50 of the Most Memorable Movie Quotes of All Time

Memorable movie quotes

“When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” —Billy Crystal as Harry in When Harry Met Sally…

“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” —Vivien Leigh as Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire

“Elementary, my dear Watson.” —Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

“Go ahead, make my day.” —Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan in Sudden Impact

“You complete me.” —Tom Cruise as Jerry Maguire in Jerry Maguire

“You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” —Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark in The Help

“Yo, Adrian!” —Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in Rocky

“Just keep swimming.” —Ellen DeGeneres as Dory in Finding Nemo

“I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.” —Leslie Nielsen as Dr. Rumack in Airplane!

Iconic movie lines

“Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.” —Karolyn Grimes as Zuzu in It’s a Wonderful Life

“I’m the king of the world!” —Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson in Titanic

“Houston, we have a problem.” —Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell in Apollo 13

“To infinity and beyond!” —Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story

“As if!” —Alicia Silverstone as Cher in Clueless

“I’m just one stomach flu away from my goal weight.” —Emily Blunt as Emily Charlton in The Devil Wears Prada

“Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?” —The Evil Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

“If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you.” —Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills in Taken

“Wax on, wax off.” —Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid

“If you build it, he will come.” —Unknown, said to Kevin Costner as Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams

Famous movie quotes

“I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” —Julia Roberts as Anna Scott in Notting Hill

“You make me want to be a better man.” —Jack Nicholson as Melvin Udall in As Good as It Gets

“I wish I knew how to quit you.” —Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain

“Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys.” —Robin Williams as John Keating in Dead Poets Society

“That’ll do, pig. That’ll do.” —James Cromwell as Arthur Hoggett in Babe

“Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” —Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Emmett Brown in Back to the Future

“Well, it’s not the men in your life that counts, it’s the life in your men.” —Mae West as Tira in I’m No Angel

“Oh, no, it wasn’t the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast.” —Robert Armstrong as Carl Denham in King Kong

“My Mama always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.'” —Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump

“I don’t want to survive. I want to live.” —Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave

“Badges? We ain’t got no badges! We don’t need no badges! I don’t have to show you any stinking badges!” —Alfonso Bedoya as Gold Hat in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Unforgettable movie quotes

“It’s not the years, honey. It’s the mileage.” —Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark

“There’s no place like home.” —Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” —Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

“We’ll always have Paris.” —Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine in Casablanca

“It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” —Christian Bale as Batman in Batman Begins

“Get busy living, or get busy dying.” —Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption

“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” —Kevin Spacey as Roger “Verbal” Kint in The Usual Suspects

“Only one thing counts in this life—get them to sign on the line which is dotted.” —Alec Baldwin as Blake in Glengarry Glen Ross

“They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!” —Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart

“There’s no crying in baseball!” —Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan in A League of Their Own

Popular movie quotes

“Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” —Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather: Part II

“Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.” —Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

“Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” —Ali MacGraw as Jennifer Cavilleri in Love Story

“I’m not bad. I’m just drawn that way.” —Kathleen Turner as Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit

“You had me at ‘Hello.'” —Renée Zellweger as Dorothy Boyd in Jerry Maguire

“Try not. Do—or do not. There is no try.” —Frank Oz as Yoda in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

“The seaweed is always greener in somebody else’s lake.” —Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian in The Little Mermaid

“By protecting others, you save yourselves.” —Takashi Shimura as Kambei Shimada in Seven Samurai

“Calling it your job don’t make it right, boss.” —Paul Newman as Luke in Cool Hand Luke

“As my plastic surgeon always said, if you gotta go, go with a smile.” —Jack Nicholson as The Joker in Batman

Why trust us

At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. Then, we went the extra step and had Robin Honig Willens, a longtime fact-checker and research chief for TV Guide, Cosmopolitan and other outlets, make sure these movie quotes are factually accurate. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.