Nobody's Perfect
Brigham's Ice Cream (never heard of it) is having a contest for the top movie one-liners of all time. I'm not sure how they picked the top ten list, but here it is:
Are you talkin' to ME? — Taxi Driver
Go ahead. Make my day. — Dirty Harry
Here's lookin' at you, kid. — Casablanca
I'll be back. — The Terminator
I'll have what she's having. — When Harry Met Sally
Life is like a box of chocolates... — Forrest Gump
May the force be with you. — Star Wars
You can't handle the truth! — A Few Good Men
You had me at hello. — Jerry McGuire (sic)
You're gonna need a bigger boat! — Jaws
Usually I complain about how these lists are too modern, and I think I will again--except for Casablanca (by the way, I can name a bunch of lines from that film that I prefer to "Here's looking at you, kid") they're all pretty much modern.
But instead of being too recent, they're too mid-range. Four of the ten are from the 70s. It was a great decade for film, but 40% is a bit much.
posted by LAGuy @ 1:18 AM
6 Comments:
Did Humphrey Bogart actually say "Here's looking at you, kid" or some variation of that. (I could be thinking of "Play it again, Sam" which never quite came out that way)
I prefer "The Germans wore gray. You wore blue"
Some I would add- based purely upon personal preference (and memory so the syntax may be off)
Wherever you go, there you are- Buckaroo Banzai.
A man's got to know his limitations- Magnum Force
Ordinary fucking people! I hate'em!- Repo Man ( I understand why Brigham's skipped this one)
What we have here is a failure to communicate- Cool Hand Luke
Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn- GWTW
We are all individuals (collective chant)- Life of Brian.
I'm on the top of the world, mum I'm on top o' the world- Help me LAGUY
Twas Beauty that killed the beast- King Kong
Plastics. -The Graduate
I guess some aren't technically one-liners.
By the way- Brighams is venerable ice cream and lunch place (Think Big Boy without all the health emphasis)throughout Boston & environs which has come back from the dead several times in the last 20 years
I like this list, but it can always be added to. Here are my contributions:
I don't think we're in Kansas anymore. - Wizard of Oz
Merry Christmas Mr. Potter!
Merry Christmas to you . . . IN JAIL! - It's a Wonderful Life
Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes. - Raiders of the Lost Ark
I love the smell of napalm in the morning. - Apocalypse Now
Bogey did say "Here's looking at you, kid." He didn't say, exactly, "Play it again, Sam."
"Made it ma! Top of the world!" often quoted as "Top of the world ma!" is from Jimmy Cagney in White Heat.
Let me also note it seems to me the quote they use from Jerry Maguire isn't the most famous one.
The Jefferson Airplane would sometimes start their shows with the final quote from King Kong, but only because it starts with "It wasn't the airplanes..."
Most of the lines quoted in these comments are pretty well known, the the selections from Magnum Force and It's A Wonderful Life I've haven't seen on any lists before.
OK I forget which particular movies but Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan has a lot (maybe because he only spoke in one-liners)
Jane pretty when mad.
Now Tarzan make war.
'Ngowa
"I'll have what she's having."
When Harry Met Sally
Man, I always feel like I'm totally alone in the wilderness when I hear this one.
Though this may be the best known beat from the movie, I've always felt it was also the most discordant, as the character I saw in every scene leading up to this would NEVER do something like loudly fake an orgasm in public.
I know most disagree, but generalizing, here's a question:
If you're a filmmaker, and have to decide whether to include a beat that will get a huge laugh but be totally out of character, what do you do?
Admittedly, I might cave and take the laugh as well.
I quite agree, the scene doesn't make sense. Sometimes you can get away with it, but if you're trying to tell a story and go against a character, or move things where the audience doesn't want to go, you'll pay for it.
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