Narrator: You can't write this stuff!
[In film] Mein Fürher... I can WALK!
Narrator: Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 Improvised Movie Moments!
[In film] Tell me, tell me what's funny.
Narrator: For this list, we've chosen movie scenes or lines that were ad-libbed or otherwise changed by an actor in the heat of the moment.
[In film] How about a magic trick?
Narrator: Number 10: Delayed Gratification is No Joke.
[In film] I'm gonna make this pencil disappear.
Narrator: In "The Dark Knight".
[In film] *Slam* Ta-Da!
Narrator: No one could have predicted the darkness Heath Ledger would bring to the role of Batman's nemesis.
[In film] You don't have any say in the matter--Commissioner Gordon!
Narrator: And no one could have scripted it either.
Ledger improvised several moments that increased the moment tenfold.
[In film] *loud clapping*
Narrator: Most notable is The Joker's "explosive" confusion.
[In film] Ka-pew!
[In film] *explosions*
Narrator: Instead of simply boarding his bus between explosions as scripted,
[In film] *explosions stop*
Narrator: Ledger decided, on site, to fiddle with his detenator.
Bringing some appropriate dark comedy to the scene.
[In film] *explosions return, windows shatter*
[In film] *crying* *singing*
Narrator: Number 9: Singing in the Rape, "A Clockwork Orange"
[In film] *singing* Just singing in the rape! *cry of pain*
Narrator: Always a perfectionist, Stanley Kubrick shot and re-shot the scene where the main group of droogs
engages in their brand of ultra-violence.
Which in this case involved beating and gang-rape. But, the scene still felt empty. So Kubrick instructed actor
Malcom McDowell to inject a little spontaneity.
[In film] Just singin'! *crash*
Narrator: Which he did to the tune of "Singing In The Rain".
[In film] *singing* Just singing in the rape.
*crying* Just singing in the rape!
Narrator: It's a terrifying blend of happiness and evil.
[In film] *singing* What a glorious feeling and happy again!
Narrator: Number 8...
[In film] I'm Joe Buck from Texas.
Narrator: A Walk to Remember, "Midnight Cowboy"
[In film] I wanna buy you a drink, the hell d'you think of that?
Well, don't mind if I do!
Narrator: Though there's some debate about whether this scene was actually unscripted,
it's still a memorable movie moment that Dustin Hoffman claims to have improvised.
[In film] They can't be trottin' down at Time Square to pick up the merchandise!
Narrator: He and Jon Voight are walking NYC Streets, discussing the ins and outs of Jiggalo Business,
when BAM!
[In film] *screeching, honking*
HEY! Hey, I'm walkin' here! I'm walkin' here!
Narrator: A taxi works its way into the shot, almost running Hoffman down.
[In film] Get outta here!
Narrator: But method-acting is his game, so he stays in character the entire time.
[In film] Don't worry about that. Actually, that's not a bad way to pick up insurance, y'know.
[In film] Hey, you're head's bleedin'. First Aid's there.
Narrator: Number 7: Boat Envy, "Jaws"
This ain't just any shark, and Chief Brody knows it. So did the actor, Roy Scheider.
He was the one who invented the movie's most famous line off-the-cuff.
[In film] "Slow ahead". I can go slow ahead, come one dow and chum some of this shit!
Narrator: The first time we actually get a look at the giant Great White, Scheider decided to cut
the tension with a one liner that earned it spot in the annals of film history.
[In film] You're gonna need a bigger boat.
Narrator: Our laughter is nervous laughter.
Number 6: Mirror Image, "Taxi Driver".
[In film] *weapon cocking* Huh? Huh? Faster than you.
Narrator: Martin Scorsese encourages actors to contribute to his films and this is one case
where he hit pay-dirt.
[In film] You make the move, it's your move!
Narrator: The script read, "Travis speaks to himself in the mirror."
[In film] *weapon cocking* You try it, you f**k!
Narrator: Robert De Niro turned those instructions into one of the most famous and oft-quoted sequences
in cinema history.
[In film] You talking to me?
*silence*
You talking to me?
*more silence*
Narrator: Perfectly capturing Travis Bickle's lonliness and alienation, this scene has been cited as the one
that says the most about his flawed personality
[In film] Well, I'm the only one here.
*silence*
[In film] *laughter* Gee, I wish I was big just once!
*laughter increases*
Narrator: Number 5: Funny How? "GoodFellas"
[In film] Really funny! Really funny.
What do you mean, "I'm funny"?
Narrator: Even if you've never seen this flick, there's one scene you know.
[In film] Don't worry , it's funny. You're a funny guy!
Narrator: Scorsese again allowed actors to invent dialogue which he would then retroactively
add into the script.
[In film] You're funny! It's just...
y'know the way you tell the story and everything.
