Best movie one-liners ever
What is the best movie one-liner? Slate suggests that Die Hard's "Yippee Ki Yay Motherf**ker" is a candidate. An odd choice.
They then list some one-liners from action movies (the orginal post contains the links):
Many one-liners are bad, if treasured, puns (Arnold put his stamp on "You're fired" long before Donald did). Others display a wit that we might grudgingly concede ("Barbeque, huh? How do you like your ribs?"). The one-liner is also remarkably versatile. It spans the grandiose ("I'm going to show you God does exist"; "I'm your worst nightmare") to the minimalist ("Get off my plane"; "Whoah"). It ranges from the functional ("Dead or alive, you're coming with me") to the iconic ("Go ahead … make my day"). And while some are uninspired ("It's time to die"), others are absurd ("I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass—and I'm all out of bubble gum"), self-referential ("No sequel for you"), and sardonic ("Go ahead … I don't shop here").
I particularly like "No sequel for you".
What, though, about other movies.
I like "I'll have what she's having" and "You stupid fool, the fall'll probably kill you."
What about you?


Dan, since you are on "Butch Cassoday and the Sundance Kid", I would have to go with, "Who are those guys?"-referring to the mounted police following them. Actually, the story was based (more or less) on a real episode. The mounted police were "Pinkertons" who had gotten a reputation by foiling an assassination attempt on Abe Lincoln. The Union Pacific Railroad hired them. They really did carry their horses in railcars, like the movie. They burned down a house killing the mother of Jesse James, and some of his relatives. This was a bit of bad press. The real Butch began life as a Mormon - fitting with Mitt Romney in the presidential race. They really did go to New York and had fancy photos made. These were sent to old man Pinkerton, just for spite. There is still a mystery about the end of Butch. He had a younger sister, who was interviewed back in the 1960s in Utah. She insisted Butch came back to Utah every year, well into the 1930s. Who knows?
Posted by: Tony Francis | 27 Jun 2007 22:22:31
Dan, one more thing about "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". The girlfriend played by Katherine Ross was named "Etta Place" in real life. That always cracks me up. No one knows what happened to her, either. There are pictures of them on Wiki and other sites.
Posted by: Tony Francis | 27 Jun 2007 22:33:37
From Ninotchka: Greta Garbo, playing a Soviet Commissar in Paris is asked by her trembling underlings "How are things in Russia, Comrade?" She replies. "Excellent. The last mass trials were a great success. There will be fewer but better Russians."
Posted by: Martin Adamson | 28 Jun 2007 11:10:16
Who needs a full sentence? One word: INCONCEIVABLE.–Princess Bride.
Posted by: Jed Sorokin-Altmann | 28 Jun 2007 12:48:05
I'm gonna get Medieval on your ass!
..but Pulp Fiction can probably build a decent shortlist by itself
Posted by: Bodmass | 28 Jun 2007 13:19:29
Ok here are a few you missed, Arnie's "I'll be back" It's in his contract he uses the line, from Jaws "we're gonna need a bigger boat", from the blues brothers "we're on a mission from god", from lethal weapon 4 "we're not to old for this shit", dirty harry "this is a magnum 45 the most powerful handgun in the world it will blow your head clean off the question is did I fire 6 shots or only 5 do you feel lucky punk well do ya" from star wars "luke I am your father luke", from dusk till dawn's end scene "I'm a b@stard but I'm not a complete b@stard" deliverence "squeel like a pig boy" the shining "here's johnny", life of brian "he's not the messiah he's a very naughty boy", fight club "the first rule of fight club is you don't talk about fight club the second rule of fight club is you don't talk about fight club", rambo first blood "don't push it" a few good men"you can't handle the truth" the italian job "you we're only supposed to blow the bleeding doors off", laural and hardy "well that's another fine mess you've gotten us into" I could go on but there's a few to start with
Posted by: mini | 28 Jun 2007 13:23:49
Some of Arnie's one-liners were brilliant! Apart from "I'll be back" there's:
"What did you do with Sully...I let him go"
"I eat Green Beret's for breakfast"
"I lied"
"Stick around"
"You're fired"
"Please don't disturb my friend, he's dead tired"
"You're luggage"
"What have you left for us...bodies"
"Let off some steam Bennett"
They were all superb.
