100 unforgettable movie quotes

100 unforgettable movie quotes from 100 years of Hollywood history
Story by Molly Pennington


100 greatest movie quotes from 100 years of film
©Michael Ochs Archives // Getty Images

Notable movie lines become part of our real lives, working their way into pop culture, parodies, and becoming so ingrained in our lexicon, we may even forget where they came from in the first place. Take, for example, the phrase "a case of the Mondays." Today, we all know exactly what that means, a reference to the dreaded return to work after a blissful two days away from the office. But did you remember that that phrase actually originated from the 1999 movie "Office Space"?

While it's too soon to say what quotes will define 2025, James Gunn's "Superman" has brought us a few choice lines, from the inspirational ("I'm as human as anybody") to the relatable (Where's the dog?!"). Whether they make you laugh, gasp, cry, or cringe, movie lines go down in cinematic history for all kinds of reasons. In 2005, the American Film Institute compiled a list of the greatest movie quotes based on feedback from more than 1,500 leaders in the creative community, including film artists, critics, and historians. There have, of course, been many worthy additions over the last decade and a half that warrant future consideration: Lines like "I drink your milkshake," from "There Will Be Blood," or "I wish I knew how to quit you," from "Brokeback Mountain," were delivered shortly after the cut-off date.

But for now, the list, presented here by Stacker, spans the 75 years between 1927 and 2002. The quotes in AFI's list were selected from a ballot that included 400 choices from American films that have deeply circulated throughout popular culture over the years to expand their historical legacies. The earliest film quote comes from 1927's "The Jazz Singer," with "Wait a minute, wait a minute—you ain't heard nothin' yet," a slick self-reference to its status as the first "talkie." The final year represented is 2002's "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" with the line "My precious" delivered by Andy Serkis' unforgettable Gollum.

1939 saw the most movie quotes on the ballot, the year that powerhouse films "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone with the Wind" premiered. "Casablanca" is the film with the most quotes in the top 100—a whopping six—whittled down from 10 quotes. Three of the lines are delivered on the foggy tarmac where Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman say goodbye with iconic panache.

Read on to see how many of the quotes from the top 100 you already know by heart.