August 19th, 2011
10:39 AM ET
Friday's Top Five: Movie speechesA lot of politicians have started polishing their oratory skills, seeing that party nominations and debates are just around the corner, but few of their speeches are able to produce misty eyes from cynics. Clearly, their staff writers could use an ounce of Hollywood in their final drafts. Candidate hopefuls should be aiming for the passion of "Braveheart’s" William Wallace without going too far like Howard Dean in 2004. (A great speech should motivate us, inspire us, but definitely not scare us.)
Here are some excerpts that could get you on your feet. What are your favorite speeches from movies? 1. "Revenge of the Nerds" (1984): “I just wanted to say that I'm a nerd, and I'm here tonight to stand up for the rights of other nerds.” – Gilbert Lowell
2. "The Godfather" (1972): “But I'm a superstitious man. And if some unlucky accident should befall him, if he should be shot in the head by a police officer, or if should hang himself in his jail cell, or if he's struck by a bolt of lightning... *then I'm going to blame some of the people in this room*... and that, I do not forgive.” – Don Corleone
3. "Network" (1976): "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore." – Howard Beale 4. "The Untouchables" (1987): “You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. *That's* the *Chicago* way!” – Jim Malone
5. "Patton" (1970): “Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser!” – General George S. Patton Jr.
Honorable Mention:
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Such a small think.
But such a great idea
One of the most classic lines ever has got to be from BLAZING SADDLES,
"Man, they said you was hung!" and the sheriff replies – "And they was right!"
Really suprised "Can buy me love" with Patrick Dempsey did not make cut
Animal House and Meatballs need to be on this list....
Did we surrender after the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.........
It just doesn't matter....it just doesn't matter......
Donald Sutherland as Bill Bowerman from Without Limits:
Bill Bowerman: All my life, man and boy, I've operated under the assumption that the main idea in running was to win the race. Naturally, when I became a coach I tried to teach people how to do that. Tried to teach Pre how to do that. Tried like hell to teach Pre to do that. And Pre taught me. Taught me I was wrong. Pre, you see, was troubled by knowing that a mediocre effort can win a race and a magnificent effort can lose one. Winning a race wouldn't necessarily demand that he give it everything he had from start to finish. He never ran any other way. I tried to get him to, God knows I tried... but... Pre was stubborn. He insisted on holding himself to a higher standard than victory. 'A race is a work of art'; that's what he said, that's what he believed and he was out to make it one every step of the way.
Of course he wanted to win. Those who saw him compete and those who competed against him were never in any doubt how much he wanted to win. But how he won mattered to him more. Pre thought I was a hard case. But he finally got it through my head that the real purpose of running isn't to win a race. It's to test to the limits of the human heart. That he did... Nobody did it more often. Nobody did it better.
WOW this list falls short but I guess you would never grt it agreed upon anyways. I would say must include Bull Durham, Few Good Men, Devils Advocate, Independance Day & To Kill a Mockingbird
Spencer Tracy in the end of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Best ever!
anybody ever see "And Justice for All" with Al Pacino? The final summation he makes in court toward the end of the movie is priceless and should be somewhere on this list. Maybe it should be a top 50 list? There are too many to keep it to 10.
I wish I knew how to quit you.
quote from Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) in Say Anything: "I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that."
'Heaven Can Wait', Warren Beatty's character, Joe Pendelton reincarnated as Leo Farnsworth speaking to the Board of Directors....
"Let's be the team that makes the rules, plays fair, that gets the best contract, that's popular.
Forget these nuclear power plants until we know they're safe.
That Pagglesham refinery, we'll have to relocate it.
It'll cost us $ million, but we don't care,
because we'll come out ahead in the end.
That plastic stuff we're making, we'll have to stop.
We're not here for just one game.
We're going all the way to the Super Bowl!
And we'll already have won!"
A marvelous, impassioned speech about RESPONSIBLE corporate growth and its RESPONSIBILTY to the public and the environment....the greater good. HOW REFRESHING!! (NOT "Greed is good"! A great movie and great speech, but that message has this country in a basket full of trouble...)
Henry V, St. Crispen's Day Speech, William Shakespeare 1599
come on clearly when it comes to the truth "You cant handle the truth!"
Don't forget about – Go out there and win one for the gipper!
How could they not include Liam Neesons speech from Taken
how about morgan freeman's speech to the parole board at the end of "the shawshank redemption." or certainly james earl jones' "people will come, ray" speech in "field of dreams."
Lots of better speeches and a few great quotes in the comments section then the actual list. But I didn't see one mention of one of the all time best speeches I can ever remember. Kevin Costner's closing argument in JKF. His "do not forget your dieing king" closing is/was as close to perfect as any one single performance I can think of. I saw that movie well over 15 years ago, and while I can't begin to quote it, I will never forget how moving it was.
I guess my point is, this "list" is a slap in the face to so many unforgettable performances that we should just be thankful its trivial and not a list from any kind of real awards show.
'If you want to shoot shot don't talk'...The Good The Bad and The Ugly...
The "I coulda been a contender, instead of a bum, which is what I am" monologue from On the Waterfront is great writing.
The "Do you smell that? That gasoline smell. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like..victory. Someday this was is going to be over." From Apoclypse Now is classic.
Not a speech but a great one liner from James Cagney "Made it Ma! Top of the World!!" Then BOOM!
Paul Newman in The Verdict is a great one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVZFlBJftgg
Virtually anything Julius (Samuel L. Jackson) says in "Pulp Fiction"...
300!!!
"this is where hold them. this is where THEY DIE!
remember this day men for it will be yours for all time.
don't give them anything, but take from them EVERYTHING!!!"
What about the speech from Indepence Day just before they fight at Area 51? Every time I watch that movie I get chills during that speech.
Al Pacino(Tony Montana) " ... so take a look to the bad guy. You will never see a bad guy like me, let me tell you.
-Scarface.
The King's Speech should be up there – that's what the movie is all about.
How can you people be forgetting the (in)famous speech from "Animal House"?
Robert DeNiro as Master Chief Billy Sunday in Men of Honor, " I don't know why any man would want to be a Navy Diver..."
C'mon how is Coach Riggs' speech from Necessary Roughness not on this list. The speech is at halftime of the Texas-TExas State game. The comedic value is hysterical.
Perfect!
Respectfully submitted for your consideration for at least Honorable Mention: Bill Murray's "It just doesn't matter!" speech in "Meatballs" (1979); Bill Murray again for his "Underdog" speech in "Stripes" (1981); and John Belushi's "When the German's bombed Pearl Harbor" speech in "Animal House" (1978).
Two awesome movies. You can bet the first movie I'm buying on DVD after I graduate high school will be Animal House. Something about movies made in the '80s and '60s is just awesome. The 90s were eh (with some good ones ex: Jurassic Park) and today's movies are just CGI.
As you all have said, most of the crap they listed as great speeches is just a good quote or great movie line. Not a speech. For memorable speeches see " A Few Good Men" and "Independence Day". (thanks for the suggestions on a few other movies I may want to watch)
Theoden's speech from LOTR-ROFTK just before the Battle of the Pelennor fields.
In fact, just about every word Bernard Hill uttered in that trilogy.
LOL I can't believe how many people are saying Independence Day was the greatest speech ever. No one over the age of 21 can be saying that. That movie was terrible and corny as hell. A speech about fighting aliens? really? Educate yourself on some real American cinema, youngsters.
Well, I'm 14 and can say Independence Day is probably my favorite movie. But, my others are "Hunt for Red October" "Day After Tomorrow" and "The Great Escape". We "youngsters" can like more than "crappy" (my uncle works in the film business, we take his word for good movies) movies. We will watch more than $3xy vampires ripping off heads or super heros from other planets get their @$$ kicked, we just need to rediscover the magic of a pre-CGI movie. "Back to the Future" and the original Star Wars movies were awesome because of that.
What about Glory???
I think t is obvious that a new list of the best 1000 speeches in a movie is now necessary. Infact, it could be one of those "bathroom-books" where ya go in and start reading and forget why you came in. People are now worried cause ya been in there for an hour and they hear you laughing, crying and cussing. THAT would be a good book, a good collection of the best movie speeches.
"You want the truth ?? You want the truth?? You can't handle the truth..........."
Oh come on! What about Spencer Tracey's speech towards the end of just about any movie he was in, but certainly Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and Inherit the Wind? These are classics!
Come on – all these are lame (except the Godfather quote). There is no best quote, but certainly one of the best is by Bud Spencer (a.k.a. the Bambino), "Bet that was for the old lady, eh !?" in They Still Call ME Trinity. This was after Trinity got out of the back of a wagon they were holding up and told the Bambino that all that was back there were a bunch of"rags and an old lady" (not at all the case). They proceeded to fix the cog of the wagon and gave the people they were holding up some money.
Nice pick! Bridges is very Presidential. Listening to his speech,
many of his points could apply to today's partisan atmosphere.
Whoever made the list for CNN displayed an incredible lack
of Cinema knowledge and history.
Edward Norton the 25th hour. The Mirror Speech.
Also... Jeff Bridges (as the president) speech to Congress in the Contender, classic!
Bull Durham... In addition to "wet kisses", I love the coach going off on the team in the shower right after throwing a pile of bats on the floor.
But how could you not mention Bill Pulman.
I am always mesmerized by Spencer Tracy's last scene speech in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" culminating in that glance he gives Katherine Hepburn....lump in throat moment.
I also agree with Belushi's Animal House speech, just about anything that Michael Douglas says and every scene in Godfathers 1 and 2.
