Gee, I guess there were'nt any movies before 1990 except the Alan Ladd. The lack of cinema knowledge in this reviewer is telling. You could have at least included Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber from the original "Die Hard", or how about Richard Widmark as Tommy Udo in "Kiss of Death"?

Charlie, Orlando, USA

What about Matt Damon in the Bourne...ah...all 3 of them?

Mike, Riverside, NJ, USA

what about the two killers in 'Diamonds are forever' - very funny and lethal

duncan bogie, york, UK

Tommty Judo (Richard Widmark)in Kiss of Death. I will never sit in wheel chair.
Vince Shubat, Ashland, OR

Vince Shubat, Ashland, or

Great list. What about Alan Baron in 'Blast of Silence' or Alan Ladd in 'This Gun for Hire'? Check out a great list here of teop ten gambling movies: http://www.filmslashmagazine.com/top_tens

Giuseppe, London, UK

What happened to Max Van Sydow in "Three Days of the Condor:? He wipes out the entire office except for Redford in the frist half hour of the story.

James J Cremin, Los Angeles, United States

I can't believe none of you have mentioned Lee Van Cleef as Angel Eyes in "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." Play his introduction in the film, and you'll see what I mean.

Steve O'Rourke, Danbury, CT, USA

Darth Maul!

max power, homeward,

Denzel Washington's performance in "Man on Fire" was undoubtedly one of the most cold and abrasive assasins I have seen in a long time. The way he dispatched the members of a kidnapping ring should have pushed him toward the top.

Jayson , Miami, USA

Jeffrey in The Killer does blind a singer, but one whom he did not previously know, in a nightclub. But, as he is not your typical killer, he watches over her and does try to right what he wronged. The character of their relationship is not romantic however. The film's greatness dwarfs.

Eric , Chicago , USA

Michael Caine in Get Carter, now there is a man with an intensity of purpose

David, Birmingham, england

Porter in Payback. I've not seen hardboiled. He may be after his cut of the deal gone bad but he subsequently begins to "hit" members of the Syndicate. He also ties up all the loose ends and disappears into the night, with the girl no less. Cool as a polar bear's bum.

Maca, Bexley,

What about Charles Bronson in The Mechanic. Great movie..!!

Shaun, Dubai,

I still think Zinneman's THE JACKAL or as it was called in the states, DAY OF THE JACKAL is one of the really cold blooded and smartest films of the 70's and holds up today.
If you haven't seen this one, it is cool, sly and will become a favorite when you do.

Sennit Ford, HALF MOON BAY, CA

Jules and Vincent from pulp fiction where the daddy's of hit men .How they were overlooked I seriously don't know! Slick,menacing,calculated with humour.

si Kiwanuka, w.park,

the 'crying freeman' character in 'Dragon from Russia'
Pure stick hitman of the highest cheese :)

Jon, london, UK

The great thing about LE SAMOURAI is that the director, Jean-Pierre Melville knew that under all of the philosophical art direction, The Samurai were essentially hired muscle for the feudal thugs who exploited them. And like all hired muscle, they were infinitely disposable. There IS no one as lonely as a Samurai, because to the people who employ them, they are things not people.

Matthew Patton, Deltona, FL, USA

you forgot the best of all LEON

MILLER, SOUTHAMPTON, HAMPSHIRE. UK

Kevin Maher should have explained his criteria - no government agents (Bourne, Bond, Baltimore), no plain gangsters (Carter, Brazzi) and no salaried thugs (Vega, Winfield) - no matter how pop culture their banter. Can the US participants not spot that Leon is from LEON? They already had their own Nikita remake (Fonda, Byrne) to avoid reading duties.

Main omissions: Martin Blank (Cusack, GPB), Harlen MacGuire (Law, Perdition), Joubert (Sydow, Condor)

David J, London,

Grosse Pointe Blank ...John Cusack and Dan Aykroyd

Christian Godfrey, eastbourne,

Joe Don Baker as Molly in Charlie Varrick (a brilliant hard-boiled 70's thriller starring Walter Matthau) is a tour de force in the genre. Second only to Javier Bardem. If you haven't seen it, treat yourselves.

