Memorable Movie Quotes for Life and for Fun

For many of us, movies provide an escape from the pressures of our everyday lives. We experience fantasies and situations that come from the imagination and genius of writers and movie producers – for our enjoyment. But another aspect of movies that is beneficial to our lives is the same as that of a good book – quotes that strike you to your core and send a small shiver down your neck.

A good quote in a movie is one that becomes infamous, and lives in the hearts and minds of millions for decades. How many times have you heard the phrases “Here’s Johnny!”, or “I’ll be back”? Movie producers and writers have struggled to uncover the secret recipe of a such timeless and memorable quotes – unfortunately it has a lot to do with timing and the context of the story that make the quote work. It isn’t so much the message or the quote itself – it’s what the quote means within the story that is being told. This is what makes them strike each of us so deeply and in so many ways.

I’ve always had a list of favorite quotes. Some of them were from movies my wife and I watched when we were first dating in college – quotes that we would use during our times together, and those experiences in our own lives gave the quotes even that much more meaning for us later on. This is the magic of a good movie quote and why they live on.

I would like to share some of my own favorite quotes with you – and share some of the experiences those quotes created in my own life, and some of the strong feelings they generated regarding important social issues that we all have very strong opinions about. As we go through some of these, contemplate the deeper meaning behind the quote – as well as what these quotes might have meant to you in your own life.

“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying.”
– Tim Robbins, Shawshank Redemption

Aside from the fact that the quote was from a book written by one of my favorite authors, it also really struck me as significant because I heard it at a point in my life when I was trying to make a decision regarding a career choice – and the usual fear, anxiety, and uncertainty that comes along with that. The quote above by the character Andy Dufresne as he is considering a risky and life-endangering escape from Shawshank speaks to the important decisions we often face in life. We are afraid to step outside of our comfort zone and take a risk. Andy’s statement makes the point, that if we never get up and take action – all we will be doing is existing in a comfortable life until we die. We have a simple choice – either get busy living, or get busy dying.

Prince Charming: So you do know where he is?
Pinocchio: Oh, on the contrary. I’m possibly more or less not definitely rejecting the idea that in no way with any amount of uncertainty that I undeniably do or do not know where he shouldn’t probably be, if that indeed wasn’t where he isn’t. Even if he wasn’t where I knew he was, that’d mean I’d really have to know where he wasn’t.
– Cody Cameron as Pinocchio, Shrek 2

While the quote by Pinocchio certainly had everyone in stitches, adult and child alike, it struck a nerve because so many of us know people who talk like that. Not only lawyers who are skilled in the art of saying volumes while saying nothing – but also the politicians who avoid directly questions with the kind of skill and evasive wording that is perfectly exemplified in this quote.

“Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.”
– Barry Pepper as Pvt. Jackson, Saving Private Ryan

This quote, while seeming ironic, speaks volumes to the conflict of not only soldiers in war, but for those who are forced to defend themselves through use of deadly force. We could imagine this being a prayer spoken daily by police fighting the drug war in the inner city. There are roles in society where the defense of innocent civilians requires that brave men and women must fight. However many of these are god-fearing, and are only doing their job. In this light, the prayer to god by a sniper as he prepares his rifle for the gruesome job of killing no longer appears so ironic. Although the irony that struck me when I heard this quote wasn’t that a trained killer was praying to god – but that a godly man was being forced to commit murder in order to protect his country and his family from the scourge of the German threat.

Col. Nathan Jessep: You want answers?
Lt. Kaffee: I think I’m entitled.
Col. Nathan Jessep: You what answers?!

Lt. Kaffee: I want the truth!
Col. Nathan Jessep: You can’t handle the truth!
– Jack Nicholson, A Few Good Men

This was one of those powerful moments in a film when you wanted to see this powerful man, this soldier, punished for the terrible things that he’d done…however in this poignant moment of the film, you caught a glimpse into the terribly pained and conflicted inner world of this man’s mind. In his view of the world, a view of which citizens are kept protected from by the elite, the world of a soldier is one in which sickening inhumanities must be committed in order to keep citizens of the free world safe. In the view of Col. Jessep – there are soldiers, who have accepted the simple necessity of murder and killing in order to keep society stable – and then there is everyone else…citizens who remain blissfully unaware of this horrible truth.

“If I were the man I was five years ago – I’d take a flame thrower to this place! Out of order? Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?”
Al Pacino, Scent of a Woman

This was one of the greatest quotes in recent movie history. Leading up to this point, we were presented with the arrogant headmaster of an institution that prided itself on a litany of values, similar to a corporate mission statement that does nothing more than fill up a page with platitudes. However, in this scene, at a table on the stage, sat a man who was a decorated war hero, blind from his injuries. In this moment of the film – we’re reminded that individuals who place themselves on a pedestal in institutions or corporations don’t necessarily reflect the values they claim to. We are reminded that in our own lives – true integrity and honor doesn’t come from what you say, but from what you do. This was an important lesson in my own life, at the time I watched this movie, because I was entering a new phase in my life and my career, and I knew that such ethical questions would arise. This quote stands as a warning to anyone who would assign themselves certain values that they’ve never actually lived or reflected in their own lives.

“What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word, and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That’s a pretty good idea. I’ll give you the moon, Mary.”

– Jimmy Stewart, It’s a Wonderful Life

This quote holds a special place in my heart, simply because, like so many other families in the world, it has become a Christmas tradition to watch this film every year. However it’s a tradition that started when my wife and I were first dating in college. The first time I watched this film, we were sitting on my dorm room floor, warmed by a sleeping back that we’d thrown over ourselves, and when this line was read – my wife-to-be turned to me, and without saying a word she leaned over and up and planted a soft kiss on my cheek. The moment has been ingrained into my memory forever – as has the quote that preceded it.

” No, ma’am. We at the FBI do not have a sense of humor we’re aware of.”
Tommy Lee Jones, Men in Black.

This was simply a classic one-liner. I had just finished writing a research piece that involved interviewing some federal officials, and while watching a repeat of this movie years after release, that one line had me doubled over with laughter. For anyone who has ever had a conversation with a police officer or an FBI agent, the lack of humor and contradictory phrases like the one above is a staple of their culture. The law enforcement community seriously has very little humor. And sometimes – that lack of humor is outrageously funny.

“It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we have a full tank of gas, half a packet of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses…HIT IT!”
– Dan Aykroyd, Blues Brothers

This quote is one that has been stuck in my head for years. Again – it’s a college thing. Every time my wife-to-be and I were finished studying for finals and had half a week to blow…we started to contemplate doing something wild. Typically it would be around 1 a.m. in the morning, we’d be driving around in her small hatchback Ford. As we contemplated heading immediately throwing caution to the wind and heading 150 miles to Bar Harbor…where we knew the sea would help to soothe our stress, one of us would suddenly turn to the other and repeat Dan Aykroyd’s quote. As we laughed at the memory of one of the greatest films in movie history – we hit the accelerator and sped off toward the ocean without a care in the world.