The ILLUMINATION OF
CONSCIENCE predicted by O u r L a d y in Garabandal in 1961 will take place soon to
save the world.
The Warning is taking place to:
1. Prove to all that God exists.
2 Bring everyone to J e s u s and the Way of Truth.
3. To help save us before the final day of judgement by giving us a chance to ask for
forgiveness for the sins we have committed.
What will Happen?
TWO COMETS WILL
COLLIDE IN THE SKY.
The sky will turn red, it will look like fire & then you will see a large cross in the sky to
prepare you.
Everyone over the age of 7 will experience a mystical encounter with J e s u s C h r i s t which will last
anything up to 15 minutes.
Pray this prayer to be prepared: Oh my precious J e s u s,embrace me in your arms and allow my head to rest upon your shoulders so that you can raise me up to your glorious kingdom when the time is right. Allow your precious blood to flow over my heart that we can be united as one.
Bill Murray in Meatballs -"It just doesn't matter speech"
None of these choices even compare to the phenomenal speeches given in the following three movies:
1. Facing the Giants
2. A Man Called Peter
3. Time Changer
Alec Baldwin in GlenGarry Glen Ross is classic. I is dumb to make a top 5 list for all movies for any type of category, because you will always leave way too many of he greats out. Should have been a top 50 or top 100 list. That being said, the Alec Baldwin speech is top 3 either way, if not number 1.
Ben Affleck in Boiler Room has a great employee intro speech.
"Sicilians"-scene from "True Romance"-Dennis Hopper Christopher Walken
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkhJJHWMRls&w=480&h=390%5D
"Dying ain't much of a livin' boy," Clint Eastwood near the end of Outlaw Josie Wells to a cornered bounty hunter.
You could add his speech to Ten Bears also ".... I came here like this so you'll know my word of death is true"
How about, Gregory Peck's Closing argument in To Kill a Mockingbird. All time greatest movie speech from the Greatest Hero of all time.
Robert Shaw's speech in Jaws where he talks about the sinking of his WWII ship and what followed to me is the single greatest monologue in film history.
Ummm, what about the Kevin Costner speech in Bull Durham?
What about Jewel's bible speech from Pulp Fiction??? That and independence day are really missing from this list
A true act of courage on film at a time in the 1930's when many Americans did not support fighting Hitler let alone standing up for the rights of both Jews and Gentiles; black and white. A man ahead of his time.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzrjg5T0cMc&w=420&h=345%5D
What about the opening monologue of the movie "Swordfish" by John Travolta? Really good...
President Shepherd's (Michael Douglas) press conference at the end of "The American President" really deserves to be on this list.
Al Pacino's closing argument from And Justice For All... is the first speech that came to my mind when seeing this list as one of the best of all time, if not the absolute single best, although perhaps that is impossible to determine. I couldn't believe Goonies and Nerds got entries over this.
Pacino's a legend... the number of times he comes up in these comments is a testament to his work. Phenomenal.
Also worth a mention I think, as I haven't seen it mentioned above, although it might not be in the top ten it's definitely worth mentioning: Jeff Bridge's state of the union address at the end of The Contender, cut between him and Joan Allen listening to it over the radio while jogging. Very good film and great speech also.
On Rutger Hauer's in Blade Runner... too short to qualify as a speech in my opinion, but an excellent composition (I too read that he came up with it himself) and indubitably an incredible piece of acting. You see that moment on screen and it hits you as something genuine and real coming from the heart and soul, which is becoming increasingly rare in any art form these days.
The posters here are far more knowledgeable about movies than the moron who published the article... But add this to the list.
How about "This whole court's out of order" from ....And Justice For All.
Bill Pullman's Independence Day speech definitely belongs on this list. That speech epitomized what people truly want and need in a leader.
My choice is Stanley Spadowski's (Michael Richards) "Life is Like a Mop" speech in "UHF".
"You gotta run to a window and yell, Hey! These floors are as dirty as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore!"
Bill Pullman's speech in Independence Day
Alec Baldwin's "I am God" speech in Malice
John Belushi's speech in Animal House
Michael Douglas' speeches in both Wall Street and The American President
There are so many other great speeches. This list clearly should have been a lot longer than just five...
Bernstein: A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought of that girl.
From Citizen Kane (1941)
Closing argument at trial, Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird
Speech before the Battle of Pelenor Fields, Theoden, Return of the King
and yes, Bill Pullman's Independence Day speech to the pilots
No mention of "Greed is Good" from Wallstreet, the final speech from Scent of a Woman, Anthony Hopkins' amazing speech as John Quincy Adams in Amistad? This list is flawed.
Aragon's speech in front of the Black Walls in the last Lord of the Rings. Come on, how is that not one of the greatest.
Belushi's "Pearl Harbor" speech in Animal House.
"....We few we happy few, we band of brothers..." Henry V's St. Crispin's Day Speech. Or does it being Shakespeare disqualify it from the movie category?
Jimmy Stewart – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Gregory Peck – To Kill a Mockingbird
Kirk Douglas – Paths of Glory
I rest my case.
What about Al Pacino in Scent of Woman at the end explaining why Chris O'Donell's character can not be held responsible for not telling on the guys who wrecked the deans car. That is just majestic and inspiring.
there is no other speech that even belongs in the same room as alec baldwin's wake-up call to his results-challenged salesmen in glengarry glen ross. although most of it can't be quoted here "-you, that's my name!", "you're all fired, now do i have your attention?". as much as i love jack nicholson and al pacino (scent) it's not close. theirs were great performances, alec's was exceptional in his only appearance in the film.
this movie should be required viewing for anybody considering a career in commission sales!
Charlie Chaplin's first "talkie", "The Great Dictator". His speech at the end of this classic resonates today.
Two other speeches that shouldn't at least made honorable mentions: Bill Pullman's from Independence Day and John Belushi's from Animal House.
'Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?' – Animal House
meh, these 'Top 5' or 'Top 10' lists are written by interns as filler pieces and are based on their obviously limited knowledge with no desire to actually do 'research'.
Next will be their 'Top 5 Snacks" for which they'll just check what's in the break room trash can.
"Malice" – Dr. Jed Hill:
"I have an M.D. from Harvard, I am board certified in cardio-thoracic medicine and trauma surgery, I have been awarded citations from seven different medical boards in New England, and I am never, ever sick at sea. So I ask you; when someone goes into that chapel and they fall on their knees and they pray to God that their wife doesn't miscarry or that their daughter doesn't bleed to death or that their mother doesn't suffer acute neural trama from postoperative shock, who do you think they're praying to? Now, go ahead and read your Bible, Dennis, and you go to your church, and, with any luck, you might win the annual raffle, but if you're looking for God, he was in operating room number two on November 17, and he doesn't like to be second guessed. You ask me if I have a God complex. Let me tell you something: I am God."
You just called yourself God??? lol. No one cares about your schooling. Why put your credentials on here, for all we know your a janitor. You only need to put your opinion. and people stop trying to correct peoples grammar and spelling, For all I know you have another window up with a dictionary and spell check. Just saying the internet is filled with infinite information. and you have to be on the internet to access this forum. So with that being said no one on the internet has more access to more knowledge and information than anyone else. so just stop it.
Wow you people are really taking time out of your lives to type out someone elses speech from a movie on a cnn forum. wowzers America
We will not go quietly into the night until Bill Pullman's speech from Independence day is included..........
[video]http://youtu.be/aUdB8gCMcXI?t=15s[/video]
I can't believe I'm saying this but "Can't Buy Me Love" has one of the best speeches I've heard in a movie, although I haven't watched the movie since I was a kid.
"Cools, Nerds... your side... my side.... man, it's all bull&#@t, it's just tough enough to be yourself."
What!?! No Animal House "Over? Did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! And it ain't over now!" – John "Bluto" Blutarsky
There are a ton of great speeches on here, but Kurt Russel's speech in Miracle is epic! Watch it on youtube and try not to get a little misty! Oh, and one line from a movie is not a speech. Stop posting random quotes and saying it's the best speech you've ver heard.
None of them can touch this – Great moments...are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here, tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game, not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them...and we shut them down because we can! Tonight, WE are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players. Every one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It's over. I'm sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw 'em. This is your time! Now go out there and take it!
No Meatballs ("IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER!!")...and No Animal House ("Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?!!")...make this list very deficient.
A list like this without the "Cuckoo Clock" monologue from THE THIRD MAN?
Uslesss.
Jaws. Quint's (Robert Shaw's) speech about the Indianapolis.
John Wayne- The Shootist......I wont be wronged , I wont be insulted , I wont be laid a hand on , I dont do these things to other people ans I require the same from them .
I can't believe Independence day speech didn't make it
Rodney Dangerfield: ":Do not go gentle into that good night." from Back to School
WHAT??? Okay, here it is:
1. Quint's U.S.S. Indianapolis stoy in JAWS.
2. Jules Winnfield's final "Ezekial 25:17" at end of Pulp Fiction.
3. The "Coffee is for closers" speech from Glengarry Glen Ross
4. Clubber Lane's "Hey woman!" speech from Rocky III
One of the best was in Open Range – Robert Duval "A man has the right to protect his property."
"HEINEKEN?!?!?!?!?!??!? F***. THAT. S***. PABBSSTTTT BLUEEE RIBBBONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN" – dennis hopper, Blue Velvet.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rwYqGmVvzQ&w=420&h=345%5D
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PeyiU3uWJ8&w=560&h=345%5D
GREED IS GOOD.
