Best Movie Speeches

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Danoff

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What's your favorite speech or monologue?

At the moment I'm voting for Braveheart at the battle of stirling.

"I am William Wallace. And I see a whole army of my countrymen,
here in defiance of tyranny! You have come to fight as free men. And
free man you are! What will you do without freedom? Will you fight?"
"Two thousand against ten?" - the veteran shouted. "No! We will
run - and live!"
"Yes!" Wallace shouted back. "Fight and you may die. Run and you
will live at least awhile. And dying in your bed many years from now,
would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for
one chance, just one cahnce, to come back here as young men and tell
our enemies that they may take our lives but they will never take
our freedom!"
 
I know some of you won't like this one :p

Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting:

Say I'm working at N.S.A. Somebody
puts a code on my desk, something nobody
else can break. So I take a shot at
it and maybe I break it. And I'm real
happy with myself, 'cause I did my job
well. But maybe that code was the
location of some rebel army in North
Africa or the Middle East. Once they
have that location, they bomb the
village where the rebels were hiding
and fifteen hundred people I never had
a problem with get killed.
Now the politicians are sayin' "send
in the Marines to secure the area"
'cause they don't give a ****. It
won't be their kid over there, gettin'
shot. Just like it wasn't them when
their number got called, 'cause they
were pullin' a tour in the National
Guard. It'll be some guy from Southie
takin' shrapnel in the ass. And he
comes home to find that the plant he
used to work at got exported to the
country he just got back from.
And the guy who put the shrapnel in
his ass got his old job, 'cause he'll
work for fifteen cents a day and no
bathroom breaks.
Meanwhile my buddy from Southie realizes
the only reason he was over there was
so we could install a government that
would sell us oil at a good price.
And of course the oil companies used
the skirmish to scare up oil prices so
they could turn a quick buck. A cute,
little ancillary benefit for them but
it ain't helping my buddy at two-fifty
a gallon. And naturally they're takin'
their sweet time bringin' the oil back
and maybe even took the liberty of
hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes
to drink seven and sevens and play
slalom with the icebergs and it ain't
too long 'til he hits one, spills the
oil, and kills all the sea-life in the
North Atlantic. So my buddy's out of
work and he can't afford to drive so
he's got to walk to the job interviews
which sucks 'cause the shrapnel in his
ass is givin' him chronic hemorrhoids.
And meanwhile he's starvin' 'cause every
time he tries to get a bite to eat the
only blue-plate special they're servin'
is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State.
 
jpmontoya
I know some of you won't like this one :p

Good Will Hunting:

Say I'm working at N.S.A. Somebody
puts a code on my desk, something nobody
else can break.

<snip>

And meanwhile he's starvin' 'cause every
time he tries to get a bite to eat the
only blue-plate special they're servin'
is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State.

I sincerely hope you did that one by memory !...

And yes - Damn good speech from a wicked movie !... Thanks for reminding me..
 
Flerbizky
I sincerely hope you did that one by memory !....

I would probably go for a new career in Hollywood if I wrote this by heart.... I'm not sure if there were pauses during the speech, but if not I wonder how much takes were necessary to get a good shot! :crazy:

Another excellent one:

Al Pacino in The Devil's Advocate:

Let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives man INSTINCTS! He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do, I swear for His own amusment, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste! Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha! And when you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His sick, ****in' ass off. He's a tight-ass! He's a sadist! He's an absentee landlord. Worship THAT? NEVER!"
 
Captain's speech from Cool Hand Luke.

"What we've got here is... failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it... well, he gets it. I don't like it any more than you men."
 
jpmontoya
I would probably go for a new career in Hollywood if I wrote this by heart.... I'm not sure if there were pauses during the speech, but if not I wonder how much takes were necessary to get a good shot! :crazy:

Another excellent one:

Al Pacino in The Devil's Advocate:

You should post that speech in the "Questioning Religion" thread...really light a fire under everyone's ass in there (like it needs it!!)
 
I like to add a humor based speech. Top honors would go to Animal House.

Bluto: Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
 
I can't find the transcript, but I have to say that the final scene in Crimson Tide where Washington and Hackman argue over top of each other counts as two great speeches in one.
 
