Marlon Brando played Colonel Kurtz in this adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. The 1979 warm film was directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola. Brando improvised over 18 minutes of dialogue in this film. He folded his script into a hat, placed it on his head, and refused to memorize his lines. Great actor or difficult? You decide
Apparently, the film experienced numerous problems during its production. Marlon Brando was overweight and very unprepared for the role. Martin Sheen also had a breakdown and a near-fatal heart attack while filming. Nonetheless, the film was quite successful and received several award nominations.
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.
Blade Runner
One of the most iconic scenes in movie history ironically didn't involve the star of this film, Harrison Ford. Actually, Rutger Hauer who played Roy Batty, the enemy of the film, performed a monologue known as the “Tears of Rain” speech, which he largely improvised.
The monologue was improvised by Hauer the night before filming and is frequently quoted. The film has since influenced many other science fiction films, video games, anime, and television series and has made Philip K. Dick’s work famous.
Jaws
In this Steven Spielberg classic, Roy Scheider plays Chief Martin Brody. While warning his partners aboard the ship he improvised his line “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” The film tells the story of a man-eating great white shark which attacks beach visitors on Amity Island, a fictional resort town.
Chief Martin Brody comes to hunt it along with marine biologist, Richard Dreyfuss, and a professional shark hunter, Robert Shaw. The line is today considered one of the most famous lines in cinema history. Jaws of course went on to win multiple Academy Awards.