Top 150 Movie Quotes of All Time
When the "Jazz Singer" was released in 1927, it brought a whole new world of sound to the movies. And with it came the challenge for screenwriters to create dialogue that could entertain and captivate their audiences. Words that perfectly capture a moment or tug on our heartstrings or just make us weak with laughter.
Great movie quotes, such as "May the Force be with you" from "Star Wars", do more than just enhance the movies they are in. They also have the power to take on a life of their own and become embedded within mainstream popular culture.
So while technology has radically transformed the way movies are made since the early days of the "talkies", the power of words and dialogue remains the same. Here’s an overview of some of the very best movie quotes across almost a century of movie making.
150 Best Movie Quotes... Ever!
What makes a great move quote is subjective but can be considered as the film dialogue and phrases that people remember. Quotes that find their way into popular culture and become instantly recognizable, even if people haven’t actually seen the film it’s taken from.
A great starting point for any list of movie quotes is the selection put together by the American Film Institute to celebrate the organization’s centenary in 2005. They used a jury of 1,500 film artists and critics to vote for the top 100.
The Infoplease list revises and updates the AFI selection to include more recent movies and films made outside of America to bring the grand total to 150 best movie quotes of all time. The emphasis is on short and standalone quotes rather than lengthier speeches or passages of dialogue. It’s a list that covers every genre from cartoons to political dramas and stretches from the very first talkies of the 1920s to modern-day blockbusters.
1. "You're gonna need a bigger boat." — "Jaws," 1975.
2. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." — "Gone With the Wind," 1939.
At the end of the film, Clark Gable's character Rhett Butler is leaving his wife, Scarlett. Scarlett asks what she'll do with herself after he leaves — his response is this famously harsh goodbye as he walks off into the night.
3. "Hasta la vista, baby." — "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," 1991.
4. "I feel the need — the need for speed!" — "Top Gun," 1986.
5. “Chewie, we’re home.” — "Star Wars: Episode VII," 2015.
6. "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse." — "The Godfather," 1972.
Don Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, is assuring his godson Johnny that he'll get him the movie role he's after. When Johnny asks how he'll persuade the director, Vito offers this as an explanation.
Fun Fact: According to IMDB, this scene has been referenced up to 150 times in other media. Fittingly, Brando won an Oscar for this performance (although he declined it).
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7. "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." — "Forrest Gump," 1994.
8. "We rob banks." — "Bonnie and Clyde," 1967.
9. "Plastics." — "The Graduate," 1967.
10. "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.
Marlon Brando plays a dockworker who lost out on a career as a prizefighter after his brother convinced him to throw a fight. This little sorrowful snippet describes the spiral his life has been in since.
11. “Not my tempo.” — "Whiplash," 2014.
12. "You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?" — "Dirty Harry," 1971.
13. "You had me at ‘hello.’" — "Jerry Maguire," 1996.
14. "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." — "The Wizard of Oz," 1939.
This movie quote is delivered by the heroine Dorothy after she finds herself whisked away to the fantastical land of Oz.
Fun Fact: This movie quote is maybe misquoted more often than it is quoted correctly. Most people drop the words "I've got a feeling" from the line.
15. "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." — "The Pride of the Yankees," 1942.
16. "If you build it, he will come." — "Field of Dreams," 1989.
17. "We'll always have Paris." — "Casablanca," 1942.
18. "Here's looking at you, kid." — "Casablanca," 1942.
Humphrey Bogart says this famous quote four times over the course of the film.
Fun Fact: this line wasn't in the original screenplay, but was added due to a conversation between Bogart and co-star Ingrid Bergman.
19. "You've got red on you." — "Shaun of the Dead," 2004.
20. "Is it safe?" — "Marathon Man," 1976.
21. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet!" — "The Jazz Singer," 1927.
22. "Go ahead, make my day." — "Sudden Impact," 1983.
This line, delivered by Clint Eastwood at the start of the film, encapsulates the machismo of "Dirty Harry". Harry is taunting a robber with a hostage, hoping the robber will give him a justification for Harry to shoot him.
23. "Shane. Shane. Come back!" — "Shane," 1953.
