Tag Archives: Jack Nickolson

Posted on by

The most infamous film villains

A close-up of Darth Vader mask.

Remember at the end of last year I wrote the Inside Film top 5 film heroes list? Well, here comes the darker side of the list. Within you will find the most evil, most badass villains in film. Ready? Don’t be afraid.

5. Annie Wilkes

Annie Wilkes holding a revolver and a syringe.

Image via: frenchtoastsunday.com

For anyone who has seen Stephen King’s Misery, this comes as no surprise. Perhaps not the scariest of his film adaptations, but wow, it sure is creepy. This comes as no surprise. Annie Wilkes is one messed up chick. I don’t think I have ever been this scared of a middle-aged woman before. Worst moment? When Paul Sheldon is searching the house, and you just know she’ll be through the door at any moment…

4. Anton Chigurh

Anton Chigurh sat in a chair.

Image via: theparisreview.org

No Country for Old Men. What a film. Personally, I think it is made by the psychotic-perfection of this man. A gun-for-hire with a twisted devotion to chance. Silenced shotguns are super sinister too. Worst moment has to be the murder of Carla Jean. Talk about bloody.

3. Hannibal Lecter

Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, stood by a door.

Image via: http://yourfavoriteserialkiller.com/

“Bowels in, or bowels out?” An insane genius who loves the taste of human. Pretty much writes itself here. Hannibal Lecter is perfected by Anthony Hopkins and his magnetic charm. He’ll get into your head and stay there, trust me. Worst moment has to be when he makes a drugged Ray Liotta munch on his own brain in Hannibal. Pretty messed up right?

2. The Joker

Heath Ledger's Joker holding a Joker playing card.

Image via: nerdsraging.com

The thing that makes The Joker so terrifying is that he has no aims. No goals for world domination, or personal gain. He just wants to watch the world burn, and that’s truly horrific. Jack Nicholson’s Joker gets an honourable mention here, but it’s the genius of Heath Ledger that gets our vote. Worst moment? The pencil trick in The Dark Knight– not even his own goons are safe.

1. Darth Vader

Darth Vader stood in front of Snowtroopers on Hoth, the snow planet.

Image via: fightersgeneration.com

The ultimate evil. Cloaked in black, a true personification of evil. Darth Vader wins by a long shot. The iconic breathing sound makes it all so tense, and the sheer power that he exudes makes him our top contender. Vader casts a shadow over all film villains, and none can step out from under it. At his most evil when he crushes the throat of a subordinate without a sound. Plus, you know, trying to kill his son.

So, any more ideas? Tell us below who you think deserves to be on this list of evil.

Posted on by

Surprising improvisation in film

A man in a hospital gown wearing smudged clown make up walks away from a hospital explostion
A man in a hospital gown wearing smudged clown make up walks away from a hospital explostion

Image via forum.blu-ray.com

Not all of our favourite moments in film were planned. In fact, many magic movie moments were
not in the script at all. Inside Film has been looking into just a few moments in film that you
probably didn’t know were improvised.

The Dark Knight: Hospital Explosion
During the filming of the second instalment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, a scene
involving blowing up a hospital should have been a failure, had it not been for the late Heath
Ledger thinking quickly on his feet.
Originally, Ledger was supposed to walk out of the Hospital only for it to explode immediately
behind him. However, the detonations were delayed and only one small explosion went off.
The building used for the scene had already been planned to be demolished and Nolan only had one chance to film the shot. Superbly, Ledger stayed fully in character, frantically poking and prodding at his detonator as the bombs exploded in random sequence behind him, allowing the scene which should have been a disaster to become one of the most iconic moments in modern film.

The Shining: “Here’s Johnny”
Considered one of director Stanley Kubrick’s best productions and one of the greatest horror/thriller movies of all time, The Shining boasts one of the most recognised moments in modern movie history.The line occurs during a scene where lead character Jack Torrance, now completely insane, is trying to murder his wife, who has locked herself in a bathroom for safety.
Originally, Kubrick, considered by some as quite the perfectionist, only wanted Jack Nicholson to break through a door with an axe, but what followed was to become most one the famous lines in film. As Nicholson breaks a hole in the door, he pokes his head through and says “Here’s Johnny”, in typical, maniac fashion. The line was taking from the late night TV show “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” and was an imitation of Announcer Ed McMahon’s introduction. Based in England at the time, Kubrick later admitted he had never heard the line before but decided to use it anyway.

Taxi Driver: “You talkin’ to me?”
The script read “Travis speaks to himself in the mirror”, but what Robert De Niro said would be
declared as the tenth greatest movie quote of all time (the winner was “Frankly, my dear, I don’t
give a damn” and become the most memorable moment in Martin Scorsese’s classic Taxi Driver.

A young De Niro, about to showcase his talent, turns to the mirror and says “You talkin’ to me?”
What followed would be carved into Pop Culture history forever. Originally, the idea was thought to be an imitation of Marlon Brando. However, actor /musician Clarence Clemons, who played for Bruce Springsteen and had a role in Scorsese’s 1977 musical “New York, New York”, revealed that De Niro got his inspiration for the scene from The Boss himself.