Klauss Kinski Is one of the best villains ever - Il grande silenzio (1969) Discussion

[–] Indio500 20 years ago

Are we discussing Villains from Westerns only? If so I think Jack Palance in Companeros is a pretty screwed up character. Kinski is really good as Loco I agree.

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[–] IndianaSmith 20 years ago

Even when you consider all movies, I do not think Palance in Companeros or Shane comes close to the level of coldbloodedness of Loco. My favorite villain of all time is Frank In Once Upon a Time in the West, but he isn't quite as evil as Loco. I find it hard to think of a villain outside of Western movies that is as bad as Loco. Any Suggestions?

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[–] Moeydimples 20 years ago

It sounds funny, but i think Frank Wolff in "Last of the Badmen".There he is a real bastard marked out by being extremly violent,cruel and crazy.

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[–] thecatsmotheruk 19 years ago

Harry Powell?

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[–] bingtau 20 years ago

Kinski is great as Loco. I lolved his charachter and he defitnitly made the movie in my opinion. THE GREAT SILENCE is one of the greatest westerns, let alone one of the greatest films ever.

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[–] j-mcelhatton 19 years ago

Despite the shockingly evil 'crimes'he commits (I say 'crimes' as he has the law behind him), Kinski is a very likeable villain. You should hate him - and after the climax, you really do - but he is such an engaging character that you really enjoy watching him. I'd agree that he is one of the best villains ever. Frank in 'Once Upon A Time In The West' is an equally nasty character, but is at least vanquished. Kinski walks off the movie armed with Silence's pistol & you know he is capable of committing a lot more acts of true evil. It is only hoped that one day he will accidentally meet up with Clint Eastwood, who would never EVER let him away with it.

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Pycal 19 years ago

I completely agree. I would definetely include Loco on a list of the all time greatest villains. Klaus Kinski is one of my all time favorites actors. And of course The Great Silence is my personal favorite western.

"Stupid friends are dangerous"

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[–] hannibalmcnee 19 years ago

I would put a word in for El Indio (Gian Maria Volonte) in For A Few Dollars More.

Loco kills women and children in the hopes of earning big money.

Frank (Once Upon a Time In The West) butchers a family, but he sees it as little more than business.

Indio has an innocent woman and baby killed more or less just to anger the guy that betrayed him. He knows how wrong it is. He isn't a-moral like the rest of these villains, he has feelings of remorse and he knows that the things he does are evil, but he does it anyway. Evil.

But Frank and Loco are good to.

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[–] 90j1r4 19 years ago

Indio, Loco and Frank are all good. Kinski spoilt this film for me though, I can't help but look at him when he's on screen. Hence, I'm meant to be watching someone's reaction but all I see is Kinski. It's infuriating but I have to admire him as well.

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[–] bullit2513 19 years ago

Continuing with the spaghetti western villains, how about Tomas Milian in Four of the Apocalypse?

I agree about Loco, El Indio, and Frank. All chilling villains but Loco is the worst.

"I don't mean to be a sore loser, but if when it's over, I'm dead, kill him." Butch Cassidy

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[–] Pinoyboy976 19 years ago

Two Words: Angel Eyes

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[–] den_dennis 19 years ago

Angel Eyes is one of the "best" villians in all of the Westerns I have seen. He is just so... cold!

But I also loved Jack Palance in "Companeros", he makes that movie a hell of a lot more funny and weird (which seems like that movie's intention).

I have yet to see Tomas Milian in "Four of the Apocalypse" and Kinski in "Silence" but I'm looking forward to watching these movies.

(Spaghetti) Westerns rock!

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[–] stoned_B 19 years ago

besides 'Grande silenzio, Il' i like Kinski as villain in 'Prega il morto e ammazza il vivo' aka 'Shoot the Living and Pray for the Dead'. not very well-known spaghetti, but i like the mood in this movie a lot.

of course my favourite italo western is also 'Grande silenzio, Il'.

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] rickysbradley 18 years ago

I will never forget the reaction of Klaus Kinski playing the hunchback in For a Few Dollars More when Lee Van Cleef struck a match on his back. It was EVIL personified. Absolutely brilliant. Lee Van Cleef also personified EVIL in the majority of his films and had the looks to go with it.

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[–] Pharaoh-in-de-Nile 14 years ago

"Absolutely brilliant. Lee Van Cleef also personified EVIL in the majority of his films and had the looks to go with it."

Lee Van Cleef usually plays heroes except in the USA where he played "defeated villains" a lot when he was younger. In the majority of his films (AKA the European ones) he played heroes such as Col. Mortimer ('For A Few Dollars More') or Sabata (in the 'Sabata' films, obviously) except in 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' in which he played the principal villain Angel Eyes/Sentenza.

"Nothings gonna change my world!"

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] TheVentrue 18 years ago

In all actuality, Loco didn't survive the dead long...when the proper authorities heard of the massacre, he and his gang were probably executed

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[–] Danherb 18 years ago

Gian Maria Volonté also plays a great villain in Sollima's "Faccia a Faccia", very unpopular Spaghetti-Western, but definitely one of the greatest!

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] TheVentrue 18 years ago

The sheer brutality in which it was executed would put a death sentence on Loco's head

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[–] UESC_Marathon 17 years ago

From a more modern western, Arthur Burns from The Proposition was a pretty satanic character. In sheer depravity I think he even beats Loco, but then he's also way more charismatic.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] speccyboy 16 years ago

El Indio and Angel Eyes.

If you look closely in the final massacre of the film, Loco just stares at his men while they shoot the townsfolk - he doesn't participate in the massacre, but he doesn't do anything to stop it either (As if killing Silence wasn't enough!).

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[–] byautumndead 16 years ago

Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men is more sadistic.

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[–] lagazza 15 years ago

Clarence Boddicker... You probably don't think I'm a very nice guy...

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[–] svallee-4 15 years ago

I agree with your assessment of Kinski. One of the absolute greatest villain performance ever. Bone chilling for start to finish.

In my opinion, two of the other villains up there with Kinski/Loco would be Gary Oldman in Leon (The Professional), and even more so Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet.

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[–] Eumenides_0 15 years ago

Klaus Kinski was an amazing villain. It's funny, I watched this movie only because of Jean-Louis Trintignant, but it was Kinski's performance that held me in thrall. He had such a good combination of traits: cruelty, intelligence, humor, eloquence, calm. He carried the movie for me.

This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.

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[–] kkhsiivonen 14 years ago

Henry Fonda as Frank in Once Upon a Time in the West. Nothing tops the hanging scene from the end.

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[–] don-lope-de-aguirre 14 years ago

I can only recommend "Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes" (Aguirre, the Wrath of God) and "Nosferatu - Phantom der Nacht" (Nosferatu - The Vsampyre) to you.

Another two films with Kinski in bad guy lead roles.
Also his appearence as Wild in "For a Few Dollars More" or his performance in "Woyzeck" is stunning!

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[–] heelmaster2000 13 years ago

I gotta agree, also this was one of his finest roles.

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[–] cabbageboy316 13 years ago

Hopper in Blue Velvet was quite the heel but I mostly thought he was a total nut rather than someone I hated. Besides he obviously gets his in the end. Ditto Oldman. Besides, these guys are so wacky and entertaining that they don't inspire true hate or contempt from the viewer.

I might go with Tim Roth in Rob Roy as seriously one of the best villains ever. He isn't cool, he isn't wacky or nuts...he's just loathsome. But even gets his well earned comeuppance.

Kinski here may rank up there.

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