A phenomenon I have noticed is that there are a lot of movie quotes in our culture that we don’t even really recognize. We know that they’re movie quotes, but we have no idea where they come from. Some, of course, we do know (for example, “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” is from The Wizard of Oz). I feel confident that we all knew that one. But you’ve probably also heard: “Show me the money.” Do you know what that’s from? Answer: Jerry Maguire. Have you ever seen Jerry Maguire? I know I haven’t. Also from that movie: ”You had me at hello.” These are two very well known quotes, and I had no idea that those are from Jerry Maguire, because I had never even heard of that movie. So I’m gonna lay out some other quotes that you’ve probably heard of, and tell you where they are from. Sit back and relax.
- “Are you talkin to me?” –Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver.
- “You can’t handle the truth!” –Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men.
- “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” –This one you probably knew was from The Godfather, but just in case, here you go. (Marlon Brando says it.)
- “You’re out of order! This whole court’s out of order!” –Al Pacino in And Justice for All.
- Both “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship” and “Here’s looking at you, kid” are said by Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca. As a tip, literally every great movie quote is from Casablanca. It’s insane. “Play it again, Sam” (which is a misquote, by the way) is also from Casablanca, and there are actual stores named after this line. Crazy. Also “We’ll always have Paris.” See what I mean? All of them are from Casablanca.
- “Go ahead, make my day.” –Clint Eastwood in Sudden Impact.
- “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” –This awful, awful quote is said by Ali MacGraw in Love Story.
- “I’ll have what she’s having.” –Some random lady says this in When Harry Met Sally. A great movie—If you haven’t seen it, you really should!
- “That’s showbiz, kid.” –Renee Zellweger says this in Chicago. Interestingly, she’s the same actress that said, “You had me at hello” in Jerry Maguire.
- “With my brains and your looks, we could go places.” —John Garfield in The Postman Always Rings Twice. I had never heard of this movie before.
- “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.” –This Christmas quote is said by Karolyn Grimes (as Zuzu Bailey) in the classic, It’s a Wonderful Life.
- “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” –You might have known this one too, but this is said by Robert DuVall in Apocalypse Now.
- “There’s no crying in baseball!” –Tom Hanks in A League of their Own. If you ask me, it’s not even the best line in that movie. This flick is jam-packed with great quotes, honestly.
- “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” –Julia Roberts in Notting Hill. You may have known that, but you probably haven’t actually seen Notting Hill.
- “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” –Roy Scheider in the classic, Jaws—which I myself refuse to watch.
- “You’re killin me, Smalls!” –SUCH A GOOD ONE. Patrick Renna: The Sandlot.
- “Hello, gorgeous.” –Is there anything more iconic than Barbara Streisand saying this in Funny Girl? Probably not.
- “Here’s Johnny!” –Yeah, another Jack Nicholson one, this time from The Shining. You may have seen that movie, but I have not, so here it is.
- “I am serious…and don’t call me Shirley.” –A very well-known quote, this is said by Leslie Nielsen in Airplane!
- “I’ll be back.” –Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator. Hopefully you knew this one already?
- “Hasta la vista, baby” —Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
- “Are you not entertained?” –Russell Crowe, Gladiator. I like to incorporate this one into casual conversation.
- “Forget about it.” / “Fuhgeddaboudit.” —Johnny Depp in Donnie Brasco. Man, this one really threw me. I had never heard of this movie!
- “I feel the need….the need for speed.” –Tom Cruise in Top Gun.
- “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” –Strother Martin in Cool Hand Luke. Has anyone actually seen this movie?? Doubtful.
- “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night!” –Bette Davis in All About Eve. Don’t even pretend like you knew that one.
Well, there is just a sampling for you. Hopefully you knew some of these, and hopefully you learned where some of your favorite movie quotes are actually from!