Martin, London,

...interesting obscure picture with James Coburn "Hard Contract" also starring Lee Remick, Burgess Meredith, Lilli Palmer, Patrick Magee, about a naive American hit manwho falls in with a group of European jet setters, and who finds he's been assigned to kill a retired assassin (Sterling Hayden).

hcbeck, Phoenix, AZ

Henry Fonda In "Once Upon in the West"

Bettina Gray , Dedham, MA. USA.

Henry Fonda in "Once Upon a Time in the West" was terrifiying.. His dead eyes equaled Olivier's in the "Entertainer" Even deader because the poor music hall fellow wasn't evil.

Bettina Gray , Dedham, MA. USA.

I guess not too many people have seen James Woods in Best Seller.

Wayland, Biloxi, U.S.

Geena Davis as Charly Baltimore in The Long Kiss Goodnight

judson , aLBUQUERQUE,

I'm with Scooter. Billy Drago's Frank Nitti is a step above the archetypal hitman. Also worth considering is John Cusack's troubled take on the hitman in Grosse Point Blank

Robert , Sligo,

How can you omit Eric Sykes as Mr Griffen in The Liquidator. The character is a true professional and Sykes brings a touch of class and wry sense of humour to what is otherwise a pretty pedestrian film.

Nick, London, England

Aren't "Leon" and "The Professional" the same movie under different titles?

David Chute, Los Angeles, USA

Walter McKinney in the The Parallax View from 1974 absolutely evil and brilliant

Stephen K, Dublin, Ireland

This is a pretty solid list. I think anyone working for the government isn't quite a hitman, so Bourne is understandably out. That would be like calling Bond a hitman, doesn't quite work. This list does a good job of pulling from an internationally diverse selection of films while avoiding anything too obscure. The Pulp Fiction omission is a valid criticism. I thought Jean Reno might get the nod again for The Professional, but I suppose he can only get one. The hitman I will offer as equally badass is Beat Takeshi's character in Brother. who engages in pure, no nonsense ownage of fools.

Droogie, NYC, NY

I surely thought we would see Billy Drago from "The Untouchables". Thank god we didnt see Vincent Schiavelli from "Death to Smoochy"

Scooter, NYC, NY, USA

how about Mr GoodKat from lucky number slevin?

Sorter from Revolver? (a shy nervous hitman?)

or Agent 47 in Hitman?

this list is seriously flawed

Chris Lazenby, Torquay,

Great list but missing the father of modern assassin films...JASON BOURNE. no list is complete or legit without him at the top.

Nick, New York,

Cutty Ranks is the one and only Hitman! "Limb by Limb!"

Doug, Sydney, NSW

Sonny Chiba in "Streetfighter"

Jim, Walled Lake, Michigan

Vincent and Jules don't count, their more thugs than hitmans.
Boba Fett is a Bounty Hunter and for everybody who thinks Jason Bourne should be on the list: Read the book!

But you definetly forgot "47" on the list: Excellent character and absolutely cold and professional.

Andy, Frankfurt, Germany

I think movie hitmen are paid to bore us to death, and they're all incredibly gay. Hollywood always seems to get bogged down in threadbare conventions and bankrupt formulas, and this is one of the worst, even for such a morally clueless industry.

This is why No Country is such a turkey by Coen Bros standards. They have made some excellent films full of violent crime, but this is just another dreary old psychopathic mass-killer with a couple of lame gimmicks to try and pretend he's somehow clever and interesting. Yawn. The sycophantic treatment of murderers devoid of character reduces it to conventional Hollywood pap.

For some reason low-end directors and audiences think it's grown-up to pretend they're at home in a universe of unremitting savage violence. Come off it pillow-biters, at the first sign of offensive behaviour you'd be whining for your human rights.

John B, UK,

The hitman pairing of Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager in 'The Killers' should not have been overlooked. Efficient, ice-cool but unfortunately too inquisitive.