For the Trekkers- best speech in the series:
Picard in First Contact:
"The line must be drawn HERE! NO FURTHER!"
Also some of the best- if not THE best- acting in the entire franchise. Thanks Patrick Stewart!
Where the F is the Ezekiel 25:17 speech from Pulp Fiction, where Jules shows "Ringo" who's really "The tyranny of evil men"?!?!?!?
Danny DeVito's speech in "Other People's Money" when he explains to shareholders why they should vote for his takeover bid. It brilliantly explains the mentality of hostile corporate raiders.
Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator.
No... 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 do. 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 Okalahoma. Get up. Get up. Clean up this mess. NO WIRE HANGERS EVER.
For every selfish female, Clark Cable said it best: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn,"
Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) in Blade Runner:
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I've watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time ... to die."
Bill Pullman's speech was pretty great but it was also kind of a rip off of the St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V. And what about Tom Cruise's speech in Magnolia? Or Christopher Walken in Pulp Fiction. Has anyone mentioned that one?
tariantino giving his option on what Like a Virgin is about in Resivor Dogs
Edward Norton in the 25th hour, the mirror scene. Directed by Spike Lee. And I quote, " dont even get me started on the Dominicans, cause they make the Puerto Ricans look good'.
where the heck is Charlie Chaplin's movie ending speech in The Great Dictator? THAT...is a speech!
I agree.That should have been number one.
You mean to tell me that not one spech from Shakespeare made the list but Goonies and Revenge of the Nerds did? This is why the American education system sucks. The writer must of slept through the Lit classes. There have been all kinds of movies based on Shakespeare's plays that believe or not have speeches. Try Hamlet, Henry V and Romeo and Juliet to name just a few. To ignore the greatest writer of the English languge for Animal House is crazy.
What are you talking about? The education system sucks because you don't see any Willy S. In "best movies speeches" His stuff was written for the stage, but it's lack of representation on this list is indicative of nothing other than the fact that no one felt compelled to list anything by him. I like his stuff, but nothing he wrote would be in my top 20 "movie speeches"
I agree that the article is in a term "laughable." The editor (If there was one) deserves as much blame.
When 40% off the top picks are somewhat obscure movies, the list does not stand up.
Bluto's pep talk in Animal house!: "Over? Did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell, no."
Gregory Peck's courtroom speech in To Kill a Mockingbird is unforgettable. Look it up. It's too long to even try to clip it.
And a guilty pleasure: Bill Murray's "It just doesn't matter" speech in Meatballs.
......in English.
"You have tampered with the primal forces of nature Mr. Beale, and YOU...WILL...ATONE!!! ... am I getting through to you Mr Beale?" – Ned Beatty, Network 1976.
Most terrifyingly accurate speech in cinema ever!
Al Pacino's End speech in 'Scent of a woman'....
Ben Johnson's Sam monologue THE LAST PICTURE SHOW [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWSvo0eMK7E&w=420&h=345%5D
Kevin Costner's emotional closing argument in JFK is one of my favorite speeches of all time. Gets me every time.
You want me on that wall. You need me on that wall!
Liam Neeson's speech in Schindler's List as he says goodbye to the factory workers...classic and heartfelt.
I also agree that Matthew McConaughey's and Bill Pullman's are great.
Let's not forget a classic, Gregory Peck's closing argument in To Kill a Mockingbird
I'm highly dissappointed in this list and some aren't even speeches...they are one-liners!
Okay – one of the best speeches EVER – Al Pacino's closing argument from "....And Justice for All." Absolutely THE BEST speech I've ever seen in a movie. It's a shame it wasn't on the list!
Dorothy Michaels: Thank you, Gordon. Well, I cannot tell you all how deeply moved I am. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would be the object of so much genuine affection. It makes it all the more difficult for me to say what I'm now going to say. Yes. I do feel it's time to set the record straight. You see, I didn't come here just as an administrator, Dr. Brewster; I came to this hospital to settle an old score. Now you all know that my father was a brilliant man; he built this hospital. What you don't know is that to his family, he was an unmerciful tyrant – a absolute dodo bird. He drove my mother, his wife, to – to drink; in fact, she – uh, she she she went riding one time and lost all her teeth. The son Edward became a recluse, and the oldest daughter – the pretty one, the charming one – became pregnant when she was fifteen years old and was driven out of the house. In fact, she was so terrified that she would, uh, that, uh, that, that, that the baby daughter would bear the stigma of illegitimacy that she, she – she decided to change her name and she contracted a disfiguring disease... after moving to Tangiers, which is where she raised the, the, the little girl as her sister. But her one ambition in life – besides the child's happiness – was to become a nurse, so she returned to the States and joined the staff right here at Southwest General. Well, she worked here, she knew she had to speak out wherever she saw injustice and inhumanity. God save us, you do understand that, don't you, Dr. Brewster?
John Van Horne: I never laid a hand on her.
Dorothy Michaels: Yes, you did. And she was shunned by all you nurses, too... and by a, what do you call it, what do you call it, a – something like a pariah, to you doctors who found her idealistic and reckless. But she was deeply, deeply, deeply, deeply, deeply, deeply loved by her brother. It was this brother who, on the day of her death, swore to the good Lord above that he would follow in her footsteps, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just, just owe it all up to her. But on her terms. As a woman. And just as proud to be a woman as she ever was. For I am not Emily Kimberly, the daughter of Dwayne and Alma Kimberly. No, I'm not. I'm Edward Kimberly, the recluse brother of my sister Anthea. Edward Kimberly, who has finally vindicated his sister's good name. I am Edward Kimberly. Edward Kimberly. And I'm not mentally ill, but proud, and lucky, and strong enough to be the woman that was the best part of my manhood. The best part of myself.
Ridiculous list and not even close.. How about the Academy Award winner Burl Ives for his performance and 'speech' in 'The Big Country'.. To this day, Burl Ives speech in the movie, 'The Big Country', is considered one of the best speeches in a motion picture, which got him the Academy Award. Go to Google or Bing and or YouTube and watch and listen to the 'speech'. It makes you stop, right in your tracks. Burl Ives in that speech, got his point across to everyone, to say the least. Mike in Montana
What? Where's Scent of a Woman? Best speech ever.
SUCCESS IS NOTHING WITHOUT SOMEONE YOU LOVE TO SHARE IT WITH
Nick Noltes' Blue Chips speech.By far the best part of the movie is the 5 minute speech at the end.
" It's not about basketball, it's about money, just GD money."
Its so true...
I love Rambo's emotional speech at the end of 'First Blood'. "NOTHING IS OVER!! You just don't turn it off!!"
1)TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, 2)PATTON, 3)WALLSTREET, 4)AND JUSTICE FOR ALL 5)CITIZEN KANE
THANK YOU!!!! Gregory Pecks "All Men Are Created Equal(?)" speech from To Kill a Mockingbird is by far the greatest speech in movie history. It is that speech that made TKaM, and earned Peck his oscar and the accolade of greatest movie hero. No other speech comes close.
not sure if you meant me Get a room, but I'm not obsessed nor do I live with my parents
who have been dead probably longer than you've been alive.
It's just a favorite line from a movie...no more...no less.
It does not say RSVP on the Statue of Liberty!
To Drunk but not Stupid...
EXACTLY!!! Dean Wormer to Kent Dorfman...my favorite line of all time lol!!!
(and better yet when Kent hurls all over him!!)
Oldie but by far the most inspirational speech, given by Spencer Tracy, in Inherit the Wind.
A Few Good Men...
Independence Day - without a doubt.... If you don't think so you're just a film snob...
A Time To Kill-- EPIC-– "Now imagine she's white."
The Matrix-Many to choose from, I like Agent Smith's comparing humans to viruses...
Return of the King and The Two Towers - Too many to choose from...
Jaws – talking about the Indianapolis.
Footloose? Kevin Bacon's speech about dancing – has to be top 10 at least...
Clark: Hey. If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I'd like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here, with a big ribbon on his head, and I want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, ****less, hopeless, heartless, fat-***, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey **** he is. Hallelujah. Holy s***. Where's the Tylenol?
What about Cyrus from "The Warriors"? What's more motivational and inspiring than his speech - "Can You Dig It!!!!"
Do great speech spoofs count?.. terrible movie but this 1 1/2 minutes almost redeemed it.
Agree with some of the others...Robert Shaw's "Indianapolis" speech has to be #1. Seen it hundreds of times and its still amazing.
OMG and from Platoon...
I think now, looking back, we did not fight the enemy, we fought ourselves, and the enemy was in us. The war is over for me now, but it will always be there, the rest of my days. As I'm sure Elias will be, fighting with Barnes for what Rhah calls "possesion of my soul." There are times since, I've felt like a child, born of those two fathers. But be that as it may, those who did make it have an obligation to build again. To teach to others what we know, and to try with whats left of our lives to find a goodness and a meaning to this life
Christopher Walken: "I wore your father's watch up my A**...
Plup Fiction
Burl Ives in "Big Country"!!! "Well, I've seen every kind of critter God ever made . . . " etc. Awesome monologue!
I don't remember the words exactly, but Matthew Broderick talking to his men just before the climactic battle in "Glory" is pretty freaking good. "...If this man falls, who will come forward and pick up the flag?"
Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross should definitely make the list.
So many from Apocalypse Now...
I've seen the horror. Horrors that you've seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that, but you have no right to judge me . It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror. Horror has a face, and you must make a friend of horror. Horror and mortal terror are your friends. If they are not, then they are enemies t o be feared. They are truly enemies.
