Give me some noble characters in movies or film.

[jobycom]

I'm not talking about anti-heroes who do the right thing in the end, I mean the real self-sacrificing child-of-deity good.

I got three to start:

Jean ValJean, from the book Les Miserables.

Victor Lazlo, from "Casablanca."

Atticus Finch, from either the movie or book "To Kill a Mockingbird."

[TZ]

1. John Coffee from the Green Mile.

Literally dying for another man's sins.

[dawgmom]

3. Oohhhh....I'm going to cry, just thinking about that

All the woo in that can be ignored, as symbolism/metaphor to drive the story forward.

[Rancid Crabtree]

7. Congrats...you beat me to it...

...John Coffee..."I'm sorry for what I am."...cool read...great movie.

[Rancid Crabtree]

30. John Coffey...

...remembered there was that bit about his name, 'your name is John Coffey."...'yes, sir, boss, like the drink, only not spelled the same way.'...Mr. Jingles was pretty cool, as well.

[dawgmom]

2. Tom Hanks' character in "Saving Private Ryan"

Although you already used the best one -- Atticus Finch.

I would also add Tom Joad, from "The Grapes of Wrath."

Favorite bit of IMDB trivia, by the way? First choice to play Atticus Finch was...wait for it....ROCK HUDSON. When he turned it down, they offered to Jimmy Stewart, who turned it down because he thought the role was too controversial. Ugh. Can you imagine anyone but Gregory Peck in that role?

[mitchum]

22. Jerry Lewis would have been an interesting choice...

but the movie would have been decidedly different
"Hey lady, why did you want him to break up that chiffarobe? Now, excuse me while I do a spit take!"

[kentauros]

4. ... V ...

since I watched that recently :)

[jobycom]

36. So... ***SPOILER****

How does him torturing whatserface jibe with the self-sacrificing always-doing-right motif? Yeah, it was for her own good in his mind, but... And then there's the whole assassination thing. I find that self-serving, not noble. V was for Vendetta, after all. Revenge isn't usually seen as noble.

His ends were noble though. And it's just a cool-as-shit movie.

[mentalsolstice]

5. A Man for All Seasons

Sir Thomas More

[Dr Fate]

6. Mr. Smith (goes to Washington). Superman. Robin Hood. Sheriff Andy Taylor....

The Stewart character from "It's a Wonderful Life"...

[Lethe]

8. Jack Burton

Big Trouble in Little China

:D

[jobycom]

9. Hehe!

One of my favorite movies!

[PassingFair]

10. Reluctant heroes are always more interesting...

[jobycom]

11. Maybe as main characters. Maybe that's why the ones I can think of

are never the primary character, or at least not the primary vantage character. Their stories are told by someone nearby.

But being noble doesn't mean you can't be somewhat reluctant. All three I named are selfless and noble, but struggle with something that threatens to derail them. Victor Lazlo offers to stay behind to make Ilsa safe. Jean ValJean struggles with whether to escape or do the right thing several times. Even Atticus Finch, at least in the book, implies he would rather not do what he's doing, though he never seriously tries to back out.

[elshiva]

12. Joan of Arc in any of the movies about her.

[skygazer]

13. Gary Cooper in High Noon

[jobycom]

37. Oh yeah, the classic western Christ. Along with Dan Evans in "3:10 to Yuma"

In the original. I haven't seen the remake.

[CBHagman]

14. Joe Kenehan in "Matewan."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093509/

[Rabrrrrrr]

15. Spock. Obi Wan Kenobi. John Galt. Jesus. Robin Hood. The criminal in "Great Expectations"

[Dragonbreathp9d]

16. Juror number 8 I think it is

from 12 angry men, I forget, whichever one Henry Fonda plays

[Danger Mouse]

17. Neo.

[Orrex]

18. Ofelia in Pan's Labyrinth.

Also, Steven Seagal in Executive Decision.
:evilgrin:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

28. Ofelia was AWESOME !!

:thumbsup:

[mitchum]

19. Any Christ figure in any work..

hell, that's why they are called that

TKAM actually has two Christ figures, but neither of them are Atticus

[jobycom]

33. I'm guessing you mean Boo and Tom?

I wouldn't call either a Christ figure. Both are martyrs in a way, but neither are in full control of their situations. A true Christ figure, to me, must have the ability to choose another route, and must have some universal power that would make him or her successful in that other endeavor. The temptation must hold some reward, and the consequences for choosing the virtuous route must be severe.