Narrator: And Joe Pesci nabbed an Oscar by showing he could turn on a dime!
[In film] Funny how? I mean, what's funny about it?
Narrator: Not only does his improvised diatribe explain his character...
[In film] He's a big boy, he knows what he said. What did you say? Funny how?
Narrator:...it also stops his buddies dead in their tracks and has audiences holding their breath.
[In film] I'm funny, like I'm a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh?
Get the f*** outta here, now Tommy!
*laughter* You motherf***er! I almost had 'im! I almost had 'im!
Ya stutterin' prick, you! *laughter*
Narrator: Number 4: Hopkins is Hiss-terical, "The Silence of the Lambs"
[In film] Good evening, Clarice.
Narrator: Sir Anthony Hopkins is still haunting our dreams with his portrayal of cannibalistic
serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
[In film] *screaming, moist chewing*
Jesus Christ!
Narrator: And the scene which he is introduced is arguably his creepiest.
[In film] Good morning!
Narrator: And yes, we're counting the muzzle.
The mounting tension and the quiet hostility is palpable.
[In film] I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
Narrator: But one sound sums it up best:
[In film] *Hissing*
Narrator: Call it a hiss, a slurp, whatever.
Hopkins invented it as a joke and for that, he deserves his Oscar.
[In film] I do wish we could chat longer, but...
I'm having an old family for dinner.
Goodbye...
Dr. Lecter? *Hanging up*
[In film] I am Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, your Senior Drill Instructor.
Narrator: Number 3: Major Malfunction, "Full Metal Jacket"
[In film] And the first and last words out of your filthy sewers will be "Sir"
Do you maggots understand that?
*all* Sir, yes, Sir!
Narrator: What's the best way to portray how brutal drill instructors are?
[In film] You will not laugh, you will not cry! You will learn by the numbers, I will teach you!
Narrator: Hire a real one, obviously!
[In film] You had best un-f**k yourself or I will unscrew your head and shit down your neck!
Narrator: Stanley Kubrick originally enlisted ex-Marine, R. Lee Ermey as a consultant for his war flick,
thinking he wasn't vicious enough for the Drill Sergeant role.
[In film] It looks to me like the best part of you ran down the crack of your mama's ass and ended up as a brown
stain on the mattress! I think you've been cheated!
Narrator: But Ermey proved him wrong, and wound up chewing out recruits for almost 40 minutes straight
as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman.
[In film] What's your name, scumbag?
Sir, Private Brown, Sir!
Bullshit, from now on, you're Private Snowball. Do you like that name?
Sir, yes, Sir!
Narrator: Oh, and he invented about half of his own dialogue.
[In film] You're so ugly you could be a modern art masterpiece!
Narrator: Number 2: All Work and No Play Makes Jack Crazy, "The Shining"
[In film] Wendy, I'm home.
Narrator: Mirroring the plot of this Steven King adaptation, Stanley Kubrick caused the downward
mental spiral of some of his actors. Mainly Shelly Duvall. Helping him along was Jack Nicholson.
*crack*
Who improvised the film's shining moment.
[In film] *knocking*
Narrator: After chasing his family into a bathroom,
[In film] Stop! Please!
Narrator: Jack borrows a popular Late Night catchphrase to add comedy and creepiness to the scene.
[In film] Heeeeeeeere's Johnny!
*screams*
Narrator: The moral: Never play Hide and Seek with Jack Nicholson.
[In film] Come out, come out, wherever you are!
Narrator: Her screams are real.
*scream, crash, louder scream*
[In film] Play it, Sam. Play "As Time Goes By".
Narrator: Number 1: We Kid You Not, "Casablanca"
[In film] *slam*
Narrator: This Hollywood Classic is full of quoteable lines.
[In film] Of all the gin joints in all the towns and all the world, she walks into mine.
Narrator: But only one was unscripted, representing the couple's bond, the famous words are said by
Humphrey Bogart multiple times through the film.
[In film] Here's looking at you, kid. *clink*
Here's looking at you, kid. *clink*
Here's looking at you, kid.
Narrator: Turns out Bogey borrowed the phrase from real life. Between takes, he taught
Ingrid Bergman to play poker, where he would often say...
[In film] Here's looking at you, kid.
Narrator: Who knew you could ad-lib one of the most famous phrases in film history?
[In film] What about us?
We'll always have Paris.
Narrator: Do you agree with our list?
[In film] I don't care!
Narrator: Which unscripted movie moments do you think are the best?
[In film] Aaaaaaah! That's a war face, now let me see your face!
Narrator: For more Top 10's about your favourite clips...
[In film] Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
Narrator: Be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com!
[In film] That's it, man. Game over, man, it's game over! The f**k are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do?