AFI Ranks Top Movie Quotes

Yahoo ^ | 6/22/05 | Sarah Hall

[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

[Licensed-To-Carry]

"I intend to kill you Ned, or see you hang in Ft. Smith at Judge Parker's convenience. Which will it be?"

"You can't serve a writ to a rat, baby sister."

John Wayne, "True Grit"

[SeamusVA]

"Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere!" from O Brother, Where Art Thou?

[slapshot]

Slapshot
Puttin on da foil coach-
Daves a Killer, No Daves a mess
I'm listenin' to the $&%()_ing song

Dr. Strangeglove
You cant fight in here, this is a war room

Back to School
Your'e a poetry major? Care to see my longfellow?

Godfather:
It's not personal its business

Goodfellas
How am I funny, funny like clown, Do I amuse you?

Young Frankenstein
Care to roll in ze hay? Rollll Rollll Rolll

Beverly Hills Cop
When I was a kid I might have fractured a law or two

Various Clint Eastwood movies
Marvelous
You know youre mouthwash aint making it

Predator
Man your one ugly M)(*^() f*()&*()

[lunarbicep]

from Blazing Saddles

Excuse me while I whip this out.

[kinsman redeemer]

"One day, my boy, ALL OF THIS will be yours."

"What? The curtains?"

[CaptRon]

Yes!

[mc5cents]

"This watch is two days slow." --Mad Hatter Alice In Wonderland

[Tennessean4Bush]

"Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere!" from O Brother, Where Art Thou?

I love that one! Also, do you remember...

"We - thought - you - wes - a - TOAD"

[Tribune7]

2 From Sunset Boulevard in the top 25?

[jocon307]

"Leave the gun.....take the cannoli's"....

Well, not sure if it's enumerated on the list, but they did show the clip on the show.

[SeamusVA]

That movie is loaded with memorable lines!

"You two are dumber than a bag of hammers"

[mc5cents]

"What would you do with a brain if you had one." Dorothy to Dick Durbin Scarecrow

[acad1228]

Raising Arizona?

How about, "Sometimes I get the menstrual cramps, real hard."

[jocon307]

"Nothing from "Raising Arizona'?!?!"

My fave line from that movie is "Isn't that your god damned raison d'etre?"

[acad1228]

From "O' Brother, Where Art Thou"

Everett: "Well, ain't it a small world, spiritually speakin'! Pete 'n Delmar here have just been baptized and saved. I guess I'm the only on who remains unaffiliated!"

[knak]

Only thing I can think of isn't from a movie but, "No soup for you".

[SeamusVA]

The Coen Brothers seem to have a knack for this stuff :)

[Tanniker Smith]

I only saw the top 10 last night. The special was a little stupid with people repeating the lines incessantly. I'd have preferred that they put more quotes on for that last hour.

I haven't checked on the list yet, but I was wondering about the rules last night. Some of the movies obviously have numerous memorable lines, but in some cases, not all of them need to be mentioned.

For example, it was obvious that they would use "May the Force be with you" (which is spoken by numerous people in one form or another), but in sci-fi circle (or I should say, at cons or in game rooms), I hear more variations on "Use the Force, Luke" the MtFbwy.

As for "Casablanca", that film is loaded with quotable quotes. A newbie might think the film was one giant cliche until informed, "No, this is the film were all those lines originally came from."

"Round up the usual suspects." "I am shocked -- SHOCKED -- ..." (the rest of the line doesn't matter, that's the part that's overused).

Okay, I'm off to list the list and the rest of this thread.

TS

[absolootezer0]

if you're going for john wayne quotes, i'd have to say "Not Hardly" from big jake is one of my favourites. or from the shootist, "see that gun? make like it's your mother's nipple"

[Licensed-To-Carry]

"Work Work Work Work, Oh, Hello Boys"

To quote a famous line from Gov. William J. LePetomaine (Mel Brooks) in Blazing Saddles as he notices the ample bosom of Lili Von Shtupp.