Tom Hanna, North Yorkshire,

No mention of of Ben (Benoît Poelvoorde) in Man Bites Dog

Guy, London, UK

Mrtin Blank fro Grosse Point Blank should definitely be in there. Jean Reno should get two entries, adding The Cleaner form Nikita to his role as Leon.

And where a Jules and Vincent from Pulp Fiction. That is a DISGRACEFUL oversight.

Mike, Beijing, China

Chow yun fat in the killer is number 1, amazing movie.

Allan, Shanghai, China

As others have said,
Steve Buscemi as Mr Shhh in 'Things to do in Denver'

Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West. Also, Hitman is a modern term for a modern profession. Assassin is the age old term. Henry Fonda is more of a mean mean mean killer.

For anime, SAWA from Kite.

Talese, Londontown,

Check out "Blast of Silence" (Allen Baron, 1961)

Blade Runner isn't a hitman, he's a cop.

Mike C, SI, NY

David Bowie as Colin Morris in Into the Night.

Bruce Mingling, Gunnedah, NSW

Boba Fett.

Bounty Hunter/Assassin - much of a muchness.

Nicky W, Melbourne, Australia

Leon is in the list. It is only called the professional in the US. The rest of the world makes do with simply LEON.

Rob, Singapore,

To Revyn. Umm, Leon from "The Professional" is 2nd on the list and is called (funnily enough) "Leon"...

Simon, Sydney,

I worship The Bride,Her experience in China,learining from Baimei really inspiring!

dolly, jiangxi, China

I absolutely love the fact that you included the great Alan Ladd from the equally great film, THIS GUN FOR HIRE. Ladd's noir films (including THE BLUE DAHLIA) often get overlooked in favor of the more famous examples. Another interesting disrepancy was that in Graham Greene's novel the character had a pretty nasty hair-lip, but I guess the studios didn't want to blemish Ladd's face with somethign that extreme. Besides, he oozed menace enough as it was without it.

Alex, Toronto, Ontario

What about Deckard in Blade Runner? Or don't replicants count?
And the Mariachi character?

Keiron , Seoul,

Tomisaburo Wakayama in the Lone Wolf and Cub series and Shogun Assassin. 907 characters left.

Jos Grain, LONDON, UK

Carrie Fisher in Blues Brothers

Memet, USA, USA,

Need to take The Bride off that list and replace her with Leon from "The Professional". Very weak list to include such a character and ignore a better character.

Reyvn, Orlando, Fl, USA

What about Charlie Baltimore?

Chuck, Smallville, USA

You top ten assassin are good but it is missing the vital 2 firstly jason bourne (the bourne identity ) and martin blank (gross point blank) in which it has the imortal line "your a psycopath, no im not! psycopath kill for no reason i kill for money". Jason bourne the ultimate modern assassin and just as the write ups said by nearly every critic including the times he very gritty true to life and current political evens, great all round content and most of all he is cold, hard as nails and very cool he only lacks a cool euro accent and a need infuture for a slightly more relaxed attitude. It was such a big film last year and it was look over.

ben, east anglia,

Jason borune has to their he is realistic in moderen terms, cold, fast, hard as nails and very cool. Hes just missing the euro accent

ben, london, uk

Mr Shhh from "Things to do in Denver when you're dead" as played by Steve Buschemi.

Craig, Ottawa,

Bond. James Bond. He's government sanctioned, but still a hit man.

Jon, Canberra, Australia

You gotta include Max Von Sydow in "Three Days of the Condor". A professional from start to finish, never losing his cool 'cause, hey, it's just a job.

Ricky, Los Angeles,

Agree with previous comments, this list really should include Charlie Partanna, the Prizzi family's number one button-man but the omission of Martin Q. Blank is criminal!

