The idea via MLight, and you can follow the trail back from her if you like.
Below find twelve quotations from among my favorite movies. Most are listed on IMDB.com. Guess the film from the quotation, without doing any "research," and comment with your guesses.
I have tried to limit my quotations to movies I think a lot of people have seen, but you will have to be the judge. If you're stumped and want some semi-legal research help, go here for a list of likely suspects.
#6 should be easy for anyone over the age of 19. #4 should be easy for the 14-19 year old crowd.1. "You know, I have a theory that hieroglyphics are just an ancient comic strip about a character named Sphinxy." (When Harry Met Sally; Moomin Light got this one)
2. "Great, kid. Don't get cocky." Star Wars (the original, ditto)
3. "I guess some mistakes you never stop paying for."
4. "Ohh, what's really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you still have broken it if I hadn't said anything?"
5. (In an over-the-top fake Southern accent) "Darryl, you want anything special for dinner tonight?" *Not in IMDB.com, but I love the quotation, so it stays.
6. "K-mart sucks!" (Rain Man; Bro Matt wins a pancake breakfast for getting this one; "Charlie Babbitt made a joke.)
7. "Yeah, I was in the show. I was in the show for 21 days once - the 21 greatest days of my life."
8. "We've become a race of Peeping Toms. What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change. Yes sir. How's that for a bit of homespun philosophy?"
9. "You know, the root of the word Miller is a Greek word. Miller come from the Greek word "milo," which is mean "apple," so there you go. As many of you know, our name, Portokalos, is come from the Greek word "portokali," which mean "orange." So, okay? Here tonight, we have, ah, apple and orange. We all different, but in the end, we all fruit." *The supersentimental quotation of the day. (My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding; This one was guessed by Iulia, who also does a great Gus Portokalos accent)
10. "Damn! We're in a tight spot!" (O Brother Where Art Thou; Michael Leddy guessed this one)
11. (In an over-the-top French accent) "Sir, do you have a license for your monkey?" *Also not in IMDB.com, for some strange reason. But there is this bit of dialogue, which comes from the same scene: "Are you blind?" "Yes!"
12. "Three weeks from now, I will be harvesting my crops. Imagine where you will be, and it will be so. Hold the line! Stay with me! If you find yourself alone, riding in the green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium, and you're already dead!" (Gladiator; don't know why this one languished so long before Bro Matt got it correct)
BONUS: "Mr. Kazu sent me, premium fantasy. My stockings. Rip them." (Lost in Translation, kudos again to Professor Leddy)
And as they say in New York City, enjoy.
10: O Brother, Where Art Thou? That line -- by coincidence it seems -- echoes Stanley Lombardo's translation of Odyssey 10, in which Odysseus says "We're in a really tight spot."
The bonus is from Lost in Translation.
I am esp. curious about 9. You've seen a lot of movies I haven't!
Posted by: Michael Leddy | April 16, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Michael, Correct on both! Yes, by coincidence, unless the Coen brothers used Lombardo in their screenplay.
As for #9, maybe you haven't seen it, but you've heard of it, and I dare say it is the most obvious quotation of the bunch.
I'm sure you must have seen #2, but the quotation is probably going to be lost on everyone except big fans.
Posted by: DF | April 16, 2008 at 01:25 PM
I hear 1 in Billy Crystal's voice - When Harry Met Sally?
and I can hear 2 in my head in Harrison Ford's voice. Star Wars.
Posted by: M Light | April 16, 2008 at 03:50 PM
#9 is definitely and without a doubt from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I am frequently summoned to reenact Mr. Portokalo's etymology of "kimono", which is also funny, but I had forgotten about these lines.
Hope you're well! Are you?
Posted by: Iulia | April 17, 2008 at 07:40 AM
Moom, You got 'em, and Iulia, correct as well. The easy ones are done, I think, though #6 should be easy for anyone of that era.
Posted by: DF | April 17, 2008 at 08:00 AM
Good fun. I think I know a few. #12 is Gladiator (seems like an easy one). #7 is Field of Dreams. #6 is Rainman. Yes? #8 sounds really familiar.
See you soon
Posted by: Bro Matt | May 22, 2008 at 04:37 PM
Matt, #12 and #6 correct; #7 incorrect, but yes, it's a baseball movie.
Posted by: DF | May 25, 2008 at 11:17 PM
#11- The Return of the Pink Panther. Clouseau is pretending to be a blind man "undercover" with an organ grinder's monkey.
Posted by: Gyre | May 27, 2008 at 06:37 PM
3. Bridget Fonda from "Point of No Return"
Posted by: M.C. Rodgers | January 31, 2015 at 07:34 PM
11. Return of the Pink Panther Peter Sellers never actually says "Do you have a license for your monkey". He says to the blind man, "Do you have a license" ...for playing music in public for money.
Posted by: M.C. Rodgers | January 31, 2015 at 07:45 PM
7. Bull Durham ? I believe Kevin Costner said to Tim Robbins.
Posted by: M.C. Rodgers | January 31, 2015 at 07:51 PM
MC Rodgers: #3 may be correct, though I have never seen it. I was thinking of what Roy Hobbs says in "The Natural" about his original sin as a young baseball player. #7 is correct. #11 is also correct. Thank you for playing our game.
Posted by: DWF | February 04, 2015 at 10:30 PM