24. "Well, nobody's perfect." — "Some Like It Hot," 1959.
25. "Houston, we have a problem." — "Apollo 13," 1995.
26. "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." — "Sunset Boulevard," 1950.
This line is delivered by Gloria Swanson at the end of the movie, as her character hallucinates and mistakes crime scene reporters for the film crew of a movie.
27. "Well, I don't want to survive. I want to live." — "12 Years a Slave," 2013.
28. "Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make." — "Dracula," 1931.
29. "My precious." — "The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers," 2002.
30. "May the Force be with you." — "Star Wars," 1977.
Spoken by Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by actor Alec Guinness to Anakin Skywalker, this become an iconic phrase used to promote the franchise. The catchphrase has become a pop culture staple after many different characters say it to wish one another good fortune.
31. “I am Groot.” — "Guardians of the Galaxy," 2014.
32. "Listen to me, mister. You're my knight in shining armor. Don't you forget it. You're going to get back on that horse, and I'm going to be right behind you, holding on tight, and away we're gonna go, go, go!" — "On Golden Pond," 1981.
33. "Tell 'em to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Gipper." — "Knute Rockne All American," 1940.
34. "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." — "All About Eve," 1950.
Bette Davis offers this promise of an eventful evening in a party scene that features a then-unknown Marilyn Monroe.
35. "No wire hangers, ever!" — "Mommie Dearest," 1981.
36. "Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?" — "Little Caesar," 1930.
37. “A million dollars isn't cool. You know what's cool? A billion dollars.” — "The Social Network," 2010.
38."You talking to me?" — "Taxi Driver," 1976.
In this scene, Robert De Niro's Travis Bickle imagines an altercation that would give him an excuse to draw his gun, delivered with trademark panache.
Fun Fact: De Niro improvised this line. The script only said "Travis speaks to himself in the mirror", so De Niro took some liberties and was ultimately successful.
39. "I'll have what she's having." — "When Harry Met Sally," 1989.
40. "You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow." — "To Have and Have Not," 1944.
41. "Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges! I don't have to show you any stinking badges!" — "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," 1948.
42. "What we've got here is failure to communicate." — "Cool Hand Luke," 1967.
This line is spoken twice in the movie, the first time by Strother Martin as a cruel warden, and the second as a mocking echo by lead Paul Newman.
43. "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." — "The Godfather Part II," 1974.
44. "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again." — "Gone With the Wind," 1939.
45. "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" — "Sons of the Desert," 1933.
46. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." — "Apocalypse Now," 1979.
This line is delivered by Robert Duvall as Colonel Kilgore, shortly after he has a beach bombed to clear out the Viet Cong (in part so he can go surfing). The phrase has been constantly referenced in other media, including nods to the scene appearing in "Alvin and the Chipmunks", "DodgeBall", and "Mallrats".
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47. "I drink your milkshake!" — "There Will Be Blood," 2007.
48. "Soylent Green is people!" — "Soylent Green," 1973.
49. "Open the pod bay doors, HAL." — "2001: A Space Odyssey," 1968.
50. "Love means never having to say you're sorry." — "Love Story," 1970.
Jennifer Cavalleri's character delivers this line after an altercation between her and the male lead.
Fun Fact: Two years later Ryan O'Neal will hear this line again in the film "What's Up Doc" when Barbara Streisand says it to his character.
51. "There's no crying in baseball!" — "A League of Their Own," 1992.
52. "La-dee-da, la-dee-da." — "Annie Hall," 1977.
53. "A boy's best friend is his mother." — "Psycho," 1960.
54. "The stuff that dreams are made of." — "The Maltese Falcon," 1941.
Humphrey Bogart delivers this memorable line drawn from Shakespeare, describing the eponymous treasure they chase through the film.
55. "Yo, Adrian!" — "Rocky II," 1979.
56. "Hello, gorgeous." — "Funny Girl," 1968.
57. "Toga! Toga!" — "National Lampoon's Animal House," 1978.
58. "E.T. phone home." — "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial," 1982.
