50 of The Most Quotable Movies Ever
There's nothing better than quoting a movie to someone who knows exactly what the reference is. A properly timed movie quote can certainly change the dynamic of any conversation. Throughout the years we've had lots of movies that have given us some incredible quotes that we use in our daily lives. It's gotten to the point where some people would recognize the quote without even knowing where it's from. If you would like to know where a lot of these quotes came from, scroll through this gallery and check out the 50 most quotable movies ever.
Goodfellas
In terms of quotability, movies rarely come better than Goodfellas, which has become a sort of standard for it. Every time you see this movie, there’s always some profane dialogue or different kinds of dialogue to catch your attention, and it rarely gets better than that.
For instance, there’s the iconic quote, "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." Some other ones that deserve mentioning are, "One dog goes one way, and the other dog goes the other way," and "Now go home and get your f****** shine box."
All About Eve
All About Eve is a standout 1950 movie and Best Picture Winner that tells the story of an upcoming ingénue that threatened the career of a Broadway Star. This is one of the cattiest movies ever made, and there are many memorable lines and remarks in its 138-minute runtime.
There are divine lines like, "Fasten your seatbelts; it’s going to be a bumpy night" and "Lloyd, honey, be a playwright with guts." We also can’t forget quotes like, "You’re an Improbable Person, Eve" and "so am I and We deserve each other."
The Godfather
Like Goodfellas above, The Godfather is a seriously quotable movie. Basically, all Godfather movies can be quoted for days, but the first movie in the series stands out as the most quotable of all. This is due to a multitude of quotes and lines that have found their way into everyday expressions.
Quotes like, "It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business" and "I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse" stick to your memory long after you’ve seen the movie. Others like, "We don’t discuss business at the table" and "It’s a Sicilian message. It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes" are quite memorable as well.
Slap Shot
Over the years, a couple of decent hockey movies have been made but few have come close to capturing the subculture of the sport as Nancy Dowd did with Slap Shot. Dowd’s brother was a minor league player, which offered him perspective and plenty of insight.
The story of the Neanderthals described in the movie is quite similar to Dowd’s brother’s as they also played in the minor leagues. Dowd also managed to make his project remarkably profane, with lines like, "Hey, Walt, What are you doing?" and "I tried to capture the spirit of the thing."
The Apartment
The Apartment is a romantic comedy created by Billy Wilder. Besides being an Academy Award-winning project, this is also an emotional thresher that allows viewers to see a lot of themselves in the cruelly used individuals played by Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine.
Billy Wilder takes you to the edge of desperation with this movie, and suddenly everywhere is merry once again, and it's New Year. You get memorable quotes like, "That’s the way it crumbles, cookie-wise" and "Y’know, I used to live like Robinson Crusoe. I mean, shipwrecked among 8 million people."
Glengarry Glen Ross
Glengarry Glen Ross is a David Mamet play about a real estate salesman. The play is an endlessly quotable classic that was thoroughly enjoyed by cinema nerds in the 1980s. It was brought to the big screen by James Foley, who assembled a cast of Ed Harris, Al Pacino, Alan Arkin, and Jack Lemmon.
Foley then got Mamet to write a bunch of new memorable lines in the movie’s opening scene, with lines like, "Coffee’s for closers only," "What’s your name? F*** you, That’s my Name," and "Always be Closing, You never open your mouth until you know what the shot is."
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is regarded as an exceptional comedy sketch troupe, and the fact that it was set around the legend of Camelot has made it a highly quotable screenplay for the past four decades or so.
It helps that the movie’s one of the funniest ever to be produced and having all those memorable quotes is just the icing on the cake. There are quotes like, "I fart in your general direction!," "It’s just a flesh wound," and "Look, that rabbit’s got a vicious streak a mile wide!"
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
After coming out of the massive failure of So I Married an Axe Murderer, Mike Myers took inspiration from the movie’s Peter Sellers-inspired multiple-character act to make this 60s superspy flick.
