Oddly, the line that my wife found most entertaining was, “Say hello to my little friend.”
While I agree with the top few choices, it seems that some of the later rankings are out of whack. “Who’s on first?” rated lower than “Attica! Attica!”??????
Comment by a random John — June 22, 2005 @ 1:06 pm
Had AFI put out their methodology in choosing and ordering a list like this? If not, it seems a bit sophistic. Like “Rosebud” at #14? Is that really a good “quote”?
It seems weird to me that there are so many movies/characters represented more than once:
Casablanca: 6
Gone With the Wind: 3
Wizard of Oz: 3
Sunset Blvd.: 2
A Streetcar Named Desire: 2
Godfather Trilogy: 2
Jerry Maguire: 2
The Graduate: 2
Terminator movies: 2
James Bond movies: 2
Haven’t analyzed it closely enough, but it seems to me that most “classic” quotes come from “classic” movies, at least in AFI’s opinion. I’d like to know what is the best quote from a really bad movie.
I clicked the link before I read the comments, and my first reaction was, I promise, “What the hell is Jerry McGuire doing on here?”
If the criteria is which movie quotes have jumped into popular culture from the movies, I think they are pretty much on target. I’d wager most people are familiar with 95% of these quotes, whether or not they’ve seen the movies.
Maybe it is just me, but I think that many wouldn’t categorize Pee Wee’s Big Adventure as a good movie. That said it contains gems such as:
Shhh! I’m listening to reason!
Is this something you can share with the rest of us, Amazing Larry?
and
There was a sound like a garbage truck, falling off the Empire State Building.
I should also mention that I was pleased to find the origin of the “Stinkin’ bagdes” quotes. Now if I could just remember who turned it into, “Hand grenades? We don’t need no stinking hand grenades!”
Comment by a random John — June 22, 2005 @ 2:11 pm
I love the Casablanca quotes and most of the others from the classics.
I can’t imagine how they came up with some of their other picks.
How about another one from On the Water Front,
“It was you Johnny. It was you all along.”
What about the Good the Bad and the Ugly,
“Such ingratitude after all the times I’ve saved your life.”
Lawrence of Arabia,
“My name is for my friends.”
Another one from Star Wars,
“I gotta bad feeling about this”
Apocalypse Now,
“The horror, the horror.”
I don’t remember seeing “There’s no place like home” among the Wizard of Oz quotes–I may be wrong.
I actually like the movie, but it isn’t Cameron Crowe’s best work (not even for pithy quotes).
Compare and contrast:
“Show me the money!” vs. “I gave her my heart; she gave me a pencil.”
or
“You had me at hello.” vs. “I wrote 63 songs this year. They’re all about Joe. And I’m going to sing each and every one of them tonight.”
I’m just saying…
Two more good quotes undeservedly left out:
“Strange things are afoot at the Circle K”
and
“This is my boomstick!”
Finally, I agree with HL as to the best iteration of the “Badges” quote.
I think AFI is going for “classic” quotes (whatever that really means). There are lots of wonderful clever quotes out there that are worth remembering. But what about those that are just a “good line” so to speak?
“This is the day.”
“Is there anything so sad as unrequited love?”
“Whoever the gods are they take small interest in an old man’s hopes.”
“A long life, young Arias, and the good sense to live it.”
“Row well and live.”
“It goes on … it goes on, Judah. The race is not over.”
All things considered I think this was a fairly comprehensive list. Can we really expect AFI to get behind EVIL DEAD 2? I don’t find it strange that some movies are on the list so many times. CASABLANCA is amazing in terms of its quotability. In fact, I think they missed my favorite Godfather quote, “I know it was you Fredo. You broke my heart.”
What’s also interesting is the way some quotes are twisted in the popular imagination to be more quotable, i.e. “Play it again, Sam,” instead of “Play it, Sam” and “Come up and see me sometime” instead of “Why don’t you come up sometime and see me.”
Also, isn’t it “I gave her my heart; she gave me a PEN”?
The biggest shortcoming of the list in my opinion is that there’s nothing from the Cohen brothers, that and the fact that a line from PULP FICTION would have been an appropriate nod; I nominate “Zed’s dead, baby, Zed’s dead.”
If it is a great quote then who cares what movie it is from? I guess we need to know the criteria, but it seems that if a quote from Evil Dead 2 is a great quote, then it merits consideration. I would like to know how many quotes were part of the selection process. 200? 500? 1000?
Comment by a random John — June 23, 2005 @ 4:03 pm
Don’t get me wrong, arJ. I love EVIL DEAD 2. I love the “Shop smart. Shop S-mart” quote. But let’s be realistic. AFI is going to start with CASABLANCA,GODFATHER and GONE WITH THE WIND and work their way down. In a list like this you have to begin with classic films that a lot of people have seen, not cult favorites.
Ooops, you’re right Brian (hides face in shame).
That said, amongst my generation, I have heard EVIL DEAD 2 quoted much more often than Casablanca (which I think is deserving of its status). So, they clearly just didn’t poll the correct people.
