|
 Introduction:
Film speeches are normally delivered orally and directed at an audience
of three or more people, although there can be exceptions. They are
usually persuasive-type speeches, either designed to promote or to dissuade,
and they are highly quotable.
Greatest Film Speeches and Monologues: Video store
chain Blockbuster Video (in the UK) held a series of polls in
late 2003 with its customers to determine the 20 Greatest Film Speeches
and Monologues in cinematic history. These are marked in the following
lists with this symbol --  and
by their original ranking number in the top 20. Although
there were some excellent choices in their poll, the results almost
completely ignored early films, and entirely disregarded films with
speeches made by female characters. Greatest Films has provided
this expanded listing of Best Film Speeches and Monologues here
of deserving, best film monologues and speeches.
Note: The films that are marked with
a yellow star 
are the films that "The Greatest Films" site has selected as the 100
Greatest Films.
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Film and Brief Title |
Speech |
Example |
The
Empire Strikes Back (1980)
 "My
Ally is the Force"
|
Yoda's (voice
of Frank Oz) response to Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) claim that
his ship is too large to levitate with the Force: ("Size matters
not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well
you should not, for my ally is the Force, and a powerful
ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds
us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.
You must feel the Force around you; between you, me, the tree, the
rock, everywhere. Yes, even between the land and the ship.") |
|
9 to
5 (1980)
Threatening
Words Toward a Chauvinistic Office Boss
|
Doralee's
(Dolly Parton) threatening words to her chauvinistic office boss
Franklin Hart (Dabney Coleman) about her compromised reputation:
("Up until now I've been forgiving and forgetting because of
the way I was brought up, but I'll tell you one thing. If you say
another word about me or make another indecent proposal, I'm gonna
get that gun of mine and I'm gonna change you from a rooster to
a hen with one shot! And don't think I can't do it.") |
|
The
Shining (1980)
"You're
Distracting Me"
|
Jack Torrance's
(Jack Nicholson) foul-mouthed, annoyed reaction to wife Wendy (Shelley
Duvall) invading his personal space while writing on his typewriter:
("Wendy, let me explain something to you. Whenever you come
in here and interrupt me, you're breaking my concentration. You're
distracting me. And it will then take me time to get back to where
I was. Understand?...I'm gonna make a new rule. Whenever I'm in
here, and you hear me typing, whether you don't hear me typing,
whatever the f--k you hear me doing in here, when I'm in here, that
means that I am working. That means don't come in. Now do you think
you can handle that?...Why don't you start right now and get the
f--k out of here?") |
|
| "I'm
Not Gonna Hurt Ya" |
Jack's infamous
giggling, murderous reaction to Wendy swinging at him with a bat
on the stairwell: ("...I'm not gonna hurt ya. Wendy, darling,
'light of my life'. I'm not gonna hurt ya. You didn't let me finish
my sentence. I said, I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just gonna bash
your brains in. I'm gonna bash 'em right the f--k in!") |
|
Clash
of the Titans (1981)
Immortalized
as Constellations of Stars
|
One of the
legendary Laurence Olivier's last great monologues, as Zeus decreeing
that the characters from the story be immortalized as constellations
of stars: ("Perseus and Andromeda will be happy together. Have
fine sons...rule wisely...And to perpetuate the story of his courage,
I command that from henceforth, he will be set among the stars and
constellations. He, Perseus, the lovely Andromeda, the noble Pegasus,
and even the vain Cassiopeia. Let the stars be named after them
forever. As long as man shall walk the Earth and search the night
sky in wonder, they will remember the courage of Perseus forever.
Even if we, the gods, are abandoned or forgotten, the stars will
never fade. Never. They will burn till the end of the time.") |
|
Mommie
Dearest (1981)
"No
Wire Hangers!" Outburst
|
Physically-abusive mother and star actress Joan Crawford's (Faye Dunaway) famous, unintentionally funny but violent rant to cowering daughter Christina (Mara Hobel) in her bed, in this cult film classic: "NO...MORE.. WIRE... HANGERS! What's wire hangers doing in this closet when I told you: no wire hangers EVER?! I work and work 'till I'm half-dead, and I hear people saying, "She's getting old." And what do I get? A daughter... who cares as much about the beautiful dresses I give her... as she cares about me! What's wire hangers doing in this closet? Answer me! I buy you beautiful dresses, and you treat them like they were some dishrag. You threw a three hundred dollar dress on a wire hanger! We'll see how many you've got if they're hidden somewhere. We'll see... we'll see. Get out of that bed. All of this is coming out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. You've got any more? We're gonna see how many wire hangers you've got in your closet. Wire hangers, why? Why? Christina, get out of that bed. Get out of that bed. You live in the most beautiful house in Brentwood and you don't care if your clothes are stretched out from wire hangers. And your room looks like some two-dollar-a-week furnished room in some two-bit back street town in Oklahoma. Get up. Get up. Clean up this mess." |
|
Time
Bandits (1981)
Recreating
the World as a Technocracy
|
Evil's (David
Warner) bragging about how he would recreate the world as a nightmarish
technocracy, if he was given the chance: ("When I have the
Map, I will be free, and the world will be different, because I
have understanding... of digital watches. And soon I shall have
understanding of videocassette recorders and car telephones. And
when I have understanding of them, I shall have understanding of
computers. And when I have understanding of computers, I shall be
the Supreme Being! God isn't interested in technology. He knows
nothing of the potential of the microchip or the silicon revolution.
