AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes & Villains (2003) (TV)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Gary Smith

Writer:

Bob Gazzale (written by)

Release Date:

3 June 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

The American Film Institute celebrates 100 years of film by recognizing the top 50 film heroes and top 50 film villains of all time. |

Plot Keywords:

American Film Institute | Villain | Film Noir Filmmaking | Villainess | Courage

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Kathy Bates	...	Herself
Anthony Hopkins	...	Dr. Hannibal Lecter (#1 Villain)
Hayden Christensen	...	Himself
Glenn Close	...	Herself
Wes Craven	...	Himself
Geena Davis	...	Herself
Kirk Douglas	...	Himself
Robert Englund	...	Himself
Sally Field	...	Herself
Louise Fletcher	...	Herself
Harrison Ford	...	Himself
Milos Forman	...	Himself
Jodie Foster	...	Herself
William Friedkin	...	Himself
Antoine Fuqua	...	Himself

Also Known As:

AFI's 100 Years, 100 Heroes & Villains: America's Greatest Screen Characters (USA) (complete title)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-14

Company:

American Film Institute (AFI)

Trivia:

Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and Dr. Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Hannibal (2001), Red Dragon (2002), and Hannibal Rising (2007) were listed as the #1 hero and villain.

Quotes:

Harrison Ford: Whoever decided that Indiana Jones should wear a felt hat and a leather jacket in the jungles should have been shot.

Movie Connections:

Features Dirty Harry (1971)

Some good choices, some bad choices...

Just a few choices I agree with:

The Terminator

Annie Wilkes

Hannibal

Hans Gruber

et al.

Villains and heroes who should have been on the list:

Vito Corleone

Frankenstein's Monster

Riggs and Murtaugh ("Lethal Weapon")

William Wallace ("Braveheart")

John McClane (THE action hero -- c'mon, AFI!)

John Matrix (dumb movie, great hero)

Dutch Schaeffer (a true screen macho hero)

John Rambo (the sequels weren't good, but he's still an infamous hero)

Michael Myers (there's no Freddy without him!)

Andy Dufresne

Hjalmar Poelzig ("The Black Cat")

Kyle Reese

Sarah Connor

John Connor

Tony Montana (say hello to a favorite villain!)

George Bailey (he was on, but should have been higher up -- same for Rick Blaine!)

I could go on!

--

Okay, I agreed with some of the choices, but Thelma and Louise did not belong on there any more than Tony Montana or Hjalmar Poelzig. In fact, this list seemed to be ranked by popularity of films -- not by actual villains and heroes. Not many people have heard of Boris Karloff's Hjalmar Poelzig from "The Black Cat" (1931), but he deserved to be on there. WHY WASN'T HE ON THERE? He's creepy, scary, and truly evil.

Also, what was it with Ridley Scott? "Thelma and Louise," "Alien," Ellen Ripley, Maximus from "Gladiator" (who did NOT deserve to be on that list), etc. Some of them (Ripley, "Alien") belonged to be on there, but come on already...

Arnie does a good job presenting this, but I don't believe that the choices were as good as they should have been -- there are TONS of truly great heroes out there not even touched by this little compilation.

Oh, and all the people who deserved to be on there seemed to be misplaced. Travis Bickle is better than the psycho killer in "Fatal Attraction" any day. And what about De Niro's character in the remake of "Cape Fear"? Anyone seen "Halloween"? Where are these villains and heroes?

Worth a look, but I bet you'll disagree with at least 70 % of the choices.