“I’m walking here!”
The scene: As Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight are walking through the street, a cab accidentally drives through the scene that they are filming. They filmed this part of the movie outdoors in the street.
This area was closed off for filming during the day, but the taxi driver was unaware of this and drove in the area anyway. Hoffman took this unpredictable event as an opportunity to deliver one of the best one-liners in cinema history. “Midnight Cowboy” was released in 1969. Despite having been released more than 50 years ago, the film is still highly revered today.
Full Metal Jacket
“Full Metal Jacket” succeeded as an anti-war movie when so many failed, thanks to it brilliantly showcasing the contradictions of military service and war. The director Stanley Kubrick, added a whole new character to the film after watching an impressive improvisation home video of him insulting marines.
R. Lee Ermey got cast in this film because of his impressive performance. The director, Stanley Kubrick, liked his rendition so much that he only wrote about 50% of the lines for this character. He wanted Ermey to improv the rest as the movie was being filmed, which worked in this film’s favor.
Star Trek
"All I've got left is my bones."
The scene: Kirk, who was played by Chris Pine, and Bones, who was played by Karl Urban, meet for the first time when they sit by one another on a spaceship. Bones is telling Kirk how much he despises outer space.
After ranting about how dangerous and terrifying outer space truly is, Karl Urban delivers this final line that sold the scene. It is one of the most well-regarded films of all time, and this scene specifically was carried by Bones’ character.- This came from the Oscar-winning “Star Trek” film that was released in 2009.
Caddyshack
"What an incredible Cinderella story!" The scene: The main character Carl Speckler (who was played by Bill Murray) is ‘lopping the heads off bedded tulips’ when he practices his golf swing. “Caddyshack” was first released in the early 80s and featured some big names like Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase and of course the famed Bill Murray.
One of the best comedy actors in film history, Murray, is known for his one-liners. In this scene, he was so focused on beheading the flowers that it made for one of the funniest moments in cinema history. The Cinderella reference he makes has basically become a popular saying until this day, thanks to Murray's brilliant improvisation.
Blade Runner
"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 Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die." The scene: Roy Batty saved Rick Deckard’s life, but then ultimately caused his own death. He gives his last words in the rain about to die.
Rutger Hauer improvised lines about his short life that were incredibly meaningful and downright poetic. It is almost difficult to believe he came up with it on the spot, but he did. He didn’t believe the original script correlated to his character, so he made the lines up, surprising everyone on set.