Look how he spends his time! Forty-three species of parrot! Nipples
for men!... Slugs! He created slugs. They can't hear! They can't
speak! They can't operate machinery! I mean, are we not in the hands
of a lunatic? If I were creating a world, I wouldn't mess about
with butterflies and daffodils. I would have started with lasers,
eight o'clock, day one!") |
|
Blade Runner (1982)
"Time
to Die"
|
Roy Batty's
(Rutger Hauer) closing thoughts before dying: ("I've seen things
you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder
of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tanhauser
gate. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain.
Time to die") |
|
Fast
Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
A
Five-Point Plan to Score With Girls
|
Lecherous ladies-man
Mike Damone's (Robert Romanus) five-point plan of tips on how to
score with girls: ("...And five, now this is the most important,
Rat. When it comes down to making out, whenever possible, put on
side one of Led Zeppelin IV") |
|
First Blood (1982)
"Civilian Life is Nothing!"
|
Ex-Green Beret Vietnam vet John
Rambo's (Sylvester Stallone) final impassioned, preachy speech to Green Beret Col. Samuel Trautman (Richard Crenna), his former commander, about his hostile, unjust reception as a returning Vietnam War Vet: ("Nothing is over! Nothing! You just don't turn it off! It wasn't my war! You asked me, I didn't ask you! And I did what I had to do to win! But somebody wouldn't let us win! And I come back to the world and I see all those maggots at the airport, protestin' me, spittin'. Calling me baby killer and all kinds of vile crap! Who are they to protest me, huh? Who are they? Unless they've been me and been there and know what the hell they're yelling about!...For me, civilian life is nothing! In the field, we had a code of honor: You watch my back, I watch yours. Back here, there's nothin'!...Back there, I could fly a gunship, I could drive a tank, I was in charge of million dollar equipment. Back here, I can't even hold a job parking cars!") |
|
The
Last Unicorn (1982)
"Where
Have You Been?"
|
Weary, middle-aged
Molly Grue's (voice of Tammy Grimes) powerful diatribe at the Unicorn
(voice of Mia Farrow) [reminiscient of Ruth Popper's (Cloris Leachman)
explosive tirade at Sonny (Timothy Bottoms) in the conclusion of The
Last Picture Show (1971)]: ("No, it can't be. Can it
be? Where have you been? Where have you been? Damn you! Where have
you been?...where were you twenty years ago? Ten years ago? Where
were you when I was new? When I was one of those innocent young
maidens you always come to? How dare you! How dare you come to me
now, when I am this!") before forgiving the Unicorn (as Ruth forgave Sonny) ("That's all right. I forgive you. I forgive you...") |
|
| "They
are MINE!" |
Dangerously
obsessive King Haggard's (voice of Christopher Lee) long, sublime
speech to disguised unicorn Lady Amalthea (Farrow): ("I know
you! I almost knew you as soon as I saw you on the road coming to
my door. Since then, there is no movement of yours that has not
betrayed you! A pace, a glance, a turn of the head, the flash of
your throat as you breathe... even your way of standing perfectly
still - they were all my spies!") before telling her why he
captured all the unicorns in the world: ("...they are MINE!
They belong to ME! The Red Bull gathered them one-by-one and I bade
him drive each one into the sea!...I like to watch them. They fill
me with joy. The first time I felt it, I thought I was going to
die. I said to the Red Bull, 'I must have them! I must have all
of them, all there are! For nothing makes me happy but their shining,
and their grace.' So, the Red Bull caught them. Each time I see
the unicorns -- MY unicorns -- it is like that morning in the woods,
and I feel young, in spite of myself!") |
|
Poltergeist
(1982)
The
Unseen Spirits
|
The spellbinding
monologue by eccentric Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein) about Carol Anne's
(Heather O'Rourke) relation to the unseen spirits that have pulled
her into their sphere: ("There is no death. There is only a
transition to a different sphere of consciousness. Carol Anne is
not like those she's with. She's a living presence in their spiritual,
earth-bound plane. They're attracted to the one thing about her
that's different from themselves. Her life-force - it is very strong.
