If, like me, you feel irrationally angry at the fact thatyou no longer have a holiday weekend to look forward to, you may find this insanely detailed compilation of the 100 GreatestMovie Threats of All Time oddly soothing. (It’s the latest supercut
from Pajiba’s Harry Hanrahan
, the editor who created last year’s über-popular 100 GreatestMovie Insults of All Time montage
.) If 12 minutes of verbal abuse is too much for you, you should atleast skip to the end, because the capper is genius (lots of profanity, so pick up your headphones if you’re at work):
Full list of sources, with rough time locations, here .[via Animal ]
As the New York Post notes, JoePesci, Clint Eastwood, Will Ferrell, and Quentin Tarantino are the heroesof this montage, whose major motifs are (a) the F-word, (b)violation of the victim’s private parts, and (c) feces. It’s also — as that Post item made me realize — an incrediblymale-heavy list. Out of 100 threats, I counted 6 by women: Lucy Liu in Kill Bill , Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz , Geena Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight , Lori Petty in Tank Girl , Sarah Silverman in The Way of the Gun (playing a characternamed ” Raving Bitch ,” according to IMDB),and Julie Warner in Tommy Boy .
That disparity got me curious. Is it just a numbers thing, reflecting the lower numbers of aggressive females on film? Or is it a matter of style ? In other words, are heroines and lady villains less likely to openly declare their intentions to punish their enemies ( and perhaps less likely torely on curse words, physical violence, and the unsettling specter of poop whenthey do)?
Help us puzzle this one out by giving us your nominationsfor the greatest female-delivered movie threats of all time. Specific moments, if possible —w e’re looking for more than just a list of scary ladies; we want actual moments in which a woman promises that harm will come to another character. To get you started, here are a few nominees from Slate staffers:
Frances McDormand as Elaine Miller in Almost Famous
:
Mama Grizzlies represent a big subcategory of menacing film females.
Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes in Misery :
You probably knowwhat happens at the end of this clip, but fair warning: not for the squeamish.
Glenn Close as Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction :
An incredibly effective, entirely non-verbal threat.
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