Anthony D. DiNozzo | Movie References |
Tony DiNozzo often makes comparisons between the cases he's working on and situations he and the team find themselves in with movies or TV shows. From something as little as a single quote to a detailed plot, DiNozzo has seen them all and will quote them no matter how inappropriate or frustrating for his coworkers. This knowledge was later used as a cover while he pretended to be Anthony DiNardo, a university teacher of film history. Other characters occasionally make film references as well, sometimes in DiNozzo's prescence, prompting him to name the film referenced and/or discuss films in general.
Movie References by Season
Season 1
Yankee White (1x01)
- Air Force One - Gibbs keeps bringing up plot details from "the Harrison Ford movie", including the fact that he and one of the film's villains share the same last name.
The Curse (1x05)
- Bounce - Kate compares the start of the relationship between Randy Wiles and Mary Schilz with the one between Buddy Amaral (Ben Affleck) and Abby Janello (Gwyneth Paltrow).
Eye Spy (1x11)
- Three Days of the Condor - Kate asks Gibbs about watching Robert Redford playing the CIA "geek" in the movie.
Eye Spy (1x11)
Enigma (1x15)
Season 2
Vanished (2x03)
- Invaders From Mars - Tony references the 1953 original, careful to distinguish it from the 1986 remake
- Star Trek - Tony gives McGee the Vulcan salute to cap off his latest practical joke.
The Bone Yard (2x05)
- The Godfather - when Agent Charles mentions that the FBI has nicknamed one of mob boss Jimmy Napolitano's underlings "Abe" because of his resemblance to actor Abe Vigoda, Tony and Charles mimic the exchange at the end of this film between Vigoda's Salvatore Tessio and Robert Duvall's Tom Hagen.
SWAK (2x22)
Season 3
Switch (3x05)
The Voyeur's Web (3x06)
Frame-Up (3x09)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Tony's mock questioning of himself, using different perspectives to make it seem as if there are two people in his jail cell, is strongly reminiscent of the scene where the two halves of Gollum's personality "converse" with each other.
- Cool Hand Luke - Tony calls it "the greatest prison chain gang movie ever made" as he is released from jail, and quotes Paul Newman's line, "what we have here is a failure to communicate."
Boxed In (3x12)
- Bugsy Malone - Tony imitates an old-style New York gangster accent and calls Ziva "Bugsy" when she suggests they "bust out" of the shipping container.
- Kuch Kuch Hota Hai - the contents of the shipping container are concealed by multiple DVD copies of this Bollywood romantic comedy.
- Steve McQueen
- Night of the Living Dead - Tony's joking answer when Ziva asks him to name the "best eating movie";
- Tom Jones - Tony's real answer to "best eating movie"
- Body Heat - Tony's answer to her question, "best sex movie"
Deception (3x13)
- Mr. Peabody & Sherman - Tony, while poking fun at McGee's overly academic attire, compares him to Sherman from the old cartoon series "Peabody's Improbable History" featured on The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends
- Banacek - Tony also compares McGee to Thomas Banacek, the lead detective character (played by George Peppard) of the 1972-1974 television series.
- Beavis and Butt-Head
- Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
- Desperado
Ravenous (3x17)
- Pulp Fiction - Tony is surprised when Ziva recognizes the name of the park store, "Jackrabbit Slim's" from Pulp Fiction; later, Abby opens her birthday present from Gibbs and, seeing a glow from inside, remarks, "This is so Pulp Fiction."
Bait (3x18)
Bloodbath (3x21)
Jeopardy (3x22)
Hiatus Part 1 (3x23)
- The Usual Suspects
- The Sound of Music
- Hogan's Heroes
- Mutiny (Port Chicago Mutiny)
- From Russia with Love
Season 4
Shalom (4x01)
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - FBI Agent Ron Sacks brings up Narnia and tries to explain it to DiNozzo, but is promptly informed that he knows the movie.
