A movie tagline is one of the most powerful elements of a movie's marketing process. Even a completely crap movie can seem like the coolest thing, when you have a cool taglie that has people talking about it. Making a good tagline is not easy. Nowadays most taglines aren't much more than variations on older taglines, or they don't bear any creativity inside them at all. I mean, "Everything comes to life" (Night at the Museum) isn't something that speaks to you in the way that something like "Life is in their hands... Death is on their minds!" (12 Angry Men) did. To celebrate the art of making a good movie tagline, here are my 50 favorite ones.
"A Monster Science Created - But Could Not Destroy!"
Frankenstein (1931)
"The Monster demands a Mate!"
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
"Handcuffed to the girl who double-crossed him."
The 39 Steps (1935)
"She Was Marked With The Curse Of Those Who Slink And Court And Kill By Night!"
Cat People (1942)
"Their Love was a Flame that Destroyed!"
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
"The nearer they get to their treasure, the farther they get from the law."
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
"I told you... you know nothing about wickedness"
The Lady From Shanghai (1948)
"I'm in trouble, George... bad trouble."
A Place in the Sun (1951)
"The story of a blonde who wanted to go places, and a brute who got her there - the hard way!"
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
"The story of a man who was too proud to run."
High Noon (1952)
"Life Is In Their Hands -- Death Is On Their Minds!"
12 Angry Men (1957)
"This is the story of J.J. - But not the way he wants it told!"
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
"Unspeakable Horrors From Outer Space Paralyze the Living and Resurrect The Dead!"
Planet 9 From Outer Space (1959)
"Check in. Relax. Take a shower."
Psycho (1960)
"...and remember, the next scream you hear may be your own!"
The Birds (1963)
"The movie with something to offend everyone."
The Loved One (1965)
"For Three Men The Civil War Wasn't Hell. It Was Practice!"
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
"This is Benjamin. He's a little worried about his future."
The Graduate (1967)
"Not that it matters, but most of it is true."
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
"You don't assign him to murder cases. You just turn him loose."
Dirty Harry (1971)
"This is the weekend they didn't play golf."
Deliverance (1972)
"To avoid fainting keep repeating: it's only a movie, it's only a movie"
The Last House on the left (1972)
"They transplanted a white bigot's head on a soul brother's body!"
The Thing With Two Heads (1972)
"Makes Ben Hur look like an epic"
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
"On every street in every city, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody."
Taxi Driver (1976)
"The Only Thing More Terrifying Than The Last 12 Minutes Of This Film Are The First 92."
Suspiria (1977)
"You'll Believe A Man Can Fly!"
Superman: The Movie (1978)
"In space no one can hear you scream."
Alien (1979)
"They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God."
The Blues Brothers (1980)
"Pathetic Earthlings... Who Can Save You Now?"
Flash Gordon (1980)
"Man is the warmest place to hide"
The Thing (1982)
"They're not just getting rich...they're getting even."
Trading Places (1983)
"Don't get him wet, keep him out of bright light, and never feed him after midnight."
Gremlins (1984)
"It's 4 A.M. - do you know where your car is?"
Repo Man (1984)
"Who you gonna call?"
Ghostbusters (1984)
"Does for rock and roll what "The Sound of Music" did for hills."
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
"Herbert West Has A Very Good Head On His Shoulders... And Another One In A Dish On His Desk"
Re-Animator (1985)
"One Man's Struggle To Take It Easy."
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
"Crime is a disease, he's the cure"
Cobra (1986)
"The first casualty of war is innocence."
Platoon (1986)
"Part man. Part machine. All cop. The future of law enforcement."
Robocop (1987)
"Lie. Cheat. Steal. All In A Day's Work."
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
"You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll hurl."
Wayne's World (1992)
"He's having the worst day of his life...over, and over..."
Groundhog Day (1993)
"See it with a Bud"
Dazed and Confused (1993)
"Stealing, cheating, killing... Who said romance was dead?"
True Romance (1993)
"Movies were his passion. Women were his inspiration. Angora sweaters were his weakness."
Ed Wood (1994)
"EARTH - Take a good look. It could be your last."
Independence Day (1996)
"You Won't Believe Your Eye."
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
"He knows no fear, he knows no danger, he knows nothing"
Johnny English (2003)
Here's one that cracked me up:
"Does my Gluteus Maximus look big in this?"
Gladiatress (2004)
Posted by: Achievist | February 27, 2007 at 05:52 PM
Any Ash quote will do...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106308/quotes
One of my all-time favourites:
"Well, I've got news for you pal, you ain't leadin' but two things: Jack and shit... and Jack just left town"
Army of Darkness (1992)
Posted by: Rudi | February 28, 2007 at 04:27 PM
Ah, excellent. The Hunt For Red October (1990) is good too. 'Invisible. Silent. Stolen.'
Posted by: Tony | March 01, 2007 at 03:43 PM
One of my favorites:
"Daddy's coming home and he's not very happy."
The Step-Father
Posted by: John | April 05, 2007 at 09:40 PM
And a cool quiz for tagline freaks:
http://www.taglinequiz.com/
Posted by: Amber | November 05, 2007 at 02:13 AM
the tagline from the australian film,Chopper,is my favourite.
'the truth,the half truth,and nothing like the truth'
Posted by: yossarian finch | September 30, 2008 at 03:43 AM