Character defining movie quotes
03-31-04, 10:59 PM
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Character defining movie quotes
Earlier today I started thinking about some of my favorite quotes from movies and I began wondering what are my favorite quotes that helped to define the character that spoke them. Going even deeper into this line of thought, I started thinking what quotes do the most to illuminate the psyche of, and illustrate the underlying psychological dynamics of, the character in the movie.
The first one that came to my mind was from Punch Drunk Love when Barry is sitting on the beach in Hawaii and he utters, "It really looks like Hawaii here...". In my opinion, this one line more than anything else in the movie, helped me to understand the degree to which Barry was disconnected from, not only the rest of the world, but from his very own life, as if he was watching it as a spectator might watch TV or a movie.
Of course not all "character defining/illuminating" quotes are the same (i.e. there are the slapstick type, the depressing ones, the melodramatic ones, the subtle ones, and the list goes on and on...).
I would like to read some of everyone's favorite quotes like these...and as I thnk of more I will post them.
The first one that came to my mind was from Punch Drunk Love when Barry is sitting on the beach in Hawaii and he utters, "It really looks like Hawaii here...". In my opinion, this one line more than anything else in the movie, helped me to understand the degree to which Barry was disconnected from, not only the rest of the world, but from his very own life, as if he was watching it as a spectator might watch TV or a movie.
Of course not all "character defining/illuminating" quotes are the same (i.e. there are the slapstick type, the depressing ones, the melodramatic ones, the subtle ones, and the list goes on and on...).
I would like to read some of everyone's favorite quotes like these...and as I thnk of more I will post them.
03-31-04, 11:32 PM
#2
DVD Talk Limited Edition
I've got two . . . William Wallace from Braveheart (in a conversation with Hamish):
. . . and a second regarding Major Richard Winters from A Band Of Brothers (from one of the real-life interviews):
Hamish: I don't want to be a martyr.
William: Nor I. I want to live. I want a home, and children, and peace.
Hamish: Do ya?
William: Ay, I do. I've asked God for these things. It's all for nothing if you don't have freedom.
Hamish: That's all a dream, William.
William: A dream? Just a dream? What we've been doing all this time; we've lived that dream.
William: Nor I. I want to live. I want a home, and children, and peace.
Hamish: Do ya?
William: Ay, I do. I've asked God for these things. It's all for nothing if you don't have freedom.
Hamish: That's all a dream, William.
William: A dream? Just a dream? What we've been doing all this time; we've lived that dream.
I treasure my remark to a grandson who asked, "Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?" "No", I answered, "But I served in a company of heroes".
04-01-04, 12:16 AM
#4
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Get bust livin' or get busy dyin'
Also, from another Frank Darabont movie, The Majestic:
Angry Guy: This town has had enough heartbreak. Who are you really?
Jim Carrey as Peter Appleton: Just a guy trying to figure things out.
Also, from another Frank Darabont movie, The Majestic:
Angry Guy: This town has had enough heartbreak. Who are you really?
Jim Carrey as Peter Appleton: Just a guy trying to figure things out.
04-01-04, 12:40 AM
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Character defining movie quotes
First character I thought of was Sy Parrish in One Hour Photo:
"If these pictures have anything important to say to future generations, it's this: I was here. I existed. I was young, I was happy, and someone cared enough about me in this world... to take my picture."
"If these pictures have anything important to say to future generations, it's this: I was here. I existed. I was young, I was happy, and someone cared enough about me in this world... to take my picture."
04-01-04, 01:20 AM
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I know what you're thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?
04-01-04, 11:05 AM
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Re: Character defining movie quotes
Originally posted by NavinJohnson
First character I thought of was Sy Parrish in One Hour Photo:
"If these pictures have anything important to say to future generations, it's this: I was here. I existed. I was young, I was happy, and someone cared enough about me in this world... to take my picture."
First character I thought of was Sy Parrish in One Hour Photo:
"If these pictures have anything important to say to future generations, it's this: I was here. I existed. I was young, I was happy, and someone cared enough about me in this world... to take my picture."
This is an excellent one! That line neatly and concisely illustartes the needs and desires of Sy, and thus letting us peek in on his psyche and inner dynamics.
Thanks to the other people who have posted too, those are some great ones. When you post one, I would love to hear a little bit about what the quote helped you to understand about the character and in what way it let us take a peek at their psyche.
Here is another (more comical) one that I thought of from Office Space... "So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life."
This line cracks me up everytime I hear it, but it aslo conveys to me the severe degree of despair that Peter feels with what he is doing with his life. In my mind, this helps to illustrate the living hell that the character is suffering through everyday and the complete lack of meaning in his life, more than any of the other work related jokes that are found in the movie.
04-01-04, 01:02 PM
#13
"Man, move over and let me pass, 'fore I push these hushpuppies up yo mutha******' @$$!"-Dolemite
04-01-04, 03:57 PM
#17
DVD Talk Limited Edition
A bunch from The Shawshank Redemption:
. . . regarding Warden Samuel Norton:
. . . regarding Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding:
. . . and . . .
. . . regarding Andy Dufresne:
. . . and . . .
. . . regarding Brooks Hatlen:
. . . regarding Warden Samuel Norton:
"I believe in two things: discipline and the Bible. Here you'll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord; your ass belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank."
"These walls are kind of funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, gets so you depend on them. That's institutionalized. They send you here for life, that's exactly what they take. The part that counts, anyways."
I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.
