Greatest Unscripted Movie Scenes

As a sort of “sub-plot” to my latest running project her on Opinions & Reviews 101, 100 of the Most Iconic/Greatest Scenes in Cinematic History, I did a bit more research into some of the scenes that feature somewhere on the list and discovered that some were ad-libbed during filming.

Some directors, producers or writers may not appreciate actors going off-script during filming, but you cannot deny some of the talent to make their mark on a particular film. Actors and actresses are continuously ad-libbing, improvising or going off-script (for a number of reasons) while reciting and filming their lines. Movie scripts, to the dismay of some screenwriters, are not always set in stone and can even be compared to this organic living organism that is constantly evolving. 

Some films, like Jaws and Annie Hall, don't even have a finished script when the cameras start to roll. Occasionally the improved lines become immortalized as some of the most memorable in cinema history. 

Go ahead and check out 10 of the greatest unscripted scenes - you may be surprised at how many of your favourite lines/scenes were actually made up on the spot…

The Godfather (1972) “Take the Cannoli.”

Possibly one of the most famous scenes of the entire franchise…

The shot right before the "hit"

 Corleone family capo, Peter Clemenza (Richard Castellano), orders his henchman Rocco Lampone (Tom Rosqui) to carry out a hit on Paulie Gatto (John Martino) for his betrayal of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). Castellano’s original line was simply “Leave the gun” but drawing from an earlier scene where Clemenza’s wife reminds him to bring home some cannoli, he improvised the now famous line “Take the cannoli.” 

A line that now prompts everyone who has seen the film to say “Leave the gun, take the cannoli” every time they see/have a cannoli.

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) “I Know”

This is a rather sombre scene

 As smuggler-turned-hero Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is about to be encased in carbonite and shipped off Jabba the Hutt, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) finally reveals her love for him. The script called for Leia to say “I love you” to which Solo was supposed to respond with “I love you too”. Ford decided that Han Solo is the epitome of nonchalant and that he wouldn’t say something like that. Instead, he changed the line to simply “I know.”

I would recommend not trying this line out if your other half says “I love you for the first time”… unless they’re a big fan of Star Wars and would understand the gag.

The Dark Knight (2008) The Slow Clap:

As the notorious Joker (Heath Ledger) waits quietly alone in a jail cell after having been arrested by Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), Mayor Garcia (Nestor Carbonell) shows up to look over Gotham’s latest bust. While there he also promotes the previously-thought-deceased Gordon to the vacant position of Commissioner. 

As the officers in the room applaud and congratulate the announcement the Joker (Ledger) begins, unscripted, to clap slowly – never once changing his facial expression – adding to the dark and disturbing infamous character. It was just a simple improvisation but one that was unsettling and darkly brilliant from one of the greatest performances in an antagonist’s role.

The Dark Knight (2008) Faulty Explosion:

Somewhat creepy this...

Staying with The Dark Knight is the dodgy explosion scene. Originally, the Joker (Heath Ledger) was supposed to walk down the street while the explosion at the hospital began, get on the school bus during the scripted pause (i.e. when the explosion pauses), and the bus would drive away while the explosion finished and the hospital collapsed. 

However, Ledger stopped walking during the pause and in a moment of improvisational brilliance, he began fidgeting with the remote detonator in a very Joker-esque way – bringing a small amount of dark humour to what would otherwise have been just a serious scene.

Taxi Driver (1976) “You Talking to Me?”

Well I don't see anyone else here...

When screenwriter Paul Schrader wrote this scene apparently it simply said “Travis talks to himself in the mirror” – there was no specific dialog given.

Everything that insomnia-plagued taxi driver Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) says during his faux-conversation with himself was improvised by De Niro on the spot. To this day, whenever someone walks by a mirror they can’t help but utter his now famous line “You talking to me?”

The Warriors (1979) “Come Out to Play!”

Come out to plaaaaaaay!

 The cult action drama thriller film The Warriors is up next.

In this scene, the script called for Luther (David Patrick Kelly) – the leader of the vicious New York gang the Rogues – to drive up and provoke rival gang The Warriors to a fight in the streets by clinking bottles together. Kelly spontaneously added the now famous line “Warriors, come out to play!” in a rather sinister and juvenile way.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Gun vs. Sword:

He bought a sword to a gun fight

Chasing after the damsel in distress, archaeologist and adventurer Dr. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) runs into a large sword-wielding bad guy dressed all in black. Instead of fighting him in what would surely be a losing battle, Indy simply pulls out his revolver and puts down the man with one shot and moves on swiftly.

The original script apparently called for a long sword fight for this scene but a day earlier Harrison Ford is said to have caught a severe case of food poisoning and didn’t have the energy to film the scene as written. After a discussion with director Steven Spielberg, the scene was changed and became an iconic part of the Indiana Jones mythos, as well as offering a comic relief to the scene.

Jaws (1975) “You’re Gonna to Need a Bigger Boat”

Just look at that shock!

 While the Police Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) and Orca Captain Quint (Robert Shaw) are chumming the waters in an attempt to lure the deadly great white shark within range, Brody gets his first look at just how massive the killer shark really is. Startled, stunned and filled with fear, he stands up and utters the now famous line, completely off-script, “You're gonna to need a bigger boat.”

You’re not wrong there Brody…

(Fun fact: on set, Steven Spielberg and co. nicknamed the shark Bruce, which was the inspiration behind the name of Disney Pixar’s great white shark, Bruce, in Finding Nemo.)

Casablanca (1942) “Here’s Looking at You Kid”

 

The scene of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) putting Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) and Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) on a plane bound for America with the help of Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains) is chock full of memorable lines but one of the most famous lines apparently wasn’t even part of the original script.

According to reports, Bogart said the phrase “Here’s looking at you kid” multiple times to Bergman while teaching her to play poker in between takes and saw it as a fitting end to their final encounter.

The Shining (1980) “Here’s Johnny!”

Ending in the “golden age” of cinema is this famous scene from The Shining.

While the now-deranged novelist Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) hunts for Wendy Torrance (Shelley Duval) and her son Danny (Danny Lloyd) who are hiding from him in a hotel bathroom, Jack begins chopping through the door with a fire axe and sticks his face into the splintered opening. He utters a phrase previously made popular by Ed McMahon on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson – “Here’s Johnny!”

The line was not part of Kubrick’s original screenplay and was improvised by Nicholson, but helps to display his decent into madness as he refers to himself in the 3rd person… not to mention him sticking his head through a splintered doorway in a rather sinister way as well.

That’s it for today! Tell me what you think of these scenes below. Would they make your list? Know of any others?