Posted by: Tate | 28 Jun 2007 13:47:25
Last line from "The Roaring Twenties" with Jimmy Cagney. Gangster Cagney has just died in the arms of his moll on the snowy church steps. She tells the policeman who asks who he is: "He used to be a big shot." Fantastic film, fantastic last line.
Posted by: dom gee | 28 Jun 2007 15:16:47
The best line ever? The very end of Touch of Evil. As Orson Welles' body is carried away, Marlene Dietrich is asked what he was really like. She replies: "He was some kind of a man - what does it matter what people say?" Fantastic!
Posted by: Adam | 28 Jun 2007 15:47:41
I'm a sucker for "Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!", myself.
Posted by: John H | 28 Jun 2007 17:40:00
"Build it, and they will come."
James Earl Jones had some classic lines in "Field of Dreams"; his speech on the timelessness of baseball could be quoted too.
Posted by: John C. Nolan | 28 Jun 2007 21:00:15
My two favorites are from Casablanca:
"Round up theusual suspects."
"I am shocked, shocked to learn that there is gambling here!"
Posted by: Don Loughlin | 29 Jun 2007 06:40:17
"Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges!"
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Posted by: eric | 29 Jun 2007 10:35:58
"It's my duty to please this booty" spoken by Samuel Jackson in ?????
Posted by: Mark | 29 Jun 2007 13:12:32
"I'm Batman!"
Mini - Just to be pedantic, Ollie never actually said 'Well that's another fine mess you've gotten us into'. Though he did say 'Well here's another nice mess you've gotten me into' rather a few times.
Posted by: Paul Danson | 29 Jun 2007 15:12:58
What we have here is a failure to communicate!
Posted by: Mike Morris | 29 Jun 2007 16:39:04
Some Like it Hot -- 'Nobody's perfect!'
Posted by: sandy | 29 Jun 2007 18:05:56
"There is no Dana - only Zul" - one of the more bizarre yet memorable.
Posted by: Frank Booth | 29 Jun 2007 18:22:42
From the Godfather "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli." after they whack Paulie Gatto has to be one of the best one-liners of all time!
Posted by: Angela | 29 Jun 2007 19:33:46
My favourite is from Forrest Gump:
"My Mama always said, 'Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get'."
Posted by: John O'Byrne | 29 Jun 2007 22:34:14
No question, it's Clark Gable (Rhett Butler) saying, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." at the end of Gone with the Wind
Posted by: Geno | 30 Jun 2007 01:05:31
Joan Sims in Carry On Up The Kyber (during the shelling of the Residency and as the ceiling falls on her head) 'I seem to be a little plastered'!
Posted by: Susan Smith | 30 Jun 2007 03:37:22
"Get these motherfucking snakes off this motherfucking plane." -Samuel L. Jackson, Snakes on a Plane.
Posted by: Mike | 30 Jun 2007 06:25:40
In Life of Brian,when they are going to be crucified,he asks the names of people off to be crucified,or go free,when up comes ? and is asked "Crucifixion?" "No","Oh that way then",when ? says"Only joking".
Posted by: miriam atkinson | 30 Jun 2007 07:37:40
I'd like to kiss you but I've just washed my hair - Bette Davis
Posted by: nicolas blake | 30 Jun 2007 11:35:03
I would have to go with either, "I don't want to shoot you, and you don't want to be dead" from Lawrence Kasdan's 'Silverado,' "You've got red on you," from 'Shaun of the Dead,' or "Everybody remember where we parked" from the Star Trek franchise as they left the invisible Enterprise in Golden Gate Park. This is an exercise that can fritter away a delightful afternoon (or several).
