This just in – the American Film Institute has chosen what it says are the top 100 quotes from American movies. Here are the top 10 quotes:
1. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind.
2. “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” Marlon Brando in The Godfather.
3. The “I coulda been a contender” speech. Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront.
4. “Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz.
5. “Here’s looking at you, kid.” Humphrey Bogart to Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca.
6. “Go ahead, make my day.” Clint Eastwood in Sudden Impact.
7. “All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard.
8. “May the Force be with you.” Harrison Ford in Star Wars.
9. “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.” Bette Davis in All About Eve.
10. “You talking to me?” Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver.
Can't really quibble with any of these, although I thought it was Alec Guinness who said that line in Star Wars, not Harrison Ford. Oh, well. I wonder how one of my favorite movie quotes -- "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life" from Animal House -- fared. I'll go to the AFI website to find out. [Looks at website] Nope, it didn't make it, although "Toga! Toga!" from the same movie made it at No. 82.
Also making the list: such classics as "There's no crying in baseball," "You had me at hello," "Bond. James Bond," "Rosebud," "I'm the king of the world!" and one of the stupidest lines ever, "Love is never having to say you're sorry."
If you're interested, here is a news article on the subject.
UPDATE: The Nightfly, as usual, has made some very intelligent observations on my post through a comment. I'll share his words with you here to give those of you interested in this topic additional fat to chew:
"The entire list of 400 nominees is in this pdf file. 'Fat, drunk, and stupid...' makes that list, as does 'Nothing's over until WE say it is!'
Overall, the nominee list was (to my mind) pretty weak - often the best lines from a particular movie don't make it. Examples - 'Game over, man! Game over!' from Aliens; the 'Cats and dogs living together' speech and 'Listen! Do you smell something?' from Ghostbusters; 'Who are these guys?' from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; 'My God! It's full of stars!' from 2001... Caddyshack and The Ten Commandments could have their own category here.
And the movies entirely omitted? A travesty. No 'Holy Grail.' No 'Chariots of Fire.' No 'Manchurian Candidate.' No 'Quiet Man.' No 'Man for All Seasons.'
By the way, 'May the Force be with you' was said by almost everyone, including Han (it's the last thing he says before Luke takes off in the X-Wing to go blow up the Death Star). It was surprising, however, that they went with him instead of Alec Guinness. Nothing personal, but I'm just that age... I could pretty much write the script from memory right now."
5 comments:
The entire list of 400 nominees is in this pdf file. "Fat, drunk, and stupid..." makes that list, as does "Nothing's over until WE say it is!"
Overall, the nominee list was (to my mind) pretty weak - often the best lines from a particular movie don't make it. Examples - "Game over, man! Game over!" from Aliens; the "Cats and dogs living together" speech and "Listen! Do you smell something?" from Ghostbusters; "Who are these guys?" from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; "My God! It's full of stars!" from 2001... Caddyshack and The Ten Commandments could have their own category here.
And the movies entirely omitted? A travesty. No "Holy Grail." No "Chariots of Fire." No "Manchurian Candidate." No "Quiet Man." No "Man for All Seasons."
By the way, "May the Force be with you" was said by almost everyone, including Han (it's the last thing he says before Luke takes off in the X-Wing to go blow up the Death Star). It was surprising, however, that they went with him instead of Alec Guinness. Nothing personal, but I'm just that age... I could pretty much write the script from memory right now.
What movie did these lines come from? "...hope...is a good thing. Maybe the best of things..." and "...get busy livin' or get busy dyin..."
Just thought I'd throw those in. They are a couple of lines that I personally like...movie was not a hit...popular, but not a hit!
Thanks for the extra link and the info, Nightfly. As usual, you leave me more informed. I like every one of those movies you mentioned (except 2001, which I explained in a previous post). I can't believe lame lines like "Toga! Toga!" made it, and nothing from Holy Grail or Quiet Man. But when has AFI ever done one of these movie lists that gets it all correct? And why don't they call you and me before they publish these suckers so we can check it over first?
Katalina -- I don't know the source of either of those quotes. The "get busy living or get busy dying" line sounds like it could have come from Barney's Big Adventure, but I'm not betting the farm.
Katalina - those lines are also from the Sawshank Redemption, yet another movie whose best quotes were left behind by the AFI. None of these lists is ever perfect (especially since, as Muley, says, they don't consult us first) but, really... "Ace Ventura," but nothing from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"? Nurse Ratchet wasn't quotable?
ESPN.com's Bill Simmons does a column every year taking 33 quotes from the same movie and assigning a sport moment or personality to that quote. AFI should have him on speed dial. (In fact, I think he used Sawshank for one of those columns.) ESPN keeps those old columns in their subscriber-only section, alas, so I can't link. (He used Hoosiers once, too - another flick AFI forgot.)
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