Escaped (4x02)
- Friends TV Series - Season 6, Episode 8 The One with Ross's Teeth / The One with Ross's Teeth
- The Fugitive
- Antiques Roadshow - mentioned by Special Agent Timothy McGee when he evaluates the furnishings within Mickey's apartment.
- Missed a movie opportunity with the name Russell Nash - an alias for Connor MacLeod, the main character of Highlander in the 80's.
Singled Out (4x03)
- The above four movies are mentioned by Ducky as part of him profiling a victim, he says they are what Tony would class as "Chick Flicks"
Dead and Unburied (4x05)
Suspicion (4x12)
- Deliverance - Tony and McGee hum "Dueling Banjos" when Ziva asks what the word "boondocks" means in reference to Edenvale, Virginia
- Strangers in the night - while DiNozzo mentioned that it starred Cary Grant, no film with this name actually existed
Blowback (4x14)
Dead Man Walking (4x16)
Grace Period (4x19)
Season 5
Identity Crisis (5x04)
- Eraser - Tony compares Kamal Konkani to Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Eraser" from the eponymous film;
- Flashdance - McGee fails to catch the reference, leading an annoyed Tony to guess that "the Eraser" starred in this film instead.
- The Sunshine Boys - Tony jokes to Courtney Krieger that "Ks" are fun, referencing her name, Kamal Konkani's name, and the name of one of Kamal's past clients, Khaled Khalil.
- The Princess Bride - When Fornell argues that Robert Graves is too young to have Kamal Konkani's criminal history, Tony guesses that Kamal, like the fictional "Dread Pirate Roberts" could have retired and passed his name and reputation to a younger successor.
Leap of Faith (5x05)
- No Way Out - Nikki Jardine compares deceased Navy Lt. Michael Arnett to Kevin Costner's character in this film, an "Arab version" of a "deep cover mole", where Costner's character was a Soviet.
- Body Heat - Tony quips that Najida Moumud set up Arnett the same way "Kathleen Turner set up William Hurt."
Chimera (5x06)
- Willard
- Gold Rush
- White Heat
- Jeopardy! (the game show)
- Double Jeopardy (the film)
- Ben
- Alien
- Run Silent, Run Deep
- Under Siege
- The Hunt for Red October
- Tony also makes a general reference to "Horror Films That Take Place On Ships", a category that would include Deep Star Six, Leviathan, Deep Rising, and Ghost Ship
Requiem (5x07)
Designated Target (5x08)
Lost and Found (5x09)
- The Deep End of the Ocean - Tony compares the twist of a lost child re-surfacing to the plot of this film.
- Zero Hour!
- Magnum P.I. - Tony is thrilled to recognize Carson's bed as a model of Magnum's red Ferrari GT (complete with a vanity plate that reads "Carson P.I."), and wonders aloud if he can get a king-sized version for himself.
- Shrek - Carson successfully answers a question about this film while playing a movie trivia computer game with Abby.
- Back to the Future - Tony seeks to beat Carson's high score on said game by answering a question about this film.
Corporal Punishment (5x10)
- The Fugitive - Tony (much to McGee's exasperation) insists on delivering Tommy Lee Jones's speech from this movie every time the team has to track down a fugitive.
- The Greatest Show on Earth
- The A Team - McGee speculates that Damon Werth is on the run after being disavowed by the U.S. military, to which Tony scornfully replies, "he's not the A Team, McGee."
- Chinatown - after having his nose broken by Werth, Tony gets a bandage and splint that closely resembles that worn by Jack Nicholson's character in this film (after having his nostril slashed open with a switchblade).
- Batman
- James Bond
- Pulp Fiction - Tony and McGee are alarmed to see Ziva administering a shot of adrenaline to Werth, recalling John Travolta's character doing the same to a victim of a drug overdose in this film.
- The Incredible Hulk - Tony and McGee are alarmed because they fear the reaction that adrenaline can provoke in a prodigiously strong Marine (Werth) with a history of both violence and psychotic behavior.
