Best ad-libs in movies.

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Strat-Mangler, May 15, 2019.

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  1. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker Thread Starter

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    I'd say Harrison Ford has to be one of the most creative actors with his famous ad-libs.


    Empire Strikes Back :

    <Leia> : "I love you!"
    <Solo> : "I know."


    Raiders Of The Lost Ark

    <Marion> : "You're not the man I knew ten years ago"
    <Indiana> : "It's not the years, honey. It's the mileage."


    What are your favorites?
     
  2. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

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    Dallas, TX, USA
    Maybe a stupid question, but how do you know those were "ad-libs"?
     
  3. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker Thread Starter

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    Not a stupid question at all. It's been well documented these two examples were improvised. Interviews with the cast, directors, etc.
     
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  4. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
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    Ah, okay. I don't know any ad-libs off the top of my head. I'll have to do some research.
     
  5. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law

    George slipping near the amp in "A Hard Days' Night"?
     
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  6. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker Thread Starter

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    An ad-lib is a bit of dialogue, in this case. For instance, Jack Nicholson pulling a gun while speaking to Leonardo DiCaprio's character in the Departed was improv but not an ad-lib.
     
  7. konut

    konut Prodigious Member. Thank you.

    Location:
    Whatcom County, WA
    Robin Williams
     
  8. Didn't Rutger Hauer ad lib the tail end of the "I've seen things" speech? That's a great one.
     
  9. Timeless Classics

    Timeless Classics Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    When Harry Met Sally has a couple ad lib scenes

    "I Would Like to Partake of Your Pecan Pie" scene is Billy Crystal just making up stuff as he goes along. You can see Meg looking off camera to director Rob Reiner who motioned for her to go with it.







    Meg Ryan's fake orgasm scene at Katz' Deli from When Harry Met Sally (a bit of dialogue and improv)

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2019
  10. carrolls

    carrolls Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin
    Dustin Hoffman
    "Hey! I'm walkin' here! I'm walkin' here. Don't worry about it, it's a good way of picking up insurance."
     
  11. Joker to the thief

    Joker to the thief Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    You talkin’ to me?
     
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  12. Joker to the thief

    Joker to the thief Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Could be wrong but I think he wrote it and it was added to the script ahead of time rather than a straight ad lib, same as Orson Welles did with the cuckoo clock speech in ‘The Third Man’
     
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  13. Had to go look - you're right! He added the final "Tears in Rain" lines beforehand. He came up with it, but got permission beforehand. :oops:
     
  14. Further to Harrison Ford - and not an ad-lib, but an on-set suggestion that was filmed: Owing to a case of dysentery, Ford didn't want to do an extended shoot of a scene where Indiana got into a swordfight, so instead he suggested to Stephen Spielberg that he just shoot the guy. So much better that way!
     
  15. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto
    It is and there are tons of those around. Ford's input made a positive difference each time.

    Specifically am looking for something a bit more rare, it seems. Examples of ad-libs (dialogue) in movies that were kept and enhanced the scene.

    Here's another instance of that, confirmed by Zemeckis and Hanks.

    Forrest Gump

    <Bubba> : "My given name is Benjamin Buford Blue, but people call me Bubba. Just like one of them ol' redneck boys. Can you believe that?"

    <Gump> : "My name's Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump."
     
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  16. Encuentro

    Encuentro Forum Resident

    The Shining-“Here’s Johnny!”
     
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  17. skisdlimit

    skisdlimit Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bellevue, WA
    The "Mind if I play through" scene from Caddyshack was (I believe) mostly ad-libbed, and remains absolutely hilarious: :laugh:

     
  18. JCRW

    JCRW Forum Resident

    Roy Scheider - "You're gonna need a bigger boat."
     
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  19. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
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    Won't seem like much in writing, but the "I'm alright, I'm alright" in It's A Wonderful Life, along with Jimmy Stewart's reaction, gets my vote. Thomas Mitchell came up with that on the spot when someone off camera dropped something.
     
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  20. IIRC Bill Paxton’s most famous line - “Game over, man! Game over!”, from Aliens - was an ad-lib.
     
  21. Quadboy

    Quadboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Leeds,England
    Marty Feldmans line in Young Frankenstein 'You take the blonde and I'll take the one in the turban' wasn't in the original script.
    Mel came up with it on the day.
     
  22. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Didn't he ad lib "I have a hump?" too? After moving it from side to side as a gag with the other actors.
     
  23. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

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  24. Tanx

    Tanx Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    The Three Stooges shorts are filled with ad-libs, particularly from Curly and Shemp.
     
  25. The scene with the guy with the broad sword and Indy shooting him was created on the spot between Ford and Spielberg. Ford, suffering from dysentery, didn't want to do a long fight and suggested, that since Indy has a gun, he should just shoot the guy and it would get cheers. He did. It did.
     
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