It gives off its own illumination. It is a light that implies life
and memory of love and home and earthly pleasures, something they
desperately desire but can't have anymore...There's one more thing
- a terrible presence is in there with her. So much rage, so much
betrayal. I've never sensed anything like it...") |
|
The Road Warrior (1982)
"All That Remains Are Memories" Opening
Voice-Over
|
The opening voice-over by the Narrator
(Harold Baigent) (Australian version): ("My life fades, my
vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of
chaos, ruined dreams, this wasted land. Most of all, I remember
the man we called Max, the road warrior. To understand who he was
we have to go back to the other time. When the world was powered
by the black fuel, and the desert sprung great cities of pipe and
steel. Gone now, swept away. For reasons long forgotten two mighty
warrior tribes went to war and touched off a blaze which engulfed
them all. Without fuel they were nothing. They'd built a house of
straw. Suddenly their machines sputtered and stopped. Their leaders
talked and talked and talked, but nothing could stem the avalanche.
Their world crumbled. Cities exploded. A whirlwind of looting and
a firestorm of fear. Men began to feed on men. On the roads it was
a white-line nightmare. Only those mobile enough to scavenge, brutal
enough to pillage would survive. The gangs took over the highways,
waging war for a tank of juice. Good brave men were battered and
smashed. Men like Max, who ruled the highways in the name of the
law. Who became a lover, husband, father. And with the roar of an
engine, he lost everything, his woman, his child, his world. He
wandered out into the wasteland, and here he would learn, amid the
dark wreckage, that the fire which burns in the heart of man, will
endure. Hope survives.") |
|
Star
Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Eulogy
for Mr. Spock
|
Admiral James
T. Kirk's (William Shatner) difficult eulogy for his best friend,
Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) who had sacrificed his life to save the
ship: ("We are gathered here today to pay final respects to
our honored dead. But it should be noted that this death takes place
in the shadow of new life, the sunrise of a new world; a world that
our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish. He did
not feel this sacrifice a vain or empty one, and we will not debate
his profound wisdom at these proceedings. Of my friend, I can only
say this: of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his
was the most... human.") |
|
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
"It's
a Quest for Fun"
|
Half-crazed Clark Griswold's (Chevy
Chase) deranged, foul-mouthed exhortation to his beleaguered family to press
on to Wally World: ("I think you're all f--ked in the head.
We're ten hours from the f--king fun park and you want to bail out!
Well I'll tell you somethin'. This is no longer a vacation. It's
a quest. It's a quest for fun. I'm gonna have fun and you're gonna
have fun. We're all gonna have so much f--king fun we'll need plastic
surgery to remove our god-damn smiles. You'll be whistling 'Zip-A-Dee
Doo-Dah' out of your assholes! I gotta be crazy! I'm on a pilgrimage
to see a moose. Praise Marty Moose! Holy Shit!") |
|
Amadeus (1984)
Amazement
at Mozart's Genius
|
Austrian court
composer Antonio Salieri's (F. Murray Abraham) blissful, amazed
narration while examining Mozart's sheet music for Serenade
for Thirteen Wind Instruments: ("Extraordinary!
On the page it looked nothing. The beginning simple, almost comic.
Just a pulse - bassoons and basset horns - like a rusty squeezebox.
Then suddenly - high above it - an oboe, a single note, hanging
there unwavering, till a clarinet took over and sweetened it into
a phrase of such delight! This was no composition by a performing
monkey! This was a music I'd never heard. Filled with such longing,
such unfulfillable longing, it had me trembling. It seemed to me
that I was hearing a voice of God.") |
|
| "The
Very Voice of God" |
Salieri's
reaction to Mozart's first draft music brought to him in secret
by Mozart's wife Constanze (Elizabeth Berridge): ("Astounding!
It was actually beyond belief. These were first and only drafts
of music yet they showed no corrections of any kind. Not one. Do
you realize what that meant? He'd simply put down music already
finished in his head! Page after page of it, as if he was just
taking dictation! And music... finished as no music is ever finished. Displace one note and there would be diminishment.
Displace one phrase, and the structure would fall. It was clear
to me. That sound I had heard in the Archbishop's palace had been
no accident. Here again was the very voice of God! I was staring
through the cage of those meticulous ink-strokes at an absolute,
inimitable beauty.") |
|
The
Company of Wolves (1984)
Warning
About Wolves
|
The cautionary
warning Granny (Angela Lansbury) gives the innocent Rosaleen (Sarah
Patterson), after earlier advising her: ("You've got a lot
to learn, child. Never stray from the path, never eat a windfall
apple and never trust a man whose eyebrows meet!"), and before
telling her a story: ("A wolf may be more than he seems. He
may come in many disguises. The wolf that ate your sister was hairy
on the outside, but when she died she went straight to Heaven. The worst kind of wolves are hairy on the inside, and when they
bite you, they drag you with them to Hell!") |
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BEST FILM SPEECHES AND MONOLOGUES