THE TOP TEN GREATEST MOVIE & TV QUOTES OF ALL TIME

This is my definitive list of top ten dialogues spoken in various movies/tv shows.

You will not find cheesy quips here like “I’ll be back” or “I will make him an offer he cannot refuse”, for quotable as they may be,  my choice is driven by the fact that the quotes below capture the pinnacle where the genius of writing, directing and acting converges on that one moment which gets inescapably imprinted on your sub-conscious and keeps rearing its head time and again to remind you that you have truly experienced something which will be a part of you forever.

So here they are, in no specific order:

01.             “That’s what she said” – Steve Carell – “THE OFFICE” – This is the trademark retort of politically incorrect character of the boss Michael Scott, in response to anything said by a female subordinate which could contain an oblique reference to something said by a female consort in a sexual setting.  It captures in itself the genius of Carell in what is a defining character portrayed by him in the most realistic manner.

02.             “I didnt just meet you, I’ve known you my whole fuckin life” – James Gandolfini – “THE SOPRANOS” – Said by Tony Soprano to his mistress Gloria Trillo when it finally dawns on him that she is a chronic depressive personality incapable of giving or feeling joy and is thus a mirror image of his own mother. The moment captures the intensity of emotion felt by Soprano on realizing his self destructive tendency in getting attracted to women who symbolize his dysfunctional relationship with his mother as well as the pinnacle of destruction of his inflammatory relationship with Trillo.

03.             “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn” – Clark Gable – “GONE WITH THE WIND” – Said by Rhett Butler at the end, when Scarlett O’ Hara asks him where she will go, what she will do without Rhett, indicating that Rhett has finally given up on her. The moment captures the vacuum like indifference all of us have felt at one point or the other, when a relationship we have been fighting to preserve with all our might, just seems dead and beyond redemption.

04.             “What’s the virtue of a proportional response?” – Michael Sheen – “THE WEST WING” – Said by US President Jed Bartlett in the briefing room when advised by the Army chief on counter attach options US could launch as proportional response to an attack by a foreign state on US troops. This question asked in a matter of fact manner by the President invokes thoughts on the complexity of foreign policy decisions in this modern era and how people are left speechless when questioned on the basis behind something which is always taken as a given.

05.             “A life, Jimmy, you know what that is? It’s the shit that happens while you’re waiting for moments that never come.” – Clarke Peters – “THE WIRE” – Said by Detective Lester Freamon to his colleague summing up a detective’s cynical outlook on life after having seen everything in the line of work. The moment captures the undertone of the whole show, with the moral and cultural degradation that has been wreaked on the society with passage of time.

06.             “You may not love me, but you will respect me” – James Gandolfini – “THE SOPRANOS” – Said by Tony Soprano to Christopher Moltisanti when the latter is acting out against the Boss of the family in fits of insubordination on account of his feeling betrayed by Tony in their personal relationship. This is one of the most intense televised moments where you feel how easy it is to mix up personal and professional feelings and act in a totally self absorbed manner without empathizing with the other’s position.

07.             “I do not want to kill you….you complete me” – Heath Ledger – “DARK KNIGHT” – Said by The Joker to Batman, when asked why he wants to kill Batman. This captures the classic principle of good versus evil, black versus white and how we one is incomplete/irrelevant unless seen in the context of another.

08.             “You can’t handle the truth!!!” – Jack Nicholson – “A FEW GOOD MEN” – Said by Colonel Jessup on a witness stand while being questioned persistently on the true happenings at the military base leading to the murder of one of his officers. Nicholson depicts in this moment the syndrome that people tend to go through when they experience a feeling of god like stature by letting their position and job to go to their head and feel it unnecessary to explain or be held accountable by any fellow humans as they see them as inferior beings.

09.             “I ain’t no suit-wearin’ businessman like you… you know I’m just a gangsta I suppose…” – Wood Harris – “THE WIRE” – Said by Drug lord Avon Barksdale to his right hand man, Stringer Bell, when the latter is trying hard to put a clean front to their drug operations and transform themselves into legitimate businessmen for public’s consumption. This moment captures the intense reality and simplicity in thinking of Barksdale as a gangster who shoots straight and says what he is thinking.

10.             “I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart!” – Al Pacino – “THE GODFATHER II” – Said by Michael Corleone to his brother Fredo, while planting a kiss on his cheek, indicating that Michael is aware that Fredo is the person who betrayed the family. The muted monotone in which Pacino says this and the act of kissing his brother shows not only the genius of his acting but also the pain felt by his character on being betrayed by his brother and having to have him executed.