At the end of the day, both movies are quite similar, with little to separate them in terms of quality but what makes the latter stand out is the way catchphrases were used, and the fact that it has some more nerve than the other. You get catchphrases like, "Throw me a frickin’ bone here," "Yeah, baby!," "Do I make you horny?," and "I hate you! I hate you! I wish I was never artificially created in a lab!"
Step Brothers
John C. Reilly teamed up with Will Ferrell to create this memorable movie about them being middle-aged fail-sons that ended up living together after the single parents that housed them got married. At first, they hated each other but they soon became buddies and business partners.
All along, you get a series of memorable quotes and catchphrases like, "It’s the f****** Catalina Wine Mixer," "I tea-bagged your drum set," and "Do you wanna do karate in the garage?" There are other memorable ones like, "Why are you so sweaty" and "Brennan, Denise called and she said she can’t spend New Year’s Eve with you because she’s not your girlfriend; she’s your therapist."
Fletch
Fletch was written by Andrew Bergman, who found lots of inspiration in Gregory McDonald’s mystery novel. Starring Chevy Chase, the movie relied on his glib charm to keep things oiled.
The good thing about the project is Chase got an endless supply of some of Bergman’s best bits like, "He’s actually 6’5”, With the afro, 6’9," "Can I borrow your towel for a sec? My car just hit a water buffalo," and "Do you have The Beatles’ White Album? Never mind; just get me a glass of hot fat."
The Jerk
The Jerk is a Carl Reiner movie that stars Steve Martin as the main character. Steve was approaching the end of his wild-and-crazy-guy days when he landed the role. He got to work with seasoned comedy writers like Michael Elias and Carl Gottlieb on the project, and things went into R-rated territory thanks to the story of Navin R. Johnson, who was an imbecile before he stumbled on some good luck.
Being a terrific comedy, this is a highly quotable movie as well with memorable quotes like, "Don’t call that dog ‘Lifesaver’. Call him ‘S***head" and "First I get my name in the phone book, and now I’m on your ass."
The Untouchables
The Untouchables was written by David Mamet and it explores the efforts of Eliot Ness’ Treasury Department that led to the capture and imprisonment of Al Capone.
There’s a lot of adult escapism with a cast of Robert De Niro, Sean Connery, and Kevin Costner, and a ton of quotes that stick to memory long after you’ve seen the movie. Quotes like, "Who would claim to be that who was not?" and "You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun."
Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction was Quentin Tarantino’s sophomore feature movie, and just like his first movie, Reservoir Dogs, this one’s also quote-worthy. Hitting the theaters in 1994, Tarantino stuck with the Gen-X zeitgeist type of lurid tale.
We won’t be forgetting some of the lines in the movie any time soon, lines like, "Zed’s dead, baby. Zed’s dead," "They call it a Royale with cheese," and "We’re gonna be like three little Fonzies here." Some others that deserve mention are, "Imma get medieval on your ass" and "And you will know my name is the lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."
Scarface
Of course, a list of quotable movies would be incomplete without Oliver Stone’s Scarface. According to Stone, he was doing his revenge on cocaine when he wrote the standout screenplay with inspiration from Howard Hawks’ movie.
Starring Al Pacino as a Cuban drug lord, there are lots of heavy accents and unforgettable lines like, "Can’t you stop saying f*** all the time? He couldn’t," "Say hello to my little friend!," "Chi Chi, get the yayo," and "This town is like a great big ahem waiting to get (you know)."
Wet Hot American Summer
The Michael Showalter and David Wain-written movie became an unlikely comedy franchise after it launched with a bizarre homage to summer camp flicks like Little Darlings and Meatballs. Without much promotion, the movie was turning out to be a forgotten one until it became famous thanks to home video, and it spawned not one, but two Netflix series that managed to capture the original’s nostalgia.
