Fun time again with some memorable movie lines that span quite a few decades. Enjoy!
“Dinner, anyone?”
“You still wake up sometimes, don’t you? You wake up in the dark and hear the screaming of the lambs.” Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) has many notable lines in the 1991 Academy Award winner, The Silence of the Lambs.
“Major Strasser has been shot… round up the usual suspects.” Captain Renault (Claude Rains) issues this casual order in the 1942 classic, Casablanca.
“We come in peace…or not.”
“Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!” Helen Benson (Patricia Neal) commands a pre-programmed robot from outer space to stand down and not destroy the Earth in the 1951 science fiction classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still. (This movie is sixty-three years old? Gawd!)
“Hate makes you impotent, love makes you crazy, somewhere in the middle you can survive.” Larry (Billy Crystal) offers some sage advice in the 1987 comedy, Throw Momma from the Train.
“I came across time for you, Sarah. I love you. I always have.” Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) to Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) during one of the (few) tender moments in 1984’s The Terminator. (Wait, Mike, you’re not quoting an Arnold line?!)
“Can you think of a plan that doesn’t involve your ten-year-old sister joining the army?” Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) to his son in the 2005 remake of War of the Worlds. (I don’t care how old the 1953 version is; the sound of those death rays still creeps me out!)
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next, You’re next…!” A rather disturbed Dr. Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) tries to warn the world of imminent invasion in one of my all-time favorite flicks from 1956, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. (See my post, “They’re Here Already!”)
“A boy’s best friend is his mother.” Just about every line from Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) in the 1960 Hitchcock classic, Psycho, is quotable. (See my post, “Psycho Memories”.)
“Whoa. Wait a minute, Doc. Are you trying to tell me that my mother has got the hots for me?” Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) to Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) in 1985’s Back to the Future.
“It has been established that persons who have recently died have been returning to 
life and committing acts of murder. A widespread investigation of funeral homes, morgues, and hospitals has concluded that the unburied dead have been returning to life and seeking human victims. It’s hard for us here to be reporting this to you, but it does seem to be a fact.” A TV newscaster renders this chilling report in the 1968 groundbreaking horror film, Night of the Living Dead.
Lines such as these are what make watching movies so much fun. You’re always welcome to share some of yours.
Memorable enough to have become part of our lexicon:
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”
Attribution unnecessary.
STAR WARS–a veritable cornucopia of movie quotes. As Obi Wan says: “Who’s the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?”
The funny thing about the line, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” is, I do believe, in at least all the original “Star Wars” movies, and each time spoken by a different character.
“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.”
Funny…I was going to use the “Hokey religions” line but opted for the “fools” one. The whole original film is one big movie quote!
Thanks for this post, Mike! I cannot recount the times I have spewed forth a movie quote as a comment to real world happenings. The problem is, however, that no matter how awesome or irrelevant the quote may have been, I am not able to recall the actual circumstances afterwards. Pitiful, huh?
Yeah, we’ve all said, “Go ahead, make my day” a million times, but darned if I remember whether Harry blasted the guy away or not. 🙂
He actually used the line twice; at both ends of the movie. First, when he stopped the bank robbery, the injured man decided not to see, but as Harry turned to leave, the guy says, “I just gotsta know.” and Harry points the pistol at him and clicks an empty chamber. At the end, the bad guy does decide to risk it, and there is a bullet left. Good writing of that script!
From Raiders of the Lost Ark….
Maj. Eaton: We have top men working on it right now.
Indiana: Who?
Maj. Eaton: Top… men.
Loved that scene. Always wanted to reach in and smack that guy around. Typical bureaucratic bull crap! 🙂
Thanks, it’s been a loo-oong time since I’ve seen the Dirty Harry films. But I recently bought a four-pack (all but the last one) and will indulge in the near future.
“It’s held together with saliva.”
“Yeah, well, spit’s about the only thing holding me together right now.”
From ‘Them’, deep inside the nest of the giant ants as the brainy, beautiful scientist comments on the nest’s construction, and the no-nonsense police sergeant answers.
Good one, Mark. And who could forget this? As a giant ant attacks, Santa Claus–okay, Edmund Gwenn–yells, “Get the antennae! Get the antennae! He’s helpless without them.”
“We all see what we want to see. Coffey looks and he sees Russians. He sees hate and fear. You have to look with better eyes than that.”
From The Abyss as Lindsey tells Virgil to think with compassion about the unknown.
Great list!
Good one! I also like Lindsey’s line, “It’s not easy being a cast-iron bitch. It takes discipline, and years of training… A lot of people don’t appreciate that.”
Ah yes. Classic line. Love that movie.
Hey Mike, we just wrapped up our latest Podcast, I gave your site and Freedom’s Hand a recommendation. Hope you don’t mind. All the best!
That is much appreciated, my friend. FYI, my website/blog is currently undergoing a restructure, and its debut should correspond to the release of my new historical novel next month. There will only be one website URL, http://www.mikesirota.com
Hey Mike,
Lots of favorite quotes here by both you and your readers. Love it!
Thank you for quoting the appropriately memorable line from “The Terminator”. Apologies to any who disagree, but there was no need to remake “War of the Worlds”. The old one still holds up just fine. I can handle the beginning of the new one until Dakota Fanning starts using her piercing scream as “acting”. The army probably should have used that as a weapon against the aliens…because it always makes me go away.
But my favorite of this group (aside from the sideways reference to the “Russian water tentacle” scene) is Lindsey’s line about being a cast-iron bitch. It does indeed take discipline… 😉
Thanks again for a really fun post.
Kate, what is life without fun…and funny movie lines! Happy Halloween.