Some call it the "Mandela Effect," but really, movies have been getting misquoted since the dawn of Hollywood. Usually, the quotes are close to correct, but there is still something clearly off about them. It can even lead to huge arguments when the more famous version of a quote is wrong (We're looking at you Darth Vader). Here is our list of movie quotes that people always get wrong.
"Luke, I am your father." - The Empire Strikes Back
It may be the most famous misquote of all time. At the end of Empire Strikes Back, after Luke and Darth Vader have battled to the edge, and with Luke hanging on for dear life, Darth takes a moment to tell him who his father is. "Luke, I am your father," is not what Vader says, however. Luke tells Vader that Obi-Wan told Luke that Vader had killed his father, and Vader says, "No, I am your father!"
"Play it again, Sam." - Casablanca
Yes, Sam is the piano player. And yes "As Time Goes By" is Rick and Ilsa's song in Casablanca, but at no point in the movie does anyone say "Play it again, Sam." Instead, what most people are misremembering is Ilsa requesting the song when she first walks into Rick's Cafe. What she actually says is "Play it once, Sam"
“Beam me up, Scotty." - Star Trek
"Beam me up, Scotty" has become one of the most iconic quotes from the entire Star Trek franchise. The only problem is that no one, not Captain Kirk, not Spock, not Bones... no one, ever actually used that line in the whole history of the TV or in any of the movies that followed. It is, more or less, completely made up. Kirk does say "Scotty, beam us up," in one episode, but that's as close as anyone gets.
“We’re going to need a bigger boat.” - Jaws
This one is close. Very close. The line Brody actually says in Jaws is "You're gonna need a bigger boat." The confusion may come from Clerks, where Randal misquotes it as "We're."
"Hello, Clarice" - The Silence Of The Lambs
This one is hard for people to believe, but Hannibal Lector doesn't say "Hello, Clarice" when the two characters meet in Silence Of The Lambs. It wouldn't even make sense, as they have yet to formally meet, so he would never be so informal. Instead, he simply greets her with "Good morning."
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” - Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
This one is a little tricky. In Disney's Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, the witch is often quoted as saying "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" That is, in fact how it is written in the original story that the movie is based on, including in the original German. BUT, in the movie, the quote is actually "Magic, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"
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“Do ya feel lucky, punk?” - Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood) doesn't actually say the exact line "Do ya feel lucky, punk?” in Dirty Harry. It's close, but what the hard-boiled detective says is "You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky? ' Well, do ya punk?”
"Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!" - The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre is a legendary movie starring Humphrey Bogart, but the most famous line from the movie actually comes from the leader of a Mexican gang they come across as they search for the treasure. The line "Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!" has been misquoted many, many times over the years in many movies and in pop culture. The original line in the movie is, "Badges? We don't have no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges!"
“If you build it, they will come.” - Field Of Dreams
This is another one that people always just miss by a nose. When you hear the famous quote that the voice from beyond in Field Of Dreams says, usually it's "If you build it, they will come." It probably is due to the long line of cars at the end of the movie that coming to watch the baseball and save the farm. Instead, what the mysterious voice actually says is "If you build it, he will come," meaning Kevin Costner's character's father.
“I’m king of the world!” - Titanic
This one is really getting pedantic, but while we're here, let's get it right. When quoting Leonardo DiCaprio's character in Titanic, most people say, "I'm king of the world!" What the character actually says on the prow of the ill-fated ship is "I'm the king of the world!" Yeah, pedantic, we know.
“Mrs. Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?” - The Graduate
The Graduate is a stone-cold classic about a college guy having an affair with the older friend of his parents. There is no question what is going on in the scene where this famous line comes from, but doesn't actually go down like this. Instead of asking, "Mrs. Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?" what Ben (Dustin Hoffman) actually declares is, "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me!"
“Mama always said, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates.’” - Forrest Gump
This is one that we're really splitting hairs with, but while we're doing this list, we might as well get them all out of the way. In Forrest Gump, Gump actually says "My mama always said life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." It's usually misquoted as "life is like a box of chocolates."
"Cowabunga, dude." - The Simpsons
This is a pretty odd one. It's pretty clearly a mashup of two different IPs that both came to prominence around the same time. Bart Simpson has never said "Cowabunga, dude" in the whole history of The Simpsons. "Cowabunga, dude" comes from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While Bart does say "Aye Carumba," he doesn't ever quote the Turtles.
"Houston we have a problem" - Apollo 13
This one goes back way further than 1995's Apollo 13. This line, or the real line, was first uttered by Jack Swigert during the actual Apollo 13 mission in 1970. What Swigert actually said was, "Houston, we've had a problem here." Captain Jim Lovell repeated it in real life. In the movie, all you hear is Hanks say "Houston we have a problem." So the movie is actually doing what everyone else had been doing, misquoting the now famous line.See Also15 Movie Quotes That Are Instantly Recognizable
“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore" - The Wizard Of Oz
“I don't think we're in Kansas anymore" has become one of the most famous misquotes in Hollywood history. It's been said in movies and TV shows for decades. Of course, it's not what Dorothy actually said in The Wizard of Oz. The exact quote is actually, "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.”
"Greed is good." - Wall Street
In Wall Street, Michael Douglas plays one of the best villains of the 1980s, and his character, Gordon Gekko, definitely believes that greed is good. That's not exactly how it expresses the sentiment. In the famous speech, Gekko says, "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good." We've all shortened to what many believe is now the actual quote.
"A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do" - Hondo
“A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do," has become more than just a famous line by the legendary John Wayne. It's become a modern mantra. Unfortunately, like the other famous lines on this list, it's quoted incorrectly The real line said by The Duke is "A man oughta do what he thinks is best." Quite different, don't you think?
"What if I told you..." - The Matrix
One of the most famous misquotes ever, and it's all due to modern memes is Morpheus saying "What if I told you..." in The Matrix. Though the meme's photo does come from the scene where Morpheus is telling Neo about the matrix, he never actually says those words at any point.
“I’m ready for my close-up now, Mr. DeMille.” - Sunset Boulevard
The ending of Sunset Boulevard is one of the most iconic scenes of all time. As Gloria Swanson, as NormaDesmond, makes her way down the stairs, she turns to the camera and says “I’m ready for my close-up now, Mr. DeMille.” Except, that's not exactly what she says, we get it backwards. What she actually says is, "Alright, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." Same effect, but slightly different wording, just like most of the quotes on this list.
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JawsSilence of the LambsTitanicforrest gumpThe SimpsonsThe Wizard of OzThe Matrix
Hugh Scott
Syndication Editor
Hugh Scott is the Syndication Editor for CinemaBlend. Before CinemaBlend, he was the managing editor for Suggest.com and Gossipcop.com, covering celebrity news and debunking false gossip. He has been in the publishing industry for almost two decades, covering pop culture – movies and TV shows, especially – with a keen interest and love for Gen X culture, the older influences on it, and what it has since inspired.He graduated from Boston University with a degree in Political Science but cured himself of the desire to be a politician almost immediately after graduation.
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