American Film Institute logo


American Film Institute’s
100 Years . . . 100 Heroes & Villains

The American Film Institute (AFI) celebrated the centennial of cinema by airing a number of television specials, each honoring a different aspect of excellence in American film. On June 3, 2003 AFI broadcast a program entitled “100 Years . . . 100 Heroes & Villains—America’s Greatest Movie Heroes & Villains.”

To determine the winners, AFI invited more than 1,500 leaders from across the American film community—screenwriters, directors, actors, producers, cinematographers, editors, executives, film historians and critics, among them—to choose from a list of nominated films compiled by AFI. The selected films (and their ranking) are listed below.

TheOscar Nominated marker symbol appears next to those films which also received an Academy Award nomination (although this was not a requirement for inclusion on the list). Click on the name of one of those films to display more information about it. You can also click on the IMDb link to to open a new browser window or tabshowing information about the film from the Internet Movie Database. Or, click on a title in the column on the right to display the winners from another AFI program.

For more information, you can follow this link to the American Film Institute’s website.

Oscar Nominated markerThe Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)   IMDb
 Hero: Robin Hood (18)
Oscar Nominated markerAlien (1979)   IMDb
 Hero: Ellen Ripley (8)
 Villain: The Alien (14)
Oscar Nominated markerAll About Eve (1950)   IMDb
 Villain: Eve Harrington (23)
Oscar Nominated markerAll the President’s Men (1976)   IMDb
 Hero: Bob Woodward / Carl Bernstein (27)
Oscar Nominated markerBambi (1942)   IMDb
 Villain: Man (20)
Oscar Nominated markerBatman (1989)   IMDb
 Villain: The Joker (45)
 Hero: Batman (46)
The Big Sleep (1946)   IMDb
 Hero: Philip Marlowe (32)
Oscar Nominated markerBlue Velvet (1986)   IMDb
 Villain: Frank Booth (36)
Oscar Nominated markerBonnie and Clyde (1967)   IMDb
 Villain: Clyde Barrow / Bonnie Parker (32)
Oscar Nominated markerBoys Town (1938)   IMDb
 Hero: Father Edward Flanigan (42)
Oscar Nominated markerButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)   IMDb
 Hero: Butch Cassidy / The Sundance Kid (20)
Cape Fear (1962)   IMDb
 Villain: Max Cady (28)
Oscar Nominated markerCasablanca (1943)   IMDb
 Hero: Rick Blaine (4)
Oscar Nominated markerChinatown (1974)   IMDb
 Villain: Noah Cross (16)
City Lights (1931)   IMDb
 Hero: The Tramp (38)
Oscar Nominated markerA Clockwork Orange (1971)   IMDb
 Villain: Alex De Large (12)
Oscar Nominated markerCool Hand Luke (1967)   IMDb
 Hero: Luke Jackson (30)
Oscar Nominated markerDie Hard (1988)   IMDb
 Villain: Hans Gruber (46)
Dirty Harry (1971)   IMDb
 Hero: Harry Callahan (17)
Dr. No (1962)   IMDb
 Hero: James Bond (3)
Oscar Nominated markerDouble Indemnity (1944)   IMDb
 Villain: Phyllis Dietrichson (8)
Dracula (1931)   IMDb
 Villain: Count Dracula (33)
Oscar Nominated markerErin Brockovich (2000)   IMDb
 Hero: Erin Brockovich (31)
Oscar Nominated markerThe Exorcist (1973)   IMDb
 Villain: Regan McNeil (9)
Oscar Nominated markerFargo (1996)   IMDb
 Hero: Marge Gunderson (33)
Oscar Nominated markerFatal Attraction (1987)   IMDb
 Villain: Alex Forrest (7)
Oscar Nominated markerThe French Connection (1971)   IMDb
 Hero: Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle (44)
Oscar Nominated markerGandhi (1982)   IMDb
 Hero: Mahatma Gandhi (21)
Oscar Nominated markerGladiator (2000)   IMDb
 Hero: General Maximus Decimus Meridus (50)
Oscar Nominated markerThe Godfather Part II (1974)   IMDb
 Villain: Michael Corleone (11)
Oscar Nominated markerGoldfinger (1964)   IMDb
 Villain: Auric Goldfinger (49)
Oscar Nominated markerGoodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)   IMDb
 Hero: Arthur Chipping (41)
Oscar Nominated markerThe Grapes of Wrath (1940)   IMDb
 Hero: Tom Joad (12)
Oscar Nominated markerHigh Noon (1952)   IMDb
 Hero: Will Kane (5)
Oscar Nominated markerIn the Heat of the Night (1967)   IMDb
 Hero: Virgil Tibbs (19)
Oscar Nominated markerIndiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)   IMDb
 Hero: Indiana Jones (2)
Oscar Nominated markerIt’s a Wonderful Life (1946)   IMDb
 Villain: Mr. Potter (6)
 Hero: George Bailey (9)
Oscar Nominated markerJaws (1975)   IMDb
 Villain: The Shark (18)
Oscar Nominated markerLassie Come Home (1943)   IMDb
 Hero: Lassie (39)
Oscar Nominated markerLawrence of Arabia (1962)   IMDb
 Hero: T. E. Lawrence (10)