Ironically, when Tony and McGee see Werth lying in his hospital bed, McGee asks, "no funny movie reference?" and Tony solemnly replies, "it's not funny."
Tribes (5x11)
- Double Indemnity
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High
- Johnny Quest
- Full Metal Jacket
- A Few Good Men
- Juicy Fruit
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
- 3 Days of the Condor
- Bullets Over Broadway
- Paycheck
Stakeout (5x12)
- Strangers on a Train - Tony speculates that, like the characters in this film, the murder victim and the murderer met by coincidence and decided to hatch a plot together, counting on their lack of other connections to confuse any investigators. Tony would later reference this film again in "The Inside Man."
Recoil (5x16)
- Sea of Love (incorrectly)
Season 6
Agent Afloat (6x02)
- Romancing the Stone - this action film also takes place in Colombia, and Tony jokingly suggests that being fed to crocodiles is a standard punishment for bad behavior.
- The Blue Lagoon - Tony sarcastically compares the scene in Bogota, Colombia, to this film, except "there's no sandy beaches, no waterfalls, and definitely no Brooke Shields."
- Seems Like Old Times - Ziva uses this phrase at the conclusion of the case, which Tony identifies as the title of a movie.
Heartland (6x04)
- A Night at the Opera - when Ducky arrives at the crime scene in a tuxedo, he explains that he'd spent a night at the opera, which Tony compares to the Marx Brothers comedy of the same title.
- Superman - Tony jokingly suggests that Leroy Jethro Gibbs might as well have been put in a spaceship and fired off from his home planet, for all that the team knows about his origins.
- The Dukes of Hazzard - When Abby asks if Tony has heard from Ziva or McGee, Tony jokingly answers "From Hazzard County?" (the real-life Stillwater, Pennsylvania is located in Columbia County) When McGee calls Abby from Stillwater, she calls him "Luke" and asks, "how's Uncle Jesse?"
Murder 2.0 (6x06)
- Psycho - while photographing a shower stained with blood, Tony compares it to the famous scene from this film, and does his impression of Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates.
- Thunderball - Tony suggests that the only way he could imagine the body was smuggled onto the Marine base was underwater, using a motorized submersible, as shown in this film.
- A Nightmare on Elm Street
- Numa Numa Guy
- Scream
- Se7en - Tony scornfully calls the "CyberVid Killer"'s plan - goading the authorities into shooting someone - a "total cliche", ripped off from this film. The Killer angrily rejects the comparison, insisting that his plan was "totally different."
Cloak (6x08)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark - Tony jokingly asks Lt. Deckard whether he has the "Ark of the Covenant" hidden inside the top secret installation.
- Convoy - Tony refers to Ziva, McGee, and Ducky as "Widow Woman", "Spider Mike", and "Rubber Duck" after characters in this movie.
- Smokey and the Bandit - Tony addresses Gibbs as a character from this film, then pats himself on the back for his "seamless" transition between references to Convoy and this film, which leaves Lt. Deckard unimpressed.
- Blade Runner - Tony references that Lt. Deckard shares his last name with the lead character of this film.
- WarGames - DiNozzo references this film, but mistakenly says Matthew Broderick voiced the character of Joshua, when in actuality it was James Ackerman.
Dagger (6x09)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark - Tony proposes saving Amanda Lee from a weight-based booby trap by switching her with an equivalent weight, as in this film.
Road Kill (6x10)
Silent Night (6x11)
- It's A Wonderful Life.- on Christmas Eve, Tony converts MTAC into a movie theater and treats the team to a viewing of this film, which he describes as a "DiNozzo family tradition."
Love and War (6x14)
- Weird Science - Tony admits to watching this film just before "catfishing" McGee.
- Fatal Attraction - Tony plans to use this film as a blueprint for killing McGee's interest in the fake girlfriend that Tony invented.
- WarGames - Tony, ordinarily clueless with technology, references this film to explain his familiarity with the term "phreak box", along with Sneakers and Hackers.
