I’ve been riffing off the American Film Institute’s mid-2000s lists for a long time now, and the one that I assumed I’d never touch was the Heroes and Villains list. I’m compelled more by the idea now than I used to be. Granted, I still think Joseph Campbell deserves at least one good swirly from everyone who’s ever had to listen to someone talk about the “Hero’s Journey” unironically, but as a moviegoer, I’m no longer burdened by this idea that heroes or villains are simplistic.

The AFI isn’t necessarily that simplistic with their definitions either. I’ll be following those on my own lists. For heroes:

a character(s) who prevails in extreme circumstances and dramatizes a sense of morality, courage and purpose. Though they may be ambiguous or flawed, they often sacrifice themselves to show humanity at its best.

And for villains:

a character(s) whose wickedness of mind, selfishness of character and will to power are sometimes masked by beauty and nobility, while others may rage unmasked. They can be horribly evil or grandiosely funny but are ultimately tragic.

The usual rules apply for me here: characters have to come from credibly American movies, the movies have to be narrative features, I can’t reuse heroes and villains from the original AFI lists. The one place where I’m allowing myself some leeway is that I, not the movies, get to decide if the characters in question are heroes or villains. I don’t think I’ve stepped out on a ledge too much with any of these people.

I’ll be updating this as I go along so you can keep track of all links below.

Heroes

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48. – Mame Dennis (Rosalind Russell) / Auntie Mame
49. – Kelly (Constance Towers) / The Naked Kiss
50. – Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) / When Harry Met Sally…

Villains

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48. – Fredo Corleone (John Cazale) / The Godfather Part II
49. – Rupert (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) / The Prisoner of Zenda
50. – Adam Pontipee (Howard Keel) / Seven Brides for Seven Brothers