Posted on 06/22/2005 4:59:10 AM PDT by TrebleRebel
Frankly, my dear, even those who have never seen Gone with the Wind can still identify Rhett Butler's final words to Scarlett O'Hara.
The level of instantaneous recognition inspired by Clark Gable's final line to Vivien Leigh--"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn"--led the American Film Institute to deem it number one on its list of the top 100 movie quotes.
The listmakers extraordinaire over at the AFI revealed the latest compilation in their 100 Years series--100 Movie Quotes: America's Greatest Quips, Comebacks and Catchphrases--in a three-hour CBS television special Tuesday hosted by Pierce Brosnan.
The winning lines were selected by 1,500 jurors from a list of 400 nominees. Voting criteria included a nominated quote's cultural impact on the national lexicon and whether it was used to invoke the legacy of the film in which it appeared.
In close contention for the top spot on the list were two of Marlon Brando's most famous lines--"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse," from 1972's The Godfather and "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," from 1954's On the Waterfront--which finished second and third, respectively.
In fourth place was Judy Garland's naive proclamation to her loyal canine in 1939's The Wizard of Oz: "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
Humphrey Bogart's remark to Ingrid Bergman in 1942's Casablanca, "Here's looking at you, kid," was looking at fifth place on the list, but was one of six quotes overall chosen from the film. Others included Bogart's "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" (20th), "We'll always have Paris" (43rd), "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine" (67), and Bergman's "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By' " (28th).
Gone with the Wind also had multiple entries in the top 100. Leigh's "After all, tomorrow is another day" made the list at number 31, and her "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again" was number 59.
The earliest quote was Al Jolson's "Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet," (71st) from 1927's The Jazz Singer. The most recent was Andy Serkis' "My precious," (85th) from 2002's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Numerous sci-fi films inspired list-making quotes, including Harrison Ford's "May the Force be with you" (8th) from 1977's Star Wars, Arnold Schwarzenegger's "I'll be back" (37) from The Terminator and a certain friendly alien's insistence that "E.T. phone home," (15th) from 1982's E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.
On the lighter side, John Belushi's exclamations of "Toga! Toga!" from 1978's Animal House made the list at number 82, while Cuba Gooding Jr.'s rallying cry of "Show me the money!" from 1996's Jerry Maguire placed 25th on the list.
Then there were the lines that inspired fear in the hearts of all but the most intrepid moviegoers, such as Jack Nicholson's "Here's Johnny!" (68th) from 1980's The Shining, and Haley Joel Osment's "I see dead people," from 1999's The Sixth Sense (44th).
Patrick Swayze's solemn declaration that "Nobody puts Baby in a corner," from 1987's Dirty Dancing squeaked onto the list at number 98 and Margaret Hamilton's witchy vow, "I''ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!" from The Wizard of Oz came in at number 99.
Rounding out the top 100 was Leonardo DiCaprio's passionate shout-out from 1997's Titanic: "I'm king of the world!" (And, please, let that be the last we hear of it.)
The complete list of 100 Movie Quotes: America's Greatest Quips, Comebacks and Catchphrases can be viewed at www.afi.com.
Here's a rundown of the top 25 most memorable movie quotes as determined by the AFI:
1. "Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn." Gone with the Wind, 1939
2. "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse." The Godfather, 1972
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." On the Waterfront, 1954
4. "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." The Wizard of Oz, 1939
5. "Here's looking at you, kid." Casablanca, 1942
6. "Go ahead, make my day." Sudden Impact, 1983
7. "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." Sunset Boulevard., 1950
8. "May the Force be with you." Star Wars, 1977
9. "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." All About Eve, 1950
10. "You talking to me?" Taxi Driver, 1976
11. "What we've got here is failure to communicate." Cool Hand Luke, 1967
12. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." Apocalypse Now, 1979
13. "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Love Story, 1970
14. "The stuff that dreams are made of." The Maltese Falcon, 1941
15. "E.T. phone home." E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, 1982
16. "They call me Mister Tibbs!" In the Heat of the Night, 1967
17. "Rosebud." Citizen Kane, 1941
18. "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" White Heat, 1949
19. "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Network, 1976
20. "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Casablanca, 1942
21. "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." The Silence of the Lambs, 1991
22. "Bond. James Bond." Dr. No, 1962
23. "There's no place like home." The Wizard of Oz, 1939
24. "I am big! It's the pictures that got small." Sunset Boulevard, 1950
25. "Show me the money!" Jerry Maguire, 1996
Vera (Della Reese) to Bennie (Redd Foxx): "Kiss my entire ass!"
I have to admit Gone With the Wind is not one of my favorite movies, but it had some of the best dialogue ever written.
Unfortunately, I find myself laughing at the part where Scarlett has Mammy make a dress from the drapes because I always think of Carol Burnett's great spoof of that scene in her parody, "Went With the Wind," where she comes down the staircase in a dress made with the drapes all right, but with the curtain rod still attached.
Harvey Korman as Rhett: "Scarlett, you look ravishing in that dress. Where did you get it?"
Carol Burnett as Scarlett: "Oh, it was just something I saw in a window."
One of the funniest bits ever, in my opinion.
"Why don't you pass the time by playing a little solitaire?"
"Roman Moronie:
I would like to direct this to the distinguished members of the panel. You lousy cork-suckers. You have violated my fargin' rights. This suminonbatching country was founded so that the liberties of common patriotic citizens, like me, could not be taken away by a bunch of fargin' ice holes, like yourselves. "
I thought I was the only one who watched this movie.
"Leave the gun; take the cannolis."
Agreed. The Carol Burnett skit was one of the best. And I can't get thru GWTW without thinking about it!
It makes me laugh all the time - I used it on my wife - and she uses it on me (far more often, I might add.)
No freakin' way. I must have seen that a thousand times. I know I'm not alone.
"Gimme a whitefish!"
Gotta dash then crash. I'll look forward to more quotes like this one by Danny Vermin:
"It's an .88 magnum--it goes through SCHOOLS."
It was there, but I don't remember what number it was.
My 16 year old son was watching with us and when we pointed out that was RR, he finally understood that quote. Apparently it is used on one of his video games.....
--Rodney Dangerfield, "Easy Money"
LOL!
"Whooooweee! Look at that mouth! Last time I seen a mouth like that it had a fishhook in it!"
--Rodney Dangerfield, "Caddyshack"
LOL! I agree about Raising Arizona......I still tell my grandkids "Hold on Nathan, mama's fixin' to make a U-Turn" or "You gotta do that, you gotta do that right now, HI". That movie was harlarious!
*You talkin to me*! *You talkin to me*! *You talkin to me*! *You talkin to me*! *You talkin to me*! *You talkin to me*!
"We need to get these people to a hospital?"
"What is it, Doctor?"
"It's a big building with patients, but that's not important now."
Shalom.
"Joey, you ever been in a Turkish prison?"
"Put...the candle...BACK!"
Werewolf? Werewolf?
(Marty Feldman, pointing into the woods) There, Wolf!
In fact, in any Mel Brooks movie, just about every other line is a memorable quote!
Mark
Another one nobody has mentioned is from "They Live" a John Carpenter movie from the 80s.
See my tagline.
His discription of football always gets me rolling on the floor, trying to catch my breath!
Mark
Mine too!
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