<commenting on Red not wanting to play the harmonica> "Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget. Forget that there are places in the world that aren't made out of stone. That there's a - there's a - there's something inside that's yours, that they can't touch."
You could argue he'd done it to curry favor with the guards. Or, maybe make a few friends among us cons. Me, I think he did it just to feel normal again, if only for a short while.
"I can't believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid. But, now they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry."
Last edited by talemyn; 04-01-04 at 04:00 PM.
04-01-04, 05:48 PM
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In Band Of Brothers, when a terrified, and shellshocked Albert Blithe asks Ronald Spiers how he copes with fear, Spiers says...
" We're all scared. You hid in that ditch because you think there's still hope. But Blithe, the only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function. Without mercy. Without compassion. Without remorse. All war depends on it. "
Throughout the story, Spiers demonstrates that he is the perfect soldier. An unemotional fighting machine. Fearless and efficient. I think that quote perfectly captures the reason he's able to do that. For better or worse, he ceases to become human. It's probably the reason he went on to a long and distinguished career in the military.
" We're all scared. You hid in that ditch because you think there's still hope. But Blithe, the only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function. Without mercy. Without compassion. Without remorse. All war depends on it. "
Throughout the story, Spiers demonstrates that he is the perfect soldier. An unemotional fighting machine. Fearless and efficient. I think that quote perfectly captures the reason he's able to do that. For better or worse, he ceases to become human. It's probably the reason he went on to a long and distinguished career in the military.
04-01-04, 07:03 PM
#21
DVD Talk Special Edition
I'm paraphrasing because I don't recall the EXACT quote, which was later parodied in the Naked Gun but this is the best example I can think of for character definition:
"I see three guys raping a girl in a park, I shoot the bastards, that's my policy" -- Dirty Harry Callahan.
"I see three guys raping a girl in a park, I shoot the bastards, that's my policy" -- Dirty Harry Callahan.
04-01-04, 08:19 PM
#24
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Here are some rough ones, these are off the top pf my head, so excuse me if they are a little wrong...
"I've lost R2" ---- after that Luke is on his own.
"Catholic school girls, its the uniform that does it for me. I should have gone with more Catholic schools girls when I was younger. As it stands, I have no '...and then she unzipped her jumper stories.'"
-------Banky Edwards in Chasing AMy
"What's a Nubian?"
----Banky Edwars in chasing amy
"Maybe Jay just has manners" ---Shannen Elizabeth
--while out side---
"YO Baby, you ever has your a*sshole licked by a fat guy in coat?" ---Jay in JASBSB
"F*uck Martha Stewert"
-----Tyler Dirden in Fight Club
You furnish the pictures. I'll furnish the war"
----Charlie Kane ---Citizen Kane
"S*hit bay you don't want that, caus when I cum, I cum withthe thunder"
----Martin Lawrence in Bad Baoys
"A rain out, hell I can get you a rain out"
----Crash Davis in Bull Durham
"I feel like a banker in this"
----Wild thing Vaugh, refering to the jacket and tie he had to put on over his sleeveless shirt
"I don't know if you'venoticed, but cumm leaves streaks on glass if you son't clean it right away"
----Randal in Clerks
"ass to ass"
----the crownd in Requien for a dream
"I know that one, That's Steven f*ucking Foster" --one of the cowboys
"no, it's Fredrick f*ucking Chopin"
----Doc Holiday in Tombstone
"Did you bring me a horse?" ---Chaarles Bronson
"looks like we're gonna be one short" ---asassins looking over their shoulders seeing only the three horses the rode in on
"nope, looks like there's two too many" ---Chares Bronson in Once upon a time in the west
"I've lost R2" ---- after that Luke is on his own.
"Catholic school girls, its the uniform that does it for me. I should have gone with more Catholic schools girls when I was younger. As it stands, I have no '...and then she unzipped her jumper stories.'"
-------Banky Edwards in Chasing AMy
"What's a Nubian?"
----Banky Edwars in chasing amy
"Maybe Jay just has manners" ---Shannen Elizabeth
--while out side---
"YO Baby, you ever has your a*sshole licked by a fat guy in coat?" ---Jay in JASBSB
"F*uck Martha Stewert"
-----Tyler Dirden in Fight Club
You furnish the pictures. I'll furnish the war"
----Charlie Kane ---Citizen Kane
"S*hit bay you don't want that, caus when I cum, I cum withthe thunder"
----Martin Lawrence in Bad Baoys
"A rain out, hell I can get you a rain out"
----Crash Davis in Bull Durham
"I feel like a banker in this"
----Wild thing Vaugh, refering to the jacket and tie he had to put on over his sleeveless shirt
"I don't know if you'venoticed, but cumm leaves streaks on glass if you son't clean it right away"
----Randal in Clerks
"ass to ass"
----the crownd in Requien for a dream
"I know that one, That's Steven f*ucking Foster" --one of the cowboys
"no, it's Fredrick f*ucking Chopin"
----Doc Holiday in Tombstone
"Did you bring me a horse?" ---Chaarles Bronson
"looks like we're gonna be one short" ---asassins looking over their shoulders seeing only the three horses the rode in on
"nope, looks like there's two too many" ---Chares Bronson in Once upon a time in the west
04-01-04, 09:19 PM
#25
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Character defining movie quotes
Originally posted by dave-o
"It really looks like Hawaii here...".
"It really looks like Hawaii here...".
It's bittersweet for me to watch a character like him because a see elements of myself in him.
My favorite line from the movie is:
"I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine."
I feel like there is true power in those words.
