H.E.R.O.E.s

This post is the Raison d'être of this blog. If u have read my previous post u'll know that trying to make a "My Favourite Movie Characters" list in a management class inspired me to finally have a blog of my own...so here is the original list as i scribbled in class of the Top 25....i might remember some real good ones that i have missed out later and will subsequntly add them. Now the list is in alphabetical order...i love some of them too much too choose between them and also ths list is resctricted to male characters only for now(the women have a separate list with every second character being portrayed by meryl streep almost!)

So inspie of there being sayings like "Every hero becomes a bore at last." and "Be your own hero, it's cheaper than a movie ticket." these characters stay with me long after the credits have rolled.....

1.ACHILLES( Troy)--Brad Pitt

I thought initially that this choice of mine was influenced more by my love for Brad Pitt than the character he played; and that i would have loved Hector more if Pitt had played him and not Eric Bana...but then i realised that Hector was perfect....Achilles' brutality and then repentance,his protectiveness, the calmness with which he asks Briseis to kill him,his respect for the old King and how he realises the futility of different sides in the face of one truth--death,the fact that he was not infallible,all make Achilles the man he was....(Brad Pitt's body of course adds to the charm!)

2.ANDY DUFRESNE(The Shawshank Redemption)--Tim Robbins

"Fear can set you a prisoner.Hope can set u free".

 Andy's integrity throughout the movie....his form of revenge...the friendship between Andy and Red(Morgan Freeman)....a must watch! 

3.ATTICUS FINCH(To Kill a Mocking Bird)--Gregory Peck

He is rated as the  7th best fictional character of the 20th Century and rightly so. His Christ-like goodness and wisdom make him almost a modern day prophet.The best lawyer and the best father...!

4.BATMAN

Pros:The masked vigilante....one who wards off evil and takes no credit for it...the Batmobile....the Batsuit....CHistian Bale....

Cons:umm.....?

My favourite Superhero....

5.BILLY COSTIGAN (The Departed)--Leonardo diCaprio

Short-tempered,violent,hardworker,intellegent,optimistic and dead before he was 22.The mole of the Massachussettes State Police in the Irish mob,this is one of Leonardo's best performance till date...and as his psychiatrist says : "I have to say your vulnerability is really freaking me out right now. Is it real?"...it sure didnt look fake! 

6.CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW (Pirates of the Caribbean)--Johnny Depp

Love him or hate him...but u just can't ignore him!!!Supposed to b influenced by Bugs Bunny and Groucho Marx,Sparrow is a cracker of a character!!Drunk,gay,dirty...whatever....i just love his swagger and him!Depp deserved an Oscar for this!

Norrinton: You are without doubt, the worst pirate I have ever heard of.

Jack: Ah,But you have heard of me

7.CHRIS GARDNER (The Pursuit of Happyness)--Will Smith

What is most touching about this character is that he exists...some might think that the movie implies or forces you to believe that poverty is a function of bad luck and bad choices, and success the result of heroic toil and dreams, but what shines through in the end is an eternal optimism, love for your family,ethics and a superlative performance by Will Smith(with his own son being the perfect foil).

8.DOCTOR  YURI ZHIVAGO(Doctor Zhivago)--Omar Sharif

Set in the tumultuous period of the Russian Civil War,this is a perfect example of how hardships bring out the best or worst in us...torn between his love for his wife and mistress,Sharif is so real as an efficient, practical man of medicine possessing the almost innocent wonder of a poet.

9.FORREST GUMP(Forrest Gump)--Tom Hanks

Passionate and magical--Forrest gump is a tonic for the weary spirit, an oasis in the desert of action movies.The emotional honesty of a not-so-intellegent boy whose ideals do not change as the world around him does so drastically is what is so endearing. Back-to-back Oscars for Hanks...Philadelphia was outrun by Forrest though i feel! 

 

10.FRODO BAGGINS(Lord of the Rings)--Elijah Wood

Now i haven't read LOTR till date but i have watched the movie series a no of time and like it a lot. Needless to say among the bevy of characters the little Hobbit stands the tallest...his innocence and selflessness win over the wisdom of Gandalf or the greatness of Aragorn to make him my Favourite Fantasy character(this despite the fact that i am an ardent Harry Potter fan).

