As far back as I can remember, I’ve always loved villains. It was always the big bad that interested me more in Disney films. More often than not, the villains were the folk that made the lasting impression and to this day I believe the villain is what elevates a film from being good to everlasting greatness.
Over the coming week I’m going to be listing 10 of favourite villains. Let me know what you think:
10 – Man (Bambi)
I remember watching his film in class at Infant School and being completely captivated by the story and the animation. Although I watched cartoons all the time, I hadn’t seen anything like Bambi up to this point.
I can say this without any exaggeration, the moment when ‘man’ kills Bambi’s mother completely changed my life. I remember being confused, angry and upset, I didn’t understand why it had happened.
I have watched Bambi so many times since, more than I wish to count and that moment has never lost its power for me. I struggle to think of a gloomier moment in all of cinema. To this day, as a 28 year old grown ass man with kids of his own, when that moment is coming up I have to steel myself for it. Amazing cinema.
9 –Hans Landa (Inglourious Basterds)
Mr Tarantino makes extraordinary villains like they grow in his garden. This list could have had around five of his characters and I wouldn’t have batted an eye-lid. But it’s Landa that stands out and he did so from the very first scene of Inglorious Basterds.
Now, I should loath Landa with every fibre of my being – he is Nazi officer for crying out loud – but I don’t and it bothers me that I don’t. It also speaks to the genius of this character – he is incredibly charismatic, very funny but as pure evil as you can get when it comes to a fictional character. Uncomfortably brilliant.
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This post was taken from my Chocolate Films blog. If you are interested in the rest of the list it will appear on there.
Love.
Just a normal everyday bloke writing about films.