Came across this little list over at Total Film. I’m not totally convinced by their number one choice, but it’s a nice idea for a list. I’d have to throw in Sy Ableman if he counts as minor enough.
http://www.totalfilm.com/features/the-27-greatest-minor-film-characters-of-all-time
Discuss……
yeah, Drexl from True Romance! one of my favorites.
also… number 2… wtf….
That is a ludicrous list. Total Film either have a sense of humour in the shallowness of lists, or they are all 12 over there (Yes, the Watchmen penis confirms that).
Seriously, is there more than 2 entries before 1990?
Athough I agree with both Gary Oldman and Brad Pitt in True Romance, the plethroa of minor characters in True Romance are what makes that film so re-watchable. Bronson Pinchot, Chris Penn and Tom Sizemore, James Gandofini, Saul Rubinek, Michael Rapaport. Blink and you miss them Val Kilmer and Samuel L. Jackson (And of course one of the greatest individual scenes in the 1990s, the Walken/Hopper scene)
A couple others:
The ‘reverse-wifebeater’ shirt guy in GhostWorld is pretty memorable for his 2 minutes of screen time.
Roman Polanski cutting Jack Nicholson’s ear in Chinatown (“Kitty-Kat!”)
Once Upon a Time in the West: Jack Elam, Woodey Strode and Al Mulock waiting for the train. Everyone remembers those guys despite the fact that they have little to do with the film other than wait for the main character to show up and kill them. Awesome!
Total Film, as I recall from the few times I’ve picked one up to look at, is one of the most unapologetically mainstream and superficial magazines I’ve ever seen. I just looked at the top five and was like, really? REALLY? (Also, sites that make me click through a gazillion times to read a list? HATE. Get your pageviews honestly, people.)
It’s a good IDEA for a list, though…
I think it’s safe to say that anyone still giggling about Dr. Manhattan’s penis is a fucking moron.
Yeah, it’s the idea more than the choices really, and Total Film along with Empire are the UK’s most mainstream film magazines. I don’t mind Total Film so much though because it knows it’s mainstream and doesn’t take itself seriously, whereas Empire tries to be something else and generally fails. This list isn’t the best advert for the magazine though of course.
A similar, but much better list than this one = Empire’s list of greatest minor Coen Brothers characters that they put out a few weeks back.