MM, London, UK

Martin Blank ('Grosse Pointe Blank' ) is the 'ultimart' sensitive
assassin.
He shoots and batters to death a bad guy, then turns to his horrified gal and says: 'Debbie, I'm in love with you - and I know we can make this relationship work".
(Also claims to have assassinated the President of Paraguay ... with a fork)

David, Rome, Italy

I would have included Hanada Goro, the chimpmunk-cheeked hitman from "Branded To Kill". That movie provided plenty of inspiration for Ghost Dog, especially the drainpipe kill scene.

Matt, STL/USA,

Lena Olin as Mona Demarkov in Romeo is Bleeding: "I don't want you to kill him, I just want you to bury him. If he dies in the process, that's his problem. "....oh, yeah, so belongs on this list...

Susannah, Dallas,

Where's Martin Blank?

R Main, USA,

Whats happened to Charles Bronson and The Mechanic?

jim, Guildford, UK

I agree with 'T', where's Martin Blank from Grosse Pointe Blank? He's not only one of the greatest hitmen put n film, gut one of the greatest characters in recent cinema history!

Dex, Toronto,

Bourne should be on there....but he may not count because he went all good. But before that, he was the best assassin ever in film.

Also, I think that the pair from Pulp Fiction. SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILERSPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER. But one went good and the other got killed so they're not all that intimidating but they are damn fun to watch

Sean , Milford, CT

Some of the other suggestions aren't really hitman/assasins so much as they are spies or mobsters that kill a lot of people, there is a big difference.

I would say Mr. and Mrs. Smith would be good suggestions as both seemed to be little more than very well trained hired guns, working for agencies that handled the rest.

I hope this list isn't ranked because I'd say the #1 movie assasin of all time is The Bride/Beatrix Kido she could waste anybody else on the list

lambman, minneapolis,

Chris and Snoop from The Wire

John, Jersey,

Glaring omissions on this list:
Audie Murphy's character, "John Gant," in the film "No Name on the Bullet".

John Malkovich as Mitch Leary in "In the Line of Fire" (with Clint Eastwood)

JW Freeman as Eddie Dane in "Miller's Crossing."

and
Lenny Montana as Luca Brasi in "The Godfather."

Paul Pelkonen, Brooklyn, NY

My Picks

-The Terminator
-Jude Law in Road to Perdition
-Anton Chirguh
-T-1000 from Terminator 2

H T, Denver,

What about Rutger Hauer in "Nighthawks"? Or Pierce Brosnan in "The Matador"?

Laura G., San Clemente, California

Nice call on Jeffrey from The Killer, one of my favorites.

Matthew, Mississauga,

Bo Hopkins, who is sent to kill Jason Miller in the little-scene crime film "The Nickel Ride," is brilliant.

Scott Barker, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Martin Q. Blank (John Cusack) in Grosse Point Blank. A hitman goes to his high school reunion? I love it!

T, Chapel Hill, North Carolina/USA

Why not Aeon Flux or the Terminator?

Steve, Texas,

Hmmm...Mr. and Mrs. Smith should have been on the list, imo. Killers so good and so secretive that each didn't know the other was in the same business.

Sue, Philadelphia, USA

Max von Sydow in "Three Days of the Condotr" : Cold-blooded as they come. He just as casually canceled the hit on Robert Redford, when his "employer" was "canceled," himself.
And, speaking of "Leon,".....How can we leave out Gary Oldman, from the same movie?? He wasn't a hired assassin: He was just a dirty cop who did it for fun and profit!! HE scared me a LOT more that Leon did!

Bette, Delco, PA,

In my top 10 hitmen list there will always be a space for Elijah Wood's "hitman" character in Chain of Fools. Definately one of the more absurd explanations for how the character became a hitman.

Lizzy LaVey, Melbourne,

what about "The Jackal" with Bruce Willis.

Nick, Feeding Hills, MA

Steve Buscemi - Mr Shhh in Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead. Highly underrated hitman.

Stuart , Manchester,

What about Chuck Barris (played by Sam Rockwell)in "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", in which he purports to have been a CIA hitman? very good flick

Alex, Erlangen, Germany

What about Oliver Reed in The Assassination Bureau?
He had style, and Diana Rigg as a conflicted side kick.

