heroes and villains

The American Film Institute has issued its lists of the top 100 heroes and villains. Interestingly, Atticus Finch is their top hero -- most of the list consists of characters from action movies. What I find most interesting is the juxtaposition of hero and villain, and the stories those placements suggest, such as:

James Bond and Darth Vader
Rick Blaine and the Wicked Witch of the West
Clarice Starling and Mr. Potter
Rocky Balboa and Alex Forrest (who would have my complete sympathy)
Oskar Schindler and Hal 9000
Han Solo and the Alien
Robin Hood and the shark from Jaws
Spartacus and the Terminator
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, and the Martians
Lassie and Cruella DeVille
Zorro and the Joker

I'm sure there would be other amusing combos if I had seen all the movies in question.

On villains, I have to flat-out disagree with them on No. 7: I do not consider Alex Forrest (Glenn Close's charcter) to be the villain of "Fatal Attraction."

Why do I say that? Because Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) used Alex for a one-night stand, a fling. She's also guilty of wrongdoing in that initial encounter -- she had an affair with a married man -- but as evidenced by the next step in the movie, where she tried to continue the relationship, she wasn't looking for one night of sex. Not that the Gallaghers deserved having their bunny roasted or having their daughter abducted, but a great villian needs a good victim, and Dan Gallagher.

Gallagher used her, and in doing so, he exposed his family to tremendous risk. She should be held accountable for her actions, but since she's mentally unstable, she's also not entirely accountable for her actions once she was set off. Note I didn't say Douglas' character is the villain. I just don't think it's entirely fair to say that Alex Forrest is the villainess.

The original ending had Douglas' character shooting Forrest and being charged with murder. It was either one of the actors or the director who objected, and they changed it so that Douglas' wife fires the fatal shot, and it's viewed as an act of self-defense, or at least protecting the home from an invader.

I would have put John Malkovich's character from "In the Line of Fire" up there before Alex Forrest.