In the “Appaloosa” post below, I mention how striking the tagline for the film was: “Feelings get you killed.” So cold, so direct, so perfect in so many ways.
It has me wondering, what are the greatest movie taglines of all time? “Look closer” from “American Beauty” comes to mind. I also always loved “The man with the barbed-wire soul” from “Hud.” “Don’t go in the water?” “In space, no one can hear you scream?” “An adventure 65 million years in the making?” “There’s something about your first piece?”
I don’t know, you guys tell me…what’s the greatest film tagline of all time?
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31 responses to “What are the greatest taglines ever?”
“In space, no one can hear you scream†is the ultimate tagline
Some other great ones are :
“Check in. Relax. Take a shower.”
“I’m in trouble, George… bad trouble”
“Not that it matters, but most of it is true.”
“Pathetic Earthlings… Who Can Save You Now?”
“This time, it’s war.”
“You’ll believe a man can fly.” Obviously.
“For three men the Civil War wasn’t hell. It was practice!” Pure awesome.
In terms of movies released when I was actually alive:
“His story will touch you, even though he can’t.”
“I already forget how I used to feel about you.”
And of course, “What if this guy got you pregnant?” Pretty bad movie, inspired marketing.
Moving beyond the obvious ones, my favourite is the line for “Petulia:”
The uncommon movie.
Says it all. Amazing film, too.
In a similar vein, I love Annie Hall’s line too:
A nervous comedy.
My favorite has to be from The Shawshank Redemption:
“Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.”
There’s also Gattaca:
“There is no gene for the human spirit.”
Both I think are extremely inspirational
hmm, definately
brokeback mountain – “Love is a Force of Nature”
deliver us from evil – “For Some There’s No Such Thing As Salvation.”
an inconvenient truth – “The Scariest Movie You’ll Ever See”
pan’s labyrinth – “Innocence Has a Power Evil Cannot Imagine”
and, even though the movie was not exactly “good”
star wars episode II – “A Jedi Shall Not Know Hatred. Nor Anger. Nor Love”
“Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.”
“Cops or Criminals. When you’re facing a loaded gun what’s the difference?”
“Being the adventures of a young man whose principal interests are rape, ultra-violence and Beethoven.”
The Departed one was very good.
There Will Be Blood’s was also very direct and good
Annie Hall’s was good
I love Brokeback’s.
Mischief. Mayhem. Soap
“Look closer” from American Beauty is fantastic. Love the poster for it too.
I also like, even though it’s kinda cheesy, “Someone has taken their love of scary movies one step too far.” Scream. Great horror film.
I just thought of one recent tagline I loved: Charming. Magnetic. Murderous.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water. JAWS 2
They came home to bury mom… and her killer.
– Four Brothers
The Magic Begins November 1994.
– The Swan Princess
This time there are two.
– Terminator 2
It’s better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody.
– The Talented Mr. Ripley
From the company that brought you “Zombies of Mora Tau” and “Lawrence of Arabia.”
– The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra
A MAN – Trying to run away from his past… A WOMAN – Trying to escape her future!
– Out of the Past
This summer, someone’s got some Atoning to do.
-Atonement
The “Alien” tagline is my second favourite, but my #1 tagline is “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre”
WHO WILL SURVIVE AND WHAT WILL BE LEFT OF THEM?
Doesn’t that terrify you? I also think “Last House on the Left” had a doozy “…it’s only a movie…”
Never forget, never forgive
Sweeney Todd
You think you know who you are. You have no idea
Crash
There Will Be Greed. There Will Be Vengeance. There will be Blood
Life is one long insane trip. Some people just have better directions
Donnie Darko
“As far back as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a gangster.” — Henry Hill, Brooklyn, N.Y. 1955
Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours.
Magnolia
If Nancy Doesn’t Wake Up Screaming She Won’t Wake Up At All…
Sent this earlier, not sure why it didn’t make it through —
“You’ll believe a man can fly”… Superman (1978)…and we did,
and
“They’re young, they’re in love…and they kill people” (Bonnie and Clyde)
um…17 comments and no Beauty and the Beast?
“The Most Beautiful Love Story Ever Told”
Tagline that made me see a movie I’d never heard of:
“A romantic comedy. With zombies”. (Shaun of the Dead)
And the tagline that encouraged me to see the next one:
“Big cops. Small town. Moderate violence”. (Hot Fuzz).
Interesting to see how tag lines treat controversial matters of the day:
“They couldn’t like each other less. They couldn’t need each other more”. (The Defiant Ones, 1958)
“Because of the adult nature of it’s theme, this film is not recommended for children”. (The Children’s Hour, 1961). Variation: “what made these women different?”
“They’re going to pin something on that smart cop from Philadelphia…maybe a medal…maybe a murder!” (In the Heat of the Night, 1967)
Another classic:
“What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate”. (Cool Hand Luke)
And ones that really resonate after you’ve seen the movie, from “Edward Scissorhands”:
“His scars run deep”.
“Edward lived alone where he could hurt no-one and no-one could hurt him. Until the day the Avon Lady came calling…”
haha, sorry to be enslaved to the recent hysteria over dark knight, but you can’t deny the tagline is great:
“Why So Serious?”
This isn’t a movie but a TV show tagline but it’s fantastic enough for that to be acceptable (:P) –
“He takes life. Seriously” – Dexter
“Matt never saw her coming… but all his friends had!” -The Girl Next Door
(What? Don’t give me that look…)
The damnedest thing you ever saw! (Nashville)
Play At Your Own Risk. (The Crying Game)
They Never Saw It Coming. (Derailed)
Sister, sister, oh so fair, why is there blood all over your hair? (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?)
Having a wonderful time, wish I were here. (Postcards from the Edge)
and one last one……
No one stays at the top forever. (Casino)
A recent favorite: “You must admit, you brought this on yourself.” -Funny Games
I’ve always been partial to “Pray for Michael Sullivan”
“What Would NPH Do?”
Seriously though, I think taglines should be abolished altogether.
“Ein, Zwei, Die!”, from “Dead Snow”, a movie about nazi-zombies
How about the one for Crank 2: High Voltage?
“He was dead…but he got better.”
Notting Hill
” I am just a girl standing in front of a boy asking him to love me ”
xxx
Either Aladdin. ” Imagine if you had three wishes, three hopes, three dreams and they could all come true.”
or Princess and the Frog. “The most magical kiss the world has ever known.”