As for Creasey, I loved the book when it came out, I even sort of liked Scott Glenn in the first version, but when you get down to it, his story is revenge... He's not an assassin. He's a body guard trying to fix a job that went wrong and he's taking it all very personally for no profit other than his conscience.

b. maggie sherrill, saint louis, mo., USA

Can we spare a thought for Julian Noble, the hitman having a mid-life career crisis in "The Matador"? Pierce Brosnan forever separated his career from Bond in this beauty!

Caitriona, Cork, Ireland

It appears the author only watches Hollywood films.

Nick, London,

I suppose I don't blame you for not including Josh Hartnett for his brief role in "Sin City", but I do think it deserves props.

Organs, Chicago, IL

How could you miss Jack Carter ??

Graham Perry, Harlow,

Jack Carter was a gangster not an assassin. The anonymous man who killed him was an assassin and is in my view the best, after all anonymity is surely the most important attribute in an assassin and is lacking from your list in all but the jackal. P.S what about a mention for Jack Nicholsen in Prizzi's honour, got to be the funniest.

Andrew, poole, U.K

The ability to kill people isn't what makes a good assassin, it's the ability to do so anonymously. Therefore my pick of the assassin's is the 'average joe' who shoot's Jack Carter at the end of Get Carter and then goes back to being an 'average joe'.
Mind you i've also got a soft spot for Jack Nicholsen in Prizzi's Honour so what do i know

Andrew, poole, U.K

Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas in Assassins?

Vincent Wong, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

I would have included Charles Bronson for his role in 1972 film "The Mechanic" .

Winter, Drury, NZ

Pretty good list of performances there.

However space must be found for Denzel Wasington's performance in Man on Fire.

And what about any of the three male leads in Sin City or indeed Miho!!

Stuart, london,

No Bourne is probably right. He's only an assasin in the movies, and then not post amnesia. In the Books (which are far better) he's not actually an assasin at all.

And here's a question, does Buffy class as an assasin?

Trevor, Sheffield, Yorkshire

Robert Mitchum - Night of the Hunter .... Found him scarrier than most in the list ... Same goes for same actor in Cape Fear. Far behind in the bodycount though ...

Jerome, Brussels,

Bright blue-eyed Henry Fonda in Once Upon A Time In The West. He'd never a baddie before, but Sergio Leone made him shockingly evil.

James Broadbent, Hamilton, Bermuda

No Jason Bourne!? No agent 47!? Bit of a bad list.

Mark, Wolverhampton, U.K

uhhhh...Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield

Marcin, New Haven, CT

No Bourne? Outrage!

Alistair, Oxford,

Sorter (Mark Strong) in 'Revolver' comes a close second to Creasy (Denzel Washington) in 'Man on Fire' - as Rayburn (Christopher Walken) says "Creasey's art is death. He's about to paint his masterpiece."

Mark, Enschede, Netherlands

You missed Martin Blanke from Gross Point Blanke. Actually, Mr Grocer was pretty good too - an assassin who wants a union... Classic.

Ross Liversidge, Ripon, N. Yorks

Er - Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West. So grim he even hits kids.

Judith Sansom, Corwen, Wales

A perfect list. Period.

Bob, Atlanta,

I may be missing the elephant in the room here. But shouldn't someone have mentioned Jason Bourne yet?

James, London,

What? No Jack Carter? Not possible!

Nick Hodgkins, Moscow, Russia

Steve Buscemi as Mr Shhh in 'Things to do in Denver...' should be in the list.

Al, Glasgow, UK

You totally missed out Buffy the Vampire Slayer who was the real trail blazer for fighting girls.

thalia, london,

Uma Thurman! You are a goddess! Thank you for all your roles!

Elan Durham, Santa Monica, CA/US

With Kill Bill, keep in mind you guys in the West only get to see the toned-down, less-violent version. So if you are really into gratuitous violence and find yourselves in BKK or HCM City, pick up a copy and see what you've been missing.

Andrew Milner, Karuizawa, Japan