The 1980s was such a golden decade for movies. Nearly 50 years later, the films are still quoted and talked about. Some older ’80s films even have spinoffs and sequels in the 21st century. For instance, “The Karate Kid” now has a spinoff show centering around Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso’s rival.
This is just one example of how ’80s movies continue to stay important. Not only are movies and TV series getting spinoffs, but some quotes and movie lines are still repeated. You may not even realize you are quoting an ’80s film. A popular movie line from the ’80s is, “I am your father.” You don’t have to be a Star Wars fan to understand the reference. It’s constantly being said and used in other media.
Another popular quote from the 1980s is “inconceivable” from the film “The Princess Bride.” It’s just one word, but it has been in people’s heads for decades. It’s hard not to immediately picture the scene between Vizzini and Inigo Montoya in the film, where Montoya questions if Vizzini even understands the meaning behind the word. He says, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” These though are just a few iconic movie quotes of the ’80s. There are a lot more.
To compile this list of the most unforgettable lines from ’80s movies, 24/7 Tempo consulted various entertainment and lifestyle sources. Some of these sources include Screen Rant, Rotten Tomatoes, and IMDb. We also reviewed forums and comments on Reddit about people’s favorite ’80s movie quotes.
Follow along to discover a list of the most unforgettable lines from ’80s movies. (Movies from the 1960s also had great lines. After this article, check out the most unforgettable lines from ’60s movies.)
“Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!”
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Movie: “The Princess Bride” (1987)
- Character: Inigo Montoya
- Actor: Mandy Patinkin
“E.T. phone home.”
Source: Universal/Getty Images
Henry Thomas talking with ET in a scene from the film 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial', 1982. (Photo by Universal/Getty Images)
- Movie: “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982)
- Character: E.T.
- Actors: Pat Welsh, Steven Spielberg, and Kayden Green
“Feed me! Feed me!”
Source: Courtesy of The Filmgroup
- Movie: “Little Shop of Horrors” (1986)
- Character: Audrey II
- Actor: Levi Stubbs
“Here’s Johnny!”
Source: Photo by Warner Brothers/Getty Images
- Movie: “The Shining” (1980)
- Character: Jack Torrance
- Actor: Jack Nicholson
“Say hello to my little friend!”
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Movie: “Scarface” (1983)
- Character: Tony Montana
- Actor: Al Pacino
“I feel the need. The need for speed.”
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Movie: “Top Gun” (1986)
- Character: Pete “Maverick” Mitchell
- Actor: Tom Cruise
“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Movie: “Back to the Future” (1985)
- Character: Emmett “Doc” Brown
- Actor: Christopher Lloyd
“I’ll be back.”
Source: Courtesy of TriStar Pictures
- Movie: “The Terminator” (1984)
- Character: The Terminator
- Actor: Arnold Schwarzenegger
“No, I am your father.”
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Movie: “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980)
- Character: Darth Vader
- Actor: James Earl Jones
“Some people believe that when you die there is a wonderful light. As bright as the sun but it doesn’t hurt to look into it. All the answers to all the questions you want to know are inside that light. And when you walk to it… you become a part of it forever. Now, some people die, but they don’t know they’re gone.”
Source: Courtesy of MGM/UA Entertainment Company
- Movie: “Poltergeist” (1982)
- Character: Dr. Lesh
- Actor: Beatrice Straight
“Be afraid. Be very afraid.”
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Movie: “The Fly” (1986)
- Character: Veronica “Ronnie” Quaife
- Actor: Geena Davis
“Oh, fudge! … Only I didn’t say fudge. I said THE word. The big one. The queen mother of dirty words. The F-dash-dash-dash word.”
Source: Courtesy of MGM/UA Entertainment Company
- Movie: “A Christmas Story” (1983)
- Character: Ralphie Parker
- Actor: Peter Billingsley
“Frankly, Scarlett, I don’t give a damn.”
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Movie: “Clue” (1985)
- Character: Wadsworth
- Actor: Tim Curry
“So tell me, Eddie, is that a rabbit in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”
Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- Movie: “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988)
- Character: Dolores
- Actor: Joanna Cassidy
“She gave me a pen. I gave her my heart, and she gave me a pen.”
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Movie: “Say Anything” (1989)
- Character: Lloyd Dobler
- Actor: John Cusack
“If it bleeds, we can kill it.”
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Movie: “Predator” (1987)
- Character: Dutch
- Actor: Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”
Source: Courtesy of Vestron Pictures
- Movie: “Dirty Dancing” (1987)
- Character: Johnny Castle
- Actor: Patrick Swayze
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time… like tears in rain… time to die.”