What makes this movie so rewatchable is the fact that it is highly quotable with lines like, "Now finish up them taters. I’m gonna go fondle my sweaters," "It’s nice to go into town, even if it’s for an hour," and "Have a great winter. I’m gonna go hump the fridge."
Heathers
Heathers is a Daniel Waters-written high school comedy that got a caustic overhaul in 1988. It is essentially a pitch-black satire that fearlessly explores teen suicide. At the time, the screenplay was shocking but it worked because it managed to connect kids that had gotten enough of being inundated with teen-skewing flicks and outdated PSAs.
It’s also highly quotable, with quotes like, "This isn’t just a spoke in my menstrual cycle," "Save the speeches for Malcolm X," and of course, "I just want to get laid."
Friday
Friday is a stoner comedy written by Dj Pooh and Ice Cube that became famous in 1995 thanks to Dj Pooh and Ice Cube's popularity. Just like other stoner comedies, this was perhaps 20 minutes too long but then it makes up for it with plenty of belly laughs, which isn’t something a lot of movies can boast of.
Both John Witherspoon and Chris Tucker delivered memorable performances in this one, and there are lots of quotable lines in the middle of it all. You get quotes like, "I smelled your s*** for 22 years, now you can smell mine for five minutes" and "Give me a little for my cataracts." However, the most memorable lines from the movie are, "Bye, Felisha" and "you got knocked the f** out."
Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing was written by Spike Lee, who created a symphony of love and hate from a Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. The story inevitably moved to hate because that seems to be the way the world works.
At the end of the day, this is a tragic movie that somehow manages to make you clap and laugh for most of its runtime. You also get to vibe to some cool music while enjoying quotable catchphrases like, "Hey, Sal, how come there ain’t no brothers on the wall?" and "If Mike Tyson dream of whuppin’ my ass, he better wake up and apologize."
Raising Arizona
The Joel and Ethan Coen-written movie is just as quotable as every other Coen Brothers movie, but like the others, this is a non-stop assault of hilarious moments and lines.
This is a highly-rewatchable movie because you’ll often be laughing through it all while enjoying an ensemble cast that features Holly Hunter and Nicolas Cage. There’s an endless barrage of hilarious lines like, "Well, sometimes I get them menstrual cramps real hard," and "Edwina’s insides were a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase."
His Girl Friday
His Girl Friday was written by Charles Lederer, who found plenty of inspiration in Ben Hecht and Morrie Ryskind’s The Front Page. This is a classic 30s and 40s screwball comedy that goes by so fast that you barely have enough time to enjoy all the savory moments and lines.
Viewers have to be fully alert while seeing this in order to avoid missing the clever quips on offer. You get quotes like, "Walter, you’re wonderful…in a loathsome sort of way," "You’re losing your eye. You used to be able to pitch better than that," and "Take Hitler and stick him on the funny page."
Withnail and I
Bruce Robinson’s Withnail and I features Paul McGann and Richard E. Grant as two drunken characters in what is essentially a knockabout cult comedy. Robinson’s movie became especially popular in Britain, and among folks of theatrical persuasion.
Yet, it also has lots of good stuff for everyday folks as well, characterized by hilarious expressions and quotes such as, "We want the finest wines available to humanity," "we want them here, and we want them now," "My thumbs have gone weird," and "Who says it’s a Camberwell carrot? I do. I invented it in Camberwell, and it looks like a carrot."
Airplane
Airplane was written by Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, and David Zucker, and performed as a spoof of disaster movies. It somehow became a runaway hit in 1980, and like is the case with all their movies, you get to pick up more lines and quotes on your second and third viewing of it.
There are also lots of hilarious jokes interjected into the conversations as well as quotes for days like, "Oh, Stewardess! I Speak jive!," "Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up the court for 48 minutes," and the especially hilarious "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue."
National Lampoon’s Animal House
This one’s a campus comedy classic that was written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney, and Chris Miller. The movie revolves around two college kids trying to get into a fraternity.