Posted by: Steve McCornack | 30 Jun 2007 14:00:49
Gimme some sugar, baby
Posted by: chad | 30 Jun 2007 18:44:54
What about "Failure is not an option" or "Houston we have a problem" from Appollo 13.
Posted by: Nicolai | 30 Jun 2007 20:13:44
"All that ya done ya shouldn't have done to me but most of all ya shouldn't have done it to anybody".
Eddie Ginnley ....Gumshoe.
Posted by: paul Flynn | 30 Jun 2007 23:26:43
The end of "Some Like it Hot" where in desperation to get rid of his adoring swain, Jack Lemmon rips off his wig and confesses "I'm a man". The reply: "Nobody's perfect."
Posted by: Dale | 1 Jul 2007 01:46:50
In addition to the "Casablanca" quotations, a line from Hitchcock's "Notorious" leaps to mind. Claude Raines has told his mother that he is married to an American spy; as she peers through clouds of cigarette smoke at her hapless son, she comforts him thus: "We are protected by the enormity of your stupidity." Ah yes - words to live by!
Posted by: Patricia Yeiser, U.S.A. | 1 Jul 2007 06:57:10
"I belong dead." Bride of Frankenstein.
Posted by: Lee Pefley | 1 Jul 2007 08:50:47
"Look maan, I ain't fallenfano banana in ma tailpipe."
Eddie Murphy in "Beverly Hills Cop"
Posted by: H_K_Zombie | 1 Jul 2007 15:57:50
From Gone With the Wind - "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
Posted by: Kay | 1 Jul 2007 17:15:23
From "Scent of a Woman". Patron says, "I'll have a John Daniels. please". The bartender responds, "You mean Jack Daniels, don't you?" To which the patron replies, "If you know him as well as I do it is John!"
Posted by: Mel Newton | 1 Jul 2007 17:54:11
How about Lee Marvin in "The Professionals". When called a bastard, "Ah,, mine is a accident of birth; but you sir, are a self-made man!".
Posted by: judy Roth | 1 Jul 2007 17:57:10
"I haven't come to protect Rambo from you - I've come to protect you from Rambo"
"God didn't make Rambo, I did"
"He'll eat things that would make a billy goat puke"
Some of my favorites from the 'The Colonel' in First Blood.
Posted by: Jay | 1 Jul 2007 19:52:15
We all got it comin', kid. Deserve's got nothin' to do with it. Oh, them whores.
Posted by: bob smith | 2 Jul 2007 08:18:23
"A boy's best friend is his mother."
Anthony Perkins in Hitchcock's 'Psycho'.
Posted by: Thea | 2 Jul 2007 11:21:52
I go along with Kenneth Williams' "Infamy", but what about "Oh, Matron!"?
Posted by: Kevin Cook | 2 Jul 2007 12:27:19
"Have you ever tried to pick up your teeth with broken fingers?"
The Crying Game
Posted by: PatrickKemp | 2 Jul 2007 15:41:54
'What? No! Wait! We can't stop here! This is bat country!' From Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas.
Another from the same film being,
'Is this not a reasonable place to park?'
Posted by: Daniel Smethurst | 2 Jul 2007 15:57:09
It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses.
Hit it.
Posted by: Jake & Elwood | 2 Jul 2007 16:16:36
I agree with Angela above.
"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli"
A classic
Posted by: N Murdoch | 2 Jul 2007 16:17:24
Who can't place these quotes with their movies?
"God, I love being a turtle!!!"
"Round up the usual suspects."
"Foodfight!"
"I'm walking here!"
"Yup."
"I could have been somebody."
"We came, we saw, we kicked his a**!"
"There's not much meat on her but what's there is cherce."
"The stuff that dreams are made of."
"Bond. James Bond."
"I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."
"We rob banks."
"We need the eggs."
Posted by: T. J. Cassidy | 2 Jul 2007 17:27:41
"Who's laughing now!". Ash (Bruce Campbell), as he is about to sever his hand, it being possessed by an evil spirit bent on his destruction, with a chainsaw in 'Evildead II'.
