The Most Brilliant Monologue in Film History- Page 2

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:07pm

I like this one:

"You know what's wrong with you, Miss Whoever-you-are? You're chicken, you've got no guts. You're afraid to stick out your chin and say, "Okay, life's a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness." You call yourself a free spirit, a "wild thing," and you're terrified somebody's gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby, you're already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it's not bounded in the west by Tulip, Texas, or in the east by Somali-land. It's wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.
Here. I've been carrying this thing around for months. I don't want it anymore."
-Breakfast at Tiffany's

[NCGuy]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:21pm

So, okay, like, right now, for example, the Haitians need to come to America, but some people are all, "What about the strain on our resources?" But then it's like, when I had this garden party for my father's birthday, right, I said RSVP because it was a sit-down dinner, but people came that like, did not RSVP so I was like, totally buggin'. I had to haul ass to the kitchen, redistribute the food, squish in extra place settings, but, by the end of the day, it was, like, the more the merrier, and so, if the government could just get to the kitchen, rearrange some things, we could certainly party with the Haitians. And in conclusion, may I please remind you that it does NOT say "RSVP" on the Statue of Liberty!

Thank you very much. (squeal).



Updated On: 7/9/06 at 10:21 PM

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:29pm

Edie Falco in Freedomland.

[thibodeaux]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:43pm

Any of the monologues in "Angels in America" but specifically Belize with the whole 'not of "Freedom" in the Star-Spangled Banner being so high nobody could reach it' stuff. . .good, good. (Yes, I am aware it was a play first.)

The Hours has some good ones---Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep)

[She]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 11:27pm

I have no one answer.

I don't think it is the best but I instantly thought of Edward Norton's 25th Hour "f*** you" speech. It's just so hypnotizing in its cruelty. It's just memorable.

I love Colin Farrell's monologue in Alexander, "....it will always be remembered, you left your king, in Asia.." Ah, I really love that movie (I know, whatever). Anthony Hopkins has a nice one too that with the "Megas Alexandros" phrase.

The classic, "of all the gin joints in all the towns and all the world, she walks into mine" is one of THE best but then again, everything out of Casablanca is golden, IMHO.

Though it is cheesy I always enjoy Natalie Wood's "How many bullets, Chino?" in West Side Story. It's pretty neat.

Scarface has Al Pacino saying all sorts of nice dialogue but "Say goodnight to the bad guy" is one of the most effective monologues in the movie and probably the decade. Al Pacino has brilliant monologues in Glengarry Glen Ross, The Devil's Advocate, Carlito's Way, Dog Day Afternoon, etc, etc.

Joe Pesci in Casino. Nic Cage in Lord of War "I'll tell you what's gonna happen". Benicio del Toro in 21 Grams, "this is hell". Kevin Spacey in Seven when he's riding in the car with Mills and Somerset. The banker talking to Matt Damon in Syriana, the corruption speech.

Also, Wesley Snipe in Blade, "you must learn to pull the trigger". Stephen Dorff has a nice one in Blade also, "how the hell are you going to cure the whole f***** world?"

And the most heartbreaking (and very brilliant): Mathilde's last monologue explaining why she did what she did at the end of The Hairdresser's Husband. It's really chilling.

Sorry. I could go on and on so...
Updated On: 7/9/06 at 11:27 PM

[DG]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 3:23am

POWDER -
"It's because you have this spot that you can't see past. My Grams and Gramps had it, the spot where they thought they were disconnected from everything. I wish they could see how connected they are - how beautiful they really are. And that there's no need to hide, or lie. And that it's possible to talk to someone without any lies, with no sarcasms, no deceptions, no exaggerations or any of the things that people use to confuse the truth."

[donna_darko_23]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 3:30am

GuyfromGermany, I also love that monologue from American Beauty. He delivers it perfectly. That whole scene is just brillant and glorious.

[Matthew Rask]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 9:09am

The Gold Watch
written by Quentin Tarantino & Roger Avary


Captain Koons:

Hello, little man. Boy, I sure heard a bunch about you. See, I was a good friend of your dad's. We were in that Hanoi pit of hell together over five years. Hopefully...you'll never have to experience this yourself, but when two men are in a situation like me and your Dad were, for as long as we were, you take on certain responsibilities of the other. If it had been me who had not made it, Major Coolidge would be talkin' right now to my son Jim. But the way it turned out is I'm talkin' to you, Butch. I got somethin' for you.
(The Captain sits down and pulls a gold wrist watch from his pocket)
This watch I got here was first purchased by your great-grandfather during the first World War. It was bought in a little general store in Knoxville, Tennessee. Made by the first company to ever make wrist watches. Up till then people just carried pocket watches. It was bought by private Doughboy Erine Coolidge on the day he set sail for Paris. It was your great-grandfather's war watch and he wore it everyday he was in that war. When he had done his duty, he went home to your great-grandmother, took the watch off, put it an old coffee can, and in that can it stayed 'til your granddad Dane Coolidge was called upon by his country to go overseas and fight the Germans once again. This time they called it World War II. Your great-grandfather gave this watch to your granddad for good luck. Unfortunately, Dane's luck wasn't as good as his old man's. Dane was a Marine and he was killed -- along with the other Marines at the battle of Wake Island. Your granddad was facing death, he knew it. None of those boys had any illusions about ever leavin' that island alive. So three days before the Japanese took the island, your granddad asked a gunner on an Air Force transport name of Winocki, a man he had never met before in his life, to deliver to his infant son, who he'd never seen in the flesh, his gold watch. Three days later, your granddad was dead. But Winocki kept his word. After the war was over, he paid a visit to your grandmother, delivering to your infant father, his Dad's gold watch. This watch. (holds it up, long pause) This watch was on your Daddy's wrist when he was shot down over Hanoi. He was captured, put in a Vietnamese prison camp. He knew if the gooks ever saw the watch it'd be confiscated, taken away. The way your Dad looked at it, that watch was your birthright. He'd be damned if any slopes were gonna put their greasy yella hands on his boy's birthright. So he hid it in the one place he knew he could hide something. His ass. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ass. Then he died of dysentery, he gave me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable hunk of metal up my ass two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you.