Despite how long ago this was released, it remains an influential movie among the new generations today, and it’s also packed with loads of quotable content and lines like, "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?," "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son," and "The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me."
A Night at the Opera
A Night at the Opera was written by Morrie Ryskind and George S. Kaufman, who found inspiration in James Kevin McGuinness’ story.
This was the first movie the Marx brothers made for MGM so it’s only right that it features lots of zingers and lines. Some of which include, "You can’t fool me. There ain’t no sanity clause," "The party of the first part shall be known in this contract as the party of the first part," and "When I invite a woman to dinner, I expect her to look at my face."
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Cameron Crowe’s definitive teen comedy was aided immensely by his unique experience as a Southern California high school undercover student.
A lot of the characters in the movie dropped memorable quotes and lines but most of the best were said by the stoner sage, Jeff Spicoli. He had lines like, "My old man is a television repairman; he’s got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it," "All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I’m fine," "This is U.S. History. I see the globe right there," and "People on ‘ludes should not drive."
Caddyshack
Written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Harold Ramis and Douglas Kenney, this country club classic wasn’t a smash hit at first when it was released in 1980. Fortunately, cable and home video became part of pop culture, and soon enough the hilarious quotes in the movie were everywhere.
You may recognize such quotes as, "There won’t be any money. But when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness," "When you buy a hat like that I bet you get a free bowl of soup," and "You’ll get nothing, and like it!"
Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles is essentially a comedic carpet attack on Hollywood westerns, good taste, as well as racism in general. It features some explosively hilarious dialogue, some of the most hilarious ever written for film.
Unfortunately, not all of that can be written here but we do have some of the good stuff for you, "What’s a dazzling urbanite like you doing in a rustic setting like this?," "Well, to tell the family secret, my grandmother was Dutch," "Mongo only pawn in game of life," and "What in the Wide World of Sports is going on here?"
Jaws
Jaws was written by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb, and it became a successful summer blockbuster thanks to how it captivated audiences by latching on to their fears of what lurks beneath the surface of the sea.
Thanks to comedy writer Gottlieb and an intelligent screenplay from Benchley, this is regarded as one of the most remarkable movie projects ever. The movie had some memorable lines like, "Here’s to swimmin’ with bow-legged women," "Cage goes in the water. You go in the water. Shark’s in the water. Our shark," and of course the infamous, "You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Casablanca
Casablanca is a standout movie that is remarkably fun to watch for a black-and-white movie. What makes it so good is the fact that it features lots of dialogue from the American lexicon, the kind that surprises younger viewers when they finally discover this hidden gem.
Fans of this movie will remember, "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine," "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," and "I’m shocked! Shocked to find that gambling is going on in here."
The Big Lebowski
Written by Ethan and Joel Coen, this stoner noir was a box office flop when it was released in 1998 but then it found success with the home video audience. The surprising thing is how it became successful despite being such a divisive movie.
Fans are generally divided about how great it is, but regardless of where you stand, this is a fun movie filled with lots of quotes for most of its runtime. Quotes like, "Lord, you can imagine where it goes from here, I mean, say what you can imagine where it goes from here" and "That will not stand, y’know? This aggression will not stand, man."
Anchorman
Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s Anchorman is the first entry in a four-movie collection of highly quotable comedic movies that also includes Step Brothers and The Other Guys. It is really just an absurd spoof of local news that became famous with broadcasters who were thrilled to see their job so skewed.
Therefore, Anchorman became inevitable to quote in sporting events and the news. Some of our favorites are, "You stay classy, San Diego," "Where’d you get your clothes…from the toilet store?," and "Sixty percent of the time, it works every time."
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
John Hughes’ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a chronicle of a dedicated truant that left a gigantic impact on pop culture. You get an inkling of the impact through a series of quotes and catchphrases littered throughout the movie’s runtime.