Posted by: K Christensen | 2 Jul 2007 17:51:07
Some serious omissions above including:
The unforgettable - "Luke, I am your father"
Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) in Taxi Driver- "You talking' to me?"
Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) in Goodfellas - "What do you mean funny, funny how?"
Jenny in Forrest Gump - "Run Forrest, run!!!"
Posted by: Jeremy Sharon | 2 Jul 2007 19:18:37
Only one best line:
"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the War Room!"
Posted by: JG Black | 2 Jul 2007 19:59:30
"You brought the fucking Pomeranian bowling?"
"Does the Pope shit in the woods?"
"Smokey, this isn't Nam, this is bowling. There are rules."
"Take your flunky and dangle"
"Sooner or later everyone needs a haircut."
All from the Coens brothers
Posted by: Robert Milligan | 2 Jul 2007 20:38:21
'The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist'
The Usual Suspects
Posted by: Bill Rogers | 2 Jul 2007 21:01:49
Or Telly Savalas as Kojak:
"Who loves ya baby"
Posted by: Steve Johnson | 2 Jul 2007 21:12:53
"You're fired!" in RoboCop.
This is one of the more intellectual of movie one-liners, as it's the solution to a brainteaser of sorts.
Posted by: Laika's Last Woof | 2 Jul 2007 22:59:32
How about . . .
Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. . . this is the war room!
Every time I try to get out, they pull me back in!
If you build it, they will come.
I am your father!
Say hello to my little friend!
Once you get the money, you get the power, once you get the power, you get the money!
You talkin' to me? Well, I don't see anybody else around here, you talkin' to me? Well who the fuck are you talkin to, you mother fuck . .
Charlie don't surf!
As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangter.
In, out, hello, goodbye. Just another fat fuck walkin' outta there with a suitcase.
That's entertainment!
I thank you!
Posted by: Matthew | 2 Jul 2007 23:37:06
From Airplane:
Surely you can't be serious?
I am serious, and don't call me Shirley!!
Excuse me stewardess I speak Jive.
Joey, do you like movies about Gladiators?
From Monty Python and the Holy Grail:
Ni!
If I went round claiming I was an emperor because some moistened bint lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!!
It's just a flesh wound!
From Naked Gun:
Nice Beaver!
Thanks, I just had it stuffed
Not one man in this department will rest 'til the scum who did this are behind bars. Come on Ed let's get something to eat.
My Personal Favourite from the Seven Samurai:
We have survived yet again, we have lost yet again.
Posted by: Dan Davies | 3 Jul 2007 02:06:15
There are so many! But how about...
"Where are you taking that...thing?"
"I'll be a nonce - at most, two nonces"
"Gopher, Everett?"
Posted by: Janice | 3 Jul 2007 02:15:06
"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the war room!" Dr. Stranglove.
"Mein Fuhrer I can walk!" Dr. Strangelove.
"We're on a mission from God" The Blues Brothers.
"No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die." Goldfinger
Posted by: E. J. Thompson | 3 Jul 2007 02:52:29
"You had me at 'Hello'"
Posted by: Julia | 3 Jul 2007 04:34:40
Starwars not big with this crowd? Princess Leia: "No light speed?" I use this every time something goes wrong. Han Solo to her: "You could be nicer!" Here is a line quoted jeopardy style: Answer, "She's the fastest hunk'a junk in the galaxy." Question, "What is the Millennium Falcon." I use that one in calculus to explain integration. Also, "Jedi mind trick" when a maths solution is unexpected or seems paradoxical. From Sniper, "One shot, two kills."
Posted by: Hermann Burchard | 3 Jul 2007 05:35:05
picking your teeth in Poughkipsee
Posted by: terry edwards | 3 Jul 2007 08:54:29
The line from Cocoon: "If this is foreplay, I'm a dead man".
