BO.com top 100 movie lines of all time: May the force be with you, number 1

[BadAtGender]

I've been enjoying reading through these. There's more than a few of these movies that I've missed, so I'll need to catch up on some of them.

[baumer]

10 Here's Johnny The Shining 1980

 

Stanley Kubirck had been looking for months for his next project.  His wife could hear him in his study, day in and day out, scouring through books.  He'd read for 15 minutes and then toss them aside, disgusted.  He couldn't find what he was looking for.  Then one day, as recounted by his wife, she didn't hear anything out of the room for hours.  It turns out that when Kubrick started reading The Shining, he was intrigued with it right from the beginning.  Years later, Stephen King would say that this shocked him as "nothing happens for the first 50 pages or so."  Kubrick would go on to write the screenplay for the Shining and what resulted was one of the most loved, revered and lionized horror films in film history.  For the role of Jack Torrance, Robert DeNiro, Harrison Ford and Robin Williams all read for the part.  Kubrick dismissed all of them because he didn't think they were psychotic enough for the part, Kubrick specifically sighting DeNiro's work in Taxi Driver.  The line "Here's Johnny" was ad-libbed by Nicholson as an obvious reference to the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  Kubrick, who lived in England, didn't know the significance of the reference and almost didn't keep it in the film.  In later years, Johnny Carson actually used Nicholson's scene as an intro to his show.

 

[baumer]

9 No. I am your Father. The Empire Strikes Back 1980

 

Of the top ten lines of all time, as voted by the panel, 7 of them were unanimously voted on.  This is the first one in the top ten to have everyone's vote.  To further prove that (yes this is me talking, not the panel) critics, for the most part, are about as important to film as cup holders for your drink are to the performance of a car, many of them in 1980 panned the film.  It has gone on to be considered one of the best films ever made and by far the best Star Wars film.  Sometimes you just have to let films simmer and over time, they get the praise they deserve.  The line that Vader says to Luke, after he cuts his hand off, might be the biggest shock in motion picture history.  There was literally a veritable wave of shock that engulfed crowds when they first sat down to watch the film.  Back in 1980, there was obviously no social media to spread plot points.  So this secret was maintained for much of the film's run.  There's a scene in Chinatowne and perhaps one in The Sixth Sense that might be able to be spoken about in the same realm as this one, but nothing could surpass it.  Darth Vader is the personification of evil.  Luke is as good as apple pie and puppy dogs.  To have Vader be his father was something so unfathomable that it was not conceivable to many film goers.  Return of the Jedi, 3 years later, confirmed this to be true but for that one moment in film, it sent shock waves through and through.

 

Here is a young girl's reaction to the big reveal, proving that Star Wars transcends generations:

 

 

And the line:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwvnRneMHiY

[baumer]

8 We're not in Kansas anymore Wizard of Oz 1939

 

This might be the most repeated line in cinematic history.  I have nothing to back this up, but this line has grown to mean much more than just Dorothy telling Toto that they are no longer in Kansas.  It's a line used by people to express shock or to express confusion.  It's the classic way to express that you are the fish out of water.  For example, going from high school to college, one might say, "We're not in Kansas anymore".  Films like The Matrix have used it and there was even a pilot for the new 90210 television series that used the line as their title.  It's a line that has permeated into pop culture, science, politics, geography and everything in between.  AFI named it the 4th best movie line of all time. In fact, lines from The Wizard of Oz can be heard in films like Field of Dreams, Titanic, Twister, Spaceballs, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Avatar and many others.  

 

[baumer]

Here are the last set of lines that almost made the list:

 

 

X So you're saying there's a chance? Dumb and Dumber  80
X I don't know who you are. I don't know what want. Set of skills etc Taken  77
X Spiderpig, spiderpig, does whatever a spiderpig does Simpsons  75
X Onions have layers, Ogres have layers. Onions have layers… Shrek  72
X The Dingo ate my baby A cry in the dark  37
X Ezekiel 25:17 The path of a righteous man is beset on all sides… Pulp Fiction  37
 

[baumer]

Top 7 still to come today.  Coming in at number 7 is my choice for the best line of all time.

 

As always, if anyone else on the panel wants to take over and do some, please do so.  If not, I'll have the rest done today.

