|
 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.
| |
| Film
and Brief Title |
Speech |
Example |
| Pirates
of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
 Consumed
By Greed
|
Captain Barbossa's
(Geoffrey Rush) vivid explanation of the capture of cursed Aztec
gold to the captive Elizabeth (Keira Knightley): ("We took
'em all. We spent them and traded them and frittered them away on
drink and food and pleasurable company. The more we gave them away,
the more we came to realize the drink would not satisfy, food turned
to ash in our mouths, and all the pleasurable company in the world
could not slake our lust. We are cursed men, Miss Turner. Compelled
by greed, we were, but now we are consumed by it") |
|
| You're
In a Ghost Story |
Prisoner Elizabeth,
after stabbing Barbossa unsuccessfully in the heart and trying to
escape, is seized and forced to look at the skeletal forms of the
pirates in the moonlight: ("Look! The moonlight shows us for
what we really are! We are not among the living so we cannot die,
but neither are we dead! For too long I've been parched of thirst
and unable to quench it. Too long I've been starving to death and
haven't died. I feel nothing. Not the wind on my face nor the spray
of the sea, nor the warmth of a woman's flesh. You best start believing
in ghost stories, Miss Turner. You're in one!") |
|
The
Alamo (2004)
"Pass the Taters Right Back"
|
David (Davy) Crockett's (Billy Bob Thornton) demythologizing description of his 1813 participation in the Creek Indian War (the Battle of Tallushatchee) with Tennessee militia in Alabama, when burned Indian flesh was combined with potatoes: ("The Creeks, uh, boxed up about 400 or 500 people at Fort Mims and, uh, massacred every one of 'em. 'Course this was big news around those parts, so I up and joined the volunteers. I did a little scoutin', but mostly I, I just fetched in venison for the cook fire, things of that nature. Well, we caught up with those redskins at Tallushatchee, surrounded the village, come in from all directions. Wasn't much of a fight, really. We just shot 'em down like dogs. Finally... what Injuns was left, they crowded into this little cabin. They wanted to surrender... but this squaw, she loosed an arrow and killed one of the fellas, and then we shot her. And then we set the cabin on fire. We could hear 'em screamin' for their gods in there. We smelled 'em burnin'. We'd had nary to eat but parched corn since October. And the next day, when we dug through the ashes, we found some potaters from the cellar. They'd been cooked by that grease that run off them Indians. And we ate till we nearly burst. Since then... you pass the taters and I pass 'em right back.") |
|
Downfall (2004, Germ.)
"Everybody has Been Lying to Me "
|
Adolf Hitler's (Bruno Ganz) sputtering, psychotic tirade at his military officers during the final days in his bunker in 1945, unable to believe his forces were depleted: ("That was an order! Steiner's assault was an order! Who do you think you are to dare disobey an order I give? So this is what it has come to! The military has been lying to me. Everybody has been lying to me, even the SS! Our generals are just a bunch of contemptible, disloyal cowards... Our generals are the scum of the German people! Not a shred of honour! They call themselves generals. Years at military academy just to learn how to hold a knife and fork! For years, the military has hindered my plans! They've put every kind of obstacle in my way! What I should have done... was liquidate all the high-ranking officers, as Stalin did!") |
|
| The
Incredibles (2004)
"You
Got Me Monologuing!"
|
Embittered
enemy Syndrome's (voice of Jason Lee) long-winded rant about his
egomaniacal plans to super-hero Mr. Incredible (voice of Craig T.
Nelson) (who became trapped with a zero-point energy ray) - when
Syndrome suddenly realized that he was delivering a monologue: ("See?
Now you respect me, because I'm a threat. That's the way it works.
Turns out, there are a lot of people, whole countries, who want
respect, and they will pay through the nose to get it. How do you
think I got rich? I invented weapons, and now I have a weapon that
only I can defeat, and when I unleash it, I'll get... (laughing)
You sly dog! You got me monologuing! I can't believe it. It's cool,
huh? Zero-point energy. I-I save the best inventions for myself.
