Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Narrator: You can't write this stuff!

  • [In film] Meinrher... 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?

Narrator: You can't write this stuff!

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it