Folks really seemed to like one of my first weekly lists, the one dealing with memorable one-word lines of film dialogue — a single word so distinctive that you could actually identify the movie.
So, after months of mulling and pondering what creative thing I could do as a follow-up, I decided to break new ground and offer a list of similarly memorable two-word movie lines.
I’m sure there are other worthy two-word contenders, so feel free to contribute your nominees in the Comment section below.
But first, a treat for film-lovers everywhere: 100 great movies lines packed into just 200 seconds, courtesy of Liquid Generation.
On to the list:
One movie leads the way with three two-word lines:
• “Young Frankenstein,” with “Abby Normal,” “What hump?” and “What knockers!”
Then come two films with two lines each:
• “Animal House,” with “Food fight!” and “Toga! Toga!”
• “The Wizard of Oz,” with “Toto, too?” and “I’m melting!”
And then here’s the rest of my nominees in alphabetical order:
• “Attica! Attica!” — “Dog Day Afternoon”
• “Hello, Gorgeous” — “Funny Girl”
• “Here’s Johnny!” — “The Shining”
• “Hey, Stella!” — “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Marlon Brando, that former Minnesota schoolboy who attended Shattuck Military Academy, delivers one of the most memorable scenes in film history as Stanley Kowalski.
• “It’s Alive!” — “Frankenstein”
• “La-dee-da, la-dee-da.” (at the 1:20 and 5:55 marks) — “Annie Hall”
• “My Precious.” — “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”
• “They’re here.” — “Poltergeist”
• “Yeah, Baby” — “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery”
• And a Minnesota favorite: “You betcha.” — “Fargo”
What fun! I went back and re-read the one-worders. Three-worders next?
I think you missed a classic two worder:
“It’s Chinatown.”
Then there was the two word sign in High Anxiety on the gate of the mental institution:
“Keep In”
Attaboy, Clarence!
…and “Zuzu’s petals”! (Both from “It’s a Wonderful Life”)
Great call on “Chinatown,” Bill. Actually, I’ve got that quote on my preliminary list of memorable five-word movie lines as: “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.” That five-word line finished No. 74 on the American Film Institute’s Top 100 quotes. http://www.afmsp.org/ (PDF)
One of the toughest things, I’ve found, is figuring out what constitutes the actual “line of dialogue.” For example, from memory, I had always thought of Brando’s line from “Streetcar Named Desire” as just one word, him yelling “Stella.” But when I checked the clip, it was most often “Hey, Stella.”
You could also make the argument not to end the “Stella” quote there but keep on with the scene. It’s unlikely film fans will ever agree on the details or where to draw the line, but I agree wholeheartedly that the “Chinatown” line is marvelous and sums up the movie beautifully.
“Redrum! Redrum!”
Keyser Söze
On the lighter side:
Hakuna Matata! (Disney’s the Lion King)
Phone home…. (E.T.)
Yippee-kay-yai-yay, Motherf***er! (was this Die Hard?)
Oh Behave! (Austin Powers)
K-Mart sucks.
I think that says it all but if context from Rain Man is needed:
Dr. Bruner: Raymond, wouldn’t you feel more relaxed in your favorite K-Mart clothes?
Charlie: Tell him, Ray.
Raymond: K-Mart sucks.
Dr. Bruner: Oh, I see.
Another fav…
The horror. – Apocalypse Now
Patrick Swayze’s character in “Red Dawn”:
“You lose.”