The movies have given us so many memorable quotes that it's difficult to choose the 10 best. But I have managed to narrow all the possibilities down to a list of My Favorite Top 10. If you have even better famous movie quotes, feel free to add them in your comments. 1. There's No Place Like Home
When Dorothy Gale wants to return to Kansas (I can't for the life of me figure out why) after her exploits in Oz, Glinda the Good Witch tells her to click her ruby-red heels together and say: "There's No Place Like Home." Does it work? You betcha -- this is Hollywood, after all.
2. Here's Looking at You, Kid
This line, of course, is uttered by none other than Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) to Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) when the two are reunited in 1942's "Casablanca." Ilsa, now a married woman, steals a moment alone with Rick and professes that she is still in love with him. The exact dialogue is as follows:
Ilsa: I can't fight it anymore. I ran away from you once. I can't do it again. Oh, I don't know what's right any longer. You have to think for both of us. For all of us.
Rick: All right, I will. Here's looking at you, kid.
Ilsa: I wish I didn't love you so much.
3. Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Give a Damn
This line from 1939's "Gone with the Wind" is spoken by Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) and are the last words he says to Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) before he storms out of her home. The line is significant because we know that Rhett has finally given up on the selfish Scarlett and no longer cares what happens to her. The line, by the way, was voted the number one movie line of all time by the American Film Institute.
4. May the Force Be With You
In "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope", the original Star Wars film, the Force is first described by the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) as an energy field created by all living things that "binds the galaxy together". It's interesting that the quote, "May the Force be with you," was uttered by then non-believer, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), to Luke Skywalker as a way of saying good luck. According to Wookiepedia, the phrase is borrowed from Catholicism's "May the Lord be with you."
5. Go Ahead, Make My Day
This classic line is from the film, "Dirty Harry," released in 1983. When Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) goes into a diner for a morning cup of coffee, he discovers a robbery in progress and kills most of the robbers in a shootout. But one surviving robber holds a frightened waitress at gunpoint. So our hero Harry points his .44 Magnum at the man's face and dares him to shoot, grumbling, "Go ahead, make my day." Since then, the brief dare has become part of the popular lexicon.
6. I'm Gonna to Make Him an Offer He Can't Refuse
Who can forget Don Vito Corleone's famous quote from "The Godfather?" The 1972 film introduced us to the Don and his family, and dozens of famous quotes from the film were forever etched into our memories. This one, among the American Film Institute's 100 most famous movie quotes, was uttered by the Don to the pathetic singer-movie star, Johnny Fontane, also the Don's nephew. The singer wanted revenge on Jack Woltz, a movie producer who wouldn't give him a part in his next film. The Don was good for his word -- Woltz woke up in bed with only the severed head of his prize racing horse. Yuck.
7. Rosebud
The first word we see in the 1941 epic, "Citizen Kane," has been the subject of conjecture and film analysis for decades. Directed by Orson Welles, "Citizen Kane" is loosely based on the life of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst and traces the life and career of the ruthless newspaperman Charles Foster Kane. It is told chiefly through flashback, as a newspaper reporter seeks to solve the mystery of Kane's dying word, "Rosebud." The reporter never learns the meaning of that word, but the movie audience does. No spoilers here -- see the classic and learn for yourself.
8. I See Dead People
This quote isn't necessarily on a lot of Top 10 lists, but it's one of my favorites because M. Night Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense" was one of my all-time favorite films. In an emotional exchange between Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) and Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis), Malcolm finally learns what's tormenting Cole.
Cole: I see dead people.
Malcolm: In your dreams?
Cole shakes his head no.
Malcolm: While you're awake?
Cole nods his head.
Malcolm: Dead people like, in graves? In coffins?
Cole: Walking around like regular people. They don't see each other. They only see what they want to see. They don't know they're dead.
Malcolm: How often do you see them?
Cole: All the time. They're everywhere.
A great, spooky scene.
9. Fasten Your Seatbelts. It's Going to be a Bumpy Night.
If you haven't seen "All About Eve," you're missing out on a film that not only displays the genius of actress Bette Davis, but features a screenplay with witty, well-written dialogue. Davis, as aging Broadway legend Margo Channing, makes the announcement just before a party arranged by the unscrupulous young actress Eve Harrington, who manages to worm her way into Margo's life. As she heads down the stairs for her party, Margo utters the "fasten your seatbelts" line because she is aware of Eve's schemes to replace her on the stage and steal the man in her life. It's utterly cynical and bitter, and delivered only as Bette Davis could deliver a line.
10. I'm the King of the World!
Although it's been overused, this was a great quote in "Titanic." Shouted by Jack Dawson as he and his friend Fabrizio stand on the bow of Titanic as it heads out on its fateful voyage, the quote has so many shades of meaning. He is a young man on the brink of adventure, but a young man riding on a ship of doom. It's a quote about the industrial age, about the divide between privileged and poor, and more. And it certainly is memorable.