South by Southwest (6x17)
- The episode's title is itself a reference to the well-known Hitchcock thriller North by Northwest.
- Blazing Saddles - Tony references a famous comic scene from this film, declining to eat cooked beans while camping in the Arizona mountains.
Knockout (6x18)
- The Karate Kid - one of the boxers at the gym refers to the deceased Marine as "the black Miyagi".
- Dirty Harry - the exchange between Gibbs and Vance in the latter's home about "policy" mirrors the exchange between Dirty Harry and the Mayor of San Francisco.
- The Untouchables
- Joe Versus the Volcano
- Moonstruck
- Doubt
Season 7
The Inside Man (7x03)
- Strangers on a Train - like the characters in this film, the antagonists of this episode turn out to be two strangers who met on a train and decided to hatch a plot together, counting on their lack of other connections to confuse any investigators.
- K-9 - Tony references this film, along with Turner & Hooch, while he and McGee are running for their lives from guard dogs at the police impound.
Good Cop, Bad Cop (7x04)
Endgame (7x07)
- Planet of the Apes - Tony compares McGee to Charlton Heston's character when describing his obvious attraction to his new paramour.
- White Heat - Tony imitates James Cagney's character in this film;
- White Nights - McGee confuses the film White Heat with "the one with the ballet dancers," which Tony corrects him on.
Power Down (7x08)
- Tony references several "classic" pre-electronic cop television shows and movies when proposing to hang a large map on the cork board the team is using in lieu of the plasma screen:
- Dragnet - Later, when confronting the bad guy, Tony mimics the show's famous opening, "Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent..."
- Baretta
- Kojak - Tony references its star, Telly Savalas, and repeats his catchphrase, "Who loves you, baby?"
- Columbo - while searching through fingerprint records by hand, Tony grumbles, "you never see this crap on Columbo."
- Hawaii Five-O - Gibbs paraphrases the famous catchphrase, "Book 'em, Danno" when confronting the killer, which Tony compliments.
- Doctor Who - McGee compares Emma Paxton's "sanctuary" to the TARDIS time-travel device from the series;
- Lord of War - Tony mocks McGee's Doctor Who reference, and instead compares the "sanctuary" to the arsenal from Lord of War, including the line (delivered in a Franco-African accent), "you have the gun that Rambo use?"
- The Bourne Identity - Tony refers to Emma Paxton's cache of fake passports as "a regular Jason Bourne identikit."
- MacGyver - Abby compares Emma Paxton to the lead character of this show, trying to use medication from her abductor's bathroom to sabotage their break-in.
- Frankenstein - Tony exclaims, "it's alive!" about his computer when the power is finally restored.
Child's Play (7x09)
- The Bad Seed - Tony references this film when Ziva disbelieves that Angela Kelp or one of the other child prodigies at the Satler Institute could be involved in the murder plot.
- Hannah and Her Sisters
- The 39 Steps
Faith (7x10)
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Tony compares his Secret Santa to "the Grinch"
- The Bob Newhart Show - while confronting Sgt. Tibbens in the bar, Tony references the "redneck" skit from this show, "Daryl and his other brother Daryl." Newhart himself appeared in "Recruited" as Dr. Walter Magnus.
- They Call Me Mister Tibbs! - while flirting with Ziva, 1st Sgt. Louis Tibbens says, "call me Tibbs", and Tony rejoins, "do they call you Mr. Tibbs?", a reference to the famous line by Sidney Poitier's character in 1967's In the Heat of the Night; the line was later used for the title of the film's 1970 sequel.
- Zodiac - At the episode's conclusion, Tony mocks the killer's use of cut-up magazine letters to mail a death threat to Chaplain El-Sayad.
Ignition (7x11)
- Hondo - the murder victim's callsign was "Hondo", as in the John Wayne film of the same name; Ziva, confused, remarks that she thought Wayne's nickname was "The Duke".
