I don’t how this slipped past me, but it seems the American Film Institute has released another of those “Top 100 Something-or-other” lists, specifically (as the title of this post indicates) the 100 Greatest Movie Quotes of All Time.
This particular list is a good one, conversationally speaking, because it’s a subject that most everyone is qualified to comment on. Everybody seems has a favorite line from something, and it seems to me that trying to stump one another with obscure bits of dialogue has replaced charades as the most popular form of party entertainment in our culture today, at least in the circles in which I run.
I’m going to spare myself the trouble of retyping and/or reformatting the list, so you may want to go have a look at it on your own. Come back here when you’re finished, I’ll be waiting with a few thoughts…
Are you back? Great, then let’s discuss…
I don’t know about you, but I was entirely unsurprised by most of the “honorees” on this list. Nearly all of these lines are well-known and frequently appear in everyday usage, even if the movies that spawned them have fallen into obscurity. For example, I’d guess most people are familiar with Mae West’s saucy signature line, “Why don’t you come up sometime and see me?,” but even I was unaware of which Mae West movie it actually came from (She Done Him Wrong, in case you missed it).
Some of the lines on the list, however, didn’t quite live up to my personal definition of “memorable.” Number 41, for instance, from Bonnie and Clyde: “We rob banks.” What’s so memorable about that? Bonnie and Clyde is a great movie, but not especially quotable. I also probably wouldn’t have included “Plastics,” from The Graduate — it’s a single word, meaningless outside of context. If you’re talking about The Graduate and you throw out that word, people will get the joke and smile, but if you just slip it into a conversation, no one has any idea that you’re referencing a movie and will likely ask you, “What about plastics?” Silly that it made the list.
Believe it or not, there were a couple of items on this list that rang absolutely no bells for me. Take number 46, from Now, Voyager: “Oh, Jerry, don’t let’s ask for the moon. We have the stars.” Um, okay… not familiar with that one in any way. I am unaware of it being referenced or parodied by other works, like just about every other item on this list has been. It means absolutely nothing to me. Same with Number 62, “What a dump,” from Beyond the Forest. Don’t know the movie, don’t know the line.
There were some lines on the list that I absolutely hate, largely because of overexposure, and I wish they hadn’t been included. I’d be more than happy to never hear about Forrest Gump’s friggin’ box of chocolates ever again, and I found Jerry Maguire such an aggravating movie that hearing any of its admittedly memorable catchphrases makes me cringe.
A couple of items on the list seem to me less memorable than other lines from the same movie. Take Top Gun, for instance. Did the people who voted for these items choose the oft-parodied, “You can be my wingman anytime?” No? How about, “Take me to bed or lose me forever?” No, they went with the much less-identifiable, “I feel the need for speed,” a line which could come from a dozen different sources. It just doesn’t scream “Top Gun” to me.
For the record, I have a problem with the AFI including Kate Hepburn’s speech from On Golden Pond or Bill Murray’s goofy fantasy segment from Caddyshack, because these are more like monologues than lines, and I think a “movie quote” should be something short and pithy.
I also have a quibble with the bit from Airplane, not because it isn’t funny or memorable, but because it’s an exchange between two characters, not (again) an individual line or catchphrase. But then I guess I didn’t make the rules for this, did I?
Finally, did anyone else notice that a couple of the 100 Greatest Movie Quotes were also on that list of Cheesiest Lines in Movie History that made the rounds a while back? Well, I guess a line can be cheesy and still be memorable.
I’ll be back shortly with a list of my own personal favorite movie quotes…
Still, it’s a good test that the three movies quoted most on the list are Casablanca, Gone With the Wind, and The Wizard of Oz (in that order, I think). These are arguably the best movies ever made, so appropriately they have the best movie quotes.
Of course, I was disappointed not to see “[creepy inhale], [sinister exhale]” from Star Wars!
Yea, dunno. Their top 100 has certainly the most common, prolific, and well-known movie quotes. But to movie buffs like us, they can be considered cliche (sorry, I don’t know how to make special characters). Probably to others as well, which is why several are on the best and cheesiest lists.
I suppose it makes a difference what group you hang with. Among my friends, anyway, the most common quotes would come from Aliens, and Spaceballs, and Star Wars (A New Hope). Or, if I’m at an airsoft game, the common quotes would be from Full Metal Jacket and (now that a bunch of us have seen it) Serenity. Obviously, not many of these appeared on the AFI list. I suppose I’ll have to invite some AFI people to my parties or airsoft games sometime. Think they’d come?
Dave, of course the AFI folks would come to your party. Everyone comes to your parties! 😉
You make a good point about different cultural groups referencing different movies — obviously our group of “usual suspects” keys into science fiction, but I imagine there are all kinds of sub-divisions that have their own pet genres. Political junkies might quote Primary Colors or The Candidate, for instance. That might be worth studying, actually…
Robert, I’m going to quibble with your claim of those three films being the best ever. Casablanca? Absolutely one of the best — it’s a brilliant piece of writing, and I never get tired of watching it. The Wizard of Oz has a far lower repeatability factor for me, although I generally like it very much. (Certainly it’s been incredibly influential.) But oddly enough for a guy who loves classic movies, I really don’t like Gone with the Wind. Its enduring popularity mystifies me, to be honest. I find it incredibly tedious and soap-opera-ish, and Scarlett O’Hara is, excuse the french, a nasty little bitch who deserves a good slapping. Definitely not the admirable protagonist that many people seem to see her as.
Of course, that doesn’t have jack to do with how memorable the movie’s dialogue may be, and the big lines are very memorable indeed (obviously — we’re still using them after nearly 70 years, even me).
Hum, nothing out of the only two movies I quote made it on the list–ok so I’m the only one I know who says (in an outrageous French accent) “Ahh, it’s verrry nice! I told them we al’ready got one” but there are plenty of other memorable quotes from the Holy Grail. And the other movie–HELLO. A masterpiece, so cutting edge and vital–it has influenced all film since. It was the first movie that every person–hate it or like it–could quote the entire thing after seeing it only once…come one chant it with me KO-YAA-NIS-QAT-SI…KO-YAA-NIS-QAT-SI!
Everyone could quote Koyaanisqatsi if only anyone could figure out how to say it! 😉
Actually, now that you mention it, I am surprised that no Python quotes made the list. You’d think “It’s only a flesh wound” would be more recognized than Bill Murray’s “Cinderella story.” But maybe you and I just move in different circles…
Very nice blog.