Posted by: Hugh Tonks | 3 Jul 2007 09:40:18
Jack Hawkins as Colonel Galcon in State Secret, when the dictator is dead and as all hell is about to break loose:
"Do not think it altogether whimsical of me, but if you should happen to hear of a vacant chair in political science at a university ANYWHERE, please try to get in touch with me."
Wetherby Pond in The Happiest Days of Your Life when the billeting of a girls' school has wrecked his quiet existence and his housekeeper tells him a canvasser wants to know if he'll vote for a woman candidate:
"You may tell your lady that if there is a MALE candidate, whether he is Conservative, Socialist, Communist or Anarchist - or for that matter, Liberal - he will have my vote."
Both films need to be released on DVD NOW!
Posted by: Jeremy Broadribb | 3 Jul 2007 09:40:29
Akim Tamaroff to Rhonda Fleming a movie in a Middle Eastern harem setting: "oh ho ho, my Circassian beauty."
Posted by: Herb | 3 Jul 2007 09:59:39
Blues Brothers;
It’s 106 miles to Chicago. We got a full tank of gas half a pack of cigarettes It’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses. Hit it. (someone already got it)
(Jake falling to his knees in the sewer; to Carey Fisher who has a machine gun) Oh please don’t kill us
How often does the train go by? So often you won’t even notice it.
Are you the police? No mam, we’re musicians.
Are you the ‘Good Ole Boys?’ We’re The Good Old - Blues Brothers Boys
What kind of music do you usually have here? Oh we have both kinds: Country and western
Life of Brian
He’s not the messiah; he’s a very naughty boy.
(To a man about to be stoned to death) You’re only making it worse for yourself.
(After being nailed to the cross) See, it’s not so bad once you’re up.
Withnail and I
I feel like a pig has shat in my head
Look at Geoff Wode, Look at him! His head must weigh 50lbs on its own
We’ve come on holiday by mistake – we’re not from London
I demand booze.
Deliverance
Squeal piggy squeal
And a question for Pulp Fiction
‘I’m going to get medieval on your ass’ or as I’ve always believed ‘I’m going to get me evil on your ass’?
Posted by: Phil | 3 Jul 2007 10:36:03
'These go to 11'
Posted by: JIM | 3 Jul 2007 11:00:15
'You know Austin, a lot's changed since 1969.'
'No doubt, love. But as long as people are still experimenting with mind-expanding drugs while simultaneously having sex with many anonymous partners in a consequence-free environment...I'll be sound as a pound.'
Mike Myers to Liz Hurley in 'Austin Powers'
Posted by: Posted | 3 Jul 2007 11:23:29
Why has nobody mentioned
'a handbag?'
Posted by: Ian Anderson | 3 Jul 2007 11:54:42
"Badges, we don't need no steenking badges." (Blazing saddles apres Treassure of the Sierra Madre)
Posted by: Lori | 3 Jul 2007 12:02:25
"I've heard of sleeping partners, but you two are in a fucking coma" - Bob Hoskins in The Long Good Friday.
"I think my living bra just died" - I've forgotten the name of the film and the actress, but the line will stay in my mind for ever!
Posted by: Geoffrey Warner | 3 Jul 2007 12:24:53
Although it's not a one-liner I love the bit from Cabaret between Michael Yorke and Lisa Minelli.
Brian: Oh screw Maximilian!
Sally Bowles: I do.
Brian: So do I.
Posted by: Steve Robinson | 3 Jul 2007 12:57:06
From Life of Brian
Dennis : "I'm Not" as in
BRIAN:
Look. You've got it all wrong.
You don't need to follow me. You don't need to follow anybody! You've got to think for yourselves. You're all individuals!
FOLLOWERS:
Yes, we're all individuals!
BRIAN:
You're all different!
FOLLOWERS:
Yes, we are all different!
DENNIS:
I'm not.
Posted by: Rat | 3 Jul 2007 13:26:31
from Chicken Run:
Rat 1: We snuck into the farmers room, all quiet like.
Rat 2: Like a fish!
Posted by: Emma | 3 Jul 2007 14:40:30
No competition. The greatest line in ANY movie is Tony Montana in Scarface, "Say hello to my little friend!"
