Favorite Villain Deaths

[TiQuinn]

Hans Gruber's (Alan Rickman's) death in Die Hard - not because falling is necessarily that cool, but because of the emotional point you get to in that scene while watching the movie.

For me, it's also because of the camera angle and the use of the blue screen. It was just a very unique, very cool sequence.

As an honorary mention, the other great falling sequence is from Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur where the villain takes a tumble from the Statue of Liberty. Also a great use of effects and camera angles (from the master of angles, no less).

 

[TiQuinn]

By the way, I hope anyone reading this thread is prepared to read spoilers for some very great movies!

Now that I think about it, Hitchcock was awesome about giving his villains great send-offs, usually due to his unique angles and scene set-ups.

Joseph Cotten falling in front of the oncoming train in "Shadow of a Doubt".

The unique first-person persepctive as Leo G. Carroll turns the gun on himself in "Spellbound".

Mrs. Danvers moving through Manderlay as it burns to the ground in "Rebecca".

 

[NiTessine]

Lord Refa in Babylon 5, episode "The Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place". The gospel song on the background as he was pounded into mush was a nice touch.

The teacher in Battle Royale. It was completely absurd, and the protagonists' expressions at the end of it were priceless.

 

[Sirius_Black]

How can a movie goer think of death scenes without hearing in his/her mind:

"Say 'ello to my little friend."

The Scarface death scene had it all. Dark humor with that line and Tony's coked up ramblings and horribly graphic violence. Plus a cool bad guy with shades and a double barrel shotgun, dressed in black too if I recall right.

I know some may not think of Tony as the villian but.....I don't know...to me, he was in that film at least at the end to all those around him.

 

[Darth Shoju]

One of my least favorite deaths was Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones. I like Samuel L. Jackson, but Lucas let Jango go out like a punk. He deserved better than that. (So did Boba in Return of the Jedi for that matter).

JediSoth

Boba Fett didn't die in the Sarlacc pit IIRCC.

 

[Darth Shoju]

Another counter-point quiet death (though not exactly painless): King Edward the Longshanks dying with his eyes open at the end of Braveheart after a long battle with an unknown illness. What was so great about it was that it was right after the princess whispers that she's carrying Wallace's child in his ear. FREEEEDOOOOOOOOM!

That is a cool scene for sure, although I had always thought he died of tuberculosis.

My two favourite cartoon deaths are:

Comic Shop Guy's death in that "Treehouse of Horrors" epidsode where he plays "The Collector" and gets coated in plastic. "Must...strike...classic Lorne Green pose from...Battlestar...Gallactica. Best...death...ever!"

Gemma's from Ninja Scroll. Fighting an oponent that can regenerate any wound and can even put his head back on? Well then, might as well encase him in liquid gold and dump him into the ocean (where the gold hardens and he spends an eternity alive and imprisoned)

My favourite movie death scenes that I can think of off hand (that haven't been mentioned yet...some of my other favs have been Hans Gruber from Die Hard and Bricktop from Snatch):

The Balrog in LOTR: The Two Towers; "...and I smote his ruin upon the mountainside."

The end of Resevoir Dogs; can anyone say "Mexican Standoff"?
John Travolta's death in Pulp Fiction was interesting in how mundane (and funny) it was.

Bruce Lee's character at the end of the Chinese Connection (the way he just jumps at those cops, his typical scream and look of ass-kicking, then you hear all the gunshots; also interesting in that for once in a martial arts movie, the hero was going to face legal consequences of killing someone)

Li Mu Bai (Chow Yung Fat) in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and for that matter Zhang-zi Yi's character's "death" in that movie is cool too.

Arnold killing that guy in Commando.
"You said you'd kill me last!"
"I lied."

And my favourite movie death scene of all:
Little Bill (Gene Hackman) in Unforgiven.
Little Bill: "I don't deserve this...I'm building a house!"
William Munny (Clint Eastwood): "Deserve's got nothin' to do with it."
BANG

 

[nikolai]

Okay, presumably if you're reading this you're taking your chances with spoilers. Specific details are blanked out though.

There's some cool moments in some of the Conan short stories (two I think) when villians are killed in mid-gloat. They've both stuck with me when others didn't. Cue use of spoiler text:

Spoiler

One's certainly in Rogues in the House. The bad guy's head is smashed in by a thrown stool during a "fool, you thought you could stop me" speech. I can't remember exactly the other one is. I think it's Red Nails, I'm not totally sure though.

nikolai.

 

[s/LaSH]

Terminator - How the machine crawls after Sara and she barely escapes its crushing grip.

Gotta echo that one. I just loved the atmosphere of Terminator 1... "And it will not stop until you are dead!" sums it up pretty nicely, but you don't realise just how damn far that statement extends until you've seen the end.

 

[demiurge1138]

Boba Fett didn't die in the Sarlacc pit IIRCC.

Not in the books, no, but as far as George is concerned, he's doing the whole 1000 years of pain and suffering thing.

I'd say my favorite villian death would be Godzilla's in Gojira. It contains everything a really good death needs- tragedy, hope, and a really cool visual (the skeleton-ization terrified me as a kid).
But honorable mention has to go to Lurtz in The Fellowship of the Ring. He went down fighting.

Demiurge out.

 

[Welrain]

Not in the books, no, but as far as George is concerned, he's doing the whole 1000 years of pain and suffering thing.

I never did understand that bit. Hows does the sarlaac extend your life?