11.GENERAL MAXIMUS DECIMUS MERIDIUS (Gladiator)--Russel Crowe

The movie is an epic and so is Russel Crowe's Maximus!

GEORG VON TRAPP(Sound of Music)--Christopher Plummer12.

Among all the movies in the list i must have watched this one first and the most number of times. Be it the strict father who ran the house like his ship mellowed down by the Governess or the Nave Officer who wouldn't bow to Hitler,Christopher Plummer's heartwarming performance is almost as much of a phenomenon as Julie Andrews!

13.GUIDO OREFICE (Life is Beautiful)--Roberto Benigni

This movie will always make u smile,brighten up a dull day with hope. Sometimes we all need to take a break from reality,if not for us then for somebody else....Guido dies but his smile stays with us!

14.INDIANA JONES--Harrison Ford

Adventurer,soldier and professor of archaeology and equally enthralling even at 60....this is wait with baited breath as Indy pulls off one unbelievable task after another....but what is best is that Indy is a fallible character. He makes mistakes and gets hurt.He's a real character, not a character with superpowers!

15.JACK DAWSON(Titanic)--Leonardo diCaprio

The ultimate romantic tragedy and the ultimate tragic hero!!

16.JOHN KEATING(Dead Poets' Society)--Robin Williams

This actor is pure magic to watch...and in Dead Poets Society he takes u back to school,ignites the rebel in u,reminds u to be there for ur friends,redefines friendship and loyalty and above all teaches u to seize the day!

Carpe Diem!

17.LANCELOT(First Knight)--Richard Gere

A vagabond skilled with the sword, fighting in small villages for money to King Arthur's most trusted of the 12 knights---it is indeed a rags to riches story of the Middle Agea. The happy ending(Arthur dies but Lancelot gets Guinevere) does help to make u like the dashing and conscientious Knight!

18.LIEUTENANT COLONEL FRANK SLADE (Scent of a Woman)--Al Pacino

This is one of my favourite movies and Al Pacino and Chris O'Donnell's topsy turvy adventures in NewYork city and then saving the day for both of them in reality was so special because u never would believe that Al Pacino is neither blind nor a frustrated,retired army officer. The Oscar was indeed well deserved!

19.MAVERICK(Top Gun)--Tom Cruise

This film is a treat to the eyes and so is Tom Cruise.Dont know how i like this cocky,oversmart pilot...but somehow i do!

20.OSKAR SCHINDLER(Schindler's List)--Liam Neeson

Again a real character...a womaniser and an opportunistic businessman to a man who would go to any length to save thousands of his workers. Spielberg only could have directed a movie with such a narrow margin of error!

21.RAYMOND BABBIT (Rainman)--Dustin Hoffman

Somebody playing an autist in a movie is bound to draw a lot of sympathy but it takes Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of Raymond in Rainman to love him so when his yuppie of a brother(Tom Cruise proving he can act too) takes him for a roadtrip across America. He is impossible,he is funny,he is moving and he'll make u laugh,cry and make u wish he would try just a wee bit harder...the poignant ending just makes sure the movie is not one of those where the hero becomes a bore.....

22.RHETT BUTLER (Gone With the Wind)--Clark Gable

I fell in love with Rhett Butler when I read the book in class 9....when i watched the movie i was convinced that he was my dream lover...i think every girl wishes for a bit of that well educated, i-dont-give-a-"damn"-what-people-say daredevil( who also happens to love children) of a character called Rhett!

23.ROBINHOOD (Robin Hood:Prince of Thieves)--Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner gave a face to my favourite childhood outlaw-cum-hero!

24.RUSTY RYAN (Ocean's 11,12,13)--Brad Pitt

Ok,fine i am a bit partial to Brad Pitt...but handsome,cool with a good knowledge of science,technology and engineering,Rusty is the voice of reason in the Ocean's trilogy and way more attractive than the dark and suave Danny Ocean!!

25.WILL HUNTING (Good Will Hunting)--Matt Damon

A prodigy,a polymath,an autodidact with a genius level intellegence and eudetic memory who works as a janitor at MIT. Matt Damon's expression of self-loathing turning to self sabotage is utterly believable and combined with great performances by Ben Affleck and Robin Williams, this film is a landmark in Matt Damon's otherwise ordinary career(despite Bourne!)