Awesome / The Thief of Bagdad (1940)

• Even though he's sort of technically a villain, the moment when the previously-enslaved genie literally goes flying away into the clouds, bellowing "I'm free! FREE!!" The Real Life subtext of the genie being played by the African-American actor Rex Ingram doesn't hurt at all.

• Pretty much the entire scene where Jaffar THE USURPER comes to the Sultan with the flying horse is pure villainous gold. Jaffar's slippery, snarky, slithering wickedness combined with the Sultan's bumbling is just a delight to behold. Hell, Jaffar himself is a delight every time he opens his mouth; Veidt's performance set the standard for so, so many great movie villains to come. Even the way he glides around the set (Veidt practiced Jaffar's walk for a month to make him as eerie as possible) is smooth, creepy, sensuous and a joy to watch.