Based in part on this list, jointly produced by the British Library and BBC Radio London:
[quote]
[ul][li]1. “You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off” - The Italian Job; [/li][li]2. “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn” - Gone with the Wind; [/li][li]3. “We want the finest wines available to humanity, we want them here and we want them now” - Withnail and I; [/li][li]4. “You talkin’ to me?” - Taxi Driver; [/li][li]5. “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” - Apocalypse Now; [/li][li]6. “I’ll have what she’s having …” - When Harry met Sally; [/li][li]7. “All my life I wanted to be a gangster” - Goodfellas; [/li][li]8. “I do wish we could chat longer. But I’m having an old friend for dinner” - Silence of the Lambs; [/li][li]9. “Infamy, Infamy, they’ve all got it in for me” - Carry on Cleo; [/li][li]10. “He’s not the Messiah - he’s a very naughty boy” - Life of Brian.[/ul][/li][/quote]
Yes, I know it’s a very British-oriented list, so let’s avoid the “I can’t believe they put that line there!” arguments. What, though, would you vote for as the greatest single lines in film history? Me, I’m a Withnail and I fan, so I’m torn between “I mean to have you, boy, even if it must be burglary!” and “As a youth, I used to weep in butcher’s shops.”
Actually, now that I think about it I should’ve also added a “favourite lines from films that were never actually said” section.
See, that way I could’ve had Michael Caine’s (non) line from Zulu, “Don’t chuck them bloody spears at me!” and Harrison Ford’s “He only had one arm!” (The Fugitive). I was crushed to discover that my memory was wrong and that Ford doesn’t actually say that line.
“Do you not know that King Kong the first was just three foot six inches tall? He only came up to Faye Wray’s belly button. If God could do the things that we can do he’d be a happy man.” - The Stunt Man
rexnervous is it from Event Horizon? When Laurence Fishburne (Why do I always think it should be “Fishbourne”?) is talking about fire in space?
For my favorite, I’d have to go with the line I hear most in actual conversations:
Walter’s “Am I wrong?” from The Big Lebowski, but solidly half the dialogue from that film could be mentioned here.
Or, from Reservoir Dogs
Mr Pink: Why do I have to be Mr. Pink?
Joe: Cause you’re a faggot!