Isn’t the boomstick quote and the S-Mart one from Evil Dead 3? Perhaps I need to go back and watch 2 again.
But, really, the Evil Dead should also be represented by “Good. Bad. I’m the guy with the gun.” And “I’ve got news for you pal, you ain’t leadin’ but two things: Jack and s***… and Jack just left town.”
Or: “Are all men from the future loud-mouthed braggarts?” “Nope. Just me baby… Just me.”
Or: “Hail to the king, baby.” (Which, surprisingly enough, doesn’t really work as a pick up line. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything…)
As for Pulp Fiction, I think you gotta go with Ezekiel 25:17.
Oddly, the line that my wife found most entertaining was, “Say hello to my little friend.”
While I agree with the top few choices, it seems that some of the later rankings are out of whack. “Who’s on first?” rated lower than “Attica! Attica!”??????
Comment by a random John — June 22, 2005 @ 1:06 pm
Had AFI put out their methodology in choosing and ordering a list like this? If not, it seems a bit sophistic. Like “Rosebud” at #14? Is that really a good “quote”?
All in all, though, relatively few suprises.
Comment by Pris — June 22, 2005 @ 1:12 pm
No Monty Python? And where’s “Pedro offers you his protection?”
Comment by Susan M — June 22, 2005 @ 1:14 pm
Two from Jerry McGuire? TWO FROM JERRY MA-FREAKING-GUIRE?
I don’t have enough exclamation points to express my outrage.
Comment by John C. — June 22, 2005 @ 1:21 pm
LOL John C. I was just about to make a comment to the effect of,
“Two from Jerry Mcguire. Yea!â€Â
The fact is that Jerry Mcguire is one of the best films on that whole list.
Comment by Eric Russell — June 22, 2005 @ 1:27 pm
Susan M –
It’s American movies, hence no Monty Python (Terry Gilliam notwithstanding).
Comment by Bryce I — June 22, 2005 @ 1:34 pm
It seems weird to me that there are so many movies/characters represented more than once:
Casablanca: 6
Gone With the Wind: 3
Wizard of Oz: 3
Sunset Blvd.: 2
A Streetcar Named Desire: 2
Godfather Trilogy: 2
Jerry Maguire: 2
The Graduate: 2
Terminator movies: 2
James Bond movies: 2
Comment by Bryce I — June 22, 2005 @ 1:42 pm
I can’t believe no Princess Bride, either.
I’ve never sat through all of Jerry MaGuire, just saw bits and pieces on tv. That “you had me at hello” scene just makes me cringe.
Comment by Susan M — June 22, 2005 @ 1:47 pm
Haven’t analyzed it closely enough, but it seems to me that most “classic” quotes come from “classic” movies, at least in AFI’s opinion. I’d like to know what is the best quote from a really bad movie.
Comment by Dallin I — June 22, 2005 @ 1:53 pm
I clicked the link before I read the comments, and my first reaction was, I promise, “What the hell is Jerry McGuire doing on here?”
If the criteria is which movie quotes have jumped into popular culture from the movies, I think they are pretty much on target. I’d wager most people are familiar with 95% of these quotes, whether or not they’ve seen the movies.
Comment by NFlanders — June 22, 2005 @ 2:05 pm
I hate the “you had me at hello” line too.
Comment by danithew — June 22, 2005 @ 2:09 pm
Dallin I,
Maybe it is just me, but I think that many wouldn’t categorize Pee Wee’s Big Adventure as a good movie. That said it contains gems such as:
Shhh! I’m listening to reason!
Is this something you can share with the rest of us, Amazing Larry?
and
There was a sound like a garbage truck, falling off the Empire State Building.
I should also mention that I was pleased to find the origin of the “Stinkin’ bagdes” quotes. Now if I could just remember who turned it into, “Hand grenades? We don’t need no stinking hand grenades!”
Comment by a random John — June 22, 2005 @ 2:11 pm
I love the Casablanca quotes and most of the others from the classics.
I can’t imagine how they came up with some of their other picks.
How about another one from On the Water Front,
“It was you Johnny. It was you all along.”
What about the Good the Bad and the Ugly,
“Such ingratitude after all the times I’ve saved your life.”
Lawrence of Arabia,
“My name is for my friends.”
Another one from Star Wars,
“I gotta bad feeling about this”
Apocalypse Now,
“The horror, the horror.”
I don’t remember seeing “There’s no place like home” among the Wizard of Oz quotes–I may be wrong.
Comment by Jack — June 22, 2005 @ 2:47 pm
I was wrong about the Wizard of Oz quote, it’s there.
There are great quotes from other musicals too, such as,
“When you’re rich they think you really know” from The Fiddler on the Roof.
Comment by Jack — June 22, 2005 @ 2:53 pm
The best adaptation of the badges quote from Sierra Madre is, without question, UHF: “Badgers, we don’t need no stinking badgers!”
Comment by HL Rogers — June 22, 2005 @ 3:08 pm
No _So I Married an Axe Murderer_? Yeah the movie was so, so. But some of the best quotes in any film.