Posted by: Marcus | 3 Jul 2007 15:57:12
In Bad Boys 1:
Martin Lawrence and Will Smith go into a shop to buy some shampoo with the witness, the shop keeper notices their guns and pulls his own out yelling 'freeze mother bitches!'
After some staged playfighting between Lawrencwe and Smith, they pull their own guns out yelling 'you freeze bitch! now back up and give me a pack of fruit bubbalicious...and some skittles'.
Posted by: Sam | 3 Jul 2007 16:16:45
I'm Spartacus!
Posted by: Alison | 3 Jul 2007 16:38:32
Barman handing over a drink: "This'll put hair on your chest!" Bob Hope: "I've already got hair on my chest. Gimme something that'll part it down the middle!". Movie: Paleface. I know, I should go out more.
Posted by: elizabeth schumann | 3 Jul 2007 16:42:27
The Day after Tomorrow:
'Fetch the snow-shoes, we walk from here' Dennis Quaid to side-kick, as they traverse permafrost from Washington DC to New York. Best unintentionally funny line.
Posted by: songster | 3 Jul 2007 16:43:59
Oh, sorry, forgot another one from Ninotchka. She orders salad at the restaurant where Melvyn LeRoy has taken her. The waiter replies : "This is a restaurant, Madam, not a meadow!!!".
Posted by: elizabeth schumann | 3 Jul 2007 16:45:05
And last but not least, Stanley to Ollie : "I trust you insipidly". Now THAT is my favourite of all times and I use it a LOT.
Posted by: elizabeth schumann | 3 Jul 2007 16:47:07
Hey! Noone mentioned "You're not in Kansas anymore!". And yes, I'm 103.
Posted by: elizabeth schumann | 3 Jul 2007 16:54:21
From Zorro, makes me snort every time -
Antony Hopkins: You know how to use a sword?
Antonio Banderas: Yeah, you stick the pointy end in the bad guy.
Posted by: mamamia | 3 Jul 2007 16:57:44
No Tombstone love huh??
Why Ike, whatever do you mean? Maybe poker's just not your game. I know! Let's have a spelling contest!
It appears my hypocrisy knows no bounds.
I'm your huckleberry.
I swear, it's like I'm playin' cards with my brother's kids. You nerve-wrackin' sons-a-bitches.
Why Johnny Ringo, you look like someone just walked over your grave.
Already got a guilty conscience. Might as well have the money, too. Good day, now.
Posted by: Woodstock109 | 3 Jul 2007 18:27:16
Gladiator
"I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next"
"Go to them"
"He was a soldier of Rome. Honour him"
Posted by: Anthony | 3 Jul 2007 19:56:47
Correction, it was Melvyn DOUGLAS in Ninotchka, cringing apologies. I'll throw in a Mae West as an afterthought (no, not THAT one): "Have you had a haircut or did they pull up your ears?". Okay, not so funny. How about: "Are you coming in or are you swinging on the door?"
Posted by: elizabeth schumann | 3 Jul 2007 21:30:09
Can't believe nobody has mentioned Raising Arizona:
Ed McDonnough: You mean you busted out of jail.
Evelle: No, ma'am. We released ourselves on our own recognizance.
Gale: What my brother here means to say is that we felt that the institution no longer had anything to offer us.
Posted by: Kevin Risdon | 3 Jul 2007 21:50:45
"He is not the Messiah; he is a very naughty boy!" The Life of Brian
Posted by: Frederick Davies | 3 Jul 2007 21:59:24
"I'll think about it tomorrow"
Posted by: Celine Hynes | 3 Jul 2007 22:21:07
What about the non-verbal funniest line in the SuperMarioBrothers movie when they escaped from a building by swinging from the fungal infestation: Fungi Jumping!
