Are These The 10 Best Villains In The History Of Cinema?

There's plenty of heroes out there, but what people really go crazy for is a great villain. Over nearly a century feature filmmaking has delivered some pretty mesmerizing, fascinating and memorable villains on the big screen. But which ones are truly the best?

Well, the folks at CineFix have attempted to answer this seemingly impossible question by counting down the Top 10 Movie Villains of All Time. And don't worry, Christopher Nolan fans, because Heath Ledger's take on The Joker from The Dark Knight is on the list. However, you might not be so happy with some of the choices for best movie villains.

If you've got 12 minutes, here's the whole countdown, complete with an examination of each villain from CineFix:

For those who are just looking for the list to begin offering alternatives in the comments, here you go:

#10. Sauron from The Lord of the Rings

#9. Lil Ze from City of God

#8. Max Cady from Cape Fear (both the original and the remake)

#7. The Joker from The Dark Knight

#6. Reverend Harry Powell from The Night of the Hunter

#5. Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon

#4. Hans Beckert from M

#3. Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men

#2. Norman Bates from Psycho

#1. Frank Booth from Blue Velvet

While I have an appreciation for including some of the lesser celebrated villains from the history of cinema, such as Max Cady, Reverend Harry Powell and Hans Beckert, and even some perfectly acceptable modern choices from City of God and No Country for Old Men, this list does seem like it intentionally tried to be more obscure. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but how are you going to make a list like this and exclude Darth Vader from Star Wars or The Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz?

Sure, Sauron from Lord of the Rings is the embodiment of evil. That's fine. But Sauron is also just a glaring, flaming eye on a tower. Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York is far more terrifying of a bad guy than that. Whoopsie-daisy!

Anyway, this is bound to spark some debate in the comments, so sound off with your picks for the Top 10 Movie Villains of All Time and let's see if you've got something better.