(Syndrome slams Mr. Incredible against the ground) Am I good enough
now? (He slams him again) Who's super now? I'm Syndrome, your nemesis
and... (He inadvertently throws Mr. Incredible out of sight) Oh,
brilliant.") |
|
| Million
Dollar Baby (2004)
I
Want to Box
|
Even with
a life of hardship, scrappy white-trash waitress Maggie Fitzgerald's
(Hilary Swank) insistence to reluctant trainer Frankie Dunn (Clint
Eastwood) that she has the fortitude to box: ("I'm 32, Mr.
Dunn, and I'm here celebrating the fact that I spent another year
scraping dishes and waitressing which is what I've been doing since
13, and according to you, I'll be 37 before I can even throw a decent
punch, which I have to admit, after working on this speed bag for
a month may be the God's simple truth. Other truth is, my brother's
in prison, my sister cheats on welfare by pretending one of her
babies is still alive, my daddy's dead, and my momma weighs 312
pounds. If I was thinking straight, I'd go back home, find a used
trailer, buy a deep fryer and some Oreos. Problem is, this is the
only thing I ever felt good doing. If I'm too old for this, then
I got nothing. That enough truth to suit you?") |
|
The Girl in the Cafe (2005)
Response to the British Prime Minister's Dinner Speech at G8 Summit: "That's Not True!"
|
Free-spirited, idealistic, undiplomatic young woman Gina (Kelly Macdonald) contradicts the Prime Minister's (Corin Redgrave) assertion, during a dinner speech at the G8 Economic Summit in Reykjavik, Iceland that they are effectively combatting the "extreme curses of poverty" in the world; she accuses them of "ignoring the poor" by denying enormous financial aid - and reflects how she would probably be thrown out for "heckling": ("I don't know how much the rest of you ladies know about what's going on, but my friend, here, tells me that while we are eating, a hundred million children are nearly starving. There's just millions of kids who'd kill for the amount of food that fat old me left on the side of my plate -- children who are then so weak they'll die if a mosquito bites them. And so, they do die: One every three seconds.
[She snaps her fingers] There they go. And another one. Anyone who has kids knows that every mother and father in Africa must love their children as much as they do. And to watch your kids die...to watch them die...and then to die yourself in trying to protect them -- that's not right. And tomorrow, eight of the men sitting 'round this table actually have the ability to sort this out by making a few great decisions. And if they don't, someday, someone else will, and they'll look back on us lot and say: 'People were actually dying in their millions, unnecessarily, in front of you, on your TV screens. What were you thinking? You knew what to do to stop it happening and you didn't do those things. Shame on you.' So that's what you have to do tomorrow. Be great, instead of being ashamed. It can't be impossible. It must be possible...") |
|
| Good
Night, and Good Luck (2005)
Murrow's Attack on Senator McCarthy
|
In a powerful
speech spoken directly into the camera on his television show See
It Now, legendary reporter Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn)
attacked Wisconsin Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy's (Himself) methods:
("...We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember
always that accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends
upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear one
of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason
if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine. And remember that
we are not descended from fearful men. Not from men who feared to
write, to associate, to speak and to defend the causes that were,
for the moment, unpopular...The actions of the Junior Senator from
Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad
and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is
that? Not really his. He didn't create this situation of fear --
he merely exploited it, and rather successfully. Cassius was right:
the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves. Good
night, and good luck") |
 |
|
"Wires and Lights in a Box" |
Edward R.
Murrow (David Strathairn) also delivered a closing speech to television
professionals who were honoring his notable career, about the positive
good of television - the film's closing lines: ("To those who
say people wouldn't look, they wouldn't be interested, they're too
complacent, indifferent and insulated, I can only reply: there is,
in one reporter's opinion, considerable evidence against that contention.