[Ozymandias]

The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and you have burned so very, very brightly, Roy.

[baumer]

The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and you have burned so very, very brightly, Roy.

 

That one did not make our list.  

[baumer]

Of the seven lines remaining, 4 are from the 70's, one is from the 80's, one from before the 50's and one from the 90's.  Most of you can figure out some of the iconic lines that are remaining.  If I had to guess which line might shock many of you because of it's position, I'd say the one at number three will be a bit of a surprise.  

Edited February 17, 2014 by winter baumer

[4815162342]

#7 "I'll be back."The Terminator, 1984https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYt2HmAxHL4Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1984 was still relatively unknown to the general population. While he was a world champion bodybuilder and two years earlier had made his first big splash as the lead in Conan the Barbarian, most people didn't know he existed. That changed when James Cameron cast him as a relentless, monotone, implacable cyborg hunter-killer in his sci-fi thriller The Terminator. While the role is more of a moving statue than actual character, audiences everywhere experienced the pure presence Arnold brought to the screen. It was a scenario where his limited inflection and acting range at the time was a bonus, because it only reinforced the terror of the Terminator. There was no showboating, no elaboration, this was a guy who had a job and who would accomplish it matter-of-factly, with no concern for collateral damageThis line is a perfect example of the terror and brilliance of the Terminator. Having tracked Sarah Connor down to a police station, the Terminator attempts to gain access via duplicity, only to be rejected for bureaucratic reasons. The Terminator tells the desk officer simply that he'll be back. Less than a minute later he indeed is back, crashing a car into the station as the kickoff to an unstoppable rampage that leaves tens of cops dead or wounded. AFI ranked this line as #37 of all time.

[Jake Gittes]

Top 7 still to come today.  Coming in at number 7 is my choice for the best line of all time.

 

As always, if anyone else on the panel wants to take over and do some, please do so.  If not, I'll have the rest done today.

I'll do a write-up on line #2.

[baumer]

I'm not back on line for a few hours....so have at it.  Do as many as you want.  Don't even worry about number four.  I'm curious to see someone else's take on it.  

[4815162342]

#6 "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."Gone with the Wind, 1939https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLnTWxpTQt4Some movies are truly larger than life and explode off the screen in every which way and endure in our social consciousness. 1939 was quite likely the first year to have such an experience, in this case having two films of that character: The Wizard of Oz, and this movie. Set in the heartland of Georgia from the antebellum years through a patch of Reconstruction, Gone with the Wind is a story of the destruction of a way of life and the efforts of a selfish, entitled young aristocratic woman to hold onto everything she desires through all the tribulation. As much as it is a chronicle of the death and rebirth of the Deep South it is also a story of a battle of romantic wits between protagonist Scarlett O'Hara and the dashing smuggler turned war hero Rhett Butler as they chase and pursue one another through the years. They are two characters who are so similar yet also so different, since in the end Rhett, for all his cynicism and bluster, is a romantic and faithful man, whereas Scarlett remains purely self-centered.Their battles and struggles come to a head as Rhett finally realizes that Scarlett will never love her as much as himself and he walks out on her. With the rest of her life in shambles even as she has succeeded in wealth and station, Scarlett asks Rhett what she will do without him as well, provoking this response, a powerful sentiment that has echoed with embittered spouses and significant others through the decades. The AFI ranked this as the greatest movie line of all time, because of how it has endured to the present day.

[baumer]

So refreshing to get Jake and Numbers view on these lines.  

[4815162342]

#5 "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."The Godfather, 1972https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmX2VzsB25sWe return to The Godfather with what is undoubtedly its most quoted and referenced line. Adapted from Mario Puzo's blockbuster pulp novel about an Italian-American crime family's rise to power and its fight to stay on top, The Godfather remains one of the most beloved films in American history due to its vibrant, deep characters and the brilliant performances that shaped them. At the top of that character list is, of course, the title character himself, a man of many layers who can be a caring family man, an honorable and just neighborhood protector, and an utterly ruthless businessman and criminal. As we see through the early part of the movie, The Godfather's approach is to first approach a potential obstacle like a businessman, reaching out with friendship and mutually beneficial arrangements. If that fails however, he easily turns to the other side of the coin, a terrifying intimidation that shows the target the possible consequences of noncompliance.This line stems from a conversation the Godfather has concerning a Hollywood mogul who is out to ruin the professional career of his godson. The Godfather decides to settle the matter by offering the mogul something he couldn't possibly deny. It is only later, after the initial overture is rejected, that we learn the real meaning of the phrase, as the mogul wakes up to find his most prized possession, a legendary racehorse, decapitated in his bed. The "offer" he can't refuse is not one that will bring him success, but one that will spare him destruction.The AFI ranked this as the #2 movie line of all time. Edited February 17, 2014 by 4815162342

