8. Captain William Bligh (Charles Laughton)
Mutiny On The Bounty (1935)
Even before they set sail on a grueling two-year voyage to Tahiti, legendary tyrant Captain Bligh has already given one of his men a sound flogging. And he wasn’t remotely concerned that the bloke was already dead.
Barking orders, cutting rations and ordering punishments (“I’ll give you water. Mr. Morrison, keel-haul this man”), Bligh’s an ultra-disciplinarian with a heart carved out of hardwood.
Prime Act Of Bastardy: Not content with thrashing five starving sailors to within an inch of their lives, Bligh insists the ship’s elderly Dr. Bacchus (Dudley Digges) struggle out of his sickbed to witness it.
Hopelessly ill, the doc dies trying to crawl up on deck.
7. Gunnery Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Originally hired as a consultant, former US Marine drill instructor Ermey sent Stanley Kubrick a video in which he bellowed out obscenities for 15 minutes without pausing or repeating himself.
Hartman turns abuse into an art form - his foul-mouthery is enough to make the hardest Marine blub like a nipper. You had best start shitting Tiffany cufflinks or he will definitely fuck you up.
Prime Act Of Bastardy: “…Because you are a disgusting FATBODY!” After forcing Private ‘Pyle’ (Vincent D’Onofrio) to scoff a doughnut while the rest of the platoon do push-ups to pay for it, Hartman makes sure the tubby chap gets a saveage bedtime beating from his mates after lights-out.
6. Arthur Potter (Lionel Barrymore)
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
He may be the richest man in Bedford Falls, but it brings no pleasure to Potter. He wants complete control of the town and the only thing standing in the way is George (James Stewart). Without George, he’d have taken over the place long ago.
Prime Act Of Bastardy: If the missing cash from the Building & Loan isn’t found, then George is off to jail. Not only does Potter find the missing moolah and hide it, he also turns down the chance to loan George enough to cover the shortfall.
The icing on the cake? Potter then calls the police to grass the guy up.
5. Buddy Ackerman (Kevin Spacey)
Swimming With Sharks (1994)
Former employers of first-time director George Huang winced when they saw the screen monster they’d spawned. In the tradition of JJ Hunsecker in Sweet Smell Of Success, Hollywood mogul Buddy Ackerman is an aphorism-spouting tyrant with a heart you could fit into a thimble.
A classic Bad Kev role from the days before slop like Pay It Forward, Ackerman makes Keyzer Soze look endearing. The plot may be wobbly, but the one-liners (“If you were in my toilet I wouldn’t bother flushing it”) are priceless.
Prime Act Of Bastardy: Lecturing luckless lackey Guy (Frank Whaley) on the importance of fetching his low-fat sweetener: “What you think means nothing. What you feel means nothing. You are here for me.”
Comments
ThrashGordon
Jul 7th 2009, 12:37
cool, glad to see Burke in there, he rules!! Could have done with Ellis from Die Hard to shore up the 80s sleaze... ''Show him the watch... Its a Rolex.' 'Hans, Boobie! I'm you're white knight!'' Class. Maybe Shooter McGavin from Happy Gilmore too... ah I'm just listing all my heroes here!
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alowe
Jul 7th 2009, 15:26
Good shout with Shooter. And we know we haven't included Daniel Plainview - but he's keeping for something else... :)
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weirdr0b0t
Jul 7th 2009, 15:34
lets be honest... brick top from s****h should have been up there!! He was an awesome character, completely lacking any defining positive features!!
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slowhands107
Jul 7th 2009, 16:42
The fact that you left Don Logan (Ben Kingsley - Sexy Beast) from the list makes it totally void. Mr.Blonde!!! Archibald Cunningham (Tim Roth -Rob Roy) Stephen Graham in THIS IS ENGLAND.
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mic2803
Jul 7th 2009, 16:45
i'm sorry, but you have all forgotten about Jeremy Irons' "Scar" from the "Lion King". "Long live the king", throwing his own brother into the depths of a fatal stampeed (is that the correct spelling?)
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omniblue
Jul 8th 2009, 0:48
I'm sorry. b*****d list without... Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) @ American Psycho Fails
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Heskin
Jul 9th 2009, 12:02
What no Michael Corleone?
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BapNayak
Jul 10th 2009, 11:50
What about Clancy Brown's Captain Hadley in Shawshank. I'm sorry but what an evil b*****d!
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Mizino
Jul 10th 2009, 12:52
No Joker?
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greatatuin
Jul 12th 2009, 14:08
Daniel Plainview?
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Mozkiwi
Jul 13th 2009, 0:34
How about two b*****ds in one film? Once Were Warriors' Jake Heke (Temuera Morrison) who dismisses the family trip to visit his son in borstal, in favour of drinking at the local pub with his mates - one of whom, Bully (Cliff Curtis) rapes Jake's daughter,while the parents and guests are partying downstairs, with that most b*****dly of lines, "Give your Uncle Bully a kiss." Ick and ick... but the actors were brilliant!
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casinoheat
Jul 20th 2009, 19:27
Robert De Niro in Raging Bull... The biggest c**k on film
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Kedders1986
Jul 22nd 2009, 0:28
How Tom Berenger as Sgt. Barnes in Platoon. Shooting fellow soldier Willem Dafoe and leaving him for dead is a good enough reason.
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halo14
Jul 31st 2009, 7:00
This list can not be complete without Gary Oldman. He makes the ultimate 'bad guy' in many movies. The best - his perfomance as the pshycho pill popping detective in The Professional.
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SCY385
Jul 31st 2009, 22:29
I have seen other lists about cinema b*****ds, and they always seemed to leave a few of my picks off. But you guys did me proud when you mentioned Dennis Peck from Internal Affairs. Of all the Jason's, Freddie's,etc. Dennis Peck scares me more than any of them. Why? Because he has the potential to be real. A cop with that kind of charisma, ruthlessness, and evil magnetism is a scary prospect. This was the role that proved to me that Richard Gere could act. Good choice.
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carolineadams
Aug 27th 2009, 18:56
how about Captain Vidal from Pan's Labyrinth??
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FBLPedroza
Sep 25th 2011, 17:51
The Lieutienant from "Bad Lieutenant" and both versions to booth.
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abbywatson
Nov 22nd 2012, 6:09
You forgot Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter series. He could even give Biff Tannen (Back to the Future) and Bully (Once Were Warriors) lessons on what a b*****d should be like and how a true b*****d should act. Plus, Biff would definitely be shocked at Draco's magical powers, seeing as how, although Biff is a bully, he's also a Muggle (non-magic person) in Harry Potter's world...
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