20- Butch Cassidy/Sundance Kid- Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)
Actors- Paul Newman and Robert Redford
Screenwriter William Goldman also wrote the Oscar-winning Hollywood script of the Bernstein/Woodward story starring Redford and Dustin Hoffman in leads. But it is his sleek, split-second, warm and funny script for this Western caper that remains to be one of the finest ever. Most notably, Goldman along with director George Roy Hill sculpted two extraordinary male leads pitted together in a hot chase after a robbery goes wrong. Fellow thieves Butch (Paul Newman) and Sundance (Robert Redford) fly the coop on foot, on horseback and eventually scoot off to faraway Bolivia along with their common lady love (Katharine Ross), all the while mouthing a constant stream of hilarious dialogues, which let off sparks between the duo. Sundance is laconic and precise, Butch is charismatic and crafty; Sundance does not know to swim while Butch merely laughs about it; Butch seduces his girl with bicycle tricks while Sundance does it with a gun in the dark. Their contrast is sharply etched and it results in some hilarious setups but as they are eventually cornered in the moving climax and end up chatting about running away to Australia, you can’t help but feel for them both.
19- Jake La Motta- Raging Bull (1980)
Actor- Robert De Niro
Yeah, there is all this hype around it- the amount of preparation that De Niro did for this mammoth performance, about how he and Scorsese were closely involved in bringing the real-life veteran boxer on the silver screen and all that. But above all, like most of their unforgettable collaborations, this one is remembered mainly as a deeply troubling and heartbreakingly honest portrait of masculinity. Jake La Motta, the Bronx Bull, the relentless champ of the ring, turns out to be almost a monster for his most loved ones. From breaking his early marriage to suspecting his new wife- several years younger than him- of infidelity and finally bashing up his brother Joey (an explosive Joe Pesci) despite all that the latter did for him, Jake is also a terror, not only on his opponents but also on himself- his gluttony leads him to gain fat while he deliberately lets rival Sugar Ray knock him down into a bloody mess- after which he says ‘You never got me, Ray’. Yet, he is also surprisingly likeable, even worthy of sympathy- when he snuggles up close to his wife, when he desperately hugs his brother to reconcile and when, in a dark cell, he cries out with shattering pain- ‘They Call Me an Animal! I Am Not An Animal!’ Simply heartbreaking.
18-Captain Hilts- The Great Escape (1963)
Actor- Steve McQueen
Long before Arnold Schwarzenegger immortalized the Harley Davidson, while playing a mean and lean cyborg, sensational Steve McQueen immortalized the motorcycle as the ultimate symbol of rippling masculinity. And no, McQueen did not have the pecs and biceps of Arnie. What he had was pure cool. As the cockiest inmate in a high-security POW camp, Captain Hilts is also the most daring, irreverent and heroic. He cares less about his life, lesser about the constantly befuddled camp commanders and even less about the rest of the prisoners. All he wants is a quick getaway but he nevertheless lends a hand to the other 250. Armed with a baseball ball, he enjoys time in the ‘Cooler’ but when he escapes, it is then the most heroic bits come. Riding across the country without saying anything, McQueen becomes the coolest action hero performing daredevilry with a bike. And when in the end, he is tangled up in barb wire, we want him to live for sure, albeit in the ‘Cooler’.
17- Mr. Blonde- Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Actor- Michael Madsen
Sometimes, a single scene can define a whole film and a whole filmmaking culture. And while Quentin Tarantino has given us more than enough of such moments, the moment that remains to be iconic has to be the one which stars Mr. Blonde in a gleefully gruesome moment. Throughout the film, till that moment, Madsen’s sinister Mr. Blonde remains in the background as his fellow color-coded thieves argue heatedly about a messy heist job. But when he gets hold of a cop and ties him to a chair, the stage is set for one of the most extraordinary moments in the film. He gets into action, with a radio and a razor blade as he tunes playfully to a pop classic and then, all of a sudden, with alarming alacrity plunges the razor on the poor cop’s face. And then watch the horror of it all as Mr. Blonde plays around with a severed ear. Surely, Mr. Blonde is nothing more than a psychopath but Madsen’s indulgently repulsive performance makes his actions morbidly delightful.
16- Amon Goethe- Schindler’s List (1993)
Actor- Ralph Fiennes
Steven Spielberg’s incredible masterpiece, a tragic story of an unlikely hero of the grim days of Holocaust, was also known for its extraordinary performances and in this aspect, it is Ralph Fiennes who makes the most impression starring as one of the most devilish characters to make an appearance. His Amon Goethe comes to represent the worst of Nazism- as the commander in charge of liquidation of the ghetto in Krakow, Goethe is so ruthless that we almost believe that he is more of a machine rather than a human being. He lusts after his maid but when she does not reciprocate, he beats her mercilessly. Goethe is not just a villain. He is pure evil. With a stony stare in his eyes and an evil grin on his face, Fiennes comes off as nothing less than Satan on earth. And it is really unforgettable and awfully dangerous. When he recites that haunting ‘Today Is History’ speech, you cannot help but feel a chill down your spine.
