Last Updated: 6/21/25
Note: It's simple and straightforward: the greatest villains in cinema history. In order to be considered, they can be a person, a machine, or an animal who have done harm, and it doesn't have to be limited to one from the same movie(s).

These villains have made the cut because they contributed brilliance to films in most, if not all, aspects: acting, characters, screenplay, plot, direction, editing, cinematography, and so on. They must also be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Then, I think about cultural phenomenon, uniqueness, famous movie moments, iconic scenes and/or lines, cinematic power, and timelessness.

This list is based on what I have seen so far and is limited to the top 50 with 10 honorable mentions in that order.

1. Darth Vader
Star Wars Trilogy (1977, 1980, 1983)

2. The Shark
Jaws (1975)

3. Norman Bates
Psycho (1960)

4. Michael Corleone
The Godfather Trilogy (1972, 1974, 1990)

5. Possessed Regan MacNeil
The Exorcist (1973)

6. Norma Desmond
Sunset Boulevard (1950)

7. The Wicked Witch of the West
The Wizard of Oz (1939)

8. The Terminator
The Terminator (1984)

9. HAL 9000
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

10. The Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead (1968)

11. Gordon Gekko
Wall Street (1987)

12. Amon Göth
Schindler's List (1993)

13. Cody Jarrett
White Heat (1949)

14. Xenomorphs
Alien Duology (1979, 1986)

15. Leatherface
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

16. White People
Roots (1977)

17. Predator
Predator (1987)

18. Henry
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

19. Archibald Cunningham
Rob Roy (1995)

20. Noah Cross
Chinatown (1974)

21. Pharaoh Rameses II
The Ten Commandments (1956)

22. The Joker
Batman (1989)

23. Hans Gruber
Die Hard (1988)

24. Joan Crawford
Mommie Dearest (1981)

25. Messala
Ben-Hur (1959)

26. The Body Snatchers
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

27. Max Cady
Cape Fear (1991)

28. Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes
Platoon (1986)

29. Nino Brown
New Jack City (1991)

30. Tommy Udo
Kiss of Death (1947)

31. Mob of White People
Rosewood (1997)

32. Scorpio
Dirty Harry (1971)

33. Mrs. Johnny Iselin
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

34. Telly
Kids (1995)

35. Kasper Gutman, Joel Cairo, Brigid O'Shaughnessy, and Wilmer Cook
The Maltese Falcon (1941)

36. Brother Peter Lavin
The Boys of St. Vincent Duology (1992)

37. Evelyn Draper
Play Misty for Me (1971)

38. Vicomte de Valmont and Marquise de Merteuil
Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

39. Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck
The Honeymoon Killers (1970)

40. Mr. Roat
Wait Until Dark (1967)

41. Roy Cohn
Citizen Cohn (1992)

42. King Edward Longshanks
Braveheart (1995)

43. Mickey and Mallory Knox
Natural Born Killers (1994)

44. Antonio Salieri
Amadeus (1984)

45. Paul Snider
Star 80 (1983)

46. Martin Burney
Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)

47. Detective Alonzo Harris
Training Day (2001)

48. Joe Erin
Vera Cruz (1954)

49. Alfie
Alfie (1966)

50. Gene Pingatore
Hoop Dreams (1994)

Honorable Mentions: Mel (Another Day in Paradise, 1998), Beth Jarrett (Ordinary People, 1980), The Sheriff of Nottingham (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, 1991), Antonio "Tony" Camonte (Scarface, 1932), Max Cady (Cape Fear, 1962), Walter Chalmers (Bullitt, 1968), Johnny Friendly (On the Waterfront, 1954), Residents of Lord Summerisle's Island (The Wicker Man, 1973), Capitan Esteban aka the Alcalde (Zorro, The Gay Blade, 1981), and Mountain Man (Deliverance, 1972)