[RobbO]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 9:12am

katherine in "trick" played by tori spelling:

"I am NOT a lesbian, I DON'T want to move to New Jersey...and where's the cheese... WHERE'S THE CHEESE ON MY GODDAMN FRIES??????"

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 9:16am

Tom Joad's last scene in The Grapes of Wrath.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 9:40am

do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk, ice cream? ice cream, mandrake? children's ice cream!...you know when fluoridation began?...1946. 1946, mandrake. how does that coincide with your post-war commie conspiracy, huh? it's incredibly obvious, isn't it? a foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual, and certainly without any choice. that's the way your hard-core commie works. i first became aware of it, mandrake, during the physical act of love...yes, a profound sense of fatigue, a feeling of emptiness followed. luckily i was able to interpret these feelings correctly. loss of essence. i can assure you it has not recurred, mandrake. women...women sense my power, and they seek the life essence. i do not avoid women, mandrake...but i do deny them my essence.

general jack d. ripper - dr. strangelove or: how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 9:49am

Virgina Madsen's brilliant comparison between wine and life in SideWays. It was truly moving. I also really enjoy the brief "Anal Probe" speech from "PassionFish".

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 9:59am

n69n..I like the way you think...tho not the best writing ever, the reading is impeccable by Ms. Laurie...


"....but I was weak, and backsliding!"

[DG]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 10:01am

From TOOTSIE:
"Michael Dorsey: 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.
Michael Dorsey: 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."

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 10:09am

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

Pulp Fiction

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 10:15am

An excerpt:

"Now Mr. Prentice, clearly a most reasonable man, says he has no wish to offend me but wants to know if I'm some kind of a *nut*. And Mrs. Prentice says that like her husband I'm a burned-out old shell of a man who cannot even remember what it's like to love a woman the way her son loves my daughter. And strange as it seems, that's the first statement made to me all day with which I am prepared to take issue... cause I think you're wrong, you're as wrong as you can be. I admit that I hadn't considered it, hadn't even thought about it, but I know exactly how he feels about her and there is nothing, absolutely nothing that you son feels for my daughter that I didn't feel for Christina. Old- yes. Burned-out- certainly, but I can tell you the memories are still there- clear, intact, indestructible, and they'll be there if I live to be 110. Where John made his mistake I think was in attaching so much importance to what her mother and I might think... because in the final analysis it doesn't matter a damn what we think. The only thing that matters is what they feel, and how much they feel, for each other. And if it's half of what we felt- that's everything. "

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 10:26am

LOVE that last one, Margo.

[DG]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 10:28am

From the beginning of ALL ABOUT EVE:

"The Sarah Siddons Award for Distinguished Achievement is perhaps unknown to you. It has been spared the sensational and commercial publicity that attends such questionable "honors" as the Pulitzer Prize and those awards presented annually by the film society...
The distinguished looking gentleman is an extremely old actor. Being an actor - he will go on speaking for some time. It is not important what you hear what he says. However it is important that you know where you are, and why you are here. This is the dining room of the Sarah Siddons Society. The occasion is its annual banquet and presentation of the highest honor our Theater knows - the Sarah Siddons Award for Distinguished Achievement. These hollowed walls, indeed many of these faces, have looked upon Modjeska, Ada Rehan and Minnie Fiske; Mansfield's voice filled the room, Booth breathed this air. It is unlikely that the windows have been opened since his death. The minor awards, as you can see, have already been presented. Minor awards are for such as the writer and director - since their function is merely to construct a tower so that the world can applaud a light which flashes on top of it and no brighter light has ever dazzled the eye than Eve Harrington. Eve... but more of Eve, later. All about Eve, in fact."

