Top 10 Characters in Cinema History

I've noticed this particular topic floating around the blog-o-sphere (I'm still figuring this stuff out) but I think it's pretty cool to reflect on my favorite characters for one of my first posts. I think this is quite difficult but not because of the many characters I can think of. Usually, a movie can be broadly placed into categories of plot driven and character driven films for myself and thus, my favorites tend to be the plot driven ones. However, as evidenced by my current picture, I do have an affinity for a character or two. I'm going to list them as I think of them so don't take the order too seriously.

My 10 Favorite Movie Characters

Harry Lime
I recently watched what now is securely in my top 5 movies of all time and the scene where we first see Harry Lime's face is still of one of the most epic and significant looks I've ever experienced. Me being one obsessed with the music that accompanies any movie, the zither that plays right when Joseph Cotten sees the care free Welles (at his devilishly best) basically raises my emotions with each twinge of those strings and solidifies his perfect casting in the film.

I'm reminded also of Peter Bogdonavich's statement about how Harry Lime is the perfect type of showy character. Despite not being in the movie for the first half, everyone talks about him and the audience walks out of the theater talking only about the guy who played Harry Lime despite not seeing him much. It sounds better on the DVD introduction I promise.

Colonel Walter E. Kurtz

Now for the other part of my fictional person Marlon Welles (see URL), this movie still remains a complete mystery in my mind about its significance (thus making it one of my favorites) but Brando does such a fantastic job of epitomizing the shit hole that Martin Sheen has stumbled upon that Kurtz deserves to be on this list.

Generally, I group Orson Welles and Marlon Brando together based on their explosion onto the movie scene and their seeming disappearance and disgrace from stardom later in their careers. Both were ahead of their time and, after a brief revival later in their careers, could not survive in the money making machine that is Hollywood due to their unruly attitudes and, in my opinion, profound genius that no one else could understand (grant it, showing up to an already troubled movie set overweight and with a shaved head may not have been a good idea; especially when you have to face off against Francis Ford Coppola). In any case, true genius is never understood until it is too late and also comes as a result of wild card decisions.

Jules Winnfield

I really have nothing to say about Samuel L. I'm still envisioning a scenario where he would have portrayed Dumbledore on screen in the Harry Potter movies. I mean, how awesome would that be? "I'm Albus L. Dumbledore! Wingardium leviosa motha fucka!!!"

note: No word yet on why the most powerful wizard in the world is only trying to lift someone up.





Detective Barton Keyes from Double Indemnity

Boy can Edward G. Robinson throw out a line. I'm still in the process of discovering the amazingness of Robinson in multiple gangster movies but it is his role in this staple of film noir where I always remember his lack of a light for his cigarettes. I always find that people have trouble accepting film noir because of how dark they can be and how there is no one to root for. In this one though, anyone can root for Detective Keyes if Fred MacMurray or Barabara Stanwyk is not their cup of tea. Simply put, I love this character and Eddie G. in general (I hope no one ever discovers these nicknames and gets mad. That's just how I pretend to be friends with these people).



Harry Powell from The Night of the Hunter

I'm still recovering from the shock of this film. I watched another Mitchum film about two weeks after seeing this and was terrified any second that he would snap out of his hero role and hunt someone down for money. I guess it doesn't help that I saw this movie alone, at 1AM and that I happened to be expecting a fun movie about children. Damn me and my lack of research before seeing a movie. I have to stop typing now because his eyes are creeping me out to the left of this.





Daniel Plainview
No, seriously, Robert Mitchum is creepy. Though this is very recent, my friends and I have already sufficiently tried to immitate him much more than most movie characters (except Albus L. Dumbledore of course). The genuine lengths that Daniel Day disappears into this role is impressive in itself but then you add to it the depth of Paul Thomas Anderson's visually and emotionally stunning film and you have something quite unique (aided of course by Johnny Greenwoood's haunting score). I really could go on and on about this movie but "there's an ocean of oil" to explore further.

Note: I realize that made no sense whatsoever.




Norma Desmond

I really am not doing justice to the female characters of cinema and Norma Desmond really is quite creepy and memorable. The epitome of the femme fatale, it's amazing just how far Gloria Swanson takes this character to almost complete caricature but then manages to bring her back to life in several key scenes of the movie. I laugh and cringe every time she lifts up her cigarette holder to her mouth and manage to further scare myself into submition every time she opens her eyes wide and intimidates even every living soul in that room. Man is that picture creepy or what!






Ferris Bueller

An inspiration. A reason to lament the career of Matthew Broderick. And just pure fun. Nobody can ever replicate the ease to which Ferris strolls about town, knows everyone, lightly brushes away the love everyone throws at him and simply lives the dream all of us wish we could have.
Simply put, he's a righteous dude.

Patrick Bateman from American Psycho

These last few are getting quite tough. I'm tempted to levitate towards a Role Models reference or perhaps a Dr. Strangelove cameo but really nothing gets better than an axe wielding chainsaw throwing psychopath. Simply put, every second of screen time that Christian Bale shreds is just all that more extreme and all the more vexing in the grand scheme of this bizarre film. No matter how many cinematographers he gets mad at, I will forever covet this character. I have to go return some videotapes now.

Ron Burgundy

I quite realize that these just get sillier as we go along but this is one of my favorite movies to just watch any time of day or year. I can quote perhaps every good line from this film (which is quite impressive since I HATE quoting movies, mostly because I'm bad at remembering things). What makes Ron Burgundy even greater is just how much funnier he seems now then four years ago. Perhaps like milk, he gets better with time. Wait, what? Milk was a bad choice!



Now that effectively took away an hour from my life. I think I'll just limit one post per day from now on. I would force five other bloggers to do this but I don't really know anyone else. I like this list. Let's stick with it.

The Cuckoo Clock

I'm generally using this blog to put down my thoughts about random things that pop up in my mind. I'm very forgetful like that. If you're reading this, it's probably a mistake.