Source: Courtesy of The Ladd Company
- Movie: “Blade Runner” (1982)
- Character: Roy Batty
- Actor: Rutger Hauer
“Carpe Diem, boys. Seize the Day. Make your lives extraordinary!”
Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- Movie: “Dead Poets Society” (1989)
- Character: John Keating
- Actor: Robin Williams
“You lost today, kid. But that doesn’t mean you have to like it.”
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Movie: “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989)
- Character: Fedora/Garth
- Actor: Richard Young
“That’s why they call them crushes. If they were easy, they’d call ’em something else.”
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Movie: “Sixteen Candles” (1984)
- Character: Jim Baker
- Actor: Paul Dooley
“You had to be big shots, didn’t you? You had to show off. When are you gonna learn that people will like you for who you are, not for what you can give them?”
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Movie: “Weird Science” (1985)
- Character: Lisa
- Actor: Kelly LeBrock
“We came, we saw, we kicked its ass.”
Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
- Movie: “Ghostbusters” (1984)
- Character: Peter Venkman
- Actor: Bill Murray
“Money’s only something you need in case you don’t die tomorrow.”
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Movie: “Wall Street” (1987)
- Character: Carl Fox
- Actor: Martin Sheen
“We’re all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that’s all.”
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Movie: The Breakfast Club” (1985)
- Character: Andrew Clark
- Actor: Emilio Estevez
“I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley.”
Source: Courtesy of Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Movie: “Airplane!” (1980)
- Character: Dr. Rumack
- Actor: Leslie Nielsen
“I don’t ask for much. I don’t ask to be rich, and I don’t ask to be famous, and I don’t ask to play centerfield for the New York Yankees. I just want to get married and have a wife, and a house, and I want to have a kid, and I want to go see him be a tooth in the school play!”
Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures
- Movie: “Splash” (1984)
- Character: Allen Bauer
- Actor: Tom Hanks
“Listen to me, mister. You’re my knight in shining armor. Don’t you forget it. You’re gonna get back on that horse and I’m gonna be right behind you, holding on tight, and away we’re gonna go, go, go!”
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Movie: “On Golden Pond” (1981)
- Character: Ethel Thayer
- Actor: Katharine Hepburn
“Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K”
Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures
- Movie: “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (1989)
- Character: Ted
- Actor: Alex Winter
“Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Movie: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986)
- Character: Ferris Bueller
- Actor: Matthew Broderick
“Wax on. Wax off.”
Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
- Movie: “The Karate Kid” (1984)
- Character: Mr. Miyagi
- Actor: Pat Morita
“Goonies never say die!”
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Movie: “The Goonies” (1985)
- Character: Mikey
- Actor: Sean Astin
“In the beginning, it is always dark.”
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Movie: “The NeverEnding Story” (1984)
- Character: The Childlike Empress
- Actor: Tami Stronach
“Nerds, jocks. My side, your side. It’s all bulls**t. It’s hard enough just trying to be yourself.”
Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures
- Movie: “Can’t Buy Me Love” (1987)
- Character: Ronald Miller
- Actor: Patrick Dempsey
“Well, that’s the story. So if your air conditioner goes on the fritz or your washing machine blows up or your video recorder conks out, before you call the repairman, turn on all the lights, check all the closets and cupboards, look under all the beds, ’cause you never can tell – there just might be a gremlin in your house.”
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Movie: “Gremlins” (1984)
- Character: Randall Peltzer
- Actor: Hoyt Axton
“Sorry, folks! We’re closed for two weeks to clean and repair America’s favorite family fun park. Sorry, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh!”
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Movie: “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983)
- Character: Marty Moose
- Actor: Harold Ramis
“Velcro. Next to the Walkman and Tab, it is the coolest invention of the 20th century!”
Source: Courtesy of New World Pictures
- Movie: “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1985)
- Character: Lynne Stone
- Actor: Helen Hunt
“What Jefferson was saying was, Hey! You know, we left this England place ’cause it was bogus; so if we don’t get some cool rules ourselves – pronto – we’ll just be bogus too! Get it?”
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Movie: “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982)
- Character: Jeff Spicoli
- Actor: Sean Penn
“End, begin, all the same. Big change. Sometimes good. Sometimes bad.”
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Movie: “The Dark Crystal” (1982)
- Character: Aughra
- Actor: Billie Whitelaw
“I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave.”
Source: Courtesy of TriStar Pictures
- Movie: “Labyrinth” (1986)
- Character: Jareth
- Actor: David Bowie
(The ’80s was a fun time for movies. Click here for the best ’80s movies that will never get old.)