Top 10 Movie Quotes of All Time

Good morning, Vietnam - and welcome to Jurassic Park!

As one might guess from my ever-subtle hints, this week's topic is iconic lines from the world of cinema. This topic has been suggested to me a few times, and they had me at hello - it was simply an offer I couldn't refuse. If you have a bad feeling about this and suspect that you can't handle the truth and end up disagreeing with my choices, I must warn you that frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. In any case, come next Thursday, I'll be back.

With that out of the way, here are the ground rules for today's list: I'm limiting my choices to individual quotes, which means that longer speeches (as well as conversations that have a series of great consecutive lines) are omitted. A line can make it onto my list for various reasons: the actor's delivery, the context behind the line and its meaning as well as its specific wording, the line's memorability and iconic status as well as the emotional or possibly humorous reaction it causes have all been taken into account. Here are the very best quotes that I have come across in the world of cinema.

Before we get started, here are my honorable mentions:

"I don't think there's one word that can describe a man's life" (Citizen Kane, 1941)

"I do wish we could chat longer, but...I'm having an old friend for dinner" (Silence of the Lambs, 1991)

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads" (Back to the Future, 1985)

"Talk to me, Goose" (Top Gun, 1986)

"Well, nobody's perfect" (Some Like It Hot, 1959)

"You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain (The Dark Knight, 2008)

10. "Show me the money!" (Jerry Maguire, 1996)

Not only is this line from Cameron Crowe's beloved sports rom-com insanely memorable and quotable in everyday life - its delivery also makes for the foundation of the film's most memorable scene, story-wise. As titular sports agent Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is desperately holding on to his last remaining client Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), the eccentric Tidwell decides to test just how far Maguire is willing to go in order to keep him as a client. As Maguire is on the phone with Tidwell while in his office, the athlete demands that Maguire yells "SHOW ME THE MONEY!" into the phone.

Maguire's initial delivery isn't loud and believable enough, so the football star pressures him more and more until the protagonist is shouting the line from the top of his lungs, effectively making a fool of himself to any colleagues within earshot. As funny as the scene is, it also is a testament to the impulsive nature of Gooding Jr.'s character and the desperate state of the title character, making Cruise's belting of the famous line just as dramatic as it is entertaining.

9. "With great power comes great responsibility" (Spider-Man, 2002)

By now, it's a cliché and a classic, and not wonder why. The quote may have lost a lot of its meaning due to being repeated so much in popular culture, but when you really think back to watching Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man movie for the first time and hearing those iconic words, they do carry a lot of weight. The quote is a good guideline to anyone with power, as we have all seen how power can corrupt a person on many levels.

But it is especially fitting for a character like Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire), a kind-hearted soul who has his super-powers thrust upon him, and who struggles to accept them and his role as a superhero who strives to do good in even the toughest of circumstances. We've seen the character tested by darker impulses in many subsequent films, just like we've seen villains who get their powers in a similar manner but who grow power-hungry and violent on their journey, which really makes one think that Peter Parker might've gone down a very different path if his wise Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) hadn't given him this meaningful lesson.

8. "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you!" (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003)

Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) may be the main character with the most screen time, while Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) may be the fiercest warrior in this fantasy trilogy, and the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) may be the most powerful character who impacts the story in a major way. But J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings books, has made it quite clear that you've missed the point if you don't see the modest and loyal hobbit Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) as the story's greatest hero.

While more grand-seeming characters are off fighting with various destinies and prophecies in mind, this farmer's son from the Shire just wants to be a good friend and do his part so that the world could return to a peaceful state. Peter Jackson's cinematic adaptation of the trilogy does the character justice, as he begins his journey as a side character yet slowly the viewer starts to realize how he is more pure of heart and more important to the story than anyone else, just like in the books. This all comes to a point of climax in the third and best film, where Sam musters the utmost courage while spitting out this legendary line, which really brings home the point on just how loyal of a friend and how good of a person he is. Samwise the Brave indeed...

7. "I have a very bad feeling about this" (Star Wars, 1977)

Sure, technically it's not just one quote in one scene, as the main reason for this line's iconic nature is its repetition throughout the Star Wars franchise. All three films in the original trilogy, as well as the prequels, and the episodes VII-IX trilogy, contain a version of this quote at some point, which is a brilliant running gag and thematic device. While its original utterance, spoken by Luke (Mark Hamill) when approaching the Death Star, may be the most memorable, the quote has had a lot of further mileage afterwards.

Characters like Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) have voiced their various bad feelings about things like space slugs, Jabba The Hutt's (Larry Ward) palace and being in danger of getting roasted by Ewoks. One of my favorite Star Wars details is that in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which walks the line of being canon Star Wars yet not being an official 'Episode', someone begins to say the quote but is interrupted. Similarly, non-episode spin-off Solo: A Star Wars Story features a young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) amusingly shouting "I have a really good feeling about this!".