Posted by: MakBeth | 3 Jul 2007 22:32:59
"Nobody's perfect"
--Joe E. Brown to Jack Lemmon in "Some Like It Hot"
"Shut up and deal"
--Shirley Maclaine to Jack Lemmon in "The Apartment"
"You know how to whistle, Steve ... you just put your lips together and blow."
--Lauren Bacall to Humphrey Bogart in "To Have and Have Not"
Posted by: Dave | 3 Jul 2007 22:42:13
"He disagreed with something that ate him"
James Bond, having seen his enemy eaten by a shark.
Posted by: Jack Lee | 3 Jul 2007 23:17:25
Chris Christoffersson to Barbara Streisand
great ass baby
Posted by: nick | 4 Jul 2007 03:06:59
Just after Meg Ryan has faked an orgasm in the deli in "When Harry Met Sally":
"I'll have what she's having."
Posted by: Tina Rhea | 4 Jul 2007 04:46:43
From one of the Lethal Weapon films:
"Diplomatic immunity!"
or
"He's just been decaffeinated"
Posted by: Honky McGee | 4 Jul 2007 07:12:34
Lots of good lines already posted ... here's a couple that tickle me:
"Chefs do that!" - Geena Davis, in "The long kiss goodnight," having just tossed an apple in the air and skewered it to the wall by throwing a kitchen knife through it. The silence that follows is also a good quote!
"What?!" - Tank Girl, having just broken the neck of one of her captors with her legs (her hands being bound). She gets the "?!" part just right.
Posted by: Norman Paterson | 4 Jul 2007 07:56:59
"One of our guys went and did a silly thing." Dr Strangelove.
Was it really all improvised?
Posted by: Ian Kemmish | 4 Jul 2007 09:20:11
From Zulu when the Colour Sergeant was asked the ageless question "Why?" ... "Cos we're 'ere son, cos we're 'ere. There's no-one else, just us". Marvellous movie
Posted by: Steve | 4 Jul 2007 09:48:11
"I love the smell of napalm in the morning."
Posted by: Robert O'Callahan | 4 Jul 2007 11:00:13
The most obvious one:
'May the Force be with you.'
Posted by: Karl | 4 Jul 2007 11:08:28
Bill Pullman in Lake Placid, after their boat has been munched by a huge crocodile - "So, sheriff...how many deputies you got?".
Posted by: Mark | 4 Jul 2007 11:22:51
Porsche, there is no substitute.
Posted by: Royce Erickson | 4 Jul 2007 12:33:09
Movie one-liners? Have you forgotten Groucho Marx? Here are my 5 best of the best...
"I have had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn't it."
"I could dance till the cows come home. On second thought, I'd rather dance with the cows till you come home."
"Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others."
"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception."
"Remember, we're fighting for this woman's honour, which is probably far more than she's ever done."
Posted by: James | 4 Jul 2007 12:36:54
Most of my favorites have already been given, but how about"Watch out for patrolling Sodomites", (instructions from the Queen of Gommorah to her troops in Sodom and Gommorah)
Posted by: tony | 4 Jul 2007 13:44:56
This is Spinal Tap - "There's a very fine line between stupid and clever."
Thunderball - "Do you mind if my friend sits this one out? She's just dead."
The Empire Strikes Back -
She: "I love you."
He: I know.
The Return of the Jedi -
He: "I love you."
She: "I know."
Posted by: T. J. Cassidy | 4 Jul 2007 13:57:10
Bogart in The Big Sleep (about a gangster): " He's the kind of guy that beats out your front teeth, then kicks you in the stomach for mumbling."
Posted by: PB | 4 Jul 2007 14:04:46
Why don't your come up and see me sometime? -- May West
Better fasten your seatbelts, this is going to be a bumpy night - Bette Davis.
Posted by: Mike | 4 Jul 2007 14:33:23
I like the line from Apocalypse Now quoted by Robert O'Callahan, but my favourite is Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon 3:
If this was a normal day I'd smack you in the face. (pause) It's a normal day.
Alternatively, Wayne's World 2:
Girl: Would you like to have dinner one night?
Wayne: I like to have dinner every night.