That is one of the best scenes, but it's not from the end of the film at all. I believe Crimson Tide to be some of Hackman's very best work. I love when he punches Denzel in the face.

"Give me my missile key."
"I'm sorry I can't do th--"
"GIVE ME MY ****ING MISSILE KEY!"
(Denzel puts key and chain around neck)

Then Gene loses it and punches him in the face. SO GOOD!!
 
First thing that came to my mind was Chose Life from Trainspotting. Cool little schpiel:

Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a ****ing big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite on hire purchase in a range of ****ing fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the **** you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing ****ing junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrasment to the selfish, ****ed up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life.

The Ezekiel 25:17 speech from Pulp Fiction:

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides with the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon those with great vengeance and with furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know that my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
 
donbenni
The Ezekiel 25:17 speech from Pulp Fiction:

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides with the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon those with great vengeance and with furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know that my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Have you ever looked that speech up in the Bible? I can never seem to find it worded exactly that eloquently. I've checked newer and older translations of the Bible and it's always been more basic. I think Tarantino amped it up for the movie...
 
donbenni
The Ezekiel 25:17 speech from Pulp Fiction:

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides with the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon those with great vengeance and with furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know that my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

.. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!


:D That's the first speech that came to mind when I saw the thread title, the lead up to it is just so perfect.
 
Boom boom boom, three in the head, you know they're dead.
:lol:
Okay, here's some better Morgan Freeman, from The Shawshank Redemption:
"I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still, or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at the start of a long journey who's conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope."
Just part of that whole great monologue thing that forms the last 15-20 minutes of the movie.
 
Emohawk
Just part of that whole great monologue thing that forms the last 15-20 minutes of the movie.
MAN #1
Your file says you've served forty years of a life sentence. You feel you've been rehabilitated?

Red doesn't answer. Just stares off. Seconds tick by. The
parole board exchanges glances. Somebody clears his throat.

MAN #1
Shall I repeat the question?

RED
I heard you. Rehabilitated. Let's see now. You know, come to think of it, I have no idea what that means.

MAN #2
Well, it means you're ready to rejoin society as a--

RED
I know what you think it means. Me, I think it's a made-up word, a politician's word. A word so young fellas like you can wear a suit and tie and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?

------

MAN #2
Well...are you?

RED
Not a day goes by I don't feel regret, and not because I'm in here or because you think I should. I look back on myself the way I was...stupid kid who did that terrible crime...wish I could talk sense to him. Tell him how things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone, this old man is all that's left, and I have to live with that.
(beat)
"Rehabilitated?" That's a bull**** word, so you just go on ahead and stamp that form there, sonny, and stop wasting my damn time. Truth is, I don't give a ****.

👍
 
Demolition Man: Crap film, great speach at the end.

Edgar Friendly
You got that right. You see, according to Cockteau's plan, I'm the enemy because I like to think. I like to read, I'm into freedom of speech and freedom of choice. I'm the kind of guy that could sit in a greasy spoon and wonder gee, should I have the T-bone steak or the jumbo rack of barbecue ribs or the side order of gravy fries. I want high cholesterol. I would eat bacon and butter and buckets of cheese. OK. I want to smoke Cuban cigars the size of Cincinnati in the non-smoking section. I want to run through the streets naked with green Jell-O all over my body reading Playboy magazine. Why, because I might suddenly feel the need to. OK? Pal, I've seen the future. Know what it is? It's a 47-year-old virgin sitting around in his pajamas, sipping a banana-broccoli shake, singing 'I'm the Oscar Meyer wiener'. You live up top, you live how he wants. Your other choice: come down here and maybe starve to death.
 
The Lesbian Quiz From Chasing Amy.
Brodie's Cousin Walter Speeches from Mallrats.
Major Paynes Version Of The Little Engine That Could.
The @$$holes Speech from Spaceballs.

And

"Do you smell that? Do you smell that? .... I love the smell of Napalm in the morning!"
 
The Ezekiel 25:17 speech from Pulp Fiction:

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides with the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon those with great vengeance and with furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know that my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Loved that bit.
 
Language warning.



And not from a film, but I love this. It was taken from the Sports Personality of the Year 2012. Idris Elba reads out performs "It couldn't be done" by Edgar Guest

 
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