Why is the "I coulda been a contender" line from On the Waterfront so famous?

This line from the film On the Waterfront generally appears on most lists of the greatest or most famous movie lines ever uttered:

You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it.

I've never understood this one. From my perspective, it is not especially climactic or elegant; there's no clever wordplay or incredibly original joke; the wording is not particularly memorable or unusual; the scene is not extraordinary and so the line cannot take its fame from the scene; the content of the line is not especially revelatory or disturbing or surprising.

In short, it has none of the attributes of most other famous lines.

Why is this line so famous?

Best Answer

It’s not so much the line itself, or even the words. It’s the way Marlon Brando says them, with all the regret anyone has ever felt about not achieving something they dreamed about. It’s that very universality which makes the words so memorable. Who hasn’t felt like that? Sometimes it’s not necessary to be dramatic or disturbing or surprising or any of the other attributes you say these words are lacking; sometime the simplest words carry the greatest emotional weight.