Film buffs from Greece, Denmark, Russia, Lithuania, Sweden and Serbia pick some great quotes from films made in their countries.
One of the most popular catchphrases in European cinema comes from a Greek comedy called A Greek Girl in the Harem starring Rena Vlahopoulou. The line is Pethane o Theios! (the uncle is dead!) which are the fake news of a wealthy uncle dying. The comedic tone of that macabre line is that the uncle is not really dead. He faked his own demise as a tactic to find out who really loves him and who is just after his money.
Although this line is famous, the line Vaggelis! is the most popular one. It comes from an invention in the film that opens and closes the door if someone uses a specific phrase. Due to a comedic mix-up, the door only moves if someone shouts the name of the character Vaggelis. So, when everyone calls out his name, the door slams shut, leading to painful situations.
Another famous quote comes from the Danish series 14 Olsen-Branden. The films tell the story of an infamous gang always looking to carry out the greatest heist ever, the heist over all heists), as the gang's leader Egon Olsen puts it.
At the start of every film, Olsen is released from prison and greeted by gang members Kjeld and Benny. That's when he utters his most famous quote: Jeg har en plan! (I've got a plan).
The Swedish movie franchise Beck is also a source of catchphrases thanks to detective Martin Beck's (Peter Haber) rather eccentric neighbor. The famous catchphrase he utters in all situations: Ska vi ta oss en stänkare? (Should we have a drink?)
The most quoted Serbian movie is The Marathon Family, a 1982 comedy cult classic. The story takes place in a town in 1935 and it tells the story of the eccentric Topalovic family, which consists of six generations of undertakers.
The movie is a black comedy where all the main characters are bad guys. One famous catchphrase is in the line of this dark sense of humor: Zao mi je sto ste moji, a ne deca nekog mog neprjatelja (I'm sorry that you are mine and not the children of my enemy).
As you would expect, many characters die on the film and, therefore, there are many death jokes. For instance, in response to someone being accidentally burned alive while repairing the cremation oven, a character said: Ala ga je opravio svaka my cast (Well, he repaired it, excellent).
One of the best quotes from Russian cinema can be found in Aleksei Balabanov's 2000 film Brother 2. It comes in the English language: Are you gangsters? No, we are Russians.
Some endearing quotes come from the Italian classic, Life is Beautiful. Bartolomeo: They are looking for someone who speaks German to translate their instructions. Guido: Me! I'll do it, I'll translate! Bartolomeo: Do you speak German? Guido: No And everyone's favorite... when Guido says: Buon giorno, Principessa!