A jury consisting of 1,500 film artists, critics, and historians selected "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn", spoken by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in the 1939 American Civil War epic Gone with the Wind, as the most memorable American movie quotation of all time.
Jurors were asked to consider the following criteria in making their selections: The table below reproduces the quotes as the AFI published them.
Al Pacino, Bette Davis, Marlon Brando, Tom Hanks, and Vivien Leigh have three apiece, while Jack Nicholson, Judy Garland, Gloria Swanson, Dustin Hoffman, Clint Eastwood, Charlton Heston, James Cagney, and Arnold Schwarzenegger have two each.
The line "My precious", from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, is the only quote from a movie released in the 21st century and the only one by a CGI character.
The following have become well-known but are incorrect: A number of the quotes are drawn from real-world events and sources: Only "Rosebud," from Citizen Kane, and "Hello, gorgeous," from Funny Girl, are the opening lines of a film.