Top 10 Movie Tag-lines
We read them all, we remember some, and we're about to honor the best! Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we count down our picks for the top 10 movie taglines. For this list, we've looked at the words, phrases and idioms that are splattered across movie trailers and posters for promotional purposes. Only the cleverest and most memorable will make our countdown, these taglines are iconic and stood the test of time.
Special thanks to our users jwiking62, TheBaconTerminator and Andrew A. Dennison for submitting the idea on our Suggestions Page at WatchMojo.comsuggest
Top 10 Movie Taglines
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We read them all, we remember some, and we’re about to honor the best! Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 movie taglines. For this list, we’ve looked at the words, phrases and idioms that are splattered across movie trailers and posters for promotional purposes. Only the cleverest and most memorable will make our countdown, though.
#10: “We are not alone.” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977)
A simple start, but a downright effective one as well! Steven Spielberg’s 1977 science fiction super-film is still heralded as one of the greatest of its type. ‘We are not alone’ bores right to the movie’s extra-terrestrial essence. The idea being that a ‘close encounter of the first kind’ would be a UFO sighting; the ‘second kind’ would be experiencing physical effects; the ‘third’ equals contact! A tagline of four words, a tagline for the ‘third kind’, a tagline for tenth place!
#9: “The last man on Earth is not alone.” “I Am Legend” (2007)
The primary function of a tagline is to capture attention. It has to get its reader thinking about the movie, excited about the movie, wanting to go and see the movie. This one-liner for Will Smith’s “I Am Legend” does exactly that! As interesting an oxymoron as has ever been made for film, it cuts to the point but gives little of the game away. Made up of two simple points, this complex sentence makes for one clever idea!
#8: “Hang on for the comedy that goes to infinity and beyond!” “Toy Story” (1995)
At 8, a hook that is undeniably and unquestionably linked to one film, and one film alone. ‘To infinity... And beyond!’ is so “Toy Story”! In 1995, it must have been one of the most over-used turns of phrase on the school playground, and probably in the office at work as well! The catchphrase of a certain Buzz Lightyear, it ushered in more than a single movie... ‘To infinity’ became a Pixar mantra, as, with “Toy Story,” they revolutionised animation completely, and they’ve been pushing beyond ever since!
#7: “You’ll believe a man can fly.” “Superman” (1978)
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Another acute selection of words in exactly the right order, when “Superman” flew onto our screens, he did so with supreme confidence! Biologically, and just plain logically, a man cannot fly! But so apparently impressive was Richard Donner’s 1978 movie, we were told before we’d even seen the film that we would accept the unacceptable! This movie’s tagline is its own glittering review - and there were very few who found reason to counter-argue!
#6: “There are 3.7 trillion fish in the ocean. They’re looking for one.” “Finding Nemo” (2003)
Some more prize promoting from Pixar studios! For “Finding Nemo,” the tagline has a clear set-up, and a clear punch line. The stage is set quickly and concisely, before the problem and the point of the movie is laid down. In the end, it’s a case of simple mathematics - 3.7 trillion to one? Good luck with that! It’s also an indication of the size of the movie, though, and the potential for new characters. It’s animated, aquatic, anticipatory awesomeness!
#5: “Who ya gonna call?” “Ghostbusters” (1984)
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Research shows that things are easier to remember if they are put to music (Google it if you don’t believe us!), which is why this simple tagline is one of the greatest ever conceived! Try saying it without the accompanied rhythm - feels weird, doesn’t it! Now try saying it without immediately screaming the movie’s title in your head afterwards - exactly! Ray Parker, Jr. was onto a winner when he wrote the “Ghostbusters” theme song - it has well and truly stood the tagline test of time!
#4: “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope” (1977)
Though not as intrinsically linked with its movie’s theme tune as our fifth entry, this tagline provokes a similar inclination to hum a certain piece of music... A ten word sentence, it’s the platform from which was launched perhaps cinema’s greatest ever saga! There are no specifics to the “Star Wars” hook, but that’s what makes it great! George Lucas and company are asking us to suspend our disbelief, and we’re more than happy to do so! The time is ‘long’, the galaxy is ‘far’, the anticipation levels are unbelievable!
#3: “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...” “Jaws 2” (1978)
The only out-right sequel to make our list, the “Jaws 2” tagline riffs so effectively on its predecessor that it outshines even the initial movie’s promotional patter! The ‘Don’t go in the water’ slogan for the original “Jaws” was simple (and scary!) enough. But for their second helping of shark, the writers really earned their wage! Post-“Jaws,” the ocean had seemed an ominous place... The three years between then and the second instalment did much to soothe fears... This tagline did everything to bring them all flooding back again!
#2: “An adventure 65 million years in the making.” “Jurassic Park” (1993)
We’ve already found with “Finding Nemo” that a big number in the tagline creates big expectations for the movie. That rule has never been more effectively realised than for Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park”! ‘A cinematic ‘adventure’ unlike any other before (or arguably since!), with this tagline, the production team has playfully had their workload exaggerated, but the film’s enormity is plainly understood. A film about dinosaurs and primitive beasts, the modern subtlety to its tag is seriously satisfying! Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. - “His story will touch you, even though he can’t.” “Edward Scissorhands” (1990) - “You know the name. You know the number.” “GoldenEye” (1995) - “Here comes the bride.” “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” (2003) - “Escape or die frying.” “Chicken Run” (2000) - “An offer you can’t refuse.” “The Godfather” (1972)
#1: “In space, no one can hear you scream.” “Alien” (1979)
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8 words, all manner of conflicting emotions! The tagline for 1979’s “Alien” was so effective it has been permanently branded into popular culture! This hook highlights much about the movie, but gives away nothing. We know there’s science fiction, we know there’s loneliness, we know there’s gonna be reason to scream, but it’s gonna be pointless to do so! Other than that, we have little to go on, and every reason to pay a visit to the cinema - where, ironically, plenty of screams are likely to be heard! Do you agree with our list? Which movie tagline isn’t here, but should be? For more attention-grabbing Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
