but he was still a hillarious character, Melvin the mop boy, bigger nerd than Roger Wilco.

also Mark Brandon 'Chopper' Read - Chopper  played by Eric Bana & Roger 'Verbal' Kint - The Usual Suspects played by Kevin Spacey which have already been mentioned. And many more.

[Nacho]

Spoiler

Timosity, Jack is a name that Tyler says to "narrator" in a certain time in the Fight Club Film(before the car crash), but I´m not sure if this the name of the character... I think Tyler calls narrator "Jack" because of that article that narrator reads about an organ of Jack talking in first person.

Someone has read the book? This is a little out of topic, but I wish to know the name of the fight club narrator for sure.

Thanks.

[close]

just hid that incase someone hasn't seen the movie and has a shit fit -eric

Edit: Ok Eric, I haven´t realised that there was a spoiler...

[Barcik]

Frank Abagnale Jr. from "Catch Me If You Can" (Leonardo Di Caprio) - One of the slickest most charming scoundrels (*in-joke alert* guess whose been playing KOTOR) to hit the screen.
John McClane from "Die Hard" (Bruce Willis) - My favourite badass action hero to this day. I like his attitude.
Raoul Duke from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (Johny Depp) - The most trippy bizzare character ever. I love the highly phylosphocial narration.
Micheal Corleone from "The Godfather" - Few other characters have been presented so authentically. Because of this, I find it easy to care about him.
Leonard Shelby from "Memento" (Guy Pearce) - Lenny is a person in trouble, who lives in his own world due to a physical problem. As such, he is hard not to pity him.
Jack Sparrow from "Pirates of the Caribbean" (Johny Depp) - Johny Depp, by far the most diverse of actors, hits again. You can't help but giggle at his style.
Jules Winnfield from "Pulp Fiction" (Samuel L. Jackson) - The big daddy of all black badarse characters. The only difference is that in some way, this one seems real and not way too exaggerated.
Mr. Pink from "Reservoir Dogs" (Steve Buscemi) - Again, an image of a professional, a typical sterotype in today's movies which was done without exaggeration by Tarnatino. Oh, and that dialog about tips does give him some points.
Oskar Schindler from "Schindler's List" (Liam Neeson) - No explanation needed.
Andy Dufresne from "The Shawshank Redemption" (Tim Robbins) - The epitome of efficiency. It is hard not to admire his will and mental strength.
Mickey from "Snatch" (Brad Pitt) - I think just being able to talk with that kind of accent requires some serious skills. I just love the way he fucks everything up, to everybody.
Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez from "Traffic" (Benicio Del Toro) - An absolutely beautiful character. He isn't a majestic hero, and yet little by little he does what he can in a corrupted work. A realistic hero, so to speak.
Guido Orefice from "La Vita e Bella" (Roberto Begnini) - No other character causes a mix of emotions in this one. Do I need to cry when I watch him, or laugh? Absolutely toching.

[Timosity]

Timosity, Jack is a name that Tyler says to "narrator" in a certain time in the Fight Club Film(before the car crash), but I´m not sure if this the name of the character... I think Tyler calls narrator "Jack" because of that article that narrator reads about an organ of Jack talking in first person.

Someone has read the book? This is a little out of topic, but I wish to know the name of the fight club narrator for sure.

Thanks.

I wasn't sure about the name either but at www.imdb.com it says the narrator is Jack, that's where I got it from, whether it is right or not, I'm not positive but it probably is.

[Ghormak]

Antonio Salieri - Amadeus (F. Murray Abraham)
One of my favourite characters ever. He was the best composer of them all, his prayers had worked. But then that obscene little child Mozart appears and improvises the hell out of Salieri's welcome march. I just love how insanely jealous and denying he looks during that particular scene.

I agree with many of the above posts, but I don't want to repeat what's already been said.

[Darth Mandarb]

Nathaniel "Hawkeye" Poe : Daniel Day Lewis : Last of the Mohicans - This is my favorite movie of all time and DDL's performance never ceases to amaze me.

Jeffery "The Dude" Lebowski : Jeff Bridges : The Big Lebowski - One of the most complicated, simple, characters of all time!  Jeff Bridges was so "The Dude" that you could forget it was an act.

Stanley Spadowski : Michael Richards : UHF - The janitor who became Kosmo Kramer.  I used to rewind his scenes over and over and still laugh my ass off to this day when I watch that movie.

Vincenzo Coccotti : Christopher Walken : True Romance - one of the most chilling scenes in movie history.  When he's interrogating Clarence's father Cliff (Dennis Hopper) ... still gives me chills as I'm uncomfortably laughing ... "You're a cantelope!"

Ludwig van Beethoven : Gary Oldman : Immortal Beloved - Oldman is, in my opinion, the greatest actor of all time and he was shining perfect in this role.

"Preacher" Cort : Russell Crowe : The Quick and the Dead - From L.A. Confidential to Gladiator to A Beautiful Mind this Aussie never ceases to amaze me.  This role in particular just stands out to me.

Jim Morrison : Val Kilmer : The Doors - As far as playing a well known person Val Kilmer was just flawless as Morrison.  I sometimes get the two of them mixed up.