Lines like, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it" stick with you for days. There are also others like, "You’re not dying. You just can’t think of anything good to do," "So that’s how it is in their family," and "When Cameron was in Egypt’s land…let my Cameron go."
Aliens
James Cameron’s Aliens is an action-filled sequel to the original by Ridley Scott. Filled with some sly puncturing of said posturing, and militaristic machismo, this is easily one of James Cameron’s funniest scripts ever.
You get lots of hilarious expressions and quotes like, "Get away from her, you b****," "We’re on an express elevator to hell, going down!," and "Did IQs just drop sharply while I was away?" There are others like, "Why don’t you put her in charge," "I say we take off," and "nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure."
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope was an instant hit that altered the course of Hollywood by changing the way movies are made and viewed. The movie became an instant sensation thanks to an endless barrage of unforgettable lines.
While you can get some better banter in The Empire Strikes Back, most of the best lines are in A New Hope. Memorable quotes like, "Use the force, Luke," "The force is strong with this one," "May the force be with you," and probably the most famous, "These aren’t the droids you’re looking for."
Ghostbusters
Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis’ Ghostbusters has earned a reputation for having an aggressive fandom, but before all that, the original Ghostbusters was an enjoyable comedy-horror mix that featured some of the funniest people in the world.
In the summer of 1984, it wasn’t uncommon to find fans donning T-shirts with some of the best quotes in the movie. Some quotes that stick out are, "Who you gonna call?," "We came, we saw, we kicked its ass," "Human Sacrifice! Dogs and cats, living together," "Back off, man, I’m a scientist," and "This chick Is toast."
Risky Business
Paul Brickman’s Risky Business is a coming-of-age comedy set about an upper-middle-class student that got mixed up in the pimping business. It is essentially a satire of John Hughes’ oeuvre, and it made Tom Cruise famous because it’s one of the best projects he’s ever starred in.
The movie features some great quotes like, "Please, Joel, do what they say: Get off the babysitter," "I’ve got a trig midterm tomorrow," and "I’m being chased by Guido the killer pimp, and Sometimes, you’ve got to say, what the f***."
Coming to America
A story by Eddie Murphy, Coming to America was written by the duo of Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield. In the 1980s, Eddie Murphy was the undisputed king of comedy. Kids loved his stuff so much, they memorized them, and many would sneak in to watch him at the peak of his creative zenith.
The movies were great because they’re so quotable with lines like, "His mama call him Clay, Imma call him Clay," "I want a woman that will arouse my intellect as well as my loins," and "Damn shame what they did to that dog."
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a time-traveling adventure that was a smash hit targeted at Gen X teens and their parents. As a result, it became famous among two generations at once, and everyone could quote the hit movie at will.
While the sequel features clever conversations as well, it is the original that stands out as the greatest. The film had quotes like, "When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you’re gonna see some serious s***" and "So why don’t you make like a tree and get out of here."
Top Gun
Top Gun was a historic movie that aided Tom Cruise’s stardom and did wonders for the US Navy as well. The movie’s plot isn’t the most expansive but the writers made up for the thin plot with quotable dialogue.
Fans go crazy when they hear quotes from the movie like, "That’s right, Ice…man. I am dangerous," "if you screw up just this much…you’ll be flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog s*** out of Hong Kong!," "I’m gonna hit the brakes, he’ll fly right by," and "I feel the need…the need for speed!"
The Princess Bride
William Goldman’s legacy of skillfully crafted scripts has remained even though he passed away in 2018. His collection of work is characterized by structural intelligence and memorable quotes, yet few movies come close to The Princess Bride in terms of abundance of quotes and relatable content.
Most fans will recognize, "Inconceivable!," "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means," "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die," and "Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!"
All the President’s Men
All the President’s Men is a journalistic story of the undoing of Richard Nixon, who had only been out of the White House for two years when the story got adapted.