The context on this one is pretty clear. The character E.T. is attempting to contact his home planet for a rescue.
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59. "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." — "Dirty Dancing," 1987.
60. "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" — "The Wizard of Oz," 1939.
61. "Wilson!" — "Cast Away," 2000.
62. "They call me Mister Tibbs!" — "In the Heat of the Night," 1967.
Sidney Poitier's character, skilled detective Virgil Tibbs, delivers this line in rebuke to a racist question about what they call Virgil in his home in Philadelphia.
63. "I want to be alone." — "Grand Hotel," 1932.
64. "I am Iron Man." — "Iron Man," 2008.
65. "After all, tomorrow is another day!" — "Gone With the Wind," 1939.
66. "Rosebud." — "Citizen Kane," 1941.
This mysterious line by Orson Welles is the final word of the title character, and the movie is dedicated to finding out what it means.
Fun Fact: Citizen Kane was one of the first movies to use latex makeup effects to create to depict the aging of the character throughout the film.
67. "Stella! Hey, Stella!" — "A Streetcar Named Desire," 1951.
68. "Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars." — "Now, Voyager," 1942.
69. "Look at me. I'm the captain now." — "Captain Phillips," 2013.
70. "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" — "White Heat," 1949.
James Cagney delivers this line a bit more literally than you might think; it's said atop a large globe-shaped gas tank.
71. "Round up the usual suspects." — "Casablanca," 1942.
72. "One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know." — "Animal Crackers," 1930.
73. "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good." — "Wall Street," 1987.
74. "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" — "Network," 1976.
Peter Finch delivers this line as Howard Beale, a deranged and raving network news anchor railing about the state of the world.
Fun Fact: Peter Finch became the first actor to win an Oscar posthumously having died shortly after the release of Network.
75. "Say "hello" to my little friend!" — "Scarface," 1983.
76. "What a dump." — "Beyond the Forest," 1949.
77. "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?" — "The Graduate," 1967.
78. "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." — "Casablanca," 1942.
Humphrey Bogart again, he delivers this as Rick Blaine as he wanders off to join the French Resistance.
79. "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!" — "Dr. Strangelove," 1964.
80. "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." — "Casablanca," 1942.
81. "They're here!" — "Poltergeist," 1982.
82. "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.
Anthony Hopkins utters these chilling words in his role as cannibal Hannibal Lecter, a psychologist and serial killer who is trying to intimidate the police detective played by Jodie Foster.
Fun Fact: Director Jonathan Demme had originally wanted Sean Connery to play the part of Hannibal Lecter but Connery rejected the offer, referring to it as "revolting".
83. "Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown." — "Chinatown," 1974.
84. "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." — "A Streetcar Named Desire," 1951.
85. “Is this your king?” — "Black Panther," 2018.
86. "Bond. James Bond." — "Dr. No," 1962.
Sean Connery delivers this famous line to introduce himself during a high-stakes game at a London club.
87. “Striker: Surely you can't be serious. Rumack: I am serious…and don't call me Shirley.” — "Airplane!," 1980.
88. "I wish I knew how to quit you" — "Brokeback Mountain," 2005.
89. "I am gonna kill Bill." — "Kill Bill: Vol. 2," 2004.
90. "There's no place like home." — "The Wizard of Oz," 1939.
In the film, these are the magic words supposed to return Dorothy to Kansas.
91. "Attica! Attica!" — "Dog Day Afternoon," 1975.
92. "Sawyer, you're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!" — "42nd Street," 1933.
93. "Who's on first." — "The Naughty Nineties," 1945.
94. "I am big! It's the pictures that got small." — "Sunset Blvd.," 1950.
Gloria Swanson's Norma offers this explanation for her faded glory as an actress.
95. "Cinderella story. Outta nowhere. A former greenskeeper, now, about to become the Masters champion. It looks like a mirac...It's in the hole! It's in the hole! It's in the hole!" — "Caddyshack," 1980.
96. “I was perfect.” — "Black Swan," 2010.
97. "Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!" — "Auntie Mame," 1958.
98. "Show me the money!" — "Jerry Maguire," 1996.