I remember when I was with Special Forces–it seems a thousand centuries ago–we went into a camp to inoculate it. The children. We left the camp after we had inoculated the children for polio, and this old man came running after us, and he was crying. He couldn't see. We went there, and they had come and hacked off every inoculated arm. There they were in a pile–a pile of little arms. And I remember...I...I...I cried, I wept like some grandmother. I wanted to tear my teeth out, I didn't know what I wanted to do. And I want to remember it, I never want to forget. And then I realized–like I was shot...like I was shot with a diamond...a diamond bullet right through my forehead. And I thought, "My God, the genius of that, the genius, the will to do that." Perfect, genuine, complete, crystalline, pure. And then I realized they could stand that–these were not monsters, these were men, trained cadres, these men who fought with their hearts, who have families, who have children, who are filled wi th love–that they had this strength, the strength to do that. If I had ten divisions of those men, then our troubles here would be over very quickly. You have to have men who are moral and at the same time were able to utilize their primordial i nstincts to kill without feeling, without passion, without judgment–without judgment. Because it's judgment that defeats us.
I worry that my son might not understand what I've tried to be, and if I were to be killed, Willard, I would want someone to go to my home and tell my son everything. Everything I did, everything you saw, because there's nothing that I detest more than t he stench of lies. And if you understand me, Willard, you...you will do this for me.
The opening scene in Full Metal Jacket when R. Lee Ermey's Drill Instructor character gives the rules to the new recruits.
True Romance!! Dennis Hopper's farewell "speech" to Christopher Walken when he knows its over.. "You're Sicilian, huh?".... tops all of these and probably Dennis's best performance! Gray Oldman's is even better than half of them... "Now see, we're sittin' down here , ready to negotiate..."
You have to see the whole scene to understand why Dennis Hopper says what he does... **Some very offensive language in it...
I think it's important to acknowledge the screenwriters who wrote these great speeches:
Revenge of the Nerds – Jeff Buhai, Tim Metcalfe, Miguel Tejada-Flores, Steve Zacharias
The Godfather – Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola
Network – Paddy Chayefsky
Untouchables – David Mamet
Patton – Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North
Braveheart – Randall Wallace
Goonies – Steven Spielberg and Chris Columbus
I'd vote for Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting when he gives that long scenario speech to his interviewer. Awesome!
Gunga Din – Guru, to the heroes: "Great generals, gentlemen, are not made of jeweled swords and mustache wax. They are made of what is here (points to forehead) and here (places hand over heart)."
Later: "As soldiers you have sworn to die for your country, which is your Queen, your England. (softly) Well, India is my country, and I can die for my country as readily as you for yours. India, farewell." (turns and leaps into the cobra pit).
Someone of you don't seem to know what a speech is. First of all, a speech is said to more than just one person. Second, a speech consists of more than just a single sentence. Maybe you were misled by this list using memorable quotes from the selected speeches rather than the full text of the speeches.
I agree with you about one liners, but a speech can most definitely be given to just one person.
No glen gary? No scarface? Who came up this?
Marlon brando in apocalypse now, when he's talking about the pile of arms, classic
What about John Cusack's "Sold,Bought, or Processed" speech from Say Anything?! That was amazing!
From Jaws the Quint monologue: Sometimes that shark he looks right into ya. Right into your eyes. And, you know, the thing about a shark... he's got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll's eyes. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be living... until he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white and then... ah then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin'. The ocean turns red, and despite all the poundin' and the hollerin', they all come in and they... rip you to pieces.
From "Gladiator," "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius.....father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife and I will have my revenge, in this world or the next."
Let's add V's first act soliloquoy in "V for Vendetta!"
What about Tom Cruise's speech to Rene Zelwegger in Jerry Maguire: 'we live in a cynical world...you complete me' not the Cuba Gooding one 'show mw the money!' although that's a good one.
All time best is James Earl Jones 'Baseball' speech at the end of Field of Dreams. 'nuff said.
How about Gunny Sergeant Tom Highway introducing himself to his new troops in Heartbreak Ridge?
Classic!
WAYNE'S WORLD: We're not worthly! NOT!
This speech from Talledega Nights was AWESOME!
Spencer Tracy's great "Does a man have the same rights as a sponge" speech from "Inherit the Wind"
Wait, I've got one: Dwight Shrute's speech after winning the Northeastern Pennsylvania Salesman of the Year award.
CORRECTION: I checked on Charles van Doren's background; his father's name is Mark, not James. Sorry!
How about Clevon Little talking to the Towns people in Blazing Saddles?
"Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth."–Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig in "The Pride of the Yankees".
My unforgettable speech was delivered by Charles van Doren (Ralph Fiennes) admitting that there was cheating done in Quiz Show '21' and that he was deeply involved in it. I was so impressed with the speech that I went back to see the movie again just to take note of that speech. Unfortunately, i lost my notes already. At the end of the movie, it was mentioned that the writer of van Doren's speech eventually became a speechwriter for an American President(?). i believe that speech was great and I wish I can share it with you now.
My unforgettable one-liner was in the same movie, Quiz Show, this time, delivered by James van Doren, father of Charles, "Your name is my name!", reminding his troubled son that the name that he tarnished by doing wrong on national . tv, belongs to him. Charles, fatherJames van Doren happened to be a well-known poet/professor.
... just for readability, I am rewriting last line of my entry...
My unforgettable one-liner was in the same movie, Quiz Show, this time, delivered by Mark van Doren, father of Charles, "Your name is my name!", reminding his troubled son that the name that he tarnished by doing wrong on national tv, belongs to him. Charles' father, Mark van Doren happened to be a well-known poet/professor.
Luckily i found Charles van Doren's speech in Quiz Show. Here it is....
-----
Van Doren: I would give almost anything I have to reverse the course of my life in the last year. The past doesn't change for anyone. But at least I can learn from the past.
I've learned a lot about life. I've learned a lot about myself and about the responsibilities any man has to his fellow man. I've learned a lot about good and evil - they're not always what they appear to be.
I was involved, deeply involved, in a deception. I have deceived my friends, and I have millions of them. I lied to the American people. I lied about what I knew and then I lied about what I did not know. In a sense, I was like a child who refuses to admit a fact in the hope that it will go away.
Of course it did not go away. I was scared, scared to death. I had no solid position, no basis to stand on for my self. There was one way out and that was simply to tell the truth.
It may sound trite to you, but I've found myself again after a number of years. I've been acting a role, maybe all my life, of thinking that I've done more, accomplished more, produced more than I have. I have had all the breaks. I have stood on the shoulders of life, and I've never gotten down into the dirt to build, to erect a foundation of my own. I have flown too high on borrowed wings. Everything came too easy.
That is why I am here today.
---
You'll have to watch the movie to better appreciate the essence of this speech.
The best speech ever filmed is in The Last Temptation of Christ. After chasing the money changers from the temple, and being chased in turn by Roman legionaires, Jesus and the disciples are walking in the hills outside of Jerusalem, in preparation for their return to Jersusalem. The disciples are walking a few paces behind Jesus, worrying and conferring. Finally, one of them double times it to catch up with Jesus, and they all stop while Jesus turns around to hear the disciple. "The group has been talking and we want to know" says the disciple, when we get to Jerusalem, will there be angels there to meet us, or anyone at all besides just those of us who are here now?" For a moment, Jesus just stares into the disciple's eyes. Then Jesus puts his arm around the disciple's shoulders and smiles. THAT wordless response is the best speech ever filmed. Indeed, it is one of the best moments of any kind ever filmed.
Y'all need a longer list. Some good ones here but how can you overlook...
Bull Pullman in Independence Day. One of the best ever.
And of course theres this little classic from Animal House:
What? Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough... The tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go!
John Cleese in 'Life of Brian': What have the Romans done for us?
Reg: All right... all right... but apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order... what have the Romans done for us?
Xerxes: Brought peace!
Reg: What!? Oh... (scornfully) Peace, yes... shut up!
"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar."–Marlon Brando as Mark Antony in "Julius Caesar".
'What we have here is failure to communicate.'
I loved the speech by Orson Welles in The Third Man where he justifies his dealing in the black market . . . he notes with a comparison the 50 years of The Borgias which produced the Renaissance and the 500 years of peace under the Swiss which produced the Cuckoo Clock . . .
What about Linus' speech from the Charlie Brown Christmas special about the true meaning of Christmas?
"The last thing George said to me, 'Rock,' he said, 'sometime when the team is up against it and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper."–Knute Rockne, All American.
Bill Pullman in Independance Day should have made thelist Best speech ever...these on this list are mostl quotes not speeches...
Best speech ever is from Network, but it is not Howard Beale. The best film speech is delivered by Ned Beatty's character about how the world is a business rather than a system of nations. Amazing.
Wow, most of you haven't a clue that a SPEECH is something delivered to AN AUDIENCE intended to INSPIRE, not a one-liner directed at an individual.
I agree! Great speeches must inspire positive action/reaction.
Robert Shaw's speech in 1975's "Jaws" about the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and why he would never put on a life jacket ever again is one of the best pieces of dialog EVER committed to film. A bravura performance by Shaw and terrific writing by an uncredited John Milius.
I vote for Josey Wales/Ten Bears face off.
"With governments you don't always get a fair word or a fair fight. Well I've come here to give you either one, or get either one from you. I came here like this so you'll know my word of death is true. And that my word of life is then true. The bear lives here, the wolf, the antelope, the Comanche. And so will we."
yes!! love it. finally a shout out to josey wales. forgotten and underrated. such a classic!!