- Thunderball - Tony recalls that he was telling McGee about the special features on the DVD release of this film (the opening scene of which features James Bond escaping from villains with a jet pack), only for McGee to "educate" him and Ziva about the real-life science of jet packs.
- Better Off Dead - Ziva inadvertently paraphrases a line from this film about skiing: "Go that way really fast, if something gets in your way, turn." - though Ziva is talking about driving.
- The Jetsons - McGee's documentary short about jet packs ends, "and we're all living like the Jetsons."
- The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends - Palmer jokingly refers to the dead squirrel found near the victim as "Rocket J.", the full name of Rocky the Flying Squirrel
Jet Lag (7x13)
- Psycho - in Tony's absence, Ducky makes an offhand remark to this film while examining a corpse in a shower stall, arguing that Tony would be making the same reference if he were there.
- Pollyanna - Tony compares Nora Williams to Hayley Mills's character from this film.
- Bambi - Ziva teasingly compares Tony to one of the characters from this film.
- The Twilight Zone - Episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" - Tony recalls this TV episode, about a gremlin sabotaging an aircraft, and a frightened passenger who is the only one that can see it.
- Roger Dodger - Tony says this to Ducky while obeying his instructions to tilt his laptop's camera for a better view of the in-flight crime scene.
- Sophie's Choice - Tony references this film while lamenting that he can't decide which of his photos from Paris to delete to make space on his memory card for a crime scene photo.
- Snakes on a Plane - Tony references this film after the assassin is caught during the flight.
Masquerade (7x14)
- Marathon Man - Tony says he always suspects the dentist after seeing this film, about an escaped Nazi war criminal and ex-dentist who tortures the protagonist.
Jack Knife (7x15)
- The World's Greatest Athelete - Tony and McGee discuss the bond between people who have saved each other's lives, comparing this film with Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
- First Blood - Tony has concerns about using Damon Werth in the team's sting against Aaron Szwed, calling him "Johnny Rambo"
- Airwolf - Tony compares McGee to "Stringfellow Hawke", the lead character of this series.
Mother's Day (7x16)
Tony is eagerly looking forward to an Akira Kurosawa film festival, including these three films:
Jurisdiction (7x18)
- Jaws - seeing the corpse of a diver whose limb was sliced off by a propeller, post-mortem, Tony repeats Richard Dreyfuss's line, "This was no boating accident!"
- Reservoir Dogs - Tony compares the armed standoff between the NCIS and CGIS agents to the standoff at the end of this film.
- Life Goes On
- Captain Blood - Tony excitedly reads this film's title from a list of swashbuckling films;
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - Tony posits that their suspects fell out among themselves to avoid splitting the treasure, just like the protagonists of this film; CGIS Special Agent Borin, catching the reference, rejoins, "Yeah, but who's Bogie?"
- Body Heat
- The Black Pirate - Tony and Ziva sit down to watch this film at the end of the episode;
- The list of swashbuckling films on Tony's computer also includes:
- Robin Hood
- The Thief of Bagdad
- The Count of Monte Cristo
- The Scarlet Pimpernel
- The Prisoner of Zenda
- The Adventures of Robin Hood
- The Sea Hawk
- The Black Swan
- The Pirate
- Two versions of The Mark of Zorro (1920 and 1940)
- Two versions of The Three Musketeers (1921 and 1948)
Guilty Pleasure (7x19)
- Battleship Potemkin
- Vertigo
- Bullitt
- Dirty Harry
- The Road Warrior
- Escape from Alcatraz
- Diner
- The Terminator
- The Untouchables
- Pretty Woman
- The Silence of the Lambs
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- Leaving Las Vegas
- Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Moonlighting (7x20)
- Gremlins - Tony has repeatedly referred to Palmer as "the Autopsy gremlin" since Season Three's "Boxed In", and expands on this description in this episode; seeing Palmer in the squad room, Tony jibes that gremlins are supposed to be kept out of direct sunlight; Gibbs, unusually, gets the reference and adds, "don't get him wet." Likewise, seeing Palmer's extreme allergic reaction to henna, Tony quips, "Dear God, someone fed him after midnight."
