Great Film SpeechesThe greatest movie speeches are vitally important, and difficult to achieve. They are important because – when used at just the right moment – they draw the audience in, galvanise their emotional connection to the plot, and thrust the narrative forward. They are difficult to achieve because it is not just about the writing – though that is crucial. The greatest movie speeches are the result of many elements combining in the perfect way to create an iconic moment. They are about the writing, the performance, the direction, the score, and the editing. When you watch a great movie speech, you are glimpsing each and every production department working in concert to deliver a powerful moment within the story.
There have been hundreds of these thrilling scenes throughout the history of cinema, with many features written about them over the years. Many are legendary – and rightfully so. Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men. Kevin Costner in Bull Durham. Bill Pullman in Independence Day. Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver. We all know the lines – they continue to be quoted, parodied and analyzed, decades after they were first conceived and committed to the page. On this page I present to you a few of the greatest speeches in film history. If you have a personal favorite that I have not included here, please let me know and I will try to add it. |
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The Great Dictator
The Great Dictator is a 1940 American satirical political comedy-drama film starring, written, produced, scored, and directed by Charlie Chaplin, following the tradition of many of his other films. Having been the only Hollywood filmmaker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, this was Chaplin's first true talking picture as well as his most commercially successful film.
At the time of its first release, the United States was still formally at peace with Nazi Germany. Chaplin's film advanced a stirring, controversial condemnation of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini's fascism,antisemitism, and the Nazis. In his 1964 autobiography, Chaplin stated that he would not have made the film had he known about the actual horrors of the Nazi concentration camps at the time. |
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Henry V
Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1599. It tells the story of King Henry V of England, focusing on events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt (1415) during the Hundred Years' War. The play is the final part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II, Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2. In Henry V, the young prince has become a mature man and embarks on a successful conquest of France. The play of Henry V contains one of Shakespeare's most popular and enduring speeches known as the St. Crispin's Day Speech. As the scene begins the character Westmoreland expresses his despair over how vastly outnumbered they are against the French forces. King Henry V overhears this comment and responds to Westmoreland by giving an emotionally rousing speech to his men expressing his belief that a few men – a "band of brothers" – will be able to boast each year on St. Crispin's Day of their victory over the French.
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