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As much as I like Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal, I would say his performance, specifically in Hannibal and Red Dragon, was hammy as hell (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). I'm actually on Team Mikkelson when it comes to Hannibal Lecter though.
Ten Most Well Acted Psychotic Characters in Movie History
As much as I like Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal, I would say his performance, specifically in Hannibal and Red Dragon, was hammy as hell (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). I'm actually on Team Mikkelson when it comes to Hannibal Lecter though.
Brian Cox is criminally underrated in these discussions.
Jack Palance played some doosies:
The sadistic Jack Wilson in Shane (1953)
In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968 TV movie), Palance played IMO the most chilling and psychopathic Mr. Hyde of all portrayals before and since.
The sadistic Jack Wilson in Shane (1953)
In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968 TV movie), Palance played IMO the most chilling and psychopathic Mr. Hyde of all portrayals before and since.
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How could I forget? Rutger Hauer, the psychopath who terrorizes C. Thomas Howell in Hitcher (1986) -- a rare 80s movie that doesn't seem dated.
Well, it's a bit dated. If it were any more 80s ZZ Top would have shown up at one of the truck stops to play Sharp Dressed Man.
Well, it's a bit dated. If it were any more 80s ZZ Top would have shown up at one of the truck stops to play Sharp Dressed Man.
You may be focusing on the visual look of it; I'm thinking more of the choreography & direction and unfolding of plot. Thrillers and related genre movies from the 90s back with rare exceptions tended to have a klunky plodding construction; but this one is taut and doesn't hold the viewers' hands.
You may be focusing on the visual look of it
I'm thinking more of the choreography & direction and unfolding of plot. Thrillers and related genre movies from the 90s back with rare exceptions tended to have a klunky plodding construction; but this one is taut and doesn't hold the viewers' hands.
Uh, he's very British in that movie, but not really psychotic. He does get a little confused at the end of the movie, but he's a proper gentleman who is a stickler for the Geneva convention and who insists on proper engineering of bridges. He wanted to leave something behind of use for the people of the area to use after the war, something of use. Not a psycho, just a hard-case.
It's past now, so I won't be editing or removing any posts (wish I'd seen it sooner), but to address the more generalized comments about politics:
Yes, there is a difference between discussions that naturally touch on issues of political or culture relevance and overtly political discussion. Of course. But there's also a difference the other way, where people can use a topic as an excuse to grind an axe, with (sometimes even without) a fig leaf of cinematic relevance. And it's very common to say a lot more about the political side than is necessary to make the movie-related observation, too. That's not an inevitable byproduct of the topic, that's just smuggling.
I'd recommend reading this post, which is linked from the Rules page, for an explanation of how we try to walk that line and how it's usually enforced in practice.
Carry on and all that.
Yes, there is a difference between discussions that naturally touch on issues of political or culture relevance and overtly political discussion. Of course. But there's also a difference the other way, where people can use a topic as an excuse to grind an axe, with (sometimes even without) a fig leaf of cinematic relevance. And it's very common to say a lot more about the political side than is necessary to make the movie-related observation, too. That's not an inevitable byproduct of the topic, that's just smuggling.
I'd recommend reading this post, which is linked from the Rules page, for an explanation of how we try to walk that line and how it's usually enforced in practice.
Carry on and all that.
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Patrick Bateman is not the actor, but the character portrayed. Still the actor is a top choice. Thanks for reminding me.
I don't like Jack Palance as Jekyll and Hyde. Too much ham there. Same with Frederic March and Michael Cain. Spencer Tracy really nailed it with the help of a better script than all the others. Had March not already gotten an Oscar for his earlier version,Tracy would surely have gotten one for his.
Sorry not to have replied sooner. Was in the hospital for several weeks. Am happy to report that I did not have one Nurse Wretched!
I don't like Jack Palance as Jekyll and Hyde. Too much ham there. Same with Frederic March and Michael Cain. Spencer Tracy really nailed it with the help of a better script than all the others. Had March not already gotten an Oscar for his earlier version,Tracy would surely have gotten one for his.
Sorry not to have replied sooner. Was in the hospital for several weeks. Am happy to report that I did not have one Nurse Wretched!
Jack Palance played some doosies:
The sadistic Jack Wilson in Shane (1953)
In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968 TV movie), Palance played IMO the most chilling and psychopathic Mr. Hyde of all portrayals before and since.
The sadistic Jack Wilson in Shane (1953)
In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968 TV movie), Palance played IMO the most chilling and psychopathic Mr. Hyde of all portrayals before and since.
Or when he terrorized Joan Crawford in Sudden Fear...Curly in City Slickers wasn't playing with a full deck either.
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Armand Assante as actor Richard Mansfield in Jack the Ripper (1988, starring Michael Caine as Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline; a cinematic achievement even if technically a "miniseries"). Assante's character is implied to be the real Jack the Ripper -- particularly his stage performance wearing a sinister mask comes off with a psychotic verve. I don't know how Assante pulled it off, but he made the mask seem real.
It seems like this thread needs to be renamed with just plain "Evil" instead of psychotic, since most people who are psychotic are more likely to be victims than snarling perpetrators. Somehow pop culture seems to have focused on the image of a crazed ax-murderer or a devious serial killer and stuck that word into the movie.
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It seems like this thread needs to be renamed with just plain "Evil" instead of psychotic, since most people who are psychotic are more likely to be victims than snarling perpetrators. Somehow pop culture seems to have focused on the image of a crazed ax-murderer or a devious serial killer and stuck that word into the movie.
You can thank Hitchcock for starting that