These movies have given us great lines that will stick around forever.
“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!“
“Love means never having to say you’re sorry.“
“Show me the money!“
“You can’t handle the truth!“
“Nobody puts Baby in the corner.“
“I’ll have what she’s having.“
Recognize any of these quotes? Of course you do! They are easily recognizable, because all of these quotes are now part of our American pop culture. If you’re scratching your head, the above quotes are from the movies Network, Love Story, Jerry Maguire, A Few Good Men, Dirty Dancing and When Harry Met Sally.
Watching movies is one of America’s favorite pastimes, and a good film will soak its way into your heart and head. When that happens, a truly great line from that movie will stick with you, and you’ll find yourself remembering it – even quoting it – at just the right time. The American Film Institute (AFI) takes the love of movies seriously, and each year they put out a different top 100 list. According to the AFI, these are the top 10 most famous movie quotes of all time.
10. “You talking to me?” – Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. Directed by Martin Scorcese, Taxi Driver starred De Niro as a loner taxi driver trying to save a 12-year-old prostitute, played by Jodie Foster. This line has since been used by everyone attempting a poor De Niro impersonation after a few too many drinks.
9. “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.” – Bette Davis as Margo Channing in All About Eve. Named Best Picture of 1950, All About Eve also has the distinction of featuring Marilyn Monroe in one of her first on-screen roles. Anne Baxter stars as Eve Harrington, a young actress who uses her charms and talent to ingratiate herself to aging Broadway star Margo Channing. Eve slowly takes over Margo’s friends and career, and achieves the success she always desired – only to find her own ‘Eve’ waiting in the wings.
8. “May the Force be with you.” – Harrison Ford as Han Solo in Star Wars. Hollywood’s version of a New Age mantra, “may the force be with you” is one of the most quoted movie lines of all. For it’s time, Star Wars had mind-blowing special effects, a great story, and, of course, a young and incredibly good-looking Mr. Ford.~
7. “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.” – Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. I have to admit; I’ve never seen this film. I know the quote, though, from the scene in Mrs. Doubtfire when Robin Williams is being made up as a woman and does the famous line in his best Gloria Swanson impersonation. That must be the ultimate recognition for a movie quote: to be quoted, intact, in other films.
6. “Go ahead, make my day.” – Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan in Sudden Impact. Dirty Harry was the original loner cop who liked to work just a bit outside the rules. Dirty Harry movies are fun because you always know that, in the end, Harry – and his .44 Magnum – will take down the bad guy.
5. “Here’s looking at you, kid.” – Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine in Casablanca. Casablanca is the film with the most entries on the AFI’s list of the top 100 movie quotes of all time. Casablanca is the doomed and tragic love story of Rick Blaine (Bogart) and Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) and is considered one of the greatest films of all time.
4. “Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” – Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz. Not only does this line from The Wizard of Oz make the top 10 for movie quotes, the film itself was ranked sixth on the AFI’s 100 Greatest Movies list.
3. “You don’t understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could’ve been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.” – Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront. This film won the Best Picture Oscar in 1954, and, along with A Streetcar Named Desire, established Brando as one of the finest actors of his generation. He has been responsible for many memorable movie lines. How many times do you think “Stella!” (from Streetcar) has been parodied?
2. “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” – Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather. This film won Best Picture for the year I was born: 1972. Marlon Brando, James Caan, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton – what a cast!
1. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” – Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind. This is the epitome of a great movie line – there are so many occasions when it’s the perfect line to use on somebody. And when you’ve had a bad day, you can pull out another classic line from Gone with the Wind: “After all, tomorrow is another day!”.
There you have the top 10 most famous movie quotes, as listed according to the American Film Institute. And since hundreds of new films are released here in the United States every year, “You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!” (The Jazz Singer).