100 of the greatest movie quotes from the past 100

100 of the greatest movie quotes from the past 100 years
Story by Liz Barrett Foster • 9h
Famous movie quotes from the year you were born
©John Springer Collection/CORBIS // Corbis via Getty Images
There are thousands of movies and countless lines of dialogue, and new iconic lines are introduced each year. Some tell you everything you need to know about the character, like when Ryan Gosling utters Ken's "My job… it's just beach" comment in 2023's "Barbie." Other times, it's a few words that sum up the storyline, as in "Twisters"—the rallying cry of "We got twins! Twins!" featured prominently in trailers for the 2024 hit disaster film.

Other movie quotes have withstood the test of time to the point that they've become part of our vernacular. Take the "Love Story" line, "Love means never having to say you're sorry," James Bond's iconic drink order, "Martini—shaken, not stirred," or Clint Eastwood's threatening, "Make my day" in "Sudden Impact."

Stacker researched a number of online movie resources to compile a slideshow of famous movie quotes from the last 100 years. We looked at AFI's 100 Years ...100 Movie Quotes, Hollywood Reporter's list of the most misquoted films, the IMDb database was a valuable resource for character and actor names, and Screencraft and ScreenCrush were additional resources. For some silent films from the 1920s, where quotes aren't readily available online, we popped some popcorn and watched the artistry of Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford.

In equal measure to significant movie quotes that carry plots forward are great lines that have no real tie-in to the storylines. These utterances were never meant to stand out or mean much, but they stuck in the minds of moviegoers, nevertheless. Lines such as "I'll be back" in "Terminator," and "Dishes are done, man" in "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead." Some popular lines were never even meant to be in a movie in the first place. Like when Dustin Hoffman hits the hood of a cab in "Midnight Cowboy," yelling, "I'm walkin' here!" Hoffman later said that he hit the cab in frustration because it got in the way while filming.

Hearing a familiar movie quote can transport us back in time to the first time we enjoyed a first date at the drive-in, a friend's night out at the movies, or family Netflix night with popcorn. These lines have also become part of the American lexicon; being drawn upon as retorts, terms of endearment, or as inside jokes for generations to come. It's for this reason that so many of us recall movie quotes in much the same way we recall song lyrics. Whether written in black-and-white during a silent movie, sung to the audience in a musical, voiced by a colorful animated character, or delivered by a big-screen heartthrob, a memorable movie quote helps tie the audience to a specific time and place.

Keep reading for a trip down memory lane and to see which of these movie quotes you know by heart.