[4815162342]

I'll hand off to the next group member.

[Jake Gittes]

4. You're gonna need a bigger boat - Jaws (1975)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I91DJZKRxs

 

First of all: Peter Benchley's original novel, first published in 1974, is not very good. What it has going for it, however, is one hell of a hook: a man-eating great white shark attacking beachgoers at a small resort town. When Steven Spielberg was brought in to direct the film adaptation, he instantly recognized both of those things, and as a result, his film is a masterpiece of storytelling, one in which nothing is superfluous and not a single second is wasted. Getting there, however, was incredibly difficult, even before we take the infamous mechanical shark into account. Benchley himself wrote three drafts of the screenplay, changing things that Spielberg suggested (notably, an affair between Ellen Brody and Matt Hooper was thankfully gone at this early stage); after that, at various points, Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Howard Sackler, comedy writer and actor Carl Gottlieb (who largely rewrote the film while it was already shooting and also has a small part in the film), John Milius, Sugarland Express writers Matthew Robbins and Hal Barwood, Spielberg himself and actor Robert Shaw all worked on the final screenplay. (Benchley and Gottlieb are given the official credit in the film). 

 

Yet none of these men was responsible for the one line of the film that ultimately became, by far, the most iconic and celebrated. Perhaps we could actually give the mechanical shark some of the credit for this one: since it didn't work for so long, Spielberg could mostly only suggest its presence for the first 60% or so of the film, and when the beast finally appears in all of its glory, it sends chills down your spine even if you've already seen it a dozen times. When the film came out, the audiences reacted with screaming, and before that, all the way back when the scene was being shot, Roy Scheider came up with one of the most inspired ad-libs in film history. "You're gonna need a bigger boat" became as ingrained in collective consciousness as very few lines before or after it, ending up as a go-to response to virtually any problem that turned out to be bigger and more ominous than originally assumed. The AFI named it the 35th greatest line of all time.

 

Fun bit of insider info: ShawnMR was the last member of the panel to present his personal Top 100, and before he did, this line had actually been #1 on our collective list. 

[Jake Gittes]

I need to be gone for about an hour and a half, so if anyone wants to do line #3, go for it. Then I'll do #2.

[baumer]

3 You can't handle the truth! A few Good Men 1992

 

Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay and it was based on his own stage play.  You Can't handle the truth was voted #29 by the AFI.  Rob Reiner has said that Jack Nicholson would do this speech tirelessly and perfectly every time he asked him to do it.  There were times Reiner required him to do it off camera so that he could just film the reactions from the other cast members.  According to Reiner, Nicholson did it with just as much energy ever time.  Reiner asked Jack why he put so much passion even into takes that were no being recorded and Jack responded (read this in Jack's voice) "I love to act Rob.  I love to act."  An interesting but disturbing piece of information about the film is that the idea is based off an unsolved murder. Lance Corporal David Cox and 9 other marines tied up another marine and took turns beating him for 30 minutes because he "snitched" to the NCIS.  He was later honorably discharged and acquitted of any wrong doing.  However, he disappeared a short time after and then his bullet riddled body showed up three months later.  His murder remains unsolved.  You can't handle the truth has become one of the most well known and repeated film lines of films made in the last 20 years.  And as long and illustrious a career as Jack Nicholson has had, it was this line that might be his remembered piece of dialogue that he has ever spoken.  The screenplay was nominated for a Golden Globe.  

 

Edited February 17, 2014 by winter baumer

[baumer]

I'll give Jake a bit more time to see if he comes back.  If not, I'll do the final two.