This line, exclaimed back and forth by Cuba Gooding Jr. and Tom Cruise, punctuates their relationship as an athlete and his agent.
Fun Fact: The Jerry Maguire role was originally written for Tom Hanks but by the time the script was finished, Hanks was deemed too old to play the part.
99. "Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary." — "Dead Poets Society," 1989.
100. "Snap out of it!" — "Moonstruck," 1987.
101. "My mother thanks you. My father thanks you. My sister thanks you. And I thank you." — "Yankee Doodle Dandy," 1942.
102. "Why don't you come up sometime and see me?" — "She Done Him Wrong," 1933.
Mae West offers this suggestive line as Lady Lou, a saloon singer, trying to trick Cary Grant's character into her room to catch a criminal.
103. "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their Husbands. They just don't"— "Legally Blonde," 2001.
104. "My Precious." — "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," 2002.
105. "Just Keep Swimming." — "Finding Nemo," 2003.
106. "I'm walking here! I'm walking here!" — "Midnight Cowboy," 1969.
Dustin Hoffman's Ratso says this when telling off a cab driver.
Fun Fact: This scene was improvised. Midnight Cowboy was filmed in New York City so the taxi in the shot is an actual New York taxi. Remaining in character Hoffman yells at the driver and the scene made the cut in the film.
107. "So Fetch!" — "Mean Girls," 2004.
108. "This is Sparta!" — "300," 2006.
109. "I see you" — "Avatar," 2009.
110. "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.'" — "Casablanca," 1942.
Ingrid Bergman's Ilsa urges the pianist to play this song at a club owned by her old flame Rick, played by Humphrey Bogart.
111. “We’re in love. We just want to be together. What’s wrong with that?” — "Moonrise Kingdom," 2012.
112. “Now you’re in the sunken place.” — "Get Out," 2017.
113. “To infinity…and beyond!” — "Toy Story," 1995.
114. "You can't handle the truth!" — "A Few Good Men," 1992.
Jack Nicholson bellows this line to kick off a self-aggrandizing courtroom rant as Colonel Nathan Jessup.
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115. “It’s just a flesh wound.” — "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," 1975.
116. “First rule of leadership: Everything is your fault.” — "A Bug’s Life," 1998.
117. "I'm about to do to you what Limp Bizkit did to music in the late '90s." — "Deadpool," 2016.
118. "It's alive! It's alive!" — "Frankenstein," 1931.
Fun Fact: The original line was "It's alive! It's alive! In the name of God! Now I know what it's like to be God!" Censors cut Dr. Frankenstein's full line because it was considered sacrilege.
119. “That rug really tied the room together, did it not?" — "The Big Lebowski," 1998.
120. "Excuse me. I believe you have my stapler." — "Office Space," 1999.
121. “Don't forget: I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her." — "Notting Hill", 1999.
122. "Here's Johnny!" — "The Shining," 1980.
Fun Fact: This line was completely improvised. Jack Nicholson was only prompted to break down the door, but he decided to improvise this line and it made the final cut of the movie.
123. "You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on." — "Pride and Prejudice," 2005.
124. "What I'm trying to say, very inarticulately, is that, um, in fact, perhaps despite appearances, I like you, very much. Just as you are." — "Bridget Jones's Diary," 2001.
125. "The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club." — "Fight Club," 1999.
126. "A martini. Shaken, not stirred." — "Goldfinger," 1964.
This iconic scene has been parodied over and over again. In "Casino Royale", 42 years later, Daniel Craig's James Bond will be asked, "Shaken or stirred" and Bond responds "Do I look like I give a damn?"
127. “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”, "Moulin Rouge," 2001.
128. "I knew it the first time I touched her. It was like coming home, only to no home I'd ever known. I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew it. It was like magic." — "Sleepless in Seattle," 1993.
129. “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” — "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," 2001.
130. "Elementary, my dear Watson." — "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," 1929.
Fun Fact: Sherlock Holmes never says this iconic quote in any of the books the character is based on.
131. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.” — "Bambi," 1942.
132. “You have to think about one shot. One shot is what it’s all about.” — "The Deer Hunter," 1978.
