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 dont 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
Minister: Leslie escaped with a small friar.
Prof. Fate: He escaped with a chicken?!
"Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges!" from Treaure of the Sierra Madre with Bogart.
And if I know someone's quoting something or if I hear it a few times and realize it's a quote, I'll usually ask where it's from. Like "There can be only one." Never saw the movie, but I know the line.
As for the list, there are movies that I haven't heard of, or have heard of but have forgotten. And there are lines from movies that I have seen but just don't remember.
And toward the bottom there are a few lines that are probably interchangeable with a hundred other lines.
TS
It's number 36.
From "Highlander" 1986.
"I hate snakes, Jacques, I HATE 'em!"
"AW, show a little backbone!!"
Princess Bride: "Inconcievable" "You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means"
"My name is Inigo Montoya, You killed my father, prepare to die"
"No more rhymes I mean it! Anybody got a peanut?"
"Vacation" "Real tomato ketchup Eddy?" "Eddy says I can quit one of my jobs when the baby comes" and "The government says the plate in my head isn't big enough"
Pretty much anything from The Spinal Tap "What's wrong with being sexy?"..
"Dogs and cats, living together... Mass hysteria!!"
I beg to differ. The list omitted so many of the Godfather classic quotes, it's not worthy of discussion. Here are just a few of the ones they missed, from Godfathers I and II:
1) Leave the gun, take the cannolis.
2) It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business.
3) Luca Brazi sleeps with the fishes.
4) I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart, you broke my heart.
5) I spent my whole life trying not to be careless. Women and children can be careless but not men.
6) I don't feel I have to wipe everyone out, Tom. Just my enemies.
7) If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone.
8) In my home! In my bedroom where my wife sleeps! Where my children come and play with their toys. In my home.
9) In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns. [In Italian]
10) That's my family, Kay. It's not me.
11) Do you spend time with your family? Good. Because a man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man.
12) Tattaglia's a pimp. He never could've out-fought Santino. But I didn't know until this day that it was Barzini all along.
13) What have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully? If you'd come to me in friendship, then this scum that ruined your daughter would be suffering this very day. And if by chance an honest man like yourself should make enemies, then they would become my enemies. And then they will fear you.
14) Look how they massacred my boy.
15) Never let anyone outside the family know what you're thinking.
16) We're both part of the same hypocrisy, Senator. But never think it applies to my family.
This is just a few quotes off the top of my head. (This AFI piece really ticked me off.)
OK, this one gets a lot of use in my family (I don't know why) "What better way to say 'I Love you' than with a spatula?" (UHF)
But...where's Monty Python? "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!" "I seek the Grail"
Indeed! This is the yardstick by which all truly good rankouts are measured!
I enjoyed your post, but you need to get out more :)
can't forget those!!
"That's not a knife...... Now that's a knife." - Crocodile Dundee
Good morning.
" know what woke you up, I just slit your throat".
That's from "Missouri Breaks".
Michael Frazier
"In the world."
Regarding "Plastics."
A family friend is making a career recommendation to Dustin Hoffman, who has just graduated from college. Hoffman is walking through the party, watching his parents' friends, all phonies and artificial, and his father's friend takes him aside to tell him his future is in plastics. A little obvious irony.
I believe that is:
"The pellet with the poison's in the Vessel with the Pestle.
The Chalice from the Palace has the brew that is true.
Right. But there's been a change: they broke the chalice from the palace!
The pellet with the poison's in the Flagon with the Dragon.
The Vessel with the Pestle has the brew that is true."
I love that movie...
"I'm a sinful man, and I'm going to Pittsburgh to be sinful again."
~ Jimmy Stewart, "How the West was Won"
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