Films may give us endless entertainment but thy have also brought us some of the most memorable characters that have become icons of cinema over the years.
FemaleFirst is going to count down the twenty most iconic cinema character starting with a creation that wowed cinema goers of the thirties, a Vietnam, vet and a fighter for independence.
20. King Kong
1933 brought a groundbreaking film came in the form of King Kong using pioneering special effects, stop motion models and animatronics it marked the birth of the visual effect blockbusters.
Willis O'Brien was the creator of the, in reality, 18 inches stop motion animation model who, after kidnapping beautiful actress Anne Darrow the gorilla is captured and brought to New York where he goes on the rampage.
However it is the end of the film that King Kong, no matter which version you watch, is always remembered for.
Hanging off the Empire State Building, and trying to protect Anne Darrow, he is shot by aircraft before falling off the building to his death.
King Kong has made it to the big screen since 1933 in the 1976 remake and a gain in Peter Jackson's interpretation in 2005.
19. Travis Bickle
Played by Robert De Niro
The star of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro, was an honourably discharged Marine and Vietnam war veteran now working in New York as a nighttime taxi driver.
Bickle is repulsed by the decay that sees on the streets of the city around him. And although he does attempt to assassinate a political candidate his act of saving Iris, a child prostitute does redeem his character.
He has received a handwritten letter from Iris's parents who thank him for saving their daughter, and the media hails him as a hero for saving her as well, yet Bickle denies being any sort of hero.
Despite his selfless act of ''heroism ' his motives remain unknown throughout the film.
18. Yoda
Played Frank Oz, Warwick Davis
No Jedi master comes wiser than the little green dude known as Yoda who put Star Wars' hero Luke Skywalker through his paces.
Yoda has the all the best traits that are required in a high caliber he is wise and capable of performing tasks that are seemingly impossible and with little effort. He also has previous training Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu.
It was his role in The Empire Strikes Back that really does cement him as the top dog and the blueprint for any other mentor that has come along since.
But after demonstrating the flaws that led to his father's downfall Yoda is reluctant to train Luke in the ways of the force but does so as a favour to Obi-Wan.
17. William Wallace
Played by Mel Gibson
By 1280 Edward I of England had occupied much of Scotland where there is an oppressive rule. Years after seeing his father and brother die fighting for freedom William Wallace returns to his home, after being raised by an uncle.
After Murron, a childhood friend whom he marries, is murdered by the English Wallace comes to the forefront of the first war of Scottish Independence against the English.
Gibson with his face painted white and blue is one of the most memorable images from the movie as the actor took on the role of this patriot and national hero.
16. Freddy Krueger
Played by Robert Englund.
Freddy Krueger is one of cinema's most iconic villains and has been the driving force behind A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, which has spanned five movies.
Freddy Krueger's origin, which is slowly established over the course of the movies, began when his mother, a young nun at the time, was raped and tortured by residents of s psychiatric hospital when she became trapped inside.
When found she was close to death and pregnant. When born Freddy was given up for adoption.
Now in the care of Mr. Underwood Freddy was subjected to physical and emotional abuse and he began to display sociopathic behaviour from an early age.
He married Loretta and they moved into Freddy's childhood home 1428 Elm Street and he soon became a father.
His daughter Kathryn was still a child when children in the street began disappearing. When Loretta found a secret room in the basement full of torture devices Freddy strangled her in front of their daughter.
Freddy was murdered in the boiler room by the parents of the twenty children that he killed. In later movies Freddy appears to children in their dreams and they began dying as they slept.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in King Kong