Best representation of Lucifer

[thiosk]

Ah, Lucifer. Satan. The Devil. Ronald Reagen. You have been given so many names throughout history.

They played "The Prophecy" last night on Syfy, one of my favorite movies because Christopher Walken as the Angel Gabriel is awesome cranked up to eleven.

As the film approaches its climax, the main characters are each visited by Lucifer, and what struck me is how much I liked the representation. Simultaneously restrained and bestial; no horns, no tail, no fire, no brimstone, but listening to him talk still made me a smidge uncomfortable (even though I am not in any form a believer). Moving seamlessly from threats involving mouthfuls of poop to singsong references to eviscerated children, he's awfully dark. (I especially like a sequence later in the movie, when mouth dripping with blood, he beckons the characters to come with him, hissing "i love you more than jesus!")

This is why the Prophecy has long been among my favorite movies, and why its representation of lucifer is my favorite across media.


What is your favorite media representation of Good'ol Satan?

 

[GothmogII]

Well, though I haven't read his series proper (the comic book series 'Lucifer'), the Morning-Star's appearances in The Sandman were fun, especially since his look and mannerisms were very slighty modelled on David Bowie.

Ray Wise as Satan in Reaper gets an honorable mention, mainly because he's freakin' Ray Wise.

 

[SilentCom]

Ronald Reagan as the devil? Not really in my opinion, however you can make the argument that any politician or lawyer is like the devil...

Anyways, I think the devil in the movie Constatine was a pretty good representation.

 

[Hip Priest]

Satan as he appears in Paradise Lost. Milton does not portray him simply as an evil monster, but as a tragic hero, undone by torturous hatred and inner turmoil. Satan's first sighting of Eve in the Garden of Eden gives a very beautiful example of the character's complexity:

Such Pleasure took the Serpent to behold
This Flourie Plat, the sweet recess of Eve
Thus earlie, thus alone; her Heav'nly forme
Angelic, but more soft, and Feminine,
Her graceful Innocence, her every Aire
Of gesture or lest action overawd
His Malice, and with rapine sweet bereav'd
His fierceness of the fierce intent it brought:
That space the Evil one abstracted stood
From his own evil, and for the time remaind
Stupidly good, of enmitie disarm'd,
Of guile, of hate, of envie, of revenge;
But the hot Hell that alwayes in him burnes,
Though in mid Heav'n, soon ended his delight,
And tortures him now more, the more he sees
Of pleasure not for him ordain'd: then soon
Fierce hate he recollects, and all his thoughts
Of mischief, gratulating, thus excites.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Not the traditional image of someone strong and evil, in fact if he was a bit prettier and happier-looking and not on a wheelchair you could believe he was God if you were told that.

 

[Princess Rose]

Ah, Lucifer. Satan. The Devil. Ronald Reagen. You have been given so many names throughout history.

Sorry to be a *****, but (as quoted from Wikipedia):

"Use of the name "Lucifer" for the devil stems from a particular interpretation of Isaiah 14:3?20, a passage that does not speak of any fallen angel but of the defeat of a particular Babylonian King, whom the passage names Helel (הֵילֵל, Shining One), a Hebrew word that refers to the Day Star or Morning Star (the Latin term[2] for which is lucifer)[3] In 2 Peter 1:19 and elsewhere, the same Latin word lucifer is used to refer to the Morning Star, with no relation to the devil. In Revelation 22:16, Jesus himself is called the Morning Star, but not "Lucifer", even in Latin."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer

To answer your question, my favorite version of the Christian Devil is Samael, the Ha-Satan (Angel of Death) of Adonai who offered apples to Eve, screwed over Job, and had sex with Lilith. He's basically the Jewish Devil - if the kabbalah had a proper devil, that is, which it doesn't, since after being a total ass-hat, Samael keeps getting hit-man jobs from Adonai.

 

[thiosk]

Ronald Reagan as the devil? Not really in my opinion, however you can make the argument that any politician or lawyer is like the devil...

Anyways, I think the devil in the movie Constatine was a pretty good representation.

That was just a little dig at the people who declare every president to be satan, hitler, or the antichrist. Ronnie was accused just like the rest of them, but that instance seems to have been actually remembered by people for more than two seconds.

snip above post

Thats not being a *****, thats just harmless internet pedantry! And its quite alright, however, i'll point out that tv/movie representations of satan/lucifer are quite removed from scripture and other forms of biblical history. Movie religion is quite often as poorly represented as movie science.

 

[Mastemat]

Shin Megami Tensei. (all of the ones he appears in, they are consistent)
Not only my favorite... but also the most accurate.
Those guys at Atlus REALLY do their research, and that makes me glad.

Namely because they know that the Satan =/= Lucifer...

I also liked Devilman's Lord Satan/Lucifer/Ryou Asuka too... even if He isn't as perfect as SMT's version. He's still virtually omnipotent, so it's good enough.

 

[Marmooset]

Tim Curry in Legend, a brilliant combination of makeup and charisma in an otherwise middling film (the gobbo was good, too).

 

[twistedmic]

For me it's a toss up between the Lucifer in the 2005 Constantine movie.
Video put into spoiler tags just to be safe

And the, implied Lucifer/Devil in O Brother Where Art Thou? Picture posted because I can't find a good video clip.
http://www.theboxset.com/images/reviewcaptures/1752cap011.jpg

 

[Futurenerd]

Well, though I haven't read his series proper (the comic book series 'Lucifer'), the Morning-Star's appearances in The Sandman were fun, especially since his look and mannerisms were very slighty modelled on David Bowie.

Ray Wise as Satan in Reaper gets an honorable mention, mainly because he's freakin' Ray Wise.

I was starting to think I was the only person who knew about Reaper. That show was fucking awesome. Too bad it got cancelled.

 

[Crazy]

Nightmare Moon and Discord. Discord for the deceit and trickery, Nightmare Moon for all the evil junk.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

I like Milton's Satan and Mnemnoch as portrayed by Anne Rice in Mnemnoch the Devil. I have sympathy for the Devil I suppose, since it really does seem like a tragic thing set up to be what it was that there was a Devil at all.

 

[Gabanuka]

The devil as seen in O Brother Where Art Thou? amazing film and he completely in captures everything I imagine Satan as being.

 

[Sethzard]

I would either say Andy Hammilton's depiction in old harry's game or

 

[gunmun]

I forgot what it was called but I saw this movie where it portrayed the devil as a sexy British woman.
If that doesn't count than the 'Stranger' from Red Dead Redemption.

 

[brunothepig]

I might have to track down that movie, it sounds cool. My favourite portrayal of Satan is from Constantine. Love that movie, and Satan is very well acted. The Satan in Supernatural does a good job doing the arrogance angle too...

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I forgot what it was called but I saw this movie where it portrayed the devil as a sexy British woman.
If that doesn't count than the 'Stranger' from Red Dead Redemption.

Devil wears prada?

 

[Leemaster777]

Lets see, there's always THIS:

Spoiler

...but then again, there's THIS:

Spoiler

...or for the sake of novelty, there's THIS:

Spoiler