6. "Come with me if you want to live" (Terminator 2: Judgement Day, 1991)

If memorability and iconic status were the only factors, the Terminator franchise would have a few lines that would tower above this personal favorite of mine, such as "I'll be back" and "Hasta la vista, baby". But this one is almost as iconic, and while the others were just cool-sounding things for Schwarzenegger to say without having too much deeper meaning, "Come with me if you want to live" conveys a major turn in the franchise's plot and in the Terminator's character arch in a brilliantly badass fashion.

In the original The Terminator (1984), the T-800 played by Mr. Schwarzenegger is the villain, sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) before she gives birth to the boy who would grow up to be humanity's savior in the war against machines. In the even-better sequel, however, there's a major twist at the beginning: the advanced T-1000 Terminator (Robert Patrick) has been sent to kill a young John Connor (Edward Furlong), and the T-800 from the first film was re-purposed and sent by the humans in order to protect John. This gave Arnold the opportunity to play the hero, although it took some getting used to: when Sarah first sees that familiar face, she is sure that the T-800 has come there to kill her. However, with these eight legendary words, the Terminator conveys that he is now on the good side, making for a thrilling team-up.

5. "We accept the love we think we deserve" (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, 2012)

If I would've allowed longer monologues on this list, the life-changing final words of this film's last scene would've made it onto first place. But even when looking at shorter quotes, my sixth-favorite film of all time has a real gem to offer (also, if I were ranking the all-time funniest quotes, I reckon the exchange of "Dad, can I have thirty dollars?" and "Twenty dollars? What do you need ten dollars for?" would've made the top five).

When stressing over the fact that his love interest Sam (Emma Watson) is dating a guy who treats her like shit, the ever-curious and empathetic main character Charlie (Logan Lerman) asks for advice from his favorite teacher (and my role model from the world of fiction) Bill (Paul Rudd). Bill responds with these hard-hitting words, originally from Stephen Chbosky's novel that the film is based on, that have really resonated with me and helped me understand many of the people in my life (myself included) and the things that don't seem to make sense in the world. Equally important is the follow-up, as Charlie asks if we can make people know that they deserve more, to which Bill responds "We can try". Later in the film, Charlie repeats the quote to Sam herself, in a very emotional sequence.

4. "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" (Casablanca, 1942)

Choosing one iconic quote from Casablanca is like choosing one least favorite Republican senator - there's just such an incredible array to choose from! On one hand, the musician in me has incentive to choose "Play it, Sam. Play As Time Goes By", while the romantic in me is fond of "We'll always have Paris", and the actor in me adores how Humphrey Bogart delivers "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine". Still, none of those dialogue diamonds are my #1 favorite from the most quotable film ever made: that honor goes to "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship".

Being said at the tail end of the film, I can't discuss the line too much without giving away major spoilers in case some of my readers have been meaning to catch this flick for the last eighty years but just haven't gotten around to it yet. What I will say is that the quote and the way it's spoken in its context will put a huge smile on your face, and is the most fitting quote one could imagine for such a scene. I've used it several times in life when making new friends, only to tragically discover that most of my peers aren't up to date on their Casablanca linguo.

3. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it" (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986)

One might not expect the perhaps greatest words of wisdom across cinema to come from a goofy 80's flick about ditching school. But that happens to be the case - in the midst of all the iconic class-cutting shenanigans of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, there is also a lot to learn from the film's surprisingly profound themes. Throughout the film, one starts to realize that Ferris (Matthew Broderick) isn't pulling all of this off just to be a bad boy and to fuck with the system - there's a much deeper layer to his plan. His best friend, Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), has over-achieved his way into constantly feeling sick and having zero energy.

Caring about his friend, Bueller realizes that what Cameron really needs is a day of impulsive fun, without the pressures of his parents' expectations and the stress of schoolwork. In all his zany rule-breaking, I believe Ferris Bueller to be one of the wisest movie protagonists of all time on a certain level, and all of that is condensed into these iconic words, that everyone should remind themselves of every now and then: Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

2. "I'm the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy" (The Departed, 2006)

This quote, spoken by Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) isn't as profound as this list's #3, as iconic as #4 or as thematically swell as #5. It's just the greatest comeback I've ever come across, and snappy dialogue at its very finest. Replying to a lower-level officer asking "Who the fuck are you?" in a challenging manner, Wahlberg's character delivers this unforgettable response, one that is as hilarious as it is satisfying. 

1. "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the war room!" (Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 1964)

Ah, the dramatic irony. This iconic line is beyond hilarious, while being poignant to the maximum. One of the central themes in this anti-war Stanley Kubrick classic is the hypocrisy of the people who make the decisions in war, as they send young men to kill and die for their cause while they themselves manage to "stay above it" and not face the consequences. The absurdity of this phenomenon is epitomized in this quote, where the contrast between the place that is literally called the war room, and the fact that it is no place for "fighting", is truly striking. No other quote will make a pacifist like myself pump his fist with appreciation quite as much as this one.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week, as I go deep into storytelling-analysis mode and rank the top 10 greatest villain archetypes.