Rule Fifty-One (7x24)
- Marathon Man - the scene where Alejandro Rivera appears to "rescue" Gibbs from Paloma Reynosa's compound, drives him away and attempts to interrogate him about what he's told her, then drives Gibbs right back and reveals himself to be working with her, is reminiscent of a similar scene from this film.
Season 8
Royals and Loyals (8x04)
- Peter Pan - Tony calls Ziva "Tinker Bell."
- I Love Lucy - when McGee is forced to climb into a hot tub filled with rancid water, Tony and Palmer both fondly recall the famous episode of I Love Lucy when Lucy is stomping grapes in an oversized barrel.
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb - Elston Harkin's response when Tony asks him to identify Peter Sellers's best film.
- Being There - Tony contradicts Harkin and identifies this as Sellers's best film.
- What's New Pussycat - Harkin counters with this film.
- Beyond the Fringe - Tony is elated when Harkin not only admits he's a fan of Dudley Moore, but is familiar with Moore's earlier films with Peter Cook.
Dead Air (8x05)
- Field of Dreams - Tony drops the name of this film while he and McGee are attempting to explain the importance of baseball to American culture.
- Arlington Road - Tony compares the domestic terrorist cell the team has discovered to the plot of this film.
- Urban Legend - Tony remarks that domestic terrorist groups comprised of Ivy League college graduates are an urban legend, which is also the name of this film.
- Top Gun - When Ducky quotes this film to Tony, "I hope you don't write a check you can't cash", Ziva mistakenly attributes it to Gone With The Wind, forcing Tony to correct her, despite his raw throat.
Broken Arrow (8x07)
- Broken Arrow - The episode's title references the film of the same name, about a stolen nuclear weapon that is initially presumed lost.
- Dr. No - watching his father pour himself a martini, while dressed in a tuxedo, Tony is horrified to realize, "you think you're James Bond, don't you?"
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - following his father out of the squad room, Tony complains about his father calling him "Junior" in front of his co-workers.
Enemies Foreign (8x08)
- In The Line of Fire - Tony quotes John Malkovich's character, "All a man needs [to assassinate someone] is a willingness to trade his life for theirs." McGee points out that the quote was actually made by President Kennedy (a fact mentioned in the film).
- Heathers - Tony needles Ziva about her jealousy of Liat Tuvia, adding that this scenario (the prettiest, most popular girl being shown up by a new arrival) is a staple of most 1980's high school films, including Heathers and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High - Tony mentions this film, but Gibbs points out that no one got jealous in its story, adding "God, I like Phoebe Cates."
Ships in the Night (8x11)
- Clue - Tony mentions "Colonel Mustard" while addressing the assembled crowd of suspects.
- Murder on the Orient Express - Tony imitates Albert Finney's character, Hercule Poirot, while addressing the assembled crowd of suspects.
Freedom (8x13)
- The Hunt for Red October - Tony mentions this film to Nick Miller as they enter the squadroom.
Defiance (8x15)
- The Godfather - Tony describes this film as "The Godfather, Part I", finding a clue hidden in a toilet tank, in the same manner that a gun was hidden behind a restaurant's toilet for use by Al Pacino's Michael Corleone.
One Last Score (8x17)
- Heat - Tony remarks that their murder victim likely sold the schematics to the seized property warehouse to a crew of thieves, the same way a character did in this film.
- Citizen Kane - Tony compares the seized property warehouse to "Xanadu", Charles Foster Kane's legendary residence in this film, filled with crates containing various treasures. Ziva, understanding the reference, notices a child's sled in a corner and whimsically calls it "Rosebud".
- Xanadu - The guard at the warehouse mistakes Tony's reference to the film of the same name.
- The Thomas Crown Affair - In the warehouse, Tony is thrilled to find the sunglasses that Steve McQueen wore in this film, which the guard agrees with a chuckle, "now that was a heist."
