Forrest Gump voted the 'greatest film character of all time’

The Telegraph ^ | 03/24/2011 | Paul Thompson

[SeekAndFind]

Out of more than half a million films made by Hollywood the character portrayed by Tom Hanks ranked top in the biggest ever poll of moviegoers.

The 1994 film was a box office hit and critically acclaimed with Hanks’ performance earning him the Oscar for Best Actor.

Audiences adored Gump as they followed his life from a child to adulthood as he took part in many of the pivotal events of the 1960s and 1970s.

The film, which took more than £500m at the box office, was based on the 1986 novel written by American author Winston Groom.

The film was also known for many of Gump’s phrases, such as “My momma always said, “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”

While Gump was the runaway winner, British secret agent James Bond was named as the second greatest film character.

007 has endured for almost 50 years after being created by author Ian Fleming.

Daniel Craig is the latest film Bond following in the footsteps of Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan.

Scarlett O’Hara was rated as the third most memorable character.

The performance by British star Vivien Leigh as the feisty southern belle in the epic “Gone with the Wind” made her the only female character in the top five.

Anthony Hopkins performance as Hannibal Lecter helped the cannibalistic serial killer rate fourth in the poll.

Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford, was named as the fifth most popular character.

More than 500,000 people took part in the survey carried out by ABC TV and People magazine.

[70times7]

For me, it’s Michael Corleone.

Absolutely GREAT call!

[SeekAndFind]

RE: “That’ll be the day!”

“You Talkin’ to me?”

[Tennessee Nana]

Indy

[ozark hilljilly]

I don’t think characters originating in books...

Did you ever read the book, "Forrest Gump"? It was absolutely nothing like the film. The movie was actually heads and tails far better than the book. The book stunk on ice.

On film, I liked Gump. In the book, I loathed him and was a bit disgusted by the character.

[j-damn]

This just reinforces the notion that the general public’s intelligence is vastly overstated even when it’s estimated to be nonexistent.

Gump, as a film, is about as subtle and nuanced as a cricket bat upside the head. Even the soundtrack tells you what to think and feel [e.g., Gump is running down a road, the Doobies “It keeps you running” plays—hurr, durr?].

Even the special effects of placing him next to historical figures was lifted straight out of Zelig, which predated it by a decade at least.

It was nothing more than yet another excuse for baby-boomers to gaze at their navels and marvel at all the groovy times they experienced 2nd hand through television as children—in a just and sane world, it would have been nothing more than an after school special.

[righttackle44]

Where, pray tell, do you think most screenplays come from? They come from book and short story line rewrites and adaptions. Hollywood is and has been run by corrupt and diseased scum since it's inception. There are few among all of them with enough character and integrity to chance something new. Therefore, the powers there virtually always want to try something that already has a success. My screenwriting professor said that he's in meetings all the time when a television episode will be discussed in terms of a predecessor. "Okay, so we're playing "Starwars" in "Mike and Molly?" Or, in the case of movies, he says the discussion will be, "Lessee. So this is "High Noon" meets "Close Encounters of the Third Kind?"

Casting decisions are often made, for women, in terms of the casting couch, or whether this girl or women is more F**kable than that one.

As I said, most of the people in the industry are diseased scum.

[wbill]

Michael Corleone....

I liked him, but in truth, I preferred the supporting cast. And Brando stole the movie. The scene just before he dies, where he's outlining who'll betray Michael, is a work of art.

And Duvall was great, as was Abe Vigoda. Plenty of good heavies in this flick, too.

But Pacino did OK. He does menacing, very well.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: NO CONTEST-—PATTON

Agree. And additional points for snubbing the Oscars.

[Chuzzlewit]

amazing....I can’t even watch him in that movie..ughh..

how about Atticus Finch, from To Kill a Mockingbird, or his daughter, Scout ?

[Tennessee Nana]

Cooper in High Noon

[Red in Blue PA]

Are they joking?

how about Rick from Casablanca?

There are a million which should come before Gump.

[dfwgator]

What made Michael stand out, was his transformation during the course of The Godfather, how bit by bit he was pulled into that world that in the beginning, he wanted no part of.

[70times7]

Nope. For all of th hype surrounding Animal House, Belushi's character is nothing special to me. Your milage may vary.

I like Al's character because it is hard to think of ANYONE in ANYTHING who was worse as an actor than him. His "acting" and the movie's utter stupidity make it funny.

Now go drink from the firehose.

[JoeProBono]

[Cowman]

The Duke as Rooster Cogburn wins best movie character hands down.

[dfwgator]

My other personal favorite, C.R. McNamara in "One, Two, Three"

[Vision]

Morons.

[Red in Blue PA]

He is definitely up there, though many believe those westerns started the demise ofnthe western.

I love those spaghetti westerns.

[JoeProBono]

[BBell]

Sometimes I think I’m the only person who has seen High Anxiety.