Uncas : Eric Schweig : Last of the Mohicans - Going back to my favorite movie.  Uncas barely speaks in the role but gets across his role so perfectly that it's worthy to be on my list!  His silent love of Alice is more powerful than Hawkeye's love for Cora ... amazing.

William "Braveheart" Wallace : Mel Gibson : Braveheart - Gibson gave his most memorable performance since Lethal Weapon and, in my opinion, far surpassed it.  His passion, anger, and determination were so believeable.  I knew how it had to end ... but I was still hoping ...

Dr. Ellie Arroway : Jodie Foster : Contact - Foster's emotion in the role was amazing.  I don't really like her that much ... but she was great in the movie.

I could keep on going ... these were just the first that came to mind.  Which means they're probably on the top of my list.

])]v[

[DGMacphee]

Farlander/Timosity:

Spoiler

He doesn't actually reveal his name.

The 'Jack' thing came from the series of organ stories the narrator reads in the old house.

Also, in the trivia section of FC's imdb entry, it says: In the press packages released for Fight Club, which came in the form of Ikea-esque catalogues, Edward Norton's character is referred to as "Jack".

However, this isn't concrete evidence.

The closest thing he has to an actual name is Tyler Durden (as he and Tyler are the same person) -- but this could be another made-up name like the ones he gave at the help groups.

It's better without his name, though -- if he and Tyler are indeed the same person, then shouldn't his mind/soul be free of physical restraints, such as names?

If you were to die, what good would a name do you in the afterlife when a soul takes on no physical form?

How are people able to distinguish a soul with the name "Jack" with another of the name "Bob"?

This shows what a mindtrip the film is.

[close]

[Matt Brown]

Indiana Jones(Played by Harrison Ford) - The greatest action hero, i may like him more because of the games though :O I just love the action, and theme

Dark Helmet(Played by Rick Moranis) (Space Balls) - A hilarious parody of Darth Vadar and the giant helmet

Darth Vader(Played by David Prowse, Voice by James Earl Jones) - The ultimate baddie, with the use of his force powers, he can squeeze your balls from across the room!

Lester Burnham(Played by Kevin Spacey) (American Beauty) - "My job requires mostly masking my contempt for the assholes in charge, and, at least once a day, retiring to the men's room so I can jerk off while I fantasize about a life that less closely resembles Hell."

Terminator(Played by The Govenor Of California) - Childhood (I was about 6 when i saw the first movie) Hero!

Atticus Finch)Played by Gregory Peck) (To kill a Mocking Bird) - Excellent job of bringing the character to the big screen.

Peter Pan(Played by Robin Williams) (from HOOK) - Another child hood favourite i guess

That'll do for now

great list. I'd the Blues Brothers, James Bond, and tom cruise's character in The Last Samurai, which is rapidly becoming my new favorite, non-funny movie.

[Nacho]

To DG:

Spoiler

Yes... I supposed that his name was not revealed, which was a very smart think, IMHO. Tyler calls him "Jack" when the car is going to crash... he says to "narrator":

-To reach rock-bottom is not a weekend trip, you know? Do you want to make it yes or not?
(silence)
Jack?

(Directly translated form the spanish, sorry if it does not match)

This scene is great if you see the film for second time. A schizophrenich asking to himself if he is crazy enough to crash a car with two more people in it...

I don´t know if this evidence works, as narrator was playing the fool with the "Jack´s organ article" some times in the movie...

But I don´t think that the name is revealed, as it seems to be one of the games in the film. We see also a lot of names in the stickers the the narrator uses to go to the "meetings" at the start, which implies that they´re false (at least, all of them except the real?)

Also, scenes are cut just when narrator is going to say his real name (I.E. When the bus interrupts the scene when Marla says her name and narrator is going to say his...

Furthmore, in the credits Edward Norton is called "narrator"

That are my points to sa that the real name is not revealed.

[close]

[DGMacphee]

Spoiler

The problem is the line is different in the English version.

Tyler makes no mention of 'Jack' in the car crash scene.

[close]

[Nacho]

DG: Oh! Lol! That definitely makes the "Jack option" loose chances...

[Meowster]

Okay. Here goes. In no particular order (Except Indiana Jones being number 1)

1. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) I mean COME ON.
2. James Bond (Timothy Dalton) But specifically the Timothy Dalton Bond.
3. Michael Collins (Liam Neeson)
4. George Bailey (from It's a Wonderful Life)
5. That German Bad Guy from Die Hard III, played by Jeremy Irons.. I found him a lot more convincing than many bad guys.
6. Marty McFly (Back to the Future, Michael J. Fox) Kick ass!
7. Peter Pan (Whoever the little kid who plays him in the new one is, he rocks!)
8. Zidler from Moulin Rouge
9. Flik from A Bugs Life
10. The Entire Cast of A Bugs Life.

[TheYak]

And nobody mentions the star of Six-String Samurai?  For shame.

[evenwolf]

you mean Buddy, portrayed by Jeffrey Falcon?

Good character, but the acting is hindered by the fact that the dialog is horribly dubbed.

How about:

Lardass Hogan winner of the pie eating contest
and his fine young friends

See lardass in action here