But even if they are right, what have they got to lose? Because
if they are right, and this instrument is good for nothing but to
entertain, amuse and insulate, then the tube is flickering now and
we will soon see that the whole struggle is lost. This instrument
can teach, it can illuminate - and Yes, it can even inspire. But
it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use
it towards those ends. Otherwise, it is merely wires and lights
in a box. Good night, and good luck.") |
|
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Sperm Whale and Bowl of Petunias Ruminations
|
The humorous speech by The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - known as the Book, the Narrator or The Guide (voice of Stephen Fry) regarding how the orbiting spaceship Heart of Gold, powered by the Infinite Probability Drive, suddenly transformed two nuclear missiles into a giant sperm whale and a bowl of petunias - as the sperm whale fell out of orbit through the Magrathean atmosphere toward the alien planet, its thought processes were described: ("It is important to note that suddenly, and against all probability, a sperm whale had been called into existence, several miles above the surface of an alien planet. But since this is not a naturally tenable position for a whale, this innocent creature had very little time to come to terms with its identity. This is what it thought as it fell: 'Ahhh! Whoa! What's happening? Who am I? Why am I here? What's my purpose in life? What do I mean by 'who am I'? Okay, okay, calm down, calm down, get a grip now. Ooh, this is an interesting sensation. What is it? It's a sort of a tingling in my... well, I suppose I better start finding names for things. Let's call it a... tail! Yeah! Tail! And hey, what's this roaring sound, whooshing past what I'm suddenly gonna call my head? Wind! Is that a good name? It'll do. Yeah, this is really exciting! I'm dizzy with anticipation! Or is it the wind? There's an awful lot of that now, isn't it? And what's this thing coming toward me very fast? So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding name like 'Ow', 'Ownge', 'Round', 'Ground'! That's it! Ground! Ha! I wonder if it'll be friends with me? Hello Ground!' (the sperm whale crashes into the ground, viewed from a distance with a rising plume of ice/snow) Curiously, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias, as it fell, was: 'Oh no, not again.' Many have speculated that if we knew exactly why the bowl of petunias had thought that, we should know a lot more about the nature of the universe than we do now.") |
|
V for Vendetta (2005)
V's Introduction
|
Mysterious masked vigilante and anarchistic freedom fighter V's (Hugo Weaving) verbose introduction of himself to rescued Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) after a rape attempt by police agents, with about 50 words starting with the letter v: ("Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. [He carves a V into a poster on the wall] The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. [He giggles] Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.")
|
|
The Queen (2006)
Defense of the Queen Speech
|
Tony Blair's (Michael Sheen) angry defense of Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) from his mocking staff: ("You know, when you get it wrong, you really get it wrong! That woman has given her whole life in service to her people. Fifty years doing a job SHE never wanted! A job she watched kill her father. She's executed it with honor, dignity, and, as far as I can tell, without a single blemish, and now we're all baying for her blood! All because she's struggling to lead the world in mourning for someone who... who threw everything she offered back in her face. And who, for the last few years, seemed committed 24-7 to destroying everything she holds most dear!") |
|
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
A Man Named Harold Crick
|
Blocked writer Karen "Kay" Eiffel's (Emma Thompson) opening description of neurotic, obsessive-compulsive, regimented, numbers-infatuated IRS auditor Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) in her soon-to-be-completed novel, accompanied by on-screen numbers: ("This is a story about a man named Harold Crick, and his wristwatch. Harold Crick was a man of infinite numbers, endless calculations, and remarkably few words, and his wristwatch said even less. Every weekday for twelve years, Harold would brush each of his 32 teeth, 76 times. 38 times back and forth, 38 times up and down. Every weekday for 12 years, Harold would tie his tie in a single Windsor knot, instead of the double, thereby saving up to 43 seconds. His wristwatch thought the single Windsor made his neck look fat, but said nothing. Every weekday for 12 years, Harold would run at a rate of nearly 57 steps per block for 6 blocks, barely catching the 8:17 Kronecker bus. His wristwatch would delight in feeling the crisp wind rushing over its face. And every weekday for 12 years, Harold would review 7.134 tax files as a senior auditor for the Internal Revenue Service... only taking a 45.7 minute lunch break, and a 4.3 minute coffee break, timed precisely by his wristwatch. Beyond that, Harold lived a life of soltitude. Harold would walk home alone. He would eat alone. And at precisely 11:13 every night, Harold would go to bed alone, placing his wristwatch to rest on the night stand beside him. That was, of course, before Wednesday. On Wednesday, Harold's wristwatch changed everything.") |
|
| The Importance of Small Things in Life |
The film's ending, with the last poignant, narrated words of Karen Eiffel's typewritten novel about the importance of the small things in life; after Harold had been struck by a bus (he pushed a little boy away to avoid getting hit) and luckily survived, he found out his continued existence was solely due to a piece of shard metal from his wristwatch which had obstructed a severed artery in his right arm and prevented him from bleeding to death; her voice-over was accompanied by a montage of scenes of the film's cast of characters (both major and minor): ("As Harold took a bite of Bavarian sugar cookie, he finally felt as if everything was going to be okay. Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort - not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true. And so it was: a wristwatch saved Harold Crick.") |
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Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
Baby Jesus Grace
|
Low brow Southern NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby's (Will Ferrell) funny offering of grace at the family dinner table over a spread of Domino's Pizza, KFC, Wonder Bread, Coca-Cola and beer:
Ricky: "Dear Lord Baby Jesus, or as our brothers in the South call you: 'Jee-suz'. We thank you so much for this bountiful harvest of Dominos, KFC, and the always delicious Taco Bell. I just want to take time to say thank you for my family: my two beautiful, beautiful, handsome striking sons, Walker: Texas Ranger, or TR as we call him. And, of course, my red hot smokin' wife Carley, who is a stone cold fox, who if you would rate her ass on 100, it would easily be a 94. I also want to thank you for my best friend and teammate, Cal Naughton Jr, who's got my back no matter what...Dear Lord Baby Jesus, we also thank you for my wife's father Chip. We hope that you can use your Baby Jesus powers to heal him and his horrible leg. It smells terrible and the dogs are always botherin' with it. Dear Tiny Infant Jesus..."
Carley (Leslie Bibb) interjected and argued with him about which Jesus to pray to: "Hey, um... you know, sweetie, Jesus did grow up. You don't always have to call him baby. It's a bit odd and off puttin' to pray to a baby."
Ricky: "Well, look, I like the Christmas Jesus best when I'm sayin' grace. When you say grace, you can say it to Grown-up Jesus, or Teenage Jesus, or Bearded Jesus, or whoever you want."
Carley: "You know what I want? I want you to do this grace good so that God will let us win tomorrow."
Ricky:
"Dear Tiny Jesus, in your golden fleece diapers with your tiny, little fat balled up fists...Look, I like the baby version the best, do you hear me? I win the races and I get the money."
Carley: "Finish the damn grace!"
Ricky:
"Dear Eight Pound, Six Ounce, Newborn Baby Jesus, don't even know a word yet, just a little infant, so cuddly, but still omnipotent. We just thank you for all the races I've won and the $21.2 million dollars... LOVE THAT MONEY, that I have accrued over this past season. Also due to a binding endorsement contract that stipulates I mention PowerAde at each grace, I just wanna say that PowerAde is delicious and it cools you off on a hot summer day and we look forward to PowerAde's release of mystic mountain blueberry. Thank you, for all your power and your grace, Dear Baby God, Amen." During the latter part of the prayer, Cal inserted his own views on which type of Jesus he preferred: "I like to picture Jesus in a Tuxedo T-shirt, 'cause it says, like, 'I want to be formal, but I'm here to party, too.' I like to party, so I like my Jesus to party.... I like to think of Jesus with like giant eagles' wings and singin' lead vocals for Lynyrd Skynyrd with like an Angel Band, and I'm in the front row, and I'm hammered drunk..." |
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Ratatouille (2007)
Glowing Food Review
|
Snobbish, hard-to-please and harsh food critic Anton Ego's (voice of Peter O'Toole) glowing, self-actualizing review, published the following day, of restaurant Gusteau's cuisine (the traditional dish of ratatouille), after learning it had been prepared by blue French chef country rat Remy (voice of Patton Oswalt): "In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: 'Anyone can cook.' But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more." |
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The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Videotaped Good-bye to Homie
|
Disappointed, gravel-voiced Marge Simpson's (voice of Julie Kavner) anguished video-taped message to oafish, self-centered husband Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta) about leaving with the kids and never returning to him: ("Homer, I always stood up for you. When people point out your flaws, I always say: 'Well, sometimes you have to stand back to appreciate a work of art.' Lately, what's keeping us together is my ability to overlook everything you do. And I overlook these things because... Well, that's the thing. I just don't know how to finish that sentence anymore. So I'm leaving with the kids to help Springfield, and we're never coming back. And to prove to myself that this is the end, I taped this over our wedding video. Good-bye, Homie!") |
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BEST FILM SPEECHES AND MONOLOGUES