Some movie quotes are so good that they become part of our lexicon
The American Film Institute has compiled a list of the top movie quotes of all time and as you will see, it’s pretty good. You won’t see many surprises here because I bet you have heard them all before and have probably used them in your everyday life.
What makes a great quote?
A great movie quote is one that you instantly know what movie it came from and who said it. Some you will know where it came from and who said it without ever seeing the movie. For instance, you might have never seen the 1950 movie “All About Eve” with Bette Davis and Marilyn Monroe, but I will also bet that you have heard the quote before.
Some great movie quotes are instant classics
I recall seeing 1983’s Sudden Impact with Clint Eastwood and coming out of the theater with my friends quoting the great Dirty Harry Callahan wanting to know if you want to make my day. Even President Ronald Reagan, used the quote a few times himself when referring to anyone that he found irksome.
All of these quotes are pre 1985
Not too surprisingly, all of the top 13 greatest movie quotes of all time hail from movies that were made before 1984 and that means no movies that were made in almost the past 40 years. It proves that great movie quotes all stand the test of time. Two of the quotes go all the way to 1939, that was 84 years ago and are movies that are still available on network television on an annual basis.