How about Woody Harrelson's speech in "The People vs Larry Flynt?" " hell... They'll give you a pulitzer prize for taking a picture of someone in the act of killing....."
Charlie Chaplin's speech at the end of "The Great Dictator". If you haven't seen it you know nothing about movies.
Kudos! Unfortunately, it probably slipped by CNN's entertainment dept. because it's a black & white movie.
No one has mentioned the great "Atomic Supermen" speech of Bela Lugosi's in Ed Wood's "Bride of the Monster", which was repeated by Martin Landau and "Ed Wood", and Professor Farnsworth in "Futurama". ..
"Home?..., I have no home. Hunted,.despised,..living like an animal! The jungle is my home. But one day, the world will know that I can be it's master. I will perfect my own race of atomic supermen, which will conquer, the world!!!"
Ok, first, I'm seeing many "quotes", but not so many speeches being mentioned. A speech is more than a sentence or two.
I agree with the Bill Pullman speech from I.D. as well as the closing argument in "A Time to Kill", but there are a couple in my mind that deserve to be at the top as well: Agent Smith's speech to Morpheus in the original Matrix is one of the greatest pieces of writing, and Sam Jackson's speech in Pulp Fiction (both of them really, at the beginning and the end) are also up there!
How is Michael Douglas' speech from "The American President" not in this?
Ugh! #4 (Untouchables) wasn't a speech! It's sad that the writers of these articles haven't ever seen any black & white movies ("Mr. Smith Goes to Washington").
Gunga Din:
Cutter is in prison and Gunga Din has come to help him escape:
Sgt. Archibald Cutter: Now get me some tools. Something to rip these blinking bars out.
Gunga Din: Already bring all tools could find. Is this satisfactory, sahib?
[holds up a fork]
Sgt. Archibald Cutter: Look... What do you think I want to break out of – a bloomin' pudding? Now go on, get something big.
[Din returns with an elephant]
Sgt. Archibald Cutter: What are you doing, Din?
Gunga Din: The large tool you asked for, sahib.
awesome dialogue- I LOVE Gunga Din- but you can't call this a "speech".
Agree with a lot of the comments but one line out of a movie is not a SPEECH. Keep the inputs to speeches left off the list.
'Ceaser's Speech' from one of the Planet of the Apes movies, I believe it was Battle for the Planet of the Apes with Ricardo Mantalbon (sp?)...Classic!!!
Glory:
Trip: I ain't fightin' this war for you, sir.
Colonel Robert G. Shaw: I see.
Trip: I mean, what's the point? Ain't nobody gonna win. It's just gonna go on and on.
Colonel Robert G. Shaw: Can't go on forever.
Trip: Yeah, but ain't nobody gonna win, sir.
Colonel Robert G. Shaw: Somebody's gonna win.
Trip: Who? I mean, you get to go on back to Boston, big house and all that. What about us? What do we get?
Colonel Robert G. Shaw: Well, you won't get anything if we lose.
Morgan Freeman in Lean on Me had some really good speeches.
Drill Sargent in Full Metal Jacket.
That was a classic!
The speech by Andre Braugher playing LTC Benjamin O. Davis in the 1995 HBO film The Tuskegee Airmen to the Racist Senator (played by John Lithgow) who was hell bent on shutting them down. The eloquence and passion used in simply asking for the chance to fight for their country.... one word, awesome.
What?!? No Shane Falco, "Pain Heals" speech from The Replacements? booooo...lol
great movie lines are not great movie speeches. When I think if a speech i think of a few paragraphs.
Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman"
Michael Douglas in "The American President"
are two awesome ones that come to mind.
How about the speech from the president in Armagedon,,
John Blutarsky – What? Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!...And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough... The tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go! ...What the *%#* happened to the Delta I used to know? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts, huh? This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you're gonna let it be the worst. "Ooh, we're afraid to go with you Bluto, we might get in trouble." Well just kiss my a$$ from now on! Not me! I'm not gonna take this. Wormer, he's a dead man! Marmalard, dead! Niedermeyer... We're just the guys to do it. ...Let's do it
this is about the worst list I've ever read.....some of these were lines and not speeches....NEXT!!!
The point of all of the comments are that, "There are a great number of great movie speeches". By comparison, the 5 that were picked were trivial. Who ever picked them must be very young and misunderstand the word "great".
It's A Wonderful Life....
GEORGE: Just a minute –– just a minute. Now, hold on, Mr. Potter. You're right when you say my father
was no business man. I know that. Why he ever started
this cheap, penny-ante Building and Loan, I'll never know. But neither you nor anybody else can say
anything against his character, because his whole life was . . .
Why, in the twenty-five years since he and Uncle Billy started this thing, he never once thought of
himself. Isn't that right, Uncle Billy? He didn't save enough money
to send Harry to school, let alone me. But he did help a few people get out of your slums, Mr. Potter.
And what's wrong with that? Why . . . Here, you're all
businessmen here. Doesn't it make them better citizens? Doesn't it make them better customers? You . .
. you said . . . What'd you say just a minute ago? . . . They
had to wait and save their money before they even ought to think of a decent home. Wait! Wait for what?
Until their children grow up and leave them? Until they're
so old and broken-down that they . . . Do you know how long it takes a working man to save five
thousand dollars? Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble
you're talking about . . . they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this
community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and
die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn't think so. People were human
beings to him, but to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they're
cattle. Well, in my book he died a much richer man than you'll ever be!
Thanks for reproducing that speech. One of my favorites of all time (number 2, actually). See my comment above for my #1.
Gotta see it –
These are horrible u couldn't come up with a better top five?
wut about the war in vietnam speech by forrest lol yea the on u can't hear that's all i got to say about that hahaha
Al Pacino, again, but in "And Justice For all" and while the "German" speech in Animal House was good, the Otter's speech, when they where bad-mouthing American's, classic.
Absolutely "and justice for all." I was wondering why so many people were referencing Pacino but not this move.
how bout the lord of the rings return of the king aragons speech...
Umm, Al Pacino at the end of Devil's Advocate anyone? Sheesh, top 3 for sure!
...and yet you MISSED the most famous one of all.
"Youse my brother, Charlie, youse supposed to look out for me. Remember that night you come down to the dressing room and said "Kid, this ain't your night"? NOT MY NIGHT?
CNN perpetually hires idiots who never get the entertainment stuff right.
Good Lord...."Rosebud". Why are you asleep CNN?
Fortune's speech to Rudy: You're 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin', and you have barely a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in there with the best college football players in the land for 2 years. And you're gonna walk outta here with a degree from the University of Notre Dame. In this life, you don't have to prove nothin' to nobody but yourself. And after what you've gone through, if you haven't done that by now, it ain't gonna never happen. Now go on back.
Bluto: What? Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Otter: [to Boon] Germans?
Boon: Forget it, he's rolling.
This list is so weak! How can they leave off Alec Baldwin in Glen Gary Glen Ross?? No Scent of a Woman?? No Any Given Sunday??
Joshua Chamberlain, played by Jeff Daniels (Gettysburg, 1993):
This regiment was formed last summer in Maine. There were a thousand of us then. There are less than three hundred of us now. All of us volunteered to fight for the union, just as you did. Some came mainly because we were bored at home - thought this looked like it might be fun. Some came because we were ashamed not to. Many of us came because it was the right thing to do. And all of us have seen men die.
This is a different kind of army. If you look back through history, you will see men fighting for pay, for women, for some other kind of loot. They fight for land, power, because a king leads them or - or just because they like killing. But we are here for something new. This has not happened much in the history of the world. We are an army out to set other men free.
America should be free ground - all of it. Not divided by a line between slave state and free - all the way, from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to bow. No man born to royalty. Here, we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here, you can be something. Here, is the place to build a home.
But it's not the land. There's always more land.
It's the idea that we all have value - you and me.
What we're fighting for, in the end, we're fighting for each other.
Scent of a Woman
Of all the gin joints inall the world, she walks into mine!
This list is ok I guess.. Where is the "greed" speach from the original wall street. Or any of the famous speaches im Apocolypse now! A few good men speach...?! No Daniel Day Lewis speaches?! This list is par at best
C'mon! What about any of the speeches made by any of the characters in Good Will Hunting.
There's the bar speech/debate. There's the lecture from Robin Williams. Even the shorter speech from Ben Affleck at the end about his favorite part of the morning. The NSA speech. Matt Damon's legal argument! Good movie.....
definitely! many lines from this movie could have made the list.
"Why Johnny Ringo, you look like someone just walked over your grave." said Doc Holliday in "Tombstone." Not a speech, but a wonderful line.
"I'm your Huckleberry"
A more important speech, from Daniel Sunjata:
http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/new-yorks-bravest/
Al Pacino's speech in Devils Advocate was the bomb.
The whole movie was da bomb.
Wow not one person thinks Tyler Durden's speech from fight club is the best or should be mentioned? "Our great war is a religious war, our great depression is our lives"
What we've got here is failure to communicate,
What happened to nicholson in "A Few Good Men"?? Goonies?? Losers
Kevin Costner as Crash Davis in "Bull Durham", in his "Church of Baseball" speech. "I believe in long, slow, deep, soft kisses that last three days." Great speech, great movie.
What about Matthew McConaughey's closing argument in "A time to kill?" That one was epic!
Um... Boiler Room anyone? When Ben Affleck is thinning the herd... Great Speech. Only time outside of Good Will Hunting that he was good.
