It doesn’t matter where you live, what you do for a living or what your politics are. When someone asks you to list your favorite movies, there’s a good chance that a Rob Reiner film makes the list. When someone asks you for a random movie quote, it’s even more likely that a Reiner movie will power the next words you say, from “I’ll have what she’s having” to “You can’t handle the truth.”

As a director, producer, writer and actor, Reiner was gifted with an instinct for storytelling that spanned realms and decades, illuminating the human truths behind stories of the miraculous and mundane.

Reiner’s death Sunday at the age of 78 — apparently murdered, along with his wife Michele Singer Reiner — leaves the world with a rich legacy of films that will survive for generations to come. Before releasing his first movie, 1984’s “This is Spinal Tap,” Reiner had already written himself into the history of American entertainment — starting as a teenaged actor who amassed dozens of bit parts (including a few on movies his father, legendary comic Carl Reiner, directed) before taking on the role that would define his acting career: Michael Stivic, son-in-law and permanent thorn in the side of Archie Bunker, the main character of the iconic sitcom “All in the Family.”

But even before that, Reiner was exploring life on the other side of the camera, as a writer for the “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” — a show that, like “All in the Family,” reached beyond mere entertainment value to press on controversial topics.

Reiner’s own vision, and his influence on American culture, really blossomed with “Spinal Tap,” a mockumentary take on a fictional heavy-metal band that deftly and affectionately skewered an over-the-top era of musical excess.

From there, a string of indelible hits unspooled: 1986’s “Stand by Me,” based on a short story by Stephen King; 1987’s “The Princess Bride,” a dazzling adaptation of a beloved William Goldman novel; 1989’s “When Harry Met Sally,” pairing Billy Crystal with Meg Ryan in the quintessential American rom-com — which was followed swiftly by two darker turns that were no less influential: 1990’s “Misery,” (another King adaptation) and “A Few Good Men,” 1992’s tense tale of warriors facing off on the battlefield of a courtroom.

In less than 10 years, Reiner transformed the language and rhythm of American film, winning him Hollywood’s highest compliment of relentless imitation by other creators. And Reiner was far from done. “The American President,” which reunited Reiner with “A Few Good Men” screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, was released in 1995. “Ghosts of Mississippi,” 1996. “The Bucket List,” 2007. And so many more.

But unlike his imitators, Reiner was rarely interested in retracing ground he’d already covered — with one exception. In September, his production company Castle Rock released “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” which was actually the second sequel to his first film — the first being 1992’s “The Return of Spinal Tap.”

And he did it all, without compromise, even when he knew he was traversing ground that would not share the universal popularity of his biggest hits.

“Stick with your beliefs. If you think something is good and it’s important, you should do it,” Reiner said in an interview with the Television Academy Foundation recorded in 2004. “If they don’t let you do it, then — you know, go down fighting. But don’t give in and change something just to please people. …If you can’t please yourself, and you try to please everybody, then you please nobody…. You have to do something you think is right and hopefully other people will think it’s right, too.”

That philosophy also infused Reiner’s political involvement, which spanned decades and embraced fights for LGBTQ+ equality, public education and health and environmental causes.

That part of his career prompted a reprehensible social-media post from President Donald Trump that came just hours after the news of the murders surfaced. We won’t repeat it here, but it’s laudable that some Republican officials across the nation were quick to condemn the post. It’s hard not to imagine Reiner grinning at how spectacularly Trump’s attack failed.

So long as his films survive, however, Reiner’s legacy will live on — untarnished by petty attacks, his films will continue to shine a light on the all-too-human struggles of princesses, warriors and rock stars, of children and old men. It’s a treasure trove, built by many hands at the direction of one brilliant mind, whose work will remain a source of humanity and inspiration for decades to come.

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