| Top 50 Heroes: | Top 50 Villains: | |
| 1. Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird | 1. Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs | |
| 2. Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark | 2. Norman Bates, Psycho | |
| 3. James Bond, Dr. No | 3. Darth Vader, Star Wars | |
| 4. Rick Blaine, Casablanca | 4. Wicked Witch, The Wizard of Oz | |
| 5. Will Kane, High Noon | 5. Nurse Ratched, One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest | |
| 6. Clarice Starling, Silence of the Lambs | 6. Mr. Potter, It's a Wonderful Life | |
| 7. Rocky Balboa, Rocky | 7. Alex Forrest, Fatal Attraction | |
| 8. Ellen Ripley, Aliens | 8. Phyllis Dietrichson, Double Indemnity | |
| 9. George Bailey, It's a Wonderful Life | 9. Regan MacNeil, The Exorcist | |
| 10. T.E. Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia | 10. Queen, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | |
| 11. Jefferson Smith, Mr. Smith Goes to Wash. | 11. Michael Corleone, The Godfather Part II | |
| 12. Tom Joad, The Grapes of Wrath | 12. Alex De Large, Clockwork Orange | |
| 13. Oskar Schindler, Schindler's List | 13. Hal 9000, 2001: A Space Odyssey | |
| 14. Han Solo, Star Wars | 14. The Alien, Alien | |
| 15. Norma Rae Webster, Norma Rae | 15. Amon Goeth, Schindler's List | |
| 16. Shane, Shane | 16. Noah Cross, Chinatown | |
| 17. Harry Callahan, Dirty Harry | 17. Annie Wilkes, Misery | |
| 18. Robin Hood, Adv. of Robin Hood | 18. The Shark, Jaws | |
| 19. Virgil Tibbs, In the Heat of the Night | 19. Captain Bligh, Mutiny on the Bounty | |
| 20. Butch Cassidy, Butch Cassidy | 20. Man, Bambi | |
| 21. Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi | 21. Mrs. John Iselin, The Manchurian Candidate | |
| 22. Spartacus, Spartacus | 22. Terminator, The Terminator | |
| 23. Terry Malloy, On the Waterfront | 23. Eve Harrington, All About Eve | |
| 24. Thelma and Louise, Thelma & Louise | 24. Gordon Gekko, Wall Street | |
| 25. Lou Gehrig, The Pride of the Yankees | 25. Jack Torrance, The Shining | |
| 26. Superman, Superman | 26. Cody Jarrett, White Heat | |
| 27. Woodward, All the President's Men | 27. Martians, The War of the Worlds | |
| 28. Juror #8, 12 Angry Men | 28. Max Cady, Cape Fear | |
| 29. General George Patton, Patton | 29. Reverend Harry Powell, The Night of the Hunter | |
| 30. Luke Jackson, Cool Hand Luke | 30. Travis Bickle, Taxi Driver | |
| 31. Erin Brockovich, Erin Brockovich | 31. Mrs. Danvers, Rebecca | |
| 32. Philip Marlowe, The Big Sleep | 32. Bonnie and Clyde, Bonnie and Clyde | |
| 33. Marge Gunderson, Fargo | 33. Count Dracula, Dracula | |
| 34. Tarzan, Tarzan the Ape Man | 34. Dr. Szell, Marathon Man | |
| 35. Alvin York, Sergeant York | 35. J.J. Hunsecker, Sweet Smell of Success | |
| 36. Rooster Cogburn, True Grit | 36. Frank Booth, Blue Velvet | |
| 37. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars | 37. Harry Lime, The Third Man | |
| 38. The Tramp, City Lights | 38. Caesar Enrico Bandello, Little Caesar | |
| 39. Lassie, Lassie Come Home | 39. Cruella De Vil, One Hundred and One Dalmatians | |
| 40. Frank Serpico, Serpico | 40. Freddy Krueger, A Nightmare on Elm Street | |
| 41. Arthur Chipping, Goodbye, Mr. Chips | 41. Joan Crawford, Mommie Dearest | |
| 42. Father Edward Flanagan, Boys Town | 42. Tom Powers, The Public Enemy | |
| 43. Moses, The Ten Commandments | 43. Regina Giddens, The Little Foxes | |
| 44. Jimmy Doyle, The French Connection | 44. Baby Jane Hudson, What Happened to Baby Jane | |
| 45. Zorro, The Mark of Zorro | 45. The Joker, Batman | |
| 46. Batman, Batman | 46. Hans Gruber, Die Hard | |
| 47. Karen Silkwood, Silkwood | 47. Tony Camonte, Scarface | |
| 48. Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day | 48. Roger "Verbal" Kint, The Usual Suspects | |
| 49. Andrew Beckett, Philadelphia | 49. Auric Goldfinger, Goldfinger | |
| 50. General Maximus, Gladiator | 50. Alonzo Harris, Training Day
| |
| The jurors were asked to consider the following criteria in their selections: HERO Sometimes mythic figures, sometimes ordinary people who prevail in extreme circumstances, heroes dramatize a sense of morality, courage and purpose often lacking in our everyday world. Heroes do what is good, just and right; and even though they may be ambiguous or flawed characters, they often sacrifice themselves to show humanity at its best and most humane. For voting purposes, AFI defines a "hero" as a single character, a duo or a team of characters. VILLAIN Characters that movie goers love to hate - and hate to love. Villains are characters whose wickedness of mind, selfishness of character and will to power are sometimes masked by beauty and nobility. Others rage unmasked. Daring the worst to gain the most, the movie villains we remember best can be horrifically evil, merely sleazy or grandiosely funny, but are usually complex, moving and tragic. For voting purposes, AFI defines a "villain" as a single character, a duo or a team of characters. CULTURAL IMPACT Characters that have made a mark on American society in matters of style and substance. LEGACY Characters that elicit strong reactions across time, enriching America's film heritage and inspiring artists and audiences today. Additionally, only feature-length American films released before January 1, 2002 will be considered. AFI defines a feature-length film as a motion picture of narrative format that is typically over 60 minutes in length. AFI defines an American film as an English language film with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States. | ||
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