Updated On: 7/10/06 at 10:28 AM

[Pippin]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 1:10pm

We are proud because
from the beginning of this nation...
...man can walk upright.
No matter who he is
or who she is.
He can walk upright
and meet his friend or his enemy.
And he does not fear
that because that enemy...
...may be in a position
of great power...
...that he can be suddenly
thrown in jail...
...to rott here without charges
and with no recourse to justice.
We have the Habeas Corpus Act
and we respect it.
I began by saying that our history
will be what we make it.
If we go on as we are...
...then history will take its revenge,
and retribution will not limp...
...in catching up with us.
Just once in a while, let us exalt the
importance of ideas and information.
Let us dream to the extent of saying
that on a given Sunday night...
...the time normally
occupied by Ed Sullivan..
...is given over to a clinical survey
on the state of American education.
And a week or two later, the time
normally used by Steve Allen...
...is devoted to a thorough-going study
of American policy in the Middle East.
Would the corporate image of their
respective sponsors be damaged?
Would the shareholders rise up
in their wrath and complain?
Would anything happen...
...other than a few million people would
have received a little illumination...
...on subjects that may well determine
the future of this country...
...and therefore the future
of the corporations?
To those who say, "People wouldn't
look, they wouldn't be interested..."
"...they're tooc omplacent,
indifferent and insulated"...
...I can only reply: There is,
in one reporter's opinion...
...considerable evidence
against that contention.
But even if they are right,
what have they got to lose?
Because if they are right..
...and this instrument
is good for nothing..
...but to entertain,
amuse and insulate...
...then the tube is flickering now...
...and we will soon see
that the whole struggle is lost.
This instrument can teach.
It can illuminate
and it can even inspire.
But it can do so only to the extent
that humans are determined to use it...
...towards those ends.
Otherwise,
it is merely wiresand lights..
...in a box.
Good night, and good luck.

from Good night and good luck

[Jyn326]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 1:12pm

She- I was waiting for someone to mention the 25th Hour monologue. It was the first thing I thought of.

'no, f*** you, Montomery Brogan, you had it all and you lost it, you dumb f***'

Very powerful.

[circusliz]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 1:17pm

Charlie Chaplin's final speech from "The Great Dictator." It's too long to post, but here's a snippet:

"The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in man; cries out for universal brotherhood; for the unity of us all.

Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women, and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say "Do not despair." The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish."

A brilliant speech, a brilliant actor. Go see it.

Updated On: 7/10/06 at 01:17 PM

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 1:20pm

There are many. This one was first to come to mind:

The calla lilies are in bloom again. Such a strange flower, suitable to any occasion. I carried them on my wedding day, and now I place them here in memory of something that has died...Have you gathered here to mourn, or are you here to bring me comfort?...I've learned something about love that I never knew before. That I never knew before. You speak of love when it's too late. Help should come to people when they need it. Why are we always so helpful to each other when it's no longer any use?...This is my home. This is where I belong. Love was in this house once, and for me it will always be here, nowhere else...One should always listen closely when people say goodbye because sometimes they're, they're really saying farewell. from STAGE DOOR

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 1:21pm

look above you, jyn: i don't think it is the best but i instantly thought of edward norton's 25th hour "f*** you" speech.

[circusliz]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 1:21pm

Sorry to double post, but I have to make sure this makes the list:

And so, a quiet, humble, respectable negro, who has had the unmitigated TEMERITY to feel sorry for a white woman, has had to put his word against two white peoples. The defendant is not guilty. But somebody in this courtroom is.

Now, gentlemen, in this country our courts are the great levelers. In our courts, all men are created equal. I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system. That's no ideal to me. That is a living, working reality! Now I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence that you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this man to his family.

In the name of God, do your duty. In the name of God, believe Tom Robinson.


--Atticus Finch

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 7/10/06 at 1:30pm

Those all pale in comparison to this gem:

Ricki: Well, you're entitled to your opinion. But ... let us reconsider women for a minute, shall we?

Larry: Sure.

Ricki: Their form. Neck. Shoulders. Legs. Hips. I think pretty cool. Now, as far as your famous penis goes, the penis is like some sort of bizarre sea slug or like a really long toe. I mean, it's handy. Important even. But the pinnacle of sexual design? The top of the list of erotic destinations? I don't think so. Ones first impulse is to kiss what? ... To kiss the lips. Firm, delicious lips, sweet lips ... surrounding a warm, moist, dizzingly scented mouth. That's what everyone wants to kiss. Not a toe. Not a sea slug. A mouth. And why do you think that is, stupid? ... Because the mouth is the twin sister, the almost exact look-alike of what? ... Not the toe. The mouth is the twin sister of ... the vagina. And all creatures big and small seek the orifice, the opening, to be taken in, engulfed, to be squeezed, lovingly crushed by what is truly the all-powerful, all-encompassing -- no, if it's design you're concerned with, hidden meaning, symbolism, power ... forget the top of Mount Everest, forget the bottom of the sea, the moon, the stars, there is no place nowhere that has been the object of more ambitions, more battles than the sweet sacred mystery between a womans legs that I am proud to call (whispering, barely audible) my ****.
So I guess this is just my roundabout way of saying that it is women who are in fact the most desirable form. ... Wouldn't you agree?

Larry: (softly) I agree.

Ricki: Mm. And so do I. (sighs contentedly)

FROM THE OSCAR WINNING MASTERPIECE, GIGLI