Actors- Paul Newman and Robert Redford
Screenwriter William Goldman also wrote the Oscar-winning Hollywood script of the Bernstein/Woodward story starring Redford and Dustin Hoffman in leads. But it is his sleek, split-second, warm and funny script for this Western caper that remains to be one of the finest ever. Most notably, Goldman along with director George Roy Hill sculpted two extraordinary male leads pitted together in a hot chase after a robbery goes wrong. Fellow thieves Butch (Paul Newman) and Sundance (Robert Redford) fly the coop on foot, on horseback and eventually scoot off to faraway Bolivia along with their common lady love (Katharine Ross), all the while mouthing a constant stream of hilarious dialogues, which let off sparks between the duo. Sundance is laconic and precise, Butch is charismatic and crafty; Sundance does not know to swim while Butch merely laughs about it; Butch seduces his girl with bicycle tricks while Sundance does it with a gun in the dark. Their contrast is sharply etched and it results in some hilarious setups but as they are eventually cornered in the moving climax and end up chatting about running away to Australia, you can’t help but feel for them both.
19- Jake La Motta- Raging Bull (1980)
Actor- Robert De Niro
Yeah, there is all this hype around it- the amount of preparation that De Niro did for this mammoth performance, about how he and Scorsese were closely involved in bringing the real-life veteran boxer on the silver screen and all that. But above all, like most of their unforgettable collaborations, this one is remembered mainly as a deeply troubling and heartbreakingly honest portrait of masculinity. Jake La Motta, the Bronx Bull, the relentless champ of the ring, turns out to be almost a monster for his most loved ones. From breaking his early marriage to suspecting his new wife- several years younger than him- of infidelity and finally bashing up his brother Joey (an explosive Joe Pesci) despite all that the latter did for him, Jake is also a terror, not only on his opponents but also on himself- his gluttony leads him to gain fat while he deliberately lets rival Sugar Ray knock him down into a bloody mess- after which he says ‘You never got me, Ray’. Yet, he is also surprisingly likeable, even worthy of sympathy- when he snuggles up close to his wife, when he desperately hugs his brother to reconcile and when, in a dark cell, he cries out with shattering pain- ‘They Call Me an Animal! I Am Not An Animal!’ Simply heartbreaking.
18-Captain Hilts- The Great Escape (1963)
Actor- Steve McQueen
Long before Arnold Schwarzenegger immortalized the Harley Davidson, while playing a mean and lean cyborg, sensational Steve McQueen immortalized the motorcycle as the ultimate symbol of rippling masculinity. And no, McQueen did not have the pecs and biceps of Arnie. What he had was pure cool. As the cockiest inmate in a high-security POW camp, Captain Hilts is also the most daring, irreverent and heroic. He cares less about his life, lesser about the constantly befuddled camp commanders and even less about the rest of the prisoners. All he wants is a quick getaway but he nevertheless lends a hand to the other 250. Armed with a baseball ball, he enjoys time in the ‘Cooler’ but when he escapes, it is then the most heroic bits come. Riding across the country without saying anything, McQueen becomes the coolest action hero performing daredevilry with a bike. And when in the end, he is tangled up in barb wire, we want him to live for sure, albeit in the ‘Cooler’.
17- Mr. Blonde- Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Actor- Michael Madsen
Sometimes, a single scene can define a whole film and a whole filmmaking culture. And while Quentin Tarantino has given us more than enough of such moments, the moment that remains to be iconic has to be the one which stars Mr. Blonde in a gleefully gruesome moment. Throughout the film, till that moment, Madsen’s sinister Mr. Blonde remains in the background as his fellow color-coded thieves argue heatedly about a messy heist job. But when he gets hold of a cop and ties him to a chair, the stage is set for one of the most extraordinary moments in the film. He gets into action, with a radio and a razor blade as he tunes playfully to a pop classic and then, all of a sudden, with alarming alacrity plunges the razor on the poor cop’s face. And then watch the horror of it all as Mr. Blonde plays around with a severed ear. Surely, Mr. Blonde is nothing more than a psychopath but Madsen’s indulgently repulsive performance makes his actions morbidly delightful.
16- Amon Goethe- Schindler’s List (1993)
Actor- Ralph Fiennes
Steven Spielberg’s incredible masterpiece, a tragic story of an unlikely hero of the grim days of Holocaust, was also known for its extraordinary performances and in this aspect, it is Ralph Fiennes who makes the most impression starring as one of the most devilish characters to make an appearance. His Amon Goethe comes to represent the worst of Nazism- as the commander in charge of liquidation of the ghetto in Krakow, Goethe is so ruthless that we almost believe that he is more of a machine rather than a human being. He lusts after his maid but when she does not reciprocate, he beats her mercilessly. Goethe is not just a villain. He is pure evil. With a stony stare in his eyes and an evil grin on his face, Fiennes comes off as nothing less than Satan on earth. And it is really unforgettable and awfully dangerous. When he recites that haunting ‘Today Is History’ speech, you cannot help but feel a chill down your spine.
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