Cassava Films - The List of 9

the list of 9 for april 17, 2006:
THE NINE MOST INFLUENTIAL MOVIE TAGLINES EVER

For decades, American motion pictures were marketed with the usual carny cries: "Gaiety! Glory!Glamour!" "The Entertainment Experience of a Lifetime!" "The Greatest Event in Motion PictureHistory!" With few exceptions, it wasn't until the 1970's when the serious, film-specific,no-explanation-points taglines that we know today were employed. Short, sly come-ons meant topique a potential audience's curiosity, they quickly replaced the generic sales pitches of yore.The best of them have even surpassed their primary function and have entered the contemporaryvernacular. They are listed below:

JAWS 2: "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in thewater..." Far more celebrated than the disappointing sequel it was attached to,this tagline has been quoted - and spoofed - countless times. It may, in fact, be the most famousmovie tagline of all. (The first Jaws was marketed with the somewhat less memorable"Don't go in the water.")
ALIEN: "In space, no one can hear you scream." Aclose second, this has inspired almost as many imitations as the famous "Got Milk?" taglinecreated by the International Dairy Foods Association.
STAR WARS: "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, faraway..." This line is not just the opening to all six of George Lucas's StarWars films, it was used to promote the first film itself, appearing on posters, trailers, andso forth. It's likely that Lucas, a highly savvy marketer, specifically intended hisstorybook-style opener not just as a great introduction to his stories, but as a sales tool.
AMERICAN GRAFFITI: "Where were you in '62?" Evenbefore he became king of the film geeks, Lucas knew how to turn a catchy phrase. This tagline is sofrequently quoted that many probably aren't even aware that it was invented for this film's adcampaign.
APOLLO 13: "Houston, we have a problem." Although acentral bit of dialogue is often incorporated as a movie's tagline, this five-word sentence,almost a throwaway line in Apollo 13, added great suspense to its marketing campaign andhas, of course, since become a commonly-used quip in American speech.
THE FLY: "Be afraid. Be very afraid." Another lineof dialogue that became a tagline, this was vague enough to be stolen and slightly reworded ("Beunafraid. Be very unafraid," "Be afraid. Be kind of afraid") for a plethora of horror spoofs.
A FISH CALLED WANDA: "A tale of murder, lust, greed, revenge, andseafood." Although this tagline isn't particularly noteworthy in and of itself, itspawned scores of imitators, which is why I'm calling this list "The most influentialtaglines." A Fish Called Wanda's serious word-serious word-wacky nonsequiter formulainfluenced everything from The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover's "Lust... murder...dessert" to Fight Club's "Mischief. Mayhem. Soap."
POLTERGEIST: "They're here..." The late HeatherO'Rourke's creepy sing-song delivery of this line was potent enough for producer Steven Spielbergto use it for the film's ad campaign, and has become one of the most frequently mimicked taglines(not to mention movie quotes) in history.
DAWN OF THE DEAD: "When there's no more room in hell, the deadwill walk the earth." I end this list with a tagline perhaps little-known outsideof horror film circles, but well-referenced and often satirized within them. It was even used inthe 2004 remake of this 1978 film.