10 Greatest Movie Characters of the 20th Century, Ranked

Cinema was the defining art form of the 20th century, giving us countless memorable characters through whom filmmakers explored love, power, alienation, ambition, moral compromise, fantasy and despair. This list attempts to rank some of those figures from the medium’s first century—characters who stepped off the screen and into the collective imagination and linger long after the credits roll.

Some are quietly transformative: Annie Hall is allowed interiority, ambition and growth that don’t depend on male approval, with Diane Keaton’s idiosyncrasies making the role feel modern. Rick Blaine’s wartime cynicism conceals a wounded idealism, a reluctant hero whose pretended neutrality breaks down as history presses in.

Scarlett O’Hara survives by will and defies gender expectations, reshaping herself through drive and pragmatism, while Dorothy Gale moves through wonder without losing moral clarity, using empathy to bring out the best in others even as she longs for home.

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