About

"You Betrayed the Law" is an infamous line from the 1995 movie "Judge Dredd" based on the british comic strip of the same name. In the movie, Sylvester Stallone (as Judge Dredd) engages in a conversation with Judge Rico during the climax when the line is said.

Origin

Judge Dredd started as a comic strip in the british anthology comic 2000 AD. He is considered by most Brits as one their most popular characters to come out from the U.K. In 1995, an American made film about Dredd was released staring Sylvester Stallone as the titular character. The movie was critically panned and fared poorly in the box office. Many reviewers criticized the changing of several elements from the comic book, some of which included Dredd being romantically involved with another Judge and Dredd removing his helmet, both of which were not in the original comic strip.

One of the scenes consisted of over-the-top acting.

Rico: Why did you judge me?

[Dredd stares at him]

Rico: Why did you judge me?

Judge Dredd: You killed innocent people.

Rico: A means to an end.

Judge Dredd: [raising his voice] You started a massacre.

Rico: I began a revolution.

Judge Dredd: [shouting] You betrayed the law!

Rico: Law!

YTMND

The quote gained exposure and popularity on YTMND with synegor's ytmnd (http://dreddlaw.ytmnd.com/). Upon it's creation, a fad broke out with various parodies and remixes along with mashups with other ytmnd fads like NSMB and Lex Luthor's No.

http://dredlawwww.ytmnd.com/
http://betraylexluthorwronglaw.ytmnd.com/ (Lex Luthor)
http://youpunchedoutthelaw.ytmnd.com/ (NSMB mashup)
http://youbetrayed.ytmnd.com/ (Metal Gear Solid parody)
http://respectnyauth.ytmnd.com/ (System of a Down)
http://deanlaw.ytmnd.com/ (Howard Dean's Yeah)

Youtube

The quote has also been remixed and spoofed in various youtube videos. As of January 16, 2012, the original video clip has 654,969 views.

Nostalgia Critic's reception