- A Thief in the Night - Tony remarks that the thieves have already come and gone and taken what they were looking for (although the team later finds that it was never there at all).
- The Big Sleep - Ziva is thrilled to learn that the antique desk that was of interest to the thieves belonged to William Faulkner, whose novels she loved reading. Tony says he's also a big fan of Faulkner, though less for his novels than his contributions to the screenplays for The Big Sleep and To Have and Have Not, both of which starred Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
- Ghostbusters - when McGee finishes summarizing his evidence, Tony quips, "unless you built a proton pack in your spare time, we can't chase ghosts."
- Bullitt - when Gibbs asks what their next move is in busting Leona Phelps, Tony guesses, "Bullitt"?, anticipating Gibbs' car chase.
- The Getaway - Tony compares Gibbs's move to end the car chase with Steve McQueen's famous maneuver in this film.
Baltimore (8x22)
- The Night of the Hunter - Tony references this film while viewing Danny Price's new scorpion tattoo.
- Donnie Brasco - Tony reluctantly compliments Gibbs tricking the Baltimore Police into arresting him, to earn him "bona fides" with the local criminal community.
- Minority Report - Tony jokes, "where's the Pre-Crime Unit when you need them?", since they arrested the would-be copycat killer before he actually killed anyone.
- Gacy - Ziva finds it extremely disturbing that the would-be copycat killer works part-time as a birthday clown; serial killer John Wayne Gacy likewise volunteered as a clown at charity events, and was nicknamed "The Killer Clown" after his arrest.
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - while recruiting Tony as an NCIS Agent, Gibbs quotes Paul Newman's line, "Boy, I got vision, and the rest of the world is wearing bifocals", a reference that delights Tony.
Season 9
Restless (9x02)
Enemy on the Hill (9x04)
Safe Harbor (9x05)
- Fight Club - DiNozzo references this film as where he learned that glycerin soap can be used as an ingredient in explosives.
Sins of the Father (9x10)
- Stagecoach
- West Side Story - Anthony DiNozzo Senior grumpily refers to the female police officer holding him as "Officer Krupke", a character and song from the musical play West Side Story (coincidentally, the 1961 film version starred Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner's wife).
- Meet the Parents - Tony mimics Robert De Niro's line "I'm watching you, Focker" to Ned Dorneget.
Newborn King (9x11)
- The Deputy Dawg Show - Lt. Reynolds derisively refers to the young Sheriff's deputy assisting them at the mall as "Deputy Dawg"
- The Andy Griffith Show - Tony likewise refers to Deputy McCormick as "Barney Fife".
Housekeeping (9x12)
- The Untouchables - Tony paraphrases Sean Connery's memorable line, "Isn't that just like a wop? Brings a knife to a gunfight."
- Zardoz - after Tony mentions Connery, Barrett mentions that she liked Connery in "Xanadu", causing Tony to wince; likely she confused the title of Connery's film Zardoz with the 1980 film Xanadu
- The Wizard of Oz - Tony says, "I'll miss you most of all, Scarecrow" when saying goodbye to Barrett.
Secrets (9x15)
- The Crying Game - Tony asks Ziva whether she finally saw this movie when she walks into the squad room grumbling "unbelievable!"
- What's New Pussycat(?) - Tony greets Abby with the name of this film when he sees her dressed in a "real-life superhero" outfit.
Season 10
Phoenix (10x03)
- The Usual Suspects - Tony asks the killer, when they confront him, "Did you Keyser Soze us?"
Lost at Sea (10x04)
- Top Gun - Tony cites this film as proof of the importance of having a "wingman", defending his and McGee's going to a bar together.
- Waterworld - when Ziva is confused at finding what appears to be a full canteen on a life raft with three sailors hospitalized for dehydration, Tony invites her to smell its contents, remembering from this film that the lead character drank water recycled from his own urine.
- Jaws - Tony compares Shamus Quinn to Robert Shaw's character from this film, Quint, arguing to McGee that they can't let him beat them to Agent Borin's affections.
