Movies in the ’70s took a turn away from previous decades, exploring a more gritty list of topics. The concepts had an edge and the words uttered on-screen drummed up some controversy. But that was the culture of the time, which also incorporated the emergence of rock and roll and the free love movement. Reins that previously held Hollywood back were released to allow for a series of films that invited viewers to a look into the unconventional.
Crime movies like “The Godfather” (1972) and “The Godfather Part II” (1974) explored the themes of family and loyalty but also of betrayal and the corruption of power. Director Francis Ford Coppola didn’t stay on the surface and ventured into the intricate relationships between family members embedded in the realities of organized crime.
There were films like “A Clockwork Orange” (1971) and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975) that explored mental illness and sadism, revealing the underbelly of the beast that is the human psyche. While some films are unforgettable in how touching they are, others remain ingrained in minds because of how shocking they are.
Films like “The Exorcist” (1973) left a lasting mark on anyone who managed to watch it through. Still, there was room for levity in films like “Willy Wonka” (1971) and “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (1978). There were more lighthearted, heartwarming films as well, like “Grease” (1978) and “The Muppet Movie” (1979), which made for wonderful palate cleansers during the decade.
To compile this list of the most unforgettable lines from ’70s movies, 247 Tempo reviewed opinion-based sites like Reddit and Fandom as well as IMDb, which is a comprehensive site that details each movie’s characters and actors. (To dive into some lesser known ’70s movies, check out The Most Underrated Movies of the ’70s.
“I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
Source: Archive Photos / Getty Images
- Character: Don Corleone
- Played By: Marlon Brando
- Movie: “The Godfather” (1972)
- Directed By: Francis Ford Coppola
“Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Character: Michael Corleone
- Played By: Al Pacino
- Movie: “The Godfather Part II” (1974)
- Directed By: Francis Ford Coppola
“The power of Christ compels you!”
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Character: Father Merrin
- Played By: Max von Sydow
- Movie: “The Exorcist” (1973)
- Directed By: William Friedkin
“If the good Lord had intended us to walk, he wouldn’t have invented roller skates.”
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Character: Willy Wonka
- Played By: Gene Wilder
- Movie: “Willy Wonka” (1971)
- Directed By: Mel Stuart
“This is Ripley, last survivor of the Nostromo, signing off.”
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Character: Ellen Ripley
- Played By: Sigourney Weaver
- Movie: “Alien” (1979)
- Directed By: Ridley Scott
“I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
- Character: Colonel Kilgore
- Played By: Robert Duvall
- Movie: “Apocalypse Now” (1979)
- Directed By: Francis Ford Coppola
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Character: Martin Brody
- Played By: Roy Schneider
- Movie: “Jaws” (1975)
- Directed By: Steven Spielberg
“You talkin’ to me?”
Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
- Character: Travis Bickle
- Played By: Robert De Niro
- Movie: “Taxi Driver” (1976)
- Directed By: Martin Scorsese
“Attica! Attica!”
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Character: Sonny Wortzik
- Played By: Al Pacino
- Movie: “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975)
- Directed By: Sidney Lumet
“May the Force be with you.”
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Character: General Dodonna
- Played By: Alex McCrindle
- Movie: “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (1977)
- Directed By: George Lucas
“Love is too weak a word for what I feel.”
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
- Character: Alvy Singer
- Played By: Woody Allen
- Movie: “Annie Hall” (1977)
- Directed By: Woody Allen
“I’m singin’ in the rain. Just singin’ in the rain!”
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Character: Alex DeLarge
- Played By: Malcolm McDowell
- Movie: “A Clockwork Orange” (1971)
- Directed By: Stanley Kubrick
“Tell me about it, stud.”
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Character: Sandy Olsson
- Played By: Olivia Newton-John
- Movie: “Grease” (1978)
- Directed By: Randal Kleiser
“You’ve gotta ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?”
Source: Michael Reaves/Getty Images
PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 05: Actor Clint Eastwood looks on from the 18th hole during the 3M Celebrity Challenge prior to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links on February 05, 2020 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
- Character: Henry Callahan
- Played By: Clint Eastwood
- Movie: “Zodiac” (1971)
- Directed By: David Fincher
“Easy Miss, I’ve got you.”
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Character: Clark Kent, Superman
- Played By: Christopher Reeve
- Movie: “Superman” (1978)
- Directed By: Richard Donner
“You’re out of order! You’re out of order! The whole trial is out of order!”
Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
- Character: Arthur Kirkland
- Played By: Al Pacino
- Movie: “And Justice for All” (1979)
- Directed By: Norman Jewison
“Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown.”