Posted by: Peter Campbell | 4 Jul 2007 14:42:49
"I don't know if you're keeping up with current events, but we just got our asses kicked. It's game over man, game over!" Bill Paxton in Aliens
Posted by: Bob Herget | 4 Jul 2007 14:48:45
"Ah rustic, ruder than gothic!"
Spoken by Edith Evans as an ugly villager tried to enter her coach in Tom Jones.
Posted by: Martin | 4 Jul 2007 15:12:10
"I don't know if you're keeping up with current events, but we just got our asses kicked! It's game over man, game over!" A snivelling Bill Paxton in Aliens. A great line to quote when things don't go as planned
Posted by: Bob Herget | 4 Jul 2007 15:14:32
Next time someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!!!
Posted by: Michael London | 4 Jul 2007 15:43:42
The Godfather - "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse".
On the Waterfront - "I coulda been a contender!"
And some movie with Alicia Silverstone, whose title I can't remember now, where she gets to know this guy played by Brandon Frazier, who accidentally lived in a bomb shelter for 30 years.
She asks how his day was, and he replied that he was chased around by a psychiatrist all day. And this burnout hippie bystander listening in, comments "It happens."
Posted by: SC | 4 Jul 2007 16:03:01
From Dr. Strangelove (yet again!):
Peter Sellers to Sterling Hayden about the Japanese.
"I don't think they wanted information, old boy, they just seemed to enjoy it. Thing is they make such bloody good cameras!
From Performance:
Mick Jagger.
"I don't like music!"
James Fox to Mick Jagger.
"Funny little bleeder! You won't half look funny when you're fifty!"
Posted by: David Lodge | 4 Jul 2007 19:14:23
Thanks to the person who quoted Groucho! Here's an exchange (not a one-liner, but everyone's cheating!)from Monkey Business: - "Are you a man or a mouse?" - "Throw me a piece of cheese and you'll find out!".
Posted by: elizabeth schumann | 5 Jul 2007 01:42:48
From Get Carter
Carter "You're a big man but you're out of shape" followed by a solid punch to the guts and architect on arrival of wailing police car after client (same big man) has been thrown off the roof top car park by Carter-
"I've got a horrible feeling we're not going to get paid"
Posted by: Arnold Ward | 5 Jul 2007 07:28:01
How come no-one mentionned
"Yeth and I'm only thicksteen" after the doctor said what big breaths she had after he told her to breath deeply.
I think from Doctor in the house
Posted by: Stanley | 5 Jul 2007 07:57:35
From 'Heist'
Danny Devito's character is bleeding on the floor, Deniro is pointing a gun at him. Devito says 'Don't you want to hear my last words?' Deniro replies 'I just did' before shooting him.
Posted by: richard | 5 Jul 2007 09:18:34
Spinal Tap: It's a fine line between stupid and clever.
Posted by: Richard Coulam | 5 Jul 2007 10:00:06
Also from Casablanca: "I don't mind a parasite - I object to a cut-rate one"
Plus of course from Inherit The Wind "He's the only man I know who can strut sitting down!"
And two Daffy Duck lines that crack me up every time:
"Actually, it's a buck and a quarter quarterstaff, but I'm not telling HIM that!"
"I have some lovely etchings up in my apartment - wait right here, I'll bring 'em down!"
Posted by: Jeremy Broadribb | 5 Jul 2007 10:27:08
Superman II...
Superman recovers his powers to challenge the fascist alien dictator who has subjugated the world in his absence, with the line:
"General! Would you care to step outside?
(American flag billowing beneath him!!!)
Posted by: James | 5 Jul 2007 11:19:31
My favorite Daffy Duck line comes when he's playing a western hero and rips off his trousers while trying to draw both pistols: "A slight pause whilst I adjust my accoutrements."
Posted by: Tina Rhea | 8 Jul 2007 22:02:35
The new italian job, Napster: "YES!!!!!.....I got the holy spirit..."
Posted by: Jake | 16 Aug 2008 02:40:20