Gina Telaroli
June 15, 2008 | 10:44 am EST
Happy Father’s Day! (I hope you have a good one). Luckily for you these Top 10 Movie Dads are available all year round. Here’s the final Top 10, in a brands new order - including a new #1 and #2 that haven’t been listed yet. Keep in mind these Dads may not be the most typical (they’re all actually pretty unique) , but they are definitely the most dynamic and interesting to watch on the screen.
Be sure to look after the jump to see who are number 1 and 2 are!
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The eighth look at one of my favorite movie dads. (#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 and #7)
Jack Torrance in The Shining
The combination of Kubrick and Nicholson should be reason enough to understand why Torrance makes this list but beyond that he is one of the most terrifying fathers ever to grace a movie screen. After he takes his family to a large abandoned hotel so that he can write, Jack Torrance proceeds to go crazy and terrorize them all, including his his psychic son. The film is creepy, and if you have a good father he hopefully didn’t let you watch it as a kid. Mostly, I think this line from the film says it all:
**Jack Torrance: [as he chases his son with an ax] Danny, I’m coming!
takepart to learn a bit about writer’s block and click click click for a great fatherly scene from The Shining
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The seventh look at one of my favorite movie dads. (#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 and #6)
Monsieur Henri Verdoux in Monsieur Verdoux
Charlie Chaplin’s controversial return to the silver screen pitted him as a father during troubling financial times. After losing his job as a bank clerk, Monsieur Verdoux turns to marrying older women with money and murdering them. On the surface it may seem like Verdoux should be nowhere near a Top 10 Movie Dads list, but of course this is Chaplin and the surface should be ignored (although it is quite humorous). As Verdoux points out towards the end of the film, murder is a part of business and when you compare his crimes with the crimes of the West, : As a mass killer, I’m an amateur by comparison. The film is funny (esp his scenes with Martha Raye) but not with out political commentary, Chaplin even goes so far as to point out that he and his family are vegetarians.
takepart to learn about the benefits of being a vegetarian - for you and the world and click click click to see a great series of scenes from Monsieur Verdoux
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The sixth look at one of my favorite movie dads. (#1 #2 #3 #4 and #5)
Elliot Hopper (Ghost Dad) in Ghost Dad
Bill Cosby will always be one of the ultimate TV Dads, and any fan of Bill Cosby should be a fan of one of his fatherly movie ventures, Ghost Dad. It’s mostly silly and full of gags, but watching Cosby sink into the floor and ride the lines between our world and another is great fun. Plus, the film is about him looking out for his kids - so it’s good for the entire family. Admittedly, I haven’t seen the film since in quite some time, but I remember loving it when I was a kid. And interestingly enough I just learned that Sidney Poitier directed it, which earns major bonus points with the adult me.
takepart to learn about Bill Cosby’s charity the Ennis William Cosby Foundation and click click click for a video clue to how awesome Ghost Dad is
The fifth look at one of my favorite movie dads. (#1 #2 #3 and #4)
Ted Kramer in Kramer vs. Kramer
A tad more conventional, Ted Kramer can’t help but warm your heart. A workaholic who has to transform his life when his wife goes away and leaves him alone with his young son, Mr. Kramer soon realizes all that he has been missing while at the office. It may not be an easy transition but he comes to cherish the time he doesn’t have to work. The scene in the courtroom and the elevator towards the end both require Kleenex. Not to mention that he’s played by Dustin Hoffman, and I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like Dustin Hoffman.
takepart to learn about the National Father’s Resource Center and also click click click to see a classic scene from the film
The fourth look at one of my favorite movie dads. (#1 #2 and #3)
Don Lope de Aguirre in Aguirre, Wrath of God
It wouldn’t be a true list if I didn’t include Klaus Kinski anywhere. Of course his Aguirre isn’t a role model dad, but I’d rather watch him than most. His performance, combined with Herzog’s ability to capture nature make this a film worth seeing big (go to your friends house with the big TV or the projector). As a dad, Aguirre isn’t that horrible, he does seem to look after her, he even shares a sloth with her. Who doesn’t like sloths? Of course I don’t know if that offsets the ending (which I won’t give away). Regardless, I love Kinski!
Did you know that sloths are endangered? takepart to learn how you can help endangered species and click click to see a trailer for Aquirre
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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!
Katie Halper:
Debra Winger and Rights Camera Action!
James Byrd Jr. and the Struggle for Tolerance
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Nicole Hughes:
Green Video of the Week: 5 Tips for Reducing Your Garbage
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Disappearing Destinations: Visit Before They Vanish
Chuck Norris Wants America to Start Drilling for Oil Here and Now!
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Jon Popham:
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Giulia Rozzi:
Gay Discrimination at Seattle Baseball Game
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Gina Telaroli:
Fathers Day Celebration of Movie Dads #1
The third look at one of my favorite movie dads. (#1 and #2)
Nick Longhetti in A Woman Under the Influence
Peter Falk plays a dad who has a lot on his plate. He loves his wife, even with all of her eccentricities, he works hard and he loves his kids. But when his wife’s eccentric side goes too far and she is sent away it’s just him and the kids. One of the most memorable scenes comes when he takes them to the beach and on the ride home let’s them all sip from his beer until they are drunk. This may make him sound awful, but give the film a watch and you’ll see how endearing the scene actually is.
takepart to learn how you can find a support group when you’re going through hard times (like the Longhettis) and and click click to see a great scene from the movie
The second look at one of my favorite movie dads. (#1 is here)
The Lebowski’s in The Big Lebowski
By the film’s end, both The Big Lebowski and the other Lebowski known as the Dude are both fathers, one of Maud and one of Maud’s baby. The Big Lebowski, as it stands, is definitely not the world’s best dad. He remarried a young blond after his wife’s death and faked her kidnapping so he could get money from his daughter Maud. While the Dude (the other Lebowski) actually helps Maud, his lady friend, to conceive her own child and by request won’t have anything to do with the child. Regardless of their parenting skills, these dads are fun to watch.
takepart to learn how Big Brothers/Big Sisters are using bowling for good and click click to see a great scene from the movie.
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Andy Kondrat:
