Filmmakers are often accused of writing movies that give quick snippets and no real substance, but from time to time a truly great scene comes out that includes brilliant speech writing. This is a list of the ten greatest movie speeches. Obviously many of you will disagree with my selection, so feel free to add your own to the comments. Include a youtube link if you can so we can all enjoy the goods!
10. Matt Damon’s Speech Good Will hunting
Pride comes before a fall and in this scene – we see a perfect example of it. This is a wonderful scene that anyone who has ever made mocked will appreciate. I especially like the way he wraps things up with the offer to “step outside” – he may be a walking library, but he is also a badass!
9. Captain Koons Speech Pulp Fiction
This has to be on the list simply because Christopher Walken is so amazing. You can easily see Tarantino’s writing in this speech, but Walken manages to take it to another dimension.
8. Monty Brogan’s Speech 25th Hour
A large number of items on this list have good messages in them – this one, unfortunately, is bound to offend virtually everyone. Nevertheless, the acting is good and Edward Norton is brilliant, so here it is.
7. A Few Good Men A Few Good Men
My apologies for including a scene with Tom “Xenu’s Bitch” Cruise, but I had to include this scene because Jack Nicholson is so great.
6. Courtroom Scene To Kill a Mockingbird
A brilliant story and an almost equally brilliant film. This is the famous court scene from the movie in which Gregory Peck defends black man Tom in a small town.
5. Drill Instructor Speech Full Metal Jacket
I would say 99% of people reading this list expected to see this item on it. It definitely deserves a place in the top 5.
4. Freedom Speech Braveheart
This is William Wallace’s speech to the army about patriotism and freedom.
3. St Crispin’s Day Speech Henry V
“We band of brothers” – this speech never fails to send chills down my spine. An outstanding performance of one of the most beautifully written pieces of English.
2. Patton Speech Patton
The famous speech by General Patton in the movie of the same name.
1. Chaplin’s Speech the Great Dictator
This amazing speech may surprise people who are used to Chaplin’s comedic films. Not only was this a powerful and amazing speech in its time, it is still relevant today.
I’m pretty sure that I would be enthralled listening to Edward Norton read his grandmother’s chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Captain Koons was the best. “So I put it in the onyl place I could; in my ass” Classic!!
-Andrea Carlena Beauman
**only
OMG! I love that speech from Full Metal Jacket, I loved everything that the drill instructor said. Its my favorite movie of all time and is an all-time classic!
great list! one of my favorite speechs is from warren beatty in the movie bullworth.
Bullworth: Obscenity? The rich is getting richer and richer and richer while the middle class is getting more poor/ Making billions and billions and billions of bucks/ well my friend if you weren’t already rich at the start well that situation just sucks/cause the riches mother *****er in five of us is getting ninety *****in eight percent of it/ and every other mother*****er in the world is left to wonder where the ***** we went with it/ Obscenity?/ I’m a Senator/ I gotta raise $10,000 a day every day I’m in Washington/ I ain’t getting it in South Central/ I’m gettin it in Beverly Hills/ So I’m votin from them in the Senate the way they want me too/ and-and-and I’m sending them my bills/ But we got babies in South Central dying as young as they do in Peru/ We got public schools that are nightmares/ We got a Congress that ain’t got a clue/We got kids with submachine guns/ We got militias throwing bombs/ We got Bill just gettin all weepy/ We got Newt blaming teenage moms/We got factories closing down/ Where the hell did all the good jobs go? Well, I’ll tell you where they went/My contributors make more profits makin, makin, makin, Hirin’ kids in Mexico/ Oh a brother can work in fast food/ If he can’t invent computer games/ But what we used to call America/ That’s going down the drains/How’s a young man gonna meet his financial responsibilities workin and mother*****in Burger King? He ain’t! And please don’t even start with that school *****/ There aint no education going on up in that mother*****er/ Obscenity? We got a million brothers in prison/ I mean, the walls are really rockin/But you can bet your ass they’d all be out/If they could pay for Johnny Cochran/ The constitution is supposed to give them an equal chance/ Well, that ain’t gonna happen for sure/ Ain’t it time to take a little from the rich mother*****er and give a little to the poor? I mean, those boys over there on the monitor/ they want a government smaller and weak/ but the be speakin for the riches 20 percent when they pretend they’re defendin the meek/ Now, *****, *****, cocksuker, that’s the real obscenity/ Black folks livin with every day/ Trying to believe a mothe*****in word Democrats and Republicans say/ Obscenity? I’m Jay Billington Bulworth And I’ve come to say/ The Democratic party’s got some ***** to pay/ It’s gonna pay it in the ghetto/ It’s gonna pay it in the-
[talks a little]
Bullworth: You know the guy in the booth who’s talking to you in that tiny little earphone? He’s afraid the guys at network are gonna tell him that he’s through/ If he lets a guy keep talking like I’m talking to you/ Cause the corporations got the networks and they get to say who gets to talk about the country and who’s crazy today/ I would cut to a commercial if you still want this job/ Because you may not be back tomorrow with this cooperate mob/Cut to commercial, cut to commercial, cut to commercial. Ok ok I got a simple question that I’d like to ask of this network/ That pays you for performing this task/ How come they got the airwaves? They’re the peoples aren’t they? Wouldn’t they be worth 70 billion to the public today? If some money-grubbin Congress didn’t give them away for big campaign money? It’s hopeless you see/ If you’re runnin for office with out no TV/If you don’t get big money/ You get a defeat/ Corporations and broadcasters make you dead meat/ You been taught in this country there’s speech that is free/ But free don’t get you no spots on TV/If you want to have senators not on the take/ Then give them free air time/ They won’t have to fake/ Telecommunications is the name of the beast/that, that, that, that, that’s eating up the world from the west to the east/ The movies, the tabloids, TV and magazines/ they tell us what to think and do/ And all our hopes and dreams/ All this information makes America phat/ But if the company’s outta the country/ How American is that? But we got Americans with families that can’t even buy a meal/ Ask a brother who’s been downsized if he’s getting any deal/ Or a white boy bustin ass til they put him in his grave/ He ain’t gotta be a black boy to be livin like a slave/ Rich people have always stayed on top by dividing white people from colored people/ but white people got more in common with colored people then they do with rich people/ we just gotta eliminate them. White people, black people, brown people, yellow people, get rid of ‘em all/ All we need is a voluntary, free spirited, open-ended program of procreative racial deconstruction/ Everybody just gotta keep *****in’ everybody til they’re all the same color
LOL Jamie! Tom “Xenu’s *****” Cruise!
So many good alternates, kudos to the folks who mentioned Network, Apocalypse Now, and A Beautiful Mind.
I’ve never seen the “500″ speech, now I gotta go see the movie.
Good job everybody!
yah well I like them all, espesialy the 1 from full metal jakcet, soo cool. -
Clicheic, but the “Hill of Beans” speech from Casablanca? I can let that pass, but not Batty’s speech from “Bladerunner”?
I don’t think ANY Al Pacino scene should be in the Top 10. The man always manages to overact, therefore spoiling what could have been a great scene. Too over the top! This list is fine without him.
IMHO, of course, of course.
1.) Network
2.) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Late O’Day you beat me to it
These are all great. Thanks for the list.
The only other one that came to my mind was the speech in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. It might be kind of corny in today’s standards but I’m a sucker for Frank Capra films.
Here’s a link to a one of the speeches incase anybody wants to check it out
what about “the scent of a women” with al pacino, his speech is badass, and like 4 minutes long!
WHAT? NO A.B.C? Always be closing? glengarry glen ross, Alec Baldwin. Great friggin speech scene! No Michael Douglas Wall Street Greed speech?
dofnup: IMHO ur HO sucks! Al Pacino’s one of the finest actors of all time.
That is all
I like most of these but you have the wrong St Crispin’s Day speech, check out Olivier’s from the World War II era version
Shabab: I’m not sure what to think about him playing the late surrealist, Salvador Dali, in an upcomming movie though.
Have you ever seen Panic in Needle Park? I think it was maybe his second film. It’s amazing all around.It was dificult to get for a long time but now is available on DVD.
Csimmons: #66: glad someone appreciated that
I like the scene right after Matt Damon’s speech in the bar when he walks up to a diner seeing the same dude eating and asks him, “Do you like apples? Do you like apples?” then shows Minnie Drivers phone number, “Well, how do you like them apples?”
Best line in the movie, IMO.
I have truly enjoyed the posts and won’t disagree with your list, but would like to add a speech. I was so moved by Liam Neeson’s speech at the end of Schindler’s list where he is recounting how many jewish lives he could have saved by selling different items such as a his gold ring or car. Beautifully written and so moving. Just my thought.
JMurf: FYI, Pulp Fiction, Ezekiel 25:17. For the sake of movie theatrics he chose to change up what was said, If I had my bible handy I’d show you what it actually says. but I really don’t care and I just woke up.
Personally, Falling Down. When he’s trying to get a burger.
I can’t believe that the speech by the drunk in TeamAmerica isn’t here. “there are 3 types of people, dicks, pussies and asholes” Truly inspiring!
awesome to see FMJ on there. did you know ermey ad libbed much of that?
I certainly wasn’t expecting to be shaking with laughter from the Full Metal Jacket scene! Good Lord, the insults! How those actors kept a straight face, I’ll never understand.
I cannot watch #4 without thinking of the speech given in Robin Hood: Men in Tights. I don’t know why…
2 come to mind instantly, Pacinos speech at the end of Scent of a woman, and Russel Crowes speech in beautiful mind when he is thanking his wife.
fantastic list… #6 would have been #1 on my list, but it’s a great list, nice job!
another to add would be Steve Martin’s rant about his nose in the movie ‘Roxanne’.. funny stuff!
that gregory peck speech in the film version of to kill a mockingbird really is a great speech.
i must say, i was rather expecting the speech from pulp fiction to be samuel jackson’s speech referencing ezekiel.
however, the christopher walken speech is also a good one.
eric: ermey ad libbed the whole thing. he got the job as the gunnery sergeant after impressing kubrick so much as just the military advisor.
after giving the line about, “not even have the common courtesy to give the man a reach around”, kubrick yelled “CUT” and had to have that explained to him since he had never heard the phrase. ermey obliged. kubrick say action and we get the amazing speech seen above.
What about the great Pacino’s speech in any given sunday? that ***** is inspiration personified.
Blogball has said this movie addition but still,
It probably would have been too much to have three courtroom speeches, but I always think of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” when I think of movie speeches..
DiscHuker: What I’m amazed with is that that drill instructor guy has made an acting career out of yelling at people! To go from the real thing aimed at soldiers–to–an illusionary thing aimed for laughs.
Crimanon (reply to your #82) But that whole scene when he’s in the fake McDonald’s is what screwed up the seriousness of the whole picture for me. It pretty much killed whatever strength was happening up to that point. But now that I think of how it was something of a half way mark, I suppose it makes scence…no, I didn’t like it.
I wish there had been a few women on the list. I think a list about great movie speeches would have had to at least included Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara. It’s brief to be sure but her “I’ll never go hungry again” speech still manages to give me chills each and everytime I view that scene.
I believe the Matt Damon speech in Good Will Hunting is from Noam Chomsky. I could be wrong, though.
The Great Dictator speech is great too, but I much Prefer Adnoid Hinkel’s speech was better. ” Ahs! Ina alles. Nino straten tighten die belten”
Am i the only one who thought Robin Williams speech to Matt Damon about seeing the Sistine Chapel vs. reading about it, was the best speech of that movie and one of the best movie speeches of all-time?
i would of liked to have seen the dicks pussys and ***** speech from Team America because it is so true.
Great list! I would have included Sam’s speech from the ending of Lord of The Rings: Two Towers and I vaguely remember there being an amazing speech from Dead Poets Society.
I liked the speech Anthony Edwards gave at the end of Revenge of the Nerds movie. Classic
What about Reese Witherspoon’s character in Legally Blonde. You know, the whole court winner speech about perms.
It won her the case.
Has anyone here ever seen “The Girl in the Cafe”? The speech Kelly MacDonald makes at the end, at the G8 summit about children makes me weep every single time.