Oscar Nominated markerLittle Caesar (1930)   IMDb
 Villain: Caesar Enrico Bandello (38)
Oscar Nominated markerThe Little Foxes (1941)   IMDb
 Villain: Regina Giddens (43)
Oscar Nominated markerThe Manchurian Candidate (1962)   IMDb
 Villain: Mrs. John Iselin (21)
Oscar Nominated markerMarathon Man (1976)   IMDb
 Villain: Dr. Szell (34)
Oscar Nominated markerThe Mark of Zorro (1940)   IMDb
 Hero: Zorro (45)
Oscar Nominated markerMisery (1990)   IMDb
 Villain: Annie Wilkes (17)
Oscar Nominated markerMr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)   IMDb
 Hero: Jefferson Smith (11)
Mommie Dearest (1981)   IMDb
 Villain: Joan Crawford (41)
Oscar Nominated markerMutiny on the Bounty (1935)   IMDb
 Villain: Captain Bligh (19)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)   IMDb
 Villain: Reverend Harry Powell (29)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)   IMDb
 Villain: Freddy Krueger (40)
Oscar Nominated markerNorma Rae (1979)   IMDb
 Hero: Norma Rae Webster (15)
Oscar Nominated markerOn the Waterfront (1954)   IMDb
 Hero: Terry Malloy (23)
Oscar Nominated markerOne Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)   IMDb
 Villain: Nurse Ratched (5)
One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)   IMDb
 Villain: Cruella De Vil (39)
Oscar Nominated markerPatton (1970)   IMDb
 Hero: General George Patton (29)
Oscar Nominated markerPhiladelphia (1993)   IMDb
 Hero: Andrew Beckett (49)
Oscar Nominated markerThe Pride of the Yankees (1942)   IMDb
 Hero: Lou Gehrig (25)
Oscar Nominated markerPsycho (1960)   IMDb
 Villain: Norman Bates (2)
Oscar Nominated markerThe Public Enemy (1931)   IMDb
 Villain: Tom Powers (42)
Oscar Nominated markerRebecca (1940)   IMDb
 Villain: Mrs. Danvers (31)
Oscar Nominated markerRocky (1976)   IMDb
 Hero: Rocky Balboa (7)
Scarface: The Shame of the Nation (1932)   IMDb
 Villain: Tony Camonte (47)
Oscar Nominated markerSchindler’s List (1993)   IMDb
 Hero: Oskar Schindler (13)
 Villain: Amon Goeth (15)
Oscar Nominated markerSergeant York (1941)   IMDb
 Hero: Alvin York (35)
Oscar Nominated markerSerpico (1973)   IMDb
 Hero: Frank Serpico (40)
Oscar Nominated markerShane (1953)   IMDb
 Hero: Shane (16)
The Shining (1980)   IMDb
 Villain: Jack Torrance (25)
Oscar Nominated markerThe Silence of the Lambs (1991)   IMDb
 Villain: Dr. Hannibal Lecter (1)
 Hero: Clarice Starling (6)
Oscar Nominated markerSilkwood (1983)   IMDb
 Hero: Karen Silkwood (47)
Oscar Nominated markerSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938)   IMDb
 Villain: The Queen (10)
Oscar Nominated markerSpartacus (1960)   IMDb
 Hero: Spartacus (22)
Oscar Nominated markerStar Wars IV: A New Hope (1977)   IMDb
 Hero: Han Solo (14)
 Hero: Obi-Wan Kenobi (37)
Oscar Nominated markerStar Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)   IMDb
 Villain: Darth Vader (3)
Oscar Nominated markerSuperman: The Movie (1978)   IMDb
 Hero: Superman (26)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)   IMDb
 Villain: J. J. Hunsecker (35)
Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)   IMDb
 Hero: Tarzan (34)
Oscar Nominated markerTaxi Driver (1976)   IMDb
 Villain: Travis Bickle (30)
Oscar Nominated markerThe Ten Commandments (1956)   IMDb
 Hero: Moses (43)
The Terminator (1984)   IMDb
 Villain: Terminator (22)
Oscar Nominated markerTerminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)   IMDb
 Hero: Terminator (48)
Oscar Nominated markerThelma & Louise (1991)   IMDb
 Hero: Thelma Dickerson / Louise Sawyer (24)
Oscar Nominated markerThe Third Man (1950)   IMDb
 Villain: Harry Lime (37)
Oscar Nominated markerTo Kill a Mockingbird (1962)   IMDb
 Hero: Atticus Finch (1)
Oscar Nominated markerTraining Day (2001)   IMDb
 Villain: Alonzo Harris (50)
Oscar Nominated markerTrue Grit (1969)   IMDb
 Hero: Rooster Cogburn (36)
Oscar Nominated marker12 Angry Men (1957)   IMDb
 Hero: Juror #8 (28)
Oscar Nominated marker2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)   IMDb
 Villain: HAL 9000 (13)
Oscar Nominated markerThe Usual Suspects (1995)   IMDb
 Villain: Verbal Kint (48)
Oscar Nominated markerWall Street (1987)   IMDb
 Villain: Gordon Gekko (24)
Oscar Nominated markerThe War of the Worlds (1953)   IMDb
 Villain: Martians (27)
Oscar Nominated markerWhat Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)   IMDb
 Villain: Baby Jane Hudson (44)
Oscar Nominated markerWhite Heat (1949)   IMDb
 Villain: Cody Jarrett (26)
Oscar Nominated markerThe Wizard of Oz (1939)   IMDb
 Villain: The Wicked Witch of the West (4)