Best Character Arcs

[Hobgoblin]

What are the most interesting, best developed characters you've ever seen in a movie? The one's that really went through dramatic changes that grabbed your interest.

Looking at my DVD collection, I realize that many of their characters seem pretty flat. Exceptions being Schindler's List, The Last Samurai and Signs.

 

[redhawk23]

Vader in the OT

Aragorn accepting and embracing his identity

the main character in district9

If you look at casino royale and quantum of solace as one movie bonds arc is actually pretty good.

not epic but I really like the story of the main charater from Garden State

 

[Poetic Chaos]

Michael Corleone

 

[The Jester]

Narrator from Fight Club
Tetsuo in Akira

 

[Kurosawa]

Luke in the OT.

 

[Ipodman]

Vader in the OT

Aragorn accepting and embracing his identity

the main character in district9

If you look at casino royale and quantum of solace as one movie bonds arc is actually pretty good.

not epic but I really like the story of the main charater from Garden State

District 9.. thats the best.

 

[CFE]

Ripley from the "Alien" series.

 

[Jochimus]

Luke in the OT.

This one I really like, given how completely he's changed by the time of Ep. VI.

Some of my other favorites are not particularly popular ones, but:
* Marty and Doc in BTTF3: it's a refreshing change for both of the characters, as Doc ends up finding something that's long been absent from his life - a deeper relationship with someone who doesn't look at him like he's a complete oddball - and Marty is forced to acknowledge the fact that he isn't going to be 17 forever and thus needs to grow up a bit.
* The Gill-Man in "The Creature Walks Among Us" - aside from the fact that he's not particularly interested in getting the girl this time (probably due to what happened to him when he tried the last two times), he starts exhibiting more benevolent qualities around people who he comes to realize are not necessarily a threat to him.
* The Monster in "Bride Of Frankenstein", for pretty much the same reason, although in his case he was already that way in the first one and the second one essentially elaborates on it more. And inasmuch as Karloff's reasons against the idea of the Monster speaking are valid, I think it was a necessity for the character given the mindless robot that he was going to disintegrate and devolve into in the later films (even after they gave him Ygor's brain instead).

 

[C. Lee]

Paul Newman in THE VERDICT.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight

Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond

Peter Parker in Spider-Man 1 and 2

Luke from Star Wars

Mel Gibson in Signs

Tommy Lee Jones in No Country For Old Men

 

[Schlosser85]

Dunbar in Dances With Wolves (or Jake in Avatar since they're basically the same character)

 

[Pink Ranger]

Ennis from Brokeback Mountain
Eli Sunday from There Will Be Blood (not all arcs have to be facing upward )
Frost from Frost/Nixon
The Queen from The Queen
Seth Brundle from the Fly
Ellen Ripley, just from Aliens (2) itself
Walter Vale from The Visitor
Joe Miller from Philadelphia
Father Karras in the Exorcist

 

[david icke]

I'm glad to see some love for the character in Signs.
and i know what you are talking about HG, i was looking up at my dvd collection too, and not a lot of deep character arcs leapt out at me.
I would maybe say Jack Nicholson's McMurphy in Cuckoo's nest, he starts out as just a freewheeling chancer trying to skive out of a work detail, and then gets involved the lifes of his fellow patients as he gets to know their situation better, trying to help them when he can, in the best way he knows how.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

I would maybe say Jack Nicholson's McMurphy in Cuckoo's nest, he starts out as just a freewheeling chancer trying to skive out of a work detail, and then gets involved the lifes of his fellow patients as he gets to know their situation better, trying to help them when he can, in the best way he knows how.

Chief from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest also immediately leaps to mind.

And I'm glad to see some people still remember that astonishing masterpiece.

 

[The Joker]

Laurie Strode in Halloween H20.

 

[Brother Jack]

Michael Corleone

^ End of thread.

 

[Figs]

I'm wondering if Teddy Daniels from Shutter Island would qualify.

 

[david icke]

Chief from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest also immediately leaps to mind.

And I'm glad to see some people still remember that astonishing masterpiece.

Yeah, you are right, and I have been a major fan of the movie for about twenty odd years, I have the s/track album too, and once played the whole thing through when I had a couple of friends round for a mini party, no-one asked to change the record surprisingly.

edit: just thought of another one, Stallone's character Freddie in Copland, love that film.

 

[Ghostvirus]

Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight

Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond

Peter Parker in Spider-Man 1 and 2

Luke from Star Wars

Mel Gibson in Signs

Tommy Lee Jones in No Country For Old Men

Totally! So many people I have seen it with wanted Dent to live. & I am like why! His story was perfect. Why mess that up.

His story was almost a movie all on its own. It was great.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Chief from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest also immediately leaps to mind.

And I'm glad to see some people still remember that astonishing masterpiece.

Ha, thanks for reminding us all of all the great movies that were made before a lot of us were born.

You jogged my memory of some other ones:

Both Tibbs and Gillespie from In the Heat of the Night
Ed Gentry from Deliverance

 

[Tequilla]

Thinking about character arcs (and i dont think they need to change completely) two come to mind...Jake La Motta (from Raging Bull) and Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver). Beautifully written , and acted by Bobby De Niro.

But if i had to pick a movie that fully develops its characters , the choice would be pretty obvious , Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai . In terms of character study it doesn't get much better than that.

Tetsuo in Akira

Great choice....and also badass Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I'm wondering if Teddy Daniels from Shutter Island would qualify.

Definitely. It's not the conventional kind, but I would say it's an arc.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Totally! So many people I have seen it with wanted Dent to live. & I am like why! His story was perfect. Why mess that up.

His story was almost a movie all on its own. It was great.

Yeah, Dent really is the backbone of the film. Take out his character and his entire arc the film isn't as good. The film could afford to do without the Joker but not Dent. Dent's journey parallelled and strengthened Bruce's journey as well.

 

[redhawk23]

see I like Luke's arc, but as has been pointed out many times before it is a pretty standard arc that has been played out time and time again.

Vader on the other hand I think is more interesting. when you first see him you know almost nothing about him. He is ruthless and intimidating but ultimately just a very scary lapdog. In ESB he becomes obsessive and quite one track minded on finding luke and even as they fear him many begin to doubt him. He ultimately shows that he wants to break free of the emporer and rule the galaxy himself with his son by his side. palpatine totally knows this already and seeks to replace vader with luke. Luke sees something good within vader though and tries to save him, but vader has already resigned himself to being a lost cause. In the end though vader proves his humanity and redeems himself by sacrificing himself to save luke and kill the emporer. Because of this he dies in peace and is able to become one with the force. Now that is and epic arc if I've ever seen one.

 

[venom892]

Totally! So many people I have seen it with wanted Dent to live. & I am like why! His story was perfect. Why mess that up.

His story was almost a movie all on its own. It was great.

I agree with this.Some fans want to see Dark Victory on screen but I think Harvey arc is great as is.It would really screw it up if they bought him back.As Nolan mentioned before Dent is really the backbone of that movie.