It might be the best-known line in recent history – but, like with these great 3xFILMS, we’ve screwed it up.
“Houston, we have a problem.”
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, who doesn’t remember the audio of that most famous of lines? Except that Jim Lovell actually said, ‘Uh, Houston, we’ve had a problem’. Tom Hanks’ more dramatic film version has replaced it in our consciousness.
The Mandela Effect, where we ‘misremember’ history or pop culture, is rife when it comes to cinema. Wall Street’s Gordon Gecko never said ‘Greed is good’, Hannibal Lecter did not say ‘Hello, Clarice’ and it was ‘If you build it, he will come’ and ‘Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all’.
A good excuse to watch these three great films:
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CLASSIC – JAWS (1975)
The original summer blockbuster, Jaws is easily still one of the best and has that great line we love to wittily slip into an exchange: ‘We’re gonna need a bigger boat!’ Except Roy Scheider actually mumbled, in his brilliant ad-lib to Robert Shaw’s Quint, ‘You’re gonna need a bigger boat.’ Spielberg’s classic is perfect escapist fun for these indoor days – until you remember Amity’s mayor takes too long to lockdown the beaches as he hopelessly tries to shield the local economy instead…
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CROWDPLEASER – THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)
It may be hit-and-miss, but Tommy Boy is the best of Chris Farley’s tragically short career – and some say its VHS popularity might be responsible for twisting cinema’s most famous, erm, twist. In a memorable scene, Farley speaks into a fan to mimic Darth Vader’s voice and deliver the quote we’ve all said: ‘Luke, I am your father!’ But the line in Star Wars’ series-best The Empire Strikes Back was actually, ‘No, I am your father!’ Why not watch them both?
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WILDCARD – APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
Right now Francis Ford Coppola’s astonishing descent into madness might be about as welcome as watching The Lighthouse. Still, it’s a stone cold classic littered with famous speeches, including the outstanding Robert Duvall’s warped soliloquy that generated the much abbreviated – but arguably not misquoted – line, ‘I love the smell of Napalm in the morning – it smells like victory!’
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