Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders, based on S.E. Hinton’s acclaimed novel of the same name, remains a cultural juggernaut today. The film and novel explore universal and timeless themes like friendship, loyalty, class conflict, and adolescent development. Though taking place in the ‘60s, the film transcends any time period, reflecting teenagedom — and all the identity confusion and peer dynamics that go along with it—while honing in on those of lower socioeconomic status. It also benefited from emotionally charged scenes at the hands of a then-lesser-known but talented ensemble, including Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, and Emilio Estevez. And who could forget that memorable soundtrack, featuring hits by The Cadillacs, The Modern Lovers, John Mellencamp (credited as Johnny Cougar), Elvis Presley, and Stevie Wonder?
The film laid the groundwork for films that similarly explored the depths of the adolescent experience (from social issues to parental expectation), such as Stand By Me, Dead Poets Society, and Boyz N the Hood. So, on the anniversary of this modern classic, which premiered on March 25, 1983, let’s look back on some of the most memorable quotes.
“Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold…”
“Do it for Johnny!”
“Nothing gold can stay.”
“You get tough like me and you don’t get hurt. You look out for yourself and nothing can touch you…”
“I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me.”
“Let’s do it for Johnny, man. We’ll do it for Johnny!”
“We’re all we have left. We ought to be able to stick together against anything. If we don’t have each other, we don’t have anything.”
“Things are rough all over, but it was better that way. That way you could tell the other guy was human too.”
“We’ll do things my way this time, or we won’t do them at all.”
“I’m never gonna look at clouds again.”
“You don’t know what a few months in jail can do to you, man.”
“I killed him.”
“I used to talk about killing myself all the time, man. But I don’t wanna die now.”
“You can’t win, even if you whip us. You’ll still be where you were before – at the bottom.”
“It’s like the mist is what’s pretty, ya know? All gold and silver.”
You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There’s still lots of good in the world.”
“That’s why people don’t ever think to blame the Socs and are always ready to jump on us. We look hoody and they look decent. It could be just the other way around – half of the hoods I know are pretty decent guys underneath all that grease, and from what I’ve heard, a lot of Socs are just cold-blooded mean – but people usually go by looks.”
I don’t know. He just ain’t like the rest of us. I mean, I could fall in love with Dallas Winston. I hope I never see him again or I will.”
“You’re gold when you’re a kid, like green.”
“Sixteen years on the street and you can learn a lot. But all the wrong things, not the things you want to learn.”