Tom and Boo are both classic innocents, and of course either could choose to be bad because of their circumstances, but the evil in their cases would be limited to hooliganism. If they chose to be evil, they wouldn't be in any worse circumstances, or any better, than they are. For Atticus, the pure route he has chosen leads to him being in danger, being ostracized, and having his family threatened. Jean ValJean constantly chooses to sacrifice his safety and freedom to avoid doing wrong. Victor Lazlo likewise. John Coffee not only risks death, but dies.

Tom Robinson dies, but he doesn't die choosing to do the right thing. He dies because he is an innocent, a mockingbird, in a situation he fears he can only escape through death. I guess one can argue that Tom ultimately dies because he refused to be seduced by Mayella, so he chooses the right thing there.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

42. interesting...my thought was Boo and Tom but, I didn't know

how to put it in words, thanks.

[Love Bug]

20. Sherlock Holmes

[Orrex]

21. He's the noblest coke-head who ever stroked a fiddle

[Love Bug]

31. Is "stroking a fiddle" a euphemism? lol

[Orrex]

45. No comment.

[jobycom]

38. You've heard about this?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0988045/

Based on the comic book, not Doyle's novels: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/robert-downey-jr-a-swashbuckling-sherlock-holmes.php&h=300&w=537&sz=42&hl=en&start=5&um=1&usg=__MNBhkf7hzPgCtUKpnVpuvg_Jyfk=&tbnid=Zfk0g-Y6rgwYTM:&tbnh=74&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddowney%2Bsherlock%2Bholmes%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN

[kentauros]

23. Damiel in "Der Himmel über Berlin"

(Wings of Desire)

Then again, he is an angel ;)

[BrklynLiberal]

24. Sidney Carton? Not sure if he really qualifies

"'It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.'"

[pokerfan]

25. Robert Roy MacGregor in Rob Roy (1995)

Liam Neeson's character suffers all sorts of indignities (including the rape of his wife) because he refused to bear false witness against a rival of the nobleman to whom he found himself indebted.

[rcrush]

26. Smoochy

He was the best role model for kids.

[jobycom]

35. He! I think I'm the only person in the world who loved that movie.

It helped that I had a crush on Catherine Keener.

[mitchum]

43. No, there are two of us

:)

Have you seen Keener in "An American Crime"?
She does a fantastic job of playing an absolute monster.

[jobycom]

44. No, haven't seen that one. Yet. nt

[Tuesday Afternoon]

27. Norma Rae, Erin Brockovich, Maximus, Karen Silkwood, Schindler

give me some time...I can go on...

[WinkyDink]

29. Robin Hood was always mine.

[MissMillie]

32. Ted Striker

:silly:

[jobycom]

34. One day I'll watch that.

Actually, by now, probably not.

[jobycom]

46. delete

wrong place

[Richardo]

39. Movies *or* film?

:D

I'll get back to you in anywhere from 15 minutes to a quarter of an hour.

[jobycom]

47. Yeah, mostly because I don't think any film has captured Victor Hugo's novel well.

Not that it's really doable. "Les Miserables" is over 1600 pages unabridged, so films and plays usually include parts of the novel. Most adaptations use Jean ValJean sparingly, but he's the center of the novel. One version had Liam Neeson as ValJean, and Geoffrey Rush as Javert. That one came closest.

Funny--Liam Neeson is on this list a few times. ValJean, Schindler, Rob Roy...

[Tuesday Afternoon]

40. William Wallace

[Tuesday Afternoon]

41. Karen Blixon

oh.yes.