Most iconic movie quotes of all time

By Wonderwall.com Editors 8:09am PDT, Jul 9, 2019

The 30th anniversary of the classic rom-com "When Harry Met Sally" — which came out on July 12, 1989 — feels like the perfect occasion for a retrospective of the most iconic quotes from famous films. We all know what's first on the list, of course…

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The most famous line ever spoken by a character named "female customer" is almost certainly Estelle Reiner's "I'll have what she's having," which was uttered after Meg Ryan's character faked an orgasm at Katz's Deli in 1989's "When Harry Met Sally." When Estelle died in 2008, her obituary in The New York Times led with a mention of the classic moment.

Rhett Butler's last words to Scarlett O'Hara were also his most enduring. Spoken by Clark Gable, the line "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" from 1939's "Gone With the Wind" was voted the top movie quote of all time by the American Film Institute in 2005.

Spoken four times by Humphrey Bogart's Rick Blaine during the classic film "Casablanca," "Here's looking at you, kid" is an enduring catchphrase that almost wasn't. The line was originally "Here's good luck to you, kid," but Humphrey reportedly changed it while teaching co-star Ingrid Bergman to play poker between takes on the 1942 movie.

With "Make him an offer he can't refuse," Marlon Brando (as Vito Corleone) uttered the most iconic line from one of the most iconic films in history, 1972's "The Godfather." The quote actually comes up more than once in the film, each time in reference to the fatal consequences of not complying with the mob family's wishes.

The classic film "The Wizard of Oz" features two incredibly enduring quotes, both spoken by main character Dorothy (Judy Garland). Toward the beginning of the movie, when she lands in Oz, she famously tells her dog Toto, "I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." The other memorable quote comes at the end of the 1939 movie when she clicks her ruby slippers together, wishes she was back in Kansas, and says, "There's no place like home."

Initially uttered in 1977's "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope" (the first "Star Wars" film that was released), "May the force be with you" was ultimately spoken more than a dozen times throughout the entire movie franchise. There's even a whole day (May the 4th) dedicated to this intergalactic version of "good luck."

Considering it's spoken by a wrinkly little animatronic alien, the line "E.T. phone home" is surprisingly poignant. Pat Welsh's raspy two-pack-a-day voice made this "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" quote one of the most famous catchphrases of the '80s.

There's nothing like a mother's wisdom, and Sally Field — the mom in 1994's "Forrest Gump" — was especially wise. Her most enduring line, of course, is the one son Forrest (Tom Hanks) repeats in his distinctive twang while telling his story to strangers as he waits for a bus: "Mama always said, 'Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'"

Of all 26 (so far) James Bond installments, the first words spoken (the first of several times) in the first film by the first actor to play the spy are also the most enduring. When Sean Connery introduces himself as "Bond — James Bond" in 1963's "Dr. No," we immediately understand the hero to be impossibly cool.

What movie buffs haven't reenacted the heated courtroom exchange between Lieutenant Kafee (Tom Cruise) and Colonel Jessep (Jack Nicholson) in 1992's "A Few Good Men"? The most famous part, of course, is when Kafee tells Jessep, "I want the truth!" and Jessep instantly shoots back, "You can't handle the truth!"

This iconic line from 1975's "Jaws" (and perhaps the biggest understatement of all time) was actually ad-libbed in the movie. "You're gonna need a bigger boat" was an inside joke on the set of the film, referencing the producers' stinginess. We all remember it, of course, in conjunction with the shocked look on the face of Sheriff Brody (Roy Scheider) when he realizes the sheer size of the shark that he and his crew are chasing.

When a mysterious voice whispers, "If you build it, he will come," to Kevin Costner on a remote Iowa cornfield, it sets off an incredible series of events in the classic 1989 baseball film "Field of Dreams" …as well as endless parodies and spoofs of the iconic quote.

A lack of historical accuracy doesn't make the most famous line in 1995's "Apollo 13" any less enduring. On the real Apollo 13, astronaut Jack Swigert told NASA Mission Control Center, "Houston, we've had a problem," after the outer space team discovered the explosion on the spacecraft. We all remember, of course, Tom Hanks as Mission Commander Jim Lovell saying, "Houston, we have a problem."

Quick! What's the first rule of "Fight Club"? Oh, just one of the most iconic movie quotes of all time. When Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) proclaims, "The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club," in the 1999 flick, we all listen. And remember.

It's for sure a classic film quote if 30 years later, people are still asking the actor who said it to repeat it just one more time. Such is the lot of Mandy Patinkin, who famously battled the six-fingered man in 1987's "The Princess Bride" while over and over saying, "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed me father. Prepare to die."

Tom Hanks, who based on this list is a virtual master of one-liners, did it again in 1992's "A League of Their Own" when he reamed out right fielder Evelyn Gardner (Bitty Schram) for making a mistake in the outfield, repeating, "There's no crying in baseball!" in a perfect combination of shock and disgust.

The most famous line in Robert De Niro's long and storied career was actually improvised. In 1976's "Taxi Driver," the iconic scene where his character, Travis Bickle, talks to himself in the mirror, repeating, "You talkin' to me?" was all made up on the spot by the actor.

With his thick Austrian accent, Arnold Schwarzenegger had so much trouble pronouncing "I'll be back" that he asked "The Terminator" director James Cameron to change it to "I will be back." Luckily for all of us, James refused, and a new catchphrase was born when the 1984 movie hit theaters. It appears not only in subsequent "Terminator" installments but also in many of Arnold's films from outside the franchise.

At this point, it's hard to count how many times "I love the smell of napalm in the morning," spoken by Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall) in 1979's "Apocalypse Now," has been spoofed. From Timon in "The Lion King" to Patches (Rip Torn) in "Dodgeball," it turns out that everyone loves the smell of something in the morning.