I can’t find the specific scene, but part of it is featured in this clip, at 00:57. There is, unfortunately, music playing over her speaking, but you can still hear her:
And a bit is in this trailer, too:
One more scene:
Ben Affleck in Dogma
- The bit where he gets *****ed at Matt in Dogma
Ben Affleck in Chasing Amy
- The scene in the car
Lynn Cohen in Munich
- The scene where she makes a decision
I was so happy to see that you put the Great Dictator at #1. I think that’s a movie that is completely overlooked. It’s funny, moving and absolutely brilliant. To me, that will always be the best speech in the movies.
i see many folk have put forward al pacino has anyone suggested the ‘inches’ speech in ‘any given sunday’ that was truly legendary
#8, my favorite, is no longer available
and I agree with drunkmonkey the pacino “Inches”speech runs up so many emotion with me. I think it would touch anyone who has played in a team sport.
Would have to agree with Spocker at #79 – including the ‘apples’ bit would have to send the Good Will Hunting clip shooting up the list. Good list this one, the only ones I haven’t seen are the top 3 – so they’re now on my list!
Baldwin’s speech in Glengarry should be in there, not sure which one I’d leave out though. And as for Pullman in ID:4 – as an Aussie, that speech made me physically ill. The movie did too, to be honest, although the special effects were good.
sinman: Why not say any Ben Affleck speach (consisting over 3 sentences long) in any Kevin Smith movie because you know what… “Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms, yo!” . That line still gets me rolling sorry. But no Affleck does awesome work in Kevin Smith’s films. Though he can get to be very corny and goofy he still does an excellent job.
(and if you can not tell, I am a big fan of Kevin Smith and ever given the oppertunity, I would definatly love to take on a roll in one of his movies)
“The Lion in Winter” certainly deserves a spot on this list. Full of great speeches, but my favorite is this one between Eleanor and Prince John (Katherine Hepburn and Nigel Terry)
Prince John: A knife! He’s got a knife!
Eleanor: Of course he has a knife, he always has a knife, we all have knives! It’s 1183 and we’re barbarians! How clear we make it. Oh, my piglets, we are the origins of war: not history’s forces, nor the times, nor justice, nor the lack of it, nor causes, nor religions, nor ideas, nor kinds of government, nor any other thing. We are the killers. We breed wars. We carry it like syphilis inside. Dead bodies rot in field and stream because the living ones are rotten. For the love of God, can’t we love one another just a little – that’s how peace begins. We have so much to love each other for. We have such possibilities, my children. We could change the world.
While we’re looking at medieval dramas, “Robin and Marian” has some great speeches also, with melancholy taking the day.
not much of a speech per se, but in rudy the whole “you’re 5 feet nothin, a hundred and nothin….” etc. gets me going.
and speaking of kevin smith, the speech at the end of clerks where randall lays it out that dante is so epic about his job and all he is is a trained monkey. that speech changed my life, because up until that point i was dante. needless to say, after i saw that my work production tanked.
THIS IS BLASPHEMY!!!!!! Al Pacion’s “Inches” speech from Any Given Sunday definatly deserves one of the top spots on this list. Not only is it an incrediable piece of acting from a very charismatic actor, but the music and the pretence of the surroundings make it absolutly perfect!
Gregory Peck’s speech is fantastic, but I also think that Tom Robinson’s testimony by Brock Peters is absolutely fantastic. Fast forward to about 5:00 to get to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz7jGDG8fM8
Another great speech is from Inherit the Wind when Drummond drills Brady. I actually performed this scene in a Dramatic Duet with a friend for Forensics. I was Drummond and he was Brady.
The Chaplin speech was amazing, one of the best I heard, but as a reference to a previous comment, the scene in Inherit The Wind “where Henry Drummond calls Matthew Harrison Brady to the stand is close to epic.” I wholeheartedly agree. It changed my view partially on the theory of creationism.
Alright, I totally agree with most of this list,
but I need to add one that I always liked.
The movie (Be Cool) wasn’t very good, but I still liked this little speech.
=]
Edward Norton is not a very good actor, but the speech was well written. An actor should be subordinate to the character, and Norton never is.
ChrisG: surely you liked him in American History X though! He was great in that movie!
I’m not sure if my post got through, so I’ll repost it (my first one doesn’t show up when I refresh).
You forgot the greatest movie speech of all, from the movie The Warriors (1979). Here’s the link to the YouTube video:
Warriors, Come out and Playayaya!
Balls and brains are tough combination to beat.
Edward Norton really knows how to bring a character to life.
Not only is this the best speech, care of Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken in “True Romance”…
This, in my opinion, is the BEST scene even in cinematic history.
Um, link would be good.