While the story’s end was well known to everyone in the US, the dialogue and Pakula’s staging were both enough to keep everyone glued to their seats. They used realistic quotes like, "The truth is these are not very bright guys" and "things got out of hand, I guess I don’t have a taste for the jugular you guys have."
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Goldman’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a spicy and modern film that ended with pretty much everyone dying. Goldman added a nice variation to his own story, winning audiences over with a looming sense of doom.
Some of their most quotable lines include, "Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you!," "Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?," "Is this what you call running? If I knew you were going to stroll…," and "Oh good. For a moment there I thought we were in trouble."
Broadcast News
Broadcast News was written by James L. Brooks, who was clearly inspired when he set about writing this dramedy about the endless behind-the-scenes drama that network news affiliates have to navigate every day.
Filled with lots of drama and endless quotes, this is one to be seen multiple times. You'll recognize quotes like, "Wouldn’t this be a great world if insecurity and desperation made us more attractive?," "This is more than Nixon ever sweated," and "It must be nice to always believe you know better, to always think you’re the smartest person in the room."
Die Hard
You might be surprised to see Die Hard on our list because it is an intense action movie but then this is one of the most quoted movies in the past three decades or so. John McClane flew out to Los Angeles to spend some time with his wife and family but then they all got caught up in a situation in the Nakatomi Tower.
It brought something new to the genre with lots of memorable lines like, "Come out to the coast. We’ll get together, have a few laughs…," "Who’s driving this car? Stevie Wonder?," and "After all your posturing, all your little speeches, you’re nothing but a common thief."
Apocalypse Now
Written by Francis Ford Coppola and John Milius, Apocalypse Now is widely regarded as one of the most extraordinary movies ever made, and Coppola’s visuals likewise attract lots of praise.
However, it is the fact that the movie’s incredibly quotable that makes it so great. People are constantly repeating the lines, "Never get out of the boat absolutely god**** right. Unless you were going all the way," "I love the smell of napalm in the morning," and "Charlie don’t surf."
Sweet Smell of Success
This underrated movie was based on Lehman’s novel and set in a scuzzy world of press agents and gossip columnists. It features sharp exchanges and remarks written by two masters of the craft.
Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster delivered some of the most memorable dialogue in this project with lots of malice, lines like, "I’d hate to take a bite out of you, you’re a cookie full of arsenic," The cat’s in the bag, and the bag’s in the river," and "Maybe I left my sense of humor in my other suit."
Dazed and Confused
Dazed and Confused is a Richard Linklater-written reverie that accurately portrays a lot about the mid-70s, including the cars, the culture, the clothes, and the conversations.
There’s a nice cinematic buzz to it, and a lot of iconic catchphrases and lines that have made this highly quotable several decades after its release. You get lines like, "That’s what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age," "Say, man, you got a joint?," and "What are you lookin’ at? Wipe that face off your head, b****."
Mean Girls
With inspiration from Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, Tina Frey set about creating two highly quotable sitcoms so it’s only right that she created well-received movies too.
Mean Girls is an exploration of high school cliquishness that is remarkably funny. Some of the most notable quotes in the movie are, "It’s like I have ESPN or something," "My breasts can always tell when it’s going to rain," "At your age, you’re going to have a lot of urges, You’re going to want to take off your clothes and touch each other," and of course the most famous line of all, "Get in, loser. We're going shopping!"
Dr. Strangelove
This was released a couple of years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, as the threat of nuclear war loomed around the world. It is against this backdrop that Stanley Kubrick’s movie dropped, and not everyone found it amusing at first, and not even Peter Sellers’ antics could take the edge off the black comedy.
Once the Cold War ended, the force of the movie reduced significantly but it remains a quotably funny movie that can also be super-scary. Quotes like, "Don’t say that you’re more sorry than I am, because I’m capable of being just as sorry as you are," "This is the War Room!," and "You’re gonna have to answer to the Coca-Cola Company," all make the movie rewatchable.