By Alyssa Miller · May 29, 2024
All around the world, films are quoted every day between friends, family, and strangers on the internet. While movies are a visual medium and a classified art form, they are typically remembered for how quotable they are. From casual conversations with friends to internet memes, iconic movie quotes connect millions of people to the monoculture.
We have all seen these movies, reciting hilarious quotes as inside jokes or touching quotes that can lift our spirits in hard times. In case you need some inspiration while writing memorable dialogue, let’s dive into the most quotable movies ever made.
Screenplay by: L. Frank Baum, Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf
With its timeless character, universal themes, and cultural impact, The Wizard of Oz is one of the most quotable movies of all time and has been for nearly 100 years. This beloved classic has connected generations of audiences, ensuring that its quotes remain relevant and recognizable across different age groups.
Screenplay by: Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola
From its over-serious tones that add to the tension and shocking violence, The Godfather is easily one of the most memorable crime dramas ever. Lines like “Leave the gun, take the cannoli” and “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse” have become iconic for their significance within the film and cultural impact, often referencing discussions about power, loyalty, and the mafia genre.
Read More: Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo Delve Into the Godfather Screenplay
Screenplay by: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, and Michael Palin
There are two types of people in this world: those who haven’t seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and those who can recite most of the dialogue from memory. This hilarious feature from the British comedy troupe has memorable lines that have ended up on merchandise, memes, and so much more. This is British absurdist comedy at its finest, letting us in on the joke as King Arthur attempts to find the Holy Grail in a bizarre Medieval England.
Screenplay by: George Lucas
Star Wars may have been the first film to unite science fiction fans and the monoculture through its iconic catchphrases and one-liners (I mean, the film has its holiday, May 4, which is inspired by “May the Force be with you”). From the wisdom of Obi-Wan Kenobi to the banter between Han Solo and Princess Leia, these quotes launched a pop culture phenomenon that has become part of everyday speech.
Screenplay by: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker
Surely I can’t be serious? But I am, and don’t call me Shirley. Airplane! is a parody disaster movie that pokes fun at the decades of melodramatic films that came before it. As writer Jerry Zucker told Vulture, many of the most quotable jokes come from the team sitting down and writing gags in response to the overly dramatic dialogue in older movies. It also helps when Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen, and Peter Graves deliver each line with a level of sincerity or react just as the audience would in certain situations to make the iconic dialogue so quotable.
Screenplay by: Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale
Back to the Future has left its mark on Hollywood, making it one of the few movies that actively strengthen the relationship between cinema and its audience. With an almost perfect script that serves as a time capsule for both the 1980s and 1950s, the banter, spot-on comebacks, genre puns, perfectly timed verbal errors, and threats that only make sense to Biff Tannen have all come together to create cinematic history.
Screenplay by: William Goldman
With a star-studded cast delivering unforgettable one-liners, The Princess Bride is still an extremely quotable film, even after nearly 37 years since its debut. From the outrageous criminal mastermind Vizzini to Inigo Montoya repeatedly stating “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die,” every single character in the film is identifiable by William Goldman’s iconic screenplay.
Screenplay by: Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary
30 years later, Pulp Fiction introduced the mainstream to Quentin Tarantino’s and Roger Avary’s fresh, quick, witty cinematic voice. The unique screenplay is an incredible read, but the film’s quotes are why the film is one of the best. The line deliveries from the cast set a cool, laid-back tone for the wild ride audiences are about to go on. It is how the lines quickly and easily paint a picture of each character and their situation.
Read More: Quentin Tarantino’s Methods of Writing a Dialogue Scene
Screenplay by: Eric Roth
Forrest Gump is a Hallmark card of a movie. It is chock-full of quotable lines as Forrest moves through his life, meets the most interesting people in the US, and finds love with Jenny. The film is a tale of love, loss, and redemption, thanks to the excellent and memorable writing of Eric Roth.
Screenplay by: John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Joe Ranft, Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow
Similar to Forrest Gump, almost everyone has seen Toy Story. It is still one of the best-animated movies ever made and an enjoyable watch for parents and children alike. Parents, who have been watching the movie since its debut in 1995, quote lines while watching, and kids follow suit, echoing their parents’ footsteps. It’s not surprising that Toy Story quotes have stayed with fans for so long, making this movie and its sequels so beloved.
Screenplay by: Ethan and Joel Coen
The Coen Brothers are masters at screenwriting, turning out instant classics like Fargo and O Brother, Where Art Thou? that have left us with side stitches from laughing too hard. But it’s the ever-abiding Dude and his quest for a rug that ties the room together, making The Big Lebowski the Coen Brothers’ most quotable movie.
Read More: The Dudes Abide: The Must-Read Scripts of the Coen Brothers
Screenplay by: Jim Uhls and Chuck Palahniuk
Fight Club punched its way into our lives as the anti-capitalistic bro film that made pop culture want to rebel. It was the ‘90s, after all, and people wanted to lean into the pessimism of it all. Fight Club masterfully did this, capturing the cinematic strangeness of a man’s psyche breaking as he fights against a system that has hollowed him out. We all feel like we are meeting people at strange times in our lives, and Fight Club has quotes that sum up those feelings.
Screenplay by: Tina Fey
Mean Girls is the film that launched thousands of GIFs. With its own holiday (October 3, for the uninitiated), distinctive color, and quotable lines for all generations, Tina Fey’s 2004 teen comedy is a quote goldmine thanks to Fey’s sharp script filled with witty and hilarious one-liners. While the most quoted lines from the film (“She doesn’t even go here!” or “On Wednesdays, we wear pink”), it’s the deep cuts that you can’t help but quote to your friends to get a laugh.
Screenplay by: Will Ferrell and Adam McKay
Like Mean Girls, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is one of the most quotable movies from the 2000s. With Will Ferrell delivering each line with a level of blasé suave that the audience and Christina Applegate’s Veronica Corningstone know is pure absurdity dressed in misogyny, the iconic dialogue and multitude of quotable lines made its mark on audiences.
Screenplay by: Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and John C. Riley
With two emotionally stunted grown men learning to live together with their newly married parents, gags and quotable lines are bound to happen. Step Brothers is a salute to immaturity, indulging in adolescence that can be ignorant and ridiculous in both the best and worst ways.
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While there is no clear formula for creating one of the most quotable movies ever, crafting one-liners that highlight the character’s personality can leave a lasting impression on the audience. One-liners can also set up an iconic sequence that leaves the audience with a feeling of epicness, as if everything was leading to this moment, creating an instant quotable moment that will last as long as cameras keep rolling.
Read More: 10 Movies With the Best Dialogue and Famous Movie Quotes
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