Woman. Woooaaah Man…
Comment by Clark Goble — June 22, 2005 @ 3:14 pm
#92 deserved to be waaaaaaaaay higher.
disappointed to see the two movies i quote most often not represented, “pulp fiction” and “dazed and confused.”
Comment by mike — June 22, 2005 @ 4:37 pm
“I was born a poor black child.”
Comment by Susan M — June 22, 2005 @ 4:57 pm
It’s probably too recent, but too bad no “Where is my supersuit!?!”
“Get off my plane!” ?
“To infinity and beyond!” surely had more cultural impact than “nobody puts Baby in a corner.”
Good quote from bad movie: “C’mon, you apes, you wanna live forever?”
Comment by Matt — June 22, 2005 @ 5:43 pm
Other notables that were left off:
“Shop smart… Shop S-Mart.”
and
“Kneel before Zod!”
Comment by a random John — June 22, 2005 @ 6:22 pm
Morgan Freeman, in “Seven”: “This isn’t going to have a happy ending.”
Comment by R.W. Rasband — June 22, 2005 @ 6:24 pm
I actually like the movie, but it isn’t Cameron Crowe’s best work (not even for pithy quotes).
Compare and contrast:
“Show me the money!” vs. “I gave her my heart; she gave me a pencil.”
or
“You had me at hello.” vs. “I wrote 63 songs this year. They’re all about Joe. And I’m going to sing each and every one of them tonight.”
I’m just saying…
Two more good quotes undeservedly left out:
“Strange things are afoot at the Circle K”
and
“This is my boomstick!”
Finally, I agree with HL as to the best iteration of the “Badges” quote.
Comment by John C. — June 23, 2005 @ 10:48 am
Did someone say “badger?”
Comment by Bryce I — June 23, 2005 @ 11:04 am
I think AFI is going for “classic” quotes (whatever that really means). There are lots of wonderful clever quotes out there that are worth remembering. But what about those that are just a “good line” so to speak?
“This is the day.”
“Is there anything so sad as unrequited love?”
“Whoever the gods are they take small interest in an old man’s hopes.”
“A long life, young Arias, and the good sense to live it.”
“Row well and live.”
“It goes on … it goes on, Judah. The race is not over.”
–Ben Hur–
Comment by Jack — June 23, 2005 @ 1:39 pm
All things considered I think this was a fairly comprehensive list. Can we really expect AFI to get behind EVIL DEAD 2? I don’t find it strange that some movies are on the list so many times. CASABLANCA is amazing in terms of its quotability. In fact, I think they missed my favorite Godfather quote, “I know it was you Fredo. You broke my heart.”
What’s also interesting is the way some quotes are twisted in the popular imagination to be more quotable, i.e. “Play it again, Sam,” instead of “Play it, Sam” and “Come up and see me sometime” instead of “Why don’t you come up sometime and see me.”
Also, isn’t it “I gave her my heart; she gave me a PEN”?
The biggest shortcoming of the list in my opinion is that there’s nothing from the Cohen brothers, that and the fact that a line from PULP FICTION would have been an appropriate nod; I nominate “Zed’s dead, baby, Zed’s dead.”
Comment by Brian G — June 23, 2005 @ 3:04 pm
“Luke, I am your father.” Not on the list.
(But the line doesn’t actually include Luke’s name. It’s just “I am your father,” or something like that.)
Comment by Susan M — June 23, 2005 @ 3:13 pm
Brian G,
If it is a great quote then who cares what movie it is from? I guess we need to know the criteria, but it seems that if a quote from Evil Dead 2 is a great quote, then it merits consideration. I would like to know how many quotes were part of the selection process. 200? 500? 1000?
Comment by a random John — June 23, 2005 @ 4:03 pm
Don’t get me wrong, arJ. I love EVIL DEAD 2. I love the “Shop smart. Shop S-mart” quote. But let’s be realistic. AFI is going to start with CASABLANCA,GODFATHER and GONE WITH THE WIND and work their way down. In a list like this you have to begin with classic films that a lot of people have seen, not cult favorites.
Comment by Brian G — June 23, 2005 @ 4:39 pm
Ooops, you’re right Brian (hides face in shame).
That said, amongst my generation, I have heard EVIL DEAD 2 quoted much more often than Casablanca (which I think is deserving of its status). So, they clearly just didn’t poll the correct people.
Comment by John C. — June 23, 2005 @ 4:50 pm
Isn’t the boomstick quote and the S-Mart one from Evil Dead 3? Perhaps I need to go back and watch 2 again.
But, really, the Evil Dead should also be represented by “Good. Bad. I’m the guy with the gun.” And “I’ve got news for you pal, you ain’t leadin’ but two things: Jack and s***… and Jack just left town.”
Or: “Are all men from the future loud-mouthed braggarts?” “Nope. Just me baby… Just me.”
Or: “Hail to the king, baby.” (Which, surprisingly enough, doesn’t really work as a pick up line. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything…)
As for Pulp Fiction, I think you gotta go with Ezekiel 25:17.
Comment by Pris — June 24, 2005 @ 12:12 am