The 70s were a fantastic decade for movies, and it spawned some of cinema's most iconic franchises, many of which are still around today. But to make a great movie you need a great villain, and when it comes to those, no decade stacks up to the 70s.
50 years later, (yes the 70s were 50 years ago), we're still talking about iconic baddies like Darth Vader and the Xenomorph. Those two easily crack our list, but who else made the cut?
In no particular order, here are our 20 greatest movie villains from the 1970s.
1
If you walk down the street long enough on Halloween, you’re sure to see a child wearing a Michael Myers mask. Why? Because he’s one of horror’s scariest villains, that’s why.
2
This chomping Bond villain bore his teeth in multiple films.
3
No horror movie is complete without a terrifying child, and that’s Damien.
4
Going to the dentist is scary enough on its own, but former German war criminal Dr. Christian Szell takes it to a whole new level.
5
Francisco Scaramanga IS the man with the golden gun, living up to the intrigue in this Bond movie’s title.
6
No race car driver getaway movie is complete without a sheriff to chase them, and Buford T. Justice delivers in both the driving, and personality departments.
7
You have to be quite the foe to match Bruce Lee in one of his own movies, but that’s exactly what Han does.
8
It feels like every modern day horror movie is trying to follow in The Exorcist’s footsteps, and they all fail. Why? Because nobody does The Devil quite like The Demon.
9
Not too many Bond villains live successful double lives, but Mr. Big does so compellingly in Live And Let Die.
10
The most iconic movie villain of all time needs no introduction.
11
The most famous alien in cinema history is equal parts terrifying and awe inspiring. One of science fiction’s all time great thrillers features one of its most intimidating foes.
12
It’s easy to forget that the Mad Max franchise has been around for a long time, thanks in part to Toecutter, the original movie’s original villain.
13
No school comedy is complete without an overbearing faculty member. Dean Wormer fits the bill perfectly.
14
Francis Ford Coppola and Marlon Brando combine to make the psychologically intense Colonel Kurtz come to life in this dark and ambiguous thriller.
15
Dirty Harry is a police thriller loosely based on the Zodiac killer, relying heavily on a fantastically intimidating portrayal of that killer.
16
Without the original Superman movie to pave the way, who knows where modern superhero movies would be? And that’s thanks in no small part to the movie’s villain, Lex Luthor.
17
Alain Charnier is one of the most cunning villains of the 70s, and the French villain spends his screentime stumping New York City detective “Popeye” Doyle.
18
Any sports movie needs a rival team or competitor, but Sylvester Stallone’s iconic boxing thriller is no normal sports movie, and Apollo Creed is no normal competitor.
19
Many people consider The Godfather to be the greatest movie of all time, and it has many characters that could feature on a list like this. Emilio Barzini fits the bill in the most traditional sense, heading up the Corleones’ rival gang.
