Hannibal delivers a monologue to Jodie Foster about eating a human liver with “fava beans and a nice Chianti in this iconic thriller. He adds in his own iconic hissing sound. Hannibal was played by the great Anthony Hopkins for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Hopkins also won three BAFTA Awards, two Emmys, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award. In 1993, he was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to the arts. Finally, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003.
The Usual Suspects
The Usual Suspects tells the story of the interrogation of Roger "Verbal" Kint, a small-time con man, who is one of two survivors of a massacre and fire on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles. Through various flashbacks and narration, Kint shares with the interrogator an elaborate series of events that led him and his criminal companions to the boat, and of a perplexing crime lord—known as Keyser Söze—who controlled them.
This movie has some major twists, so it was important for actors to stick to the script. However, in the line-up scene, actors were given the go-to to act as they wished. This made way for a hilarious scene and improv, during which one character even passed gas. Also in the scene, Benicio Del Toro slurred his words and the cop requested from him, “in English please.”
Goodfellas
This is one of the most popular gangster movies ever with great actors. Amongst the cast are Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Ray Liotta. It was Pesci who stole the show when his character Tommy got extremely defensive after being referred to as a “funny guy.” The improvised line “Do I amuse you?” has since become a classic. The line is based on an actual event that Pesci witnessed.
According to Pesci, improvisation and ad-libbing came out of rehearsals where director Scorsese allowed the actors to do whatever they wanted. He made transcripts of these sessions, took the lines the actors came up with that he liked best, and put them into a revised script that the cast worked from.
Taxi Driver
The iconic line “You talkin’ to me?” comes from this classic. This Martin Scorcese film didn’t originally have this line in the script, but Robert De Niro ad-libbed it and they loved it. In 2005, the quote was ranked number 10 on the AFI’s 100 years… 100 Movie Quotes. The film follows the life of Travis Bickle, a 26-year-old former U.S. Marine who is lonely and depressed, living on his own in New York City.
In order to deal with his insomnia, he starts to work as a taxi driver while also frequenting porn theaters on 42nd street. It is no surprise that De Niro’s performance in the film is considered one of the best in cinematic history. Likewise, the film is regularly regarded as one of the greatest films of all time by critics, film directors, and viewers.
The Warriors
In this movie classic, David Patrick Kelly, who played the role of Luther, adlibbed the most iconic line of the movie: “Warriors, come out to play!” The creators loved Kelly’s improvisation and kept it in the final cut. The film tells the story of a New York City gang member.
After he discovers that he was framed for murder, Luther understands that he must travel 30 miles from the north end of The Bronx to their neighborhood in Coney Island for the murder of an honorable gang leader. Since its release in 1979, it has amassed a cult following and has influenced multiple spin-offs including video games and a comic book series.