See how it feels when you're making their f****n lexus payments.
Garland Greene (Steve Buscemi in ConAir)He's a font of misplaced rage. Name your cliché; Mother held him too much or not enough, last picked at kickball, late night sneaky uncle, whatever. Now he's so angry moments of levity actually cause him pain; gives him headaches. Happiness, for that gentleman, hurts.
How is Henry V not on here as he inspires his men before they attack the French?
Hello???? Big lebowski. Dark knight. Bad santa with his letter at the end? Jack nicholson in the shining when talking about "covered wagon time... Cannibals." All great!
How about Kingdom of Heavens speech
"Give them nothing, but take from them EVERYTHING!" – 300.
Al Pacino's eulogy in "City Hall." "They told me not stand behind this coffin." It belongs on the list.
Al Pacino gave a few excellent speeches in "The Devil's Advocate." Take your pick!
Agreed... God's up there LHAO...
How about Charlie Chaplin's final scene in the "Great Dictator". Or Pacino's in "Scent of a Woman".
Bill Murray's "It just doesn't matter" speach in Meatballs...
Not the greatest movie on earth, but Stallone's speech to his son in the "final" Rocky film is inspirational and fits in well with today's political landscape. According to the Italian Stallion, life isn't all sunshine and rainbows and it's "not about how hard you can hit – but how hard you can get hit and keep getting up..." etc. Love that speech!
How could Revenge of the Nerds beat out Bluto's speech from Animal House? "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor!". Or how about Bill Murray in Stripes? "Chicks dig me..." And last but not least, Al Pacino and Robert Deniro from Heat. It's not really a speech per se, but I believe it perhaps one of the all time best moments of dialog in any film.
These are my top 10 speeches – some are more monologues than speeches, but that's splitting hairs.
10. Any Given Sunday – Pep Talk
9. Pulp Fiction – Ezekiel 25:17
8. Caddyshack – Caddying for the Dalai Lama
7. Dead Poet's Society – What is your verse?
6. The American President – Press Conference
5. Wall Street – Greed is Good
4. Malice – God Complex
3. Independence Day – President's speech to America
2. A Few Good Men – You can't Handle the Truth
1. Bull Durham – Crash's Beliefs
8. Caddyshack – "So I got that going for me"
wow...good list, actually, but it ignores about 50 years of film...
Reach back people. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner – Spencer Tracey blows all these out of the water. There's a fine piece of writing and fantastic delivery.
Why top 5??? Why not a "CNN's Best of???"
My vote's for the Bill Pullman speech in Independence Day... ""Good morning. Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world, and you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. Mankind, that word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences any more. We will be united in our common interest. Perhaps it's fate that today is the 4th of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom. Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution, but from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live, to exist and should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice, 'We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on, we're going to survive.' Today we celebrate our independence day!"
Besides some of the others mentioned above (Independence Day, Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, American President), Quint's speech/story about the Mississippi from Jaws should get a nod. I'd also give a kudos to Ed Harris's opening and closing speeches in The Truman Show.
Carl Spackler in Caddyshack
A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one – big hitter, the Lama – long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-lagunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.
CLASSIC!!...
And that montage between him and Ty (Chevy Chase) in Carl's room!!!...We have a pool and a pond...the pond is good for you Carl...Can I get a ruling off this danish???
Why are so many of you mistaking quotes for speeches? Its top 5 speeches dummies..
You forgot Alec Baldwin in Malice...I am God
I've seen people mention the pulp fiction speech before he shoots brett, but the best speech in the movie is when he's sparing Ringo in the coffee shop. "The truth is you're the weak and I am the tyranny of evil men. But I'm trying Ringo. I'm trying real hard to be the shepherd."
Also, another speech that was pretty good was in The Majestic when Jim Carrey testifies before congress.
Scent of a Woman. Nuf said.
Independance Day? Are you people retarded? That movie was written by and for morons!
Thumbs up to the Casablanca shout-out. Good to see that someone has some taste.
Ditto to The American President.
And yes....you people need to learn how to distinguish a 'speach' from a 'quote' (or one-liner).
Independance Day....makes me throw up in my mouth a little, each time I think of that garbage.
... and you should learn to distinguish speech from speach, there's no 'speach' word.
It is difficult to take seriously the self-righteous 'taste' of a man who cannot spell the word 'independence.'
That was a seeimingly random selection of movie lines, not speeches. Godfather II is a great movie, but that line was a warning, not a rallying cry. You missed some obvious ones, so it sounds like you cobbled this together over lunch. For a blog that gets a handful of people, a fart will suffice, but you have 100k's, even millions of readers.
Some notable speeches:
- Independence Day (schlocky movie, but a great speech)
- Henry V St. Chrispin Day's dpeech (chap who wrote this could've had a career in Hollywood, oh wait, he did)
- The King's Speech? (Hollywood seemed impressed with it)
Who writes these things? Have they seen any moves from before the 1980s?
What about Charlie Chaplin's great speech at the end of THE GREAT DICTATOR?
Bogart's speech to Ingrid Bergman in CASABLANCA (that Bob already mentioned)?
Jimmy Stewart's speech in MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON or IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (to Mr. Potter).
Robert Shaw's speech about sharks in JAWS.
Crash Davis....things he believes in...Bull Durham!
Rutger Hauer's dying speech as replicant Roy Batty at the end of Blade Runner gets my vote, though the words can't convey the emotion with which they were delivered, "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched sea beams giltter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time ... like tears in the rain. Time to die.
Right on! As the story goes, Hauer made up that speech, which was not in the script. He was only supposed to say, "Time to die." He practiced it all night and didn't sleep. When he rolled that out during the scene, the amazed look on Harrison Ford's face was real.
nit: i believe it's "C-beams"
Casablanca – Bogart
“Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now. Here's looking at you, kid."
see my comment above for the full speech ^.
Anyone who I go to school with now (I'm 14) might find that line and movie familiar, but they might NOT know...
1. It takes place in "unoccupied France" or Morocco during the 2nd world war
2. The movie's about an American dude who helps an ex and her husband escape the nazis
3. MANY of today's media productions have something inspired from that movie.
How about Spencer Tracey's speech to his wife, Katherine Hepburn, in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? Many thought he was speaking directly to her as he was dying at the time....
"We are not going to fight anymore! We're gonna find a way to get out of here! First we're gonna seal of this poo.........Rrrrrrraaaaargggghhhhhh" – Samuel L. Jackson, "Deep Blue Sea"
These are the new leads. These are the Glengarry leads. And to you they're gold, and you don't get them. Why? Because to give them to you would be throwing them away. They're for closers.
Samuel Jacksons stike down vengenace speach in Pulp Fiction. Also, Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti." Those should definately be on the list!
BEST EVER!
Movie: Debbie Does Dallas
LIne: Yeah baby, how does that feel? Do you like that. Oh Yea!!!!! Uhhhhhh
You just made my day. Hell you made my entire week.
what about Quint's USS Indianapolis speech from jaws? I think thats one of the best speeches in all of film history. Or Rosco Lee Brown's speech from the Cowboys?
Agreed. Robert Shaw hit it out of the park with the Indianapolis speech.
You are absolutely right! One of the greatest ever. The back story is great too. Spielberg was going to fire Shaw for drinking and Shaw begged another shot. He nailed it in one take, brilliantly.
No love for Clint?
I know what you're thinking, did he fire 6 shots or only 5?......so you gotta ask yourself, do I feel lucky. Well do ya punk?
and this being a 44 magnum, the most powerful hangun in the world, capable of blowin' your head clean off...
It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have.
What about Gale's Sayer's acceptance speech when he dedicated the award to Brian Piccolo in the movie Brian's Song. Watch that and if you don't cry I would be surprised.
Whoa. I completely forgot about that movie. Brian's Song is the one movie where a group of men are permitted to cry in front of each other. It is, to this day, the only movie that has brought me to tears. In fact I'm getting that "ball in my throat" just thinking about it.
2 things:
1. Many of your "speeches" are just quotes. A speech would have to be longer than 1 sentence.
2. How could Al Pacino from "Any Given Sunday" not be listed/or mentioned in any comments?!
The inches speech from Any Given Sunday, is so underrated. I love that part of the movie.
THANK YOU!!! I WAS WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO SAY THAT!! AMAZING SPEECH
Really? Revenge of the Nerds? The Goonies? Who made this list up!?!?
Any article about "Top movie speeches" that doesn't include Jimmy Stewart's speech at the end of Mr Smith Goes to Washington is just bogus.
"You think I'm licked? You all think I'm licked?? Well I'm NOT licked!!! And I'm gonna stay right here and fight for this lost cause...even if this room gets filled with lies like these!! And the Taylors and all their armies come marching into this place. Somebody will listen to me..."
Shows Jimmy Stewart was a good actor because he was a republican playing a democratic character.
Bull Durham..."I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days."
Good one!! "...the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good Scotch......I believe there ought to be a law outlawing AstroTurf and the designated hitter........" Another classic!
Exactly! Best Speech Ever!
How about the "I am a river to my people" speech by Anthony Quinn in Lawrence of Arabia?
Brilliant. So many fantastic speeches in that movie.
Sorry, but there's one truly great speech in Hollywood history. The rest are runners-up:
Last night we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I've done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you're getting on that plane with Victor where you belong.
Now, you've got to listen to me! You have any idea what you'd have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of ten, we'd both wind up in a concentration camp.
Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You're part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
We'll always have Paris. We didn't have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.
I've got a job to do, too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that.
Here's looking at you kid.
100% correct! This one trumps them all! Bravo!
Oh yeah... how could I forget Casablanca? Truely #1
This trumps just about everything on this silly list. Too bad most people never get to see the truly great films.
how about the speech from the end of the "13th WARRIOR" before final fight scene......just awesome....get chills thinking last line when he says....in the halls of valhalla, where the brave may live forever!!!!! anyone who hasn't scene it....whats wrong with you.
I love the smell of Napalm in the morning.....
Evolution – a personal guilty pleasure favorite of mine (good rewatch value). The quote does not count as a speech, however.
Totally forgot that was in Apocalypse Now and referenced in Evolution (which I clearly rewatch too frequently). Thought I would correct myself before someone else does...
You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know – that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives; and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.
thank you WOBH. your the first one to put on one of the greatest speechs...(in my book) on here. how can tom's from "a few good men" at the end. but i will have th say it cant really go on here cause its not a speech its more of a great argument.
IThe ndependance Day speech is a wannabe-knock-off from Henry V. Braveheart, while good does not match up either . Thankfully Henry V was made into a movie and thus qualifies. The full and best delivered version is the link, but you can read (most of it) below.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say, "To-morrow is Saint Crispian."
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say, "These wounds I had on Crispian's day."
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words,
Harry the King, Bedford, and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."
The Independence Day speech does not resemble this in the slightest, aside from the fact that it references a specific day. Maybe you didn't like the movie. Maybe you are one of those people that refuse to give credit to blockbusters. But the Independence Day speech, plus Bill Pullman's delivery of it, was awesome.
I don't know that I would say the speech from Independence Day was a knock-off, but I think this is the best movie speech ever.
it's not only the speech but the delivery that makes this great.
Now this is a speech. One of the greatest ones in the English language.
I hoped someone would mention this, and if you hadn't, I would have. It's still brilliant after all these years.
@sarah
I really enjoyed Independance Day. Original enough, good acting, fun, great special effects, the speech was well delivered but kind of cheesy. You are correct in that it does not resemble the one from Henry V because it was not 1/100 as good, but my reference to it being a knock-off is more in the context. It is delivered by a leader of an outnumbered force who is doing his best to inspire. Does ID do that, sure but it pales compared to HV. I love blockbusters and do not go to see art house films just to see them (never gone to one in a theatre even), but when a great movie (HV) comes along, I try to see it. Maybe you just don't like non-blockbuster movies.
The only real question should be is #1 Branagh's St Crispin's Day, or is #1 Laurence Olivier's?
I was in a state of despair until I came to your post. Well done, this speech has survived hundreds of years and no-one did it better than Laurence Olivier. Bill Pullman's Independence Day was a most unworthy attempt.
America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You've gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours." You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms.
Couldn't agree more w the American President speech, that's an alltime classic and still fits perfectly even with our politics 10+ yrs later.
I also 2nd the Scent of a Woman and Independence Day speeches those are definitely greats as well. The Gene Hackman Hoosiers 'THen in my book we've already won' speech deserves mention too.
Gene Hackman's "Hoosier's" Speech Before the Finals "....I Love You Guys"
Robert De Niro "Taxi" in front of the Mirror–"You Talkin' to Me?"
Bill Murray "Stripes" speech in front of the Guys in the barracks–"....I Want to Party with you Cowboy"
De Niro's "Taxi DRIVER" speech
The Stripes speech was fantastic......
Cut it out! Cut it out! Cut it out! The hell's the matter with you? Stupid! We're all very different people. We're not Watusi. We're not Spartans. We're Americans, with a capital 'A', huh? You know what that means? Do ya? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We're the underdog. We're mutts! Here's proof: his nose is cold! But there's no animal that's more faithful, that's more loyal, more loveable than the mutt. Who saw "Old Yeller?" Who cried when Old Yeller got shot at the end?
[raises his hand]
Nobody cried when Old Yeller got shot? I'm sure.
I cried my eyes out. So we're all dogfaces, we're all very, very different, but there is one thing that we all have in common: we were all stupid enough to enlist in the Army. We're mutants. There's something wrong with us, something very, very wrong with us. Something seriously wrong with us – we're soldiers. But we're American soldiers! We've been kicking ass for 200 years! We're 10 and 1! Now we don't have to worry about whether or not we practiced. We don't have to worry about whether Captain Stillman wants to have us hung. All we have to do is to be the great American fighting soldier that is inside each one of us. Now do what I do, and say what I say. And make me proud.
I'm not sure DeNiro's "you talkin' to me" can really be considered a 'speech". It's more of a line. A great one, but not a speech.
The best movie speech HAS to be the obscenity speech from "Bulworth" with Warren Beatty....cut to commercial!
What about John Belushi in Animal House?
Matthew McConaugheys closing argument in A Time to Kill.
Definitely.
Bobcat Goldwaith in Police Academy 3 – Citizens on Patrol
Whoa, where is Anthony Hopkins's speech in front of the US Supreme Court in Amistad?
Really? No Kurt Russell in Miracle? I believe in Miracles!
Great moments are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here, tonight. One game. If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with 'em. Tonight, we stay with 'em, and we shut them down because we can! Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players - every one of ya. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time - is done. It's over. I'm sick and tired of hearin' about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw 'em! This is your time!! Now go out there and take it!
Yes, but what about Herb Brooks' speech before the gold medal game, which no one ever talks about:
"If you lose this game, you take it to your f***ing grave!!"
We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: “We will not go quietly into the night!” We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”
Return of the King Film: Aragorn's Speech from the Black Gate
Aragorn: Sons of Gondor! Of Rohan! My brothers. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of Men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the Age of Men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!
Best speech in 20 years, at least on film. Never got a chance to read the books, but it is the rallying call for anyone fighting an insatiable foe. It turns a soldiers fear into a solid need to vanquish an almost immovable object. If you have not seen the movie The Return of the King, go to Youtube and search for 'Aragorn's Speech.' You will be moved to act. Thanks Marty for posting this.
What about Sam Phillips in Walk the Line: "If you was hit by a truck and you was lying out there in that gutter dying, and you had time to sing *one* song. Huh? One song that people would remember before you're dirt. One song that would let God know how you felt about your time here on Earth. One song that would sum you up. You tellin' me that's the song you'd sing? That same Jimmy Davis tune we hear on the radio all day, about your peace within, and how it's real, and how you're gonna shout it? Or... would you sing somethin' different. Somethin' real. Somethin' *you* felt. Cause I'm telling you right now, that's the kind of song people want to hear. That's the kind of song that truly saves people. It ain't got nothin to do with believin' in God, Mr. Cash. It has to do with believin' in yourself."
Good call.
"You got anything against the army?"
"No."
"Well I do."
Rocky IV - "If I can change, you can change, everybody can change!"
it ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how you keep comin' back after you get hit
How in the world could you leave out "Look up Hannah" from The Great Dictator? I swear the people behind these lists have never seen more than ten movies in their lives.
No kidding... The speech from the end of The Great Dictator is IMHO EASILY the best film speech of all time. Chaplin is clearly speaking from his heart, straight to the audience and means every single word he is saying. Untouchable!
You, flock of seagulls, you know why we're here? Why don't you tell my man Vincent where you got the sht hid at?
My Mama always said"Life is like a box of chocolates....never know what you gonna get" Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump
how could the final speech in american president did not make the list?
Cmon....James Earl Jones' "People Will Come" speech in Field of Dreams still brings a tear to my eye every time.
Totally forgot about that one! You are so right......JEJ rules!
What about the James Earl Jones "People will come, Ray," baseball speech in Field of Dreams? It's a classic!
Right ! This is the first speech that came to my mind. A lot of these are just lines, not a real 'speech'. For a speech how about Bill Murray in 'Stripes' as he fires up his squad for boot camp graduation?
No Animal House when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
Thank you Really.....Bluto's speech in Animal House was the first thing that crossed my mind....had to scroll all the way down to finally see your post......Classic !
You can say what you want about us, but we're not going to stand here and let you bad-mouth the United States of America!!!
Michael Douglas in the American President...
"People don't drink the sand because they're thirsty. They drink the sand, because they don't know the difference."
Definitely deserving of the top five.
That's my first choice. Andy Shepard for president!
What about Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own: "There's no crying ib baseball.... no crying......"?
A second for Jimmy Stewart's speech before collapsin in Mr. Smith, but how can you ignore Gregory Pack as Atticus Finch's closing arguments in "To Kill a Mockingbird"??????
You are so right, the two best speeches EVER. And these are speeches not one liners as so many others are suggesting including some of those on the lsit. A great line does not a speech make.
Atticus Finch's closing argument speech (Gregory Peck) in "To Kill a Mockingbird" is THE BEST SPEECH EVER! "For the love of God, do your duty."
25th Hour when Edward Norton does his "F You" speech in the mirror the night before he goes to prison. Highly underrated. The movie was very good, but this speech was phenomenal.
Portalpunk, now that was funny, lol...
What about Samuel Jackson's speech just before killing Brad in Pulp Fiction?
Brett
Let's not forget Samuel L Jackson's speech at the coffee shop in Pulp Fiction.
And Samuel L. Jackson's speech in "Deep Blue Sea" right before he got jawed.
Having the goonies and revenge of the nerds on this list is bs.
Regardless, my favorite line was the one I did off your sisters boobies while we were partying in Vegas!!!!
