Top 10 Iconic Movie Quotes of the 80s

Who doesn’t love The Running Man? This is the perfect line to kickstart our top 10 iconic movie quotes of the 80s with. Ok, so I do have to say that this is a two parter, as the line we’re talking about follows another iconic quote that you know will show up later on our list.

In this classic adaptation of the Stephen King sci-fi story, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Ben Richards who is forced to take part in a sadistic game show. He even delivers his iconic “I’ll Be Back” line. However, it is the evil host, Killian’s (played perfectly by Richard Dawson) quick-witted response of “Only In A Rerun” that makes this scene and steals it from Arnold. The line is so well delivered and it is easily the best comeback to “I’ll Be Back” that Schwarzenegger has ever got. By the time this movie had come out, we had heard that classic Schwarzenegger quote a few times, but the way the response was so quickly delivered was quite shocking and awesome!

Granted, I will admit that “Who Ya Gonna Call?” may have been the obvious choice, but there is just something about Bill Murray’s delivery in this scene that makes it so memorable. The Ghostbusters are trying their best to warn the mayor (despite that jerk Walter Peck’s interference) of the impending doom that is coming to New York City.

Venkman warns the mayor, only to be joined by Ray, Eagon, and Winston telling the mayor just how biblically bad this thing could be. Only for all the talk of fire and brimstone to be followed up with, “human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria” to really get the point across in regards to how bad this thing could be! This is something that I’m sure more than a few of you have yelled out when you are having a freakout or someone you know is! This line is pure Bill Murray and that is a huge reason why we all love it!

How is it that the better part of 40 years later we still do not have cooler vampires than the ones that are in The Lost Boys? This is the greatest vampire movie of all time and it has aged like a fine wine. There are many quotes that could have made my top 10 iconic movie quotes of the 80s list, but this classic from Sam, “You’re a vampire, Michael. My own brother, a […], […] sucking vampire. Oh you wait til mom finds out buddy” is the one that takes the cake. (By the way, those […] are expletives, and this is a family site!)

This is an intense scene where Michael’s cravings nearly get the best of him and Sam finds out his brother is a vampire. It’s the way that Sam has his freakout and then proceeds to warn Michael that he is going to tell on him to his mom that makes this such a fun quote. Cory Haim really nails the fact that while he is in a supernatural and spooky, not to mention dangerous, situation, at the end of the day, he is still a teenager, thanks to his delivery here.

You cannot talk about anything to do with the best movies and not at the very least consider Back to the Future! This 80s classic truly is timeless…. Sorry for that terrible dad joke, but there are so many memorable lines from this movie, and we all know this one.

Marty is a little worried about not having enough road for the DeLorean to get up to the required 88mph so that it can travel through time. That’s when Doc hits him with the truly iconic, “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads” line. This has been used and parodied to death over the last 40 years and it will probably be used and parodied to death for the next 40 plus years too. Because it’s fantastic.

The Princess Bride is a movie that has it all: charming heroics from a pre-SAW Carey Elwes, the beauty that is Robin Wright, the sheer spectacle that is WWF legend Andre the Giant, the 80s icon that is Fred Savage, and then we have Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya.

The brave swordsman who is looking to avenge the death of his father hits us with the famous quote, “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” It’s the way he delivers it that truly makes this one of the top 10 iconic movie quotes of the 80s! One of the most fun ways that this classic line was parodied was in The Big Bang Theory’s Season 9 Episode 5, “The Perspiration Implementation,” where the guys use this line as they are fencing, but change Inigo Montoya’s names with other stuff such as Puss in Boots. It’s a hilarious tribute to one of the best fantasy movies from the 80s.

We are getting all tough now with 1986’s Aliens. Rather than go for the same horror style that Ridley Scott did, James Cameron instead gave us one of the most awesome action movies of the 80s. Ellen Ripley is one of the best action heroines of all time and in this movie, she uses what she’s learned about the Xenomorphs to go head-to-head with an Alien Queen.

Ripley is trying to protect Newt when she shows up looking so amazing in a Power Loader. Before she goes and puts a beating on the Alien Queen, she delivers the iconic line, “Get away from her, you […]”. It was game-changing for a female lead to be so hard and tough, and Sigourney Weaver nailed this line!

Who doesn’t think of Ferris Bueller when they see Matthew Broderick? While he has been performed many memorable roles, none can match that lighting in a bottle he had with the John Hughes classic, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

What makes this such a great quote and one of the top 10 iconic movie quotes of the 80s is that Ferris is directly talking to the audience. The way he breaks the fourth wall is a lot of fun and at the time, it was quite groundbreaking. The thing is, his saying, “Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it,” is actually pretty solid life advice that I am sure many of us (myself included) could do with taking to heart.

Growing up in the 80s, The Karate Kid was “my jam”. I would watch this movie over and over again and I even learned karate, becoming a second degree black belt, all because of this movie. The thing is, I was torn between this and “sweep the leg”. While “sweep the leg” is a favorite of mine, I do feel that “wax on, wax off” is the more well known and meaningful quote. (That and the fact I use it whenever I am doing the dishes or when my wife makes me dust.

I felt it had to make this list. Mr. Miyagi is the perfect teacher and father figure and the way he teaches Daniel karate with these “chores” is so much fun. Also, this has been parodied many times, but my favorite is when Mikey does it in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze.

Star Wars is a franchise that has so many great quotes, I knew that I had to have at least one featured on this list. It may be obvious, but is there a more defining line from the original trilogy or even the whole Star Wars saga in general than when Darth Vader coldly says to Luke Skywalker, “NO, I am your father” after he has taken his hand?

Not only does he deal some major physical pain to Luke, but he also hits him with some major emotional pain and trauma. Mark Hamill sells this so incredibly well that you truly believe it. We all kind of take this for granted these days, but back in 1980 to say this was a mind-blower could not be any more of an understatement. This whole dialogue of this scene could have actually been featured on this list as it is so impactful.

This had to be at the top of my top 10 iconic movie quotes of the 80s list! This is the Arnold Schwarzenegger catchphrase! He has used it multiple times over the years and it does tie into a pick that I did earlier on! Anyway, The Terminator is the first time that Arnold actually uses this line. He is in the police station and he wants to talk to Sarah Connor, but the guy on the desk says no!

The T-800 hits this pencil pusher with the iconic “I’ll Be Back,” which thanks to the deadpan delivery is even more hilarious when he crashes through the police station in a car! This famous quote would be used in many other movies such as Commando, the aforementioned The Running Man, as well as many movies in the 90s and pretty much all of the Terminator sequels. There is no way that James Cameron or even Arnold Schwarzenegger could have known that 40 years later this line would still be something people talk about!