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Character: Lawrence Walsh
- Played By: Joe Mantell
- Movie: “Chinatown” (1974)
- Directed By: Roman Polanski
“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.”
Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- Character: Howard Beale
- Played By: Peter Finch
- Movie: “Network” (1976)
- Directed By: Sidney Lumet
“Soylent Green is people!”
Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- Character: Thorn
- Played By: Charlton Heston
- Movie: “Soylent Green” (1973)
- Directed By: Richard Fleischer
“Just follow the money.”
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Character: Deep Throat
- Played By: Hal Holbrook
- Movie: “All the President’s Men” (1976)
- Directed By: Alan J. Pakula
“I love it. God help me, I do love it so. I love it more than my life.”
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Character: Patton
- Played By: George C. Scott
- Movie: “Patton” (1970)
- Directed By: Franklin J. Schaffner
“Toga! Toga!”
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Character: John ‘Bluto’ Blutarsky
- Played By: John Belushi
- Movie: “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (1978)
- Directed By: John Landis
“I find your lack of faith disturbing.”
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Character: Darth Vader
- Played By: James Earl Jones
- Movie: “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (1977)
- Directed By: George Lucas
“It’s showtime, folks!”
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Character: Joe Gideon
- Played By: Roy Schneider
- Movie: “All That Jazz” (1979)
- Directed By: Bob Fosse
“Yo, Adrian! I did it!”
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
- Character: Rocky Balboa
- Played By: Malcolm McDowell
- Movie: “Rocky II” (1979)
- Directed By: Sylvester Stallone
“Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Character: Princess Leia Organa
- Played By: Carrie Fisher
- Movie: “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (1977)
- Directed By: George Lucas
“I knew it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart.”
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Character: Michael Corleone
- Played By: Al Pacino
- Movie: “The Godfather Part II” (1974)
- Directed By: Francis Ford Coppola
“Just a flesh wound.”
Source: Courtesy of Cinema 5 Distributing
- Character: Black Knight
- Played By: John Cleese
- Movie: “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” (1975)
- Directed By: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
“I was cured, all right.”
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Character: Alex
- Played By: Malcolm McDowell
- Movie: “A Clockwork Orange” (1971)
- Directed By: Stanley Kubrick
“Revenge is a dish best served cold.”
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Character: Vito Corleone
- Played By: Marlon Brando
- Movie: “The Godfather” (1972)
- Directed By: Francis Ford Coppola
“Death has come to your little town, Sheriff.”
Source: Courtesy of Aquarius Releasing
- Character: Dr. Samuel Loomis
- Played By: Donald Pleasence
- Movie: “Halloween” (1978)
- Directed By: John Carpenter
“Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Character: Dean Vernon Wormer
- Played By: John Vernon
- Movie: “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (1978)
- Directed By: John Landis
“They’re all gonna laugh at you.”
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
- Character: Margaret White
- Played By: Piper Laurie
- Movie: “Carrie” (1976)
- Directed By: Brian De Palma
“Well, I tried, didn’t I? Goddammit, at least I did that.”
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
- Character: Randle Patrick McMurphy
- Played By: Jack Nicholson
- Movie: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975)
- Directed By: Milos Forman
“Can you dig it?”
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Character: Cyrus
- Played By: Roger Hill
- Movie: “The Warriors” (1979)
- Directed By: Walter Hill
“You’re madness Diana…virulent madness…and everything you touch dies with you.”
Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- Character: Max Schumacher
- Played By: William Holden
- Movie: “Network” (1976)
- Directed By: Sidney Lumet
“Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection.”
Source: Courtesy of Associated Film Distribution (AFD)
- Character: Kermit the Frog
- Played By: Jim Henson
- Movie: “The Muppet Movie” (1979)
- Directed By: James Frawley
“It’s pronounced Frankensteen!”
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Character: Dr. Frederick Frankenstein
- Played By: Gene Wilder
- Movie: “Young Frankenstein” (1974)
- Directed By: Mel Brooks
“I want my $200.”
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Character: Addie Loggins
- Played By: Tatum O’Neal
- Movie: “Paper Moon” (1973)
- Directed By: Peter Bogdanovich
“This is this. This ain’t something else. This is this. From now on, you’re on your own.”
Source: Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 07: Actor Robert De Niro speaks during the Tribeca Festival Opening Night Reception at Tribeca Grill on June 07, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)
- Character: Michael
- Played By: Robert De Niro
- Movie: “The Deer Hunter” (1978)
- Directed By: Michael Cimino
“Man, you come right out of a comic book.”
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Character: Williams
- Played By: Jim Kelly
- Movie: “Enter the Dragon”
- Directed By: Robert Clouse