How could the Independence Day speech not make this list?!? It's seriously one of the greatest speeches in movie history. And second best didn't make it either... The Presidents address before the comet hits is definitely a great speech. I am glad that you included The Goonies speech in honorable mentions though.
Today we celebrate our independence day!!!
Probably because that movie sucks. Like, really sucks. If you're moved by the patriotic, low-hanging dribble that is entirely that speech, go watch the ending of The American President and see what a real, writing is...
John, if you like "The American President" you'd love "The West Wing". That show had sooooooooooo many wonderful lines. I suggest the 1st,2nd,4th, and 7th seasons. Some good episodes include the pilot and "Dead Irish Writers" (or poets, I can't remember) also 20 hours in america. It's by Aaron Sorkin.
How o you not include the speech from Independence Day?
AGREED!
EXACTLY!!!
Best ever!
Agreed
The best
jimmy stewart's filibuster speech in mr smith goes to washington.
Yes, GLAD someone mentioned that speech. Would be nice if both sides today in DC were required to listen to it several times.... best ever.
Great speech!
Thanks for going old school. Another Stewart classic – Telling Old Man Potter off in the board room after his father's death in It's A Wonderful Life.
How about Jack in "A few good men"...awesome.
If I didn't see the "You can't handle the truth!!!" speech on here, I was gonna type it in myself... THE ENTIRE THING!!! But since you mentioned it, I feel better now...
truly an ommissiion of criminal proportions. That speech deserves 1st, 2nd & 3rd place!
How could they include the best speech ever?
"What? Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! "
Germans?
Forget it he's on a roll.
toga! Toga! Toga!
Animal house yes!
OMG, they did leave that out didn't they? Most of these movies I haven't heard of.
I know my line wasn't in a movie... but...
"Game, blouses."
Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman" – I'd take a flame thrower to this place!
Abso-freakin-lutely! How that was left off the list, but Revenge of the Nerds and Goonies made the list, I will never understand. "I don't know who went to this place... William James Bryan, William Howard Taft, William Tell... whoever. Their spirit is dead... if they ever had one."
Agreed!
Scent of a Woman, American President and King's Speech are my top 3.
Um, not really a proper list without Alec Baldwin, Glengarry Glen Ross: "PUT THAT COFFEE DOWN. Coffee's for closers only."
True!!! "Coffee's for closers!!!"
That's the one I was looking for. "Third place, you're fired."
Balwin's monologue is too good to edit and too long for this newsbyte. That speech blows anything else in this article out of the water (... with the possible exception of Brando's).
Agreed. Absolutely epic!
The Alec Baldwin speech should be numbers 1 through 5 on this list, and its not even close.
Forget speeches, talk is cheap... just ask Kim Kardashian.
Chris Tucker – Rush Hour
"Wipe yourself off... you dead!"
"Do you understand the words coming out of my mouth?" – Chris Tucker
Daaaaaamn! you got knocked the F- out! – Chris Tucker
Great list–definitely NOT from India. Get a room needs to meet cornholer.
How could "Wall Street" not make this list?
What the hell, theres no room on this list for Bill Pullman in Independance Day? The pre-final alien air battle speech at Area 51 is the ultimate kill aliens go America speech. COME ON CNN GET IN THE GAME.
Just0r – agreed. Bill Pullman's speech in Independence Day was the best movie speech ever. Period.
Also deserving of the top five: Matthew McConaughey's closing argument in a Time to Kill and Michael Douglas's speech in the American President. And for acting chops rather than content, Colin Firth's speech in The King's Speech.
But really, biggest diss is on the Independence Day speech. That movie came out when I was ten and even at that age I thought that speech was so kicka$$ that I memorized it.
"I love the smell of napalm in the morning"
Absolutely right. Bill Pullman's speach from Independance Day not being on this list is just silly...
UNFORGIVEN! HELLO? AT THE END OF THE MOVIE C.EASTWOOD POINTS OUT EVERYTHING HACKMANS CHARACTER SAYS IS TRU BUT IM STILL GONNA KILL YA FOR WHAT YOU DONE TO NED! CLASSIC!
how could anyone make this list w/out al pacino's pregame speech in ANY GIVEN SUNDAY. its played at half time and commericals breaks at every sporting event to pump up the crowd...
Where the hell is Alec Baldwin from GlenGarry GlenRoss
Court room speech in A Few Good Men. Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise.
" Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son." Animal House.
I CONCUR Mathews closing arguments at the end of "a time to kill brings tears to my eyes EVERYTIME!! GREAT closing argument!
I'm sorry, but how can you exclude Matt Damon's speech from Goodwill Hunting, when he is explaining why he doesn't want to work for the government to "break codes."
Also, Animal House has that hilarious speech about the "Germans bombing Pearl Harbor."
These kinds of lists can't possibly get all the moments, I know, but Damon's little diatribe should be included.
That's exactly what I was thinking! Where the HECK is Wall Street's "Greed is Good" speech??
What about James Earl Jones' speech at the end of "Field of Dreams"? The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. People will come, Ray.
Right the Greed is Good speech. Brilliant!
I was about to ask what happened to Bill Pullman's speech in Independence Day, but it appears that plenty of others feel the same way. That speech was awesome.
What about Gene Hackman in Hoosiers? Or Kevin Costner in Bull Durham? How about the speech in the Kings Speech for pete's sake?
I have to say that the Independence Day president speech should have been number 1.
Rick: If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
Ilsa: But what about us?
Rick: We'll always have Paris. We didn't have it before...we'd...we'd lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.
Ilsa: When I said I would never leave you...
Rick: And you never will. But I've got a job to do too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Here's looking at you, kid.
Here's Looking at you Kid is #5 on all time movie quotes. We'll always have Paris is #43. In one scene. These 5 speeches are a joke.
4 wedding and a funeral – the eulogy speech at that one funeral.
BTW, that Hugh Grant small mumbling speech in shorts and saddles in front of "Carrie" was not too shabby, either.
Best movie speeches were in the movie "Guns of Naverone" with Gregory Peck and David Niven where Peck makes his speech to Niven that your "by standing days are over". In fact, David Niven and Anthony Quinn gave one of the best speeches I've seen in any movie.
Can't help it – I liked Sean Penn's as Father Brown speech in We're No Angels – "I reach in my pocket and what do I find? ......there's nothing there...."
The fact Bill Pullman's speech from ID4 isn't up there is just a downright travestry/embarassment for CNN, come on now.
The end speech of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes by Caesar: Where there is fire, there is smoke. And in that smoke, from this day forward, my people will crouch, and conspire, and plot, and plan for the inevitable day of Man's downfall. The day when he finally and self-destructively turns his weapons against his own kind. The day of the writing in the sky, when your cities lie buried under radioactive rubble! When the sea is a dead sea, and the land is a wasteland out of which I will lead my people from their captivity! And we will build our own cities, in which there will be no place for humans except to serve our ends! And we shall found our own armies, our own religion, our own dynasty! And that day is upon you NOW!
But now... now we will put away our hatred. Now we will put down our weapons. We have passed through the night of the fires, and those who were our masters are now our servants. And we, who are not human, can afford to be humane. Destiny is the will of God, and if it is Man’s destiny to be dominated, it is God’s will that he be dominated with compassion, and understanding. So, cast out your vengeance. Tonight, we have seen the birth of the Planet of the Apes!
Classic and truly Epic!!!! Props Roddie McDowall
Yeah or Jack Nicholson at the end of A Few Good Men. That should be here!
What about Steve Martin's rant at the rental car counter in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles?
What about Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) in Fight Club? This list sux!
No way! Hands down, one of the best...Jack Nicholson in the court rm. with Tom Cruise "A Few Good Men"
I agree wholeheartedly with two egregious oversights: Gordon Gekko's speech in "Wall Street" and Alec Baldwin's speech in "Glengarry Glen Ross." To those, I would add only Quint's speech in "Jaws," describing the sharks who came to feed on the sailors who went down with the U.S. Indianapolis in WWII.
Wow,Okay maybe if this list was a little diverse maybe it would have some credibility> I would think Morgan freeman in "Lean on me" would be somewhere on this list. goonies? come on
Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman
Lt. Col. Frank Slade: Out of order, I show you out of order. You don't know what out of order is, Mr. Trask. I'd show you, but I'm too old, I'm too tired, I'm too #$%@^n' blind. If I were the man I was five years ago, I'd take a FLAMETHROWER to this place!
My only regret after listening to Bill Pullman's speech was that there were no real alien behinds that needed kicking in. That hands down is the all time best movie speech ever.
REALLY. Seriously. You mean to tell me that Citizen Kane was beat out by Revenge of the Nerds? This just goes to prove how idiotic these ratings are.
I assumed that the Greed is Good speech would be #1. Shocked it wasn't even on the list.
Arron Sorkin screenplay – American President: Everybody knows American isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating, at the top of his lungs, that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free, then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms.
Independence Day is probably my all time FAVORITE movie, the others being "Day After Tomorrow" and "Hunt for Red October". Oh, did you know my dad was almost in that movie? But his boss (he was a journalist at the time) said it was unprofessional. Thing is, my dad was an actor when he was kid.
Not exactly a movie speech, but Commander Adama's speech at the end of the Battlestar Galactica remake mini-series is one of the greatest and most inspirational speeches I have ever heard.
The Goonies? Revenge of the Nerds?
This is why they shouldn't give blogs to subteens.
Thanks for using my YouTube video. Revenge of the Nerds trailer.
5. You are an obsessed fan.
6. You're probably a white kid living with your parents.