133. “I’m just here for the gasoline.” — "Mad Max," 1979.
134. "Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast." — "King Kong," 1933.
Fun Fact: The King Kong roar was a combination of a lion's and tiger's roar combined and played backward very slowly.
135. “I ain’t got time to bleed.” — "Predator," 1987.
136. "I'm scared to close my eyes, I'm scared to open them...We're gonna die out here." — "The Blair Witch Project," 1999.
137. “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” — "Jurassic Park," 1993.
138. "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!" — "Planet of the Apes," 1968.
Delivered by Charlton Heston in the part of George Taylor. These are the first words spoken by the humans as they first encounter the intelligent apes who control earth in the year 3978.
139. “Life is pain, Highness. anyone who says differently is selling something.” — "The Princess Bride," 1987.
140. “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” — "The Dark Knight," 2008.
141. "Hi, I'm Chucky. Wanna play?" — "Child's Play," 1988.
142. "I'm king of the world!" — "Titanic," 1997.
The line is delivered by Jack Dawson, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, as he’s standing on the prow of the Titanic.
Fun Fact: The line wasn’t originally in the script but came from a suggestion made by director James Cameron during the location shoot.
143. “Keep the sand out of your weapons. Keep those actions clear. I’ll see you on the beach.” — "Saving Private Ryan," 1998.
144. “The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven.” — "Spinal Tap," 1984.
145. "If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you." — "Taken," 2008.
146. "I see dead people." — "The Sixth Sense," 1999.
Fun Fact: When Haley Joel Osment says this line the camera goes to Bruce Willis's face. This is a cinematic clue that Bruce Willis's character is dead.
147. "They may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!" — "Braveheart," 1995.
148. "They call it a Royale with cheese." — "Pulp Fiction," 1994.
149. "I'm just one stomach flu away from my goal weight." — "The Devil Wears Prada," 2006.
150. "I'll be back." — "The Terminator," 1984.
Spoken by the Terminator cyborg played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the science fiction movie, the phrase has become commonplace in popular culture.
Fun Fact: Arnold Schwarzenegger uses a variation of “I’ll be back” in most of the movies he appeared in during the 1980s, including "Commando", "The Running Man", "Twins", and "Last Action Hero".
You Might Also Be Wondering...
Here’s a look at some of the most frequent questions that are being asked on the internet about movie quotes.
What Is the Most Famous Line in a Movie Ever?
According to the American Film Institute, the most famous line in a movie is “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn”. This is spoken by actor Clark Gable who plays the role of Rhett Butler in the 1939 American Civil War epic, "Gone with the Wind". The line is spoken to Scarlett O’Hara, bringing their tumultuous relationship to an end. The line was controversial at the time of the film’s release due to the use of "damn", which was officially prohibited by the 1930 Motion Picture Production Code.
What Are Some Movie Slogans?
A movie slogan, sometimes known as a tagline, doesn’t usually appear in the movie itself but it can be just as memorable and iconic. These are the short phrases that are used to promote and market a movie. They aim to capture the general feel of a film in just a few words. Some classic examples include:
"For Harry and Lloyd, every day is a no-brainer." — "Dumb and Dumber," 1994
"They're young, they're in love, and they kill people." — "Bonnie and Clyde," 1967
"From the moment they met it was murder." — "Double Indemnity," 1944
"Life is in their hands. Death is on their minds." — "12 Angry Men," 1957
"In space, no one can hear you scream." — "Alien," 1979
"The first casualty of war is innocence." — "Platoon," 1986
"Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water." — "Jaws 2," 1978
"They figured he was a lazy time-wasting slacker. They were right." — "The Big Lebowski," 1998
"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Vengeance." — "Django Unchained," 2012
"They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God." — "Blues Brothers," 1980
What Is the Best Movie Quote You’ve Ever Heard?
Did your favorite movie quote make the list? At the very least, the quotes should have brought some memories flooding back of some classic movies and those truly iconic moments that have been created by the skills of the screenwriter. And all of this is the perfect preparation to test your movie quote knowledge with this challenge: the Movie Quotes Quiz
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