Hereafter (10x15)
- Jaws - DiNozzo while babysitting Vance's children alongside Ziva David tells them about Jaws offscreen, and playfully portrays himself as the titular shark while chasing the children with a pizza box as Vance comes home, prompting him to explain himself to his boss.
Seek (10x18)
- Mrs. Doubtfire - Tony comments that Leon Vance is aiming too high in picking a nanny for his children; and "if he's waiting for Robin Williams in drag to come floating in on an umbrella singing Do-Re-Mi, he's gonna be waiting a long time", incorporating references to Mrs. Doubtfire, Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music in one sentence.
- Nanny McPhee - When Timothy McGee commends Tony's adroit incorporation of movie references, Tony tosses in a fourth, calling him "McPhee"
- The Sound of Music - later, when Vance finishes interviewing another prospective nanny (a British woman named Maria who refers to her possible position as "governess"), he notices Tony's reaction and asks, "Is there a problem?" Dinozzo responds, "Like Maria?". This is a reference to the song, "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" from The Sound of Music. The lead role in the 1965 film adaptation, Julie Andrews, also played "governess" Mary Poppins in the 1964 Disney film of the same name.
- Magnum P.I. - when he and McGee are running from Norman Pittorino's dogs, Tony calls them "Zeus" and "Apollo" after Magnum's dogs;
- Aladdin - Abby suggests, half-facetiously, that Sgt. Lemere stumbled on a cave of treasures, which Tony compares to the plot of Aladdin.
Revenge (10x22)
Season 11
Devil's Triad (11x10)
- The African Queen - Emily Fornell spends the night at Gibbs's home to avoid her parents, and they watch this film together.
Homesick (11x11)
- Outbreak - Bishop is taken aback to hear that Tony contracted pneumonic plague (in "SWAK"), thinking he was just being paranoid about disease after seeing "too many cheesy Outbreak movies."
- Contagion - Tony archly retorts that "cheesy outbreak movies" such as Contagion are as instructive as a real disease event;
- 28 Days Later - Tony also cites this film; when Bishop objects that it is a zombie film instead of an "outbreak" film, Tony replies, "like there's a difference?"
Double Back (11x13)
- Gorillas in the Mist- Tony compares working with Gibbs to this film, explaining to Bishop, "eventually you'll learn to interpret his grunts."
- Legal Eagles- Tony and Bishop's friend Sofia Martinez take an instant shine to each other, she comparing him to Robert Redford, and he comparing her to Debra Winger, who starred with Redford in this film.
Bulletproof (11x15)
- The Godfather: Part II- Bishop sheepishly admits that, while running a tactical course, she shot a paper cutout of a mother holding a baby, mistaking it for a gun wrapped in a towel, similar to the one with which Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) shot Don Fanucci (Gastone Moschin) in this film.
- While Delilah is waiting in the squad room, she and Tony brainstorm a list of cool movie and TV characters in wheelchairs, including:
- Professor X from X-Men
- Lt. Dan Taylor from Forrest Gump
- Dr. Strangelove from Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb
- Logan Cale from Dark Angel (a role played by Michael Weatherly)
- Jake Sully from Avatar
- Rose from Titanic
'Oil and Water (11x06)
- The Great Pumpkin
- The Headless Horseman
- The Ghost of Halloween Past
- Old Habits Die Hard (Dave Stewart, Mick Jagger)
- Greed is Good- Wall Street(The Gekko)
- Dirty Harry
Bulletproof (11x15)
- Lethal Weapon- Tony pokes fun at the mullet hairstyle sported by Mannehim Gold's former stage manager, joking "Mel Gibson wants his hair back from Lethal Weapon."
- Nashville - Tony refers to Mannheim as "Nashville" (Keith Carradine, who plays Gold, had a starring role in the film)
- Lake City - The song Mannheim sings during the concert at the end of the episode was actually written by Keith Carradine for this film.