This list of the best movie monologues includes some big, big names and some even bigger films (some contemporary, others classic). What are some famous movie monologues? Some of the best, most famous movie monologues involve high drama, remarkable acting and, of course, stellar writing. Many resulted in Academy Award nominations - some who uttered these lines took home Oscar gold. From rants, to threats, to intimate confessions, these film monologues represent the awe-inspiring, the inspirational and the chilling. Want to be able to quote your favorite scene from your favorite movie? Not just a one-liner - the whole thing? Study this list and learn.This famous movie monologues list is an OpenList, meaning others can contribute. If you have a favorite film monologue that isn't on the list, add it!
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Apocalypse Now
You smell that? Do you smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. When it was all over I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory. Someday this war's gonna end...
Robert Duvall's monologue in 1979's "Apocalypse Now" is simply unforgettable. As Lt. Col. Kilgore, Duvall's "Napalm in the morning" monologue comes as his troops are on a Vietnamese War raid on a ravaged beachfront.
A Few Good Men
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, Lt. 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...You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. You need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty...we use these words as the backbone to a life spent defending something. You use 'em as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it! I'd rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!
Jack Nicholson delivers an incredibly memorable monologue in 1992's "A Few Good Men" as Colonel Nathan R. Jessup. When he's asked by Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) about ordering the so-called "code red," Jessup goes on one of the best courtroom tirades in movie history.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Pulp Fiction
The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities 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 attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.
1994's "Pulp Fiction" is without a doubt one of the most quotable movies ever, but it's Samuel L. Jackson's "Ezekiel 25:17" monologue as contract killer Jules Winnfield that is the most memorable. Way to send a victim out!
Rocky Balboa
I'd hold you up to say to your mother, "this kid's gonna be the best kid in the world. This kid's gonna be somebody better than anybody I ever knew." And you grew up good and wonderful. It was great just watching you, every day was like a privilige. Then the time come for you to be your own man and take on the world, and you did. But somewhere along the line, you changed. You stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you're no good. And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Cause if you're willing to go through all the battling you got to go through to get where you want to get, who's got the right to stop you? I mean maybe some of you guys got something you never finished, something you really want to do, something you never said to someone, something... and you're told no, even after you paid your dues? Who's got the right to tell you that, who? Nobody! It's your right to listen to your gut, it ain't nobody's right to say no after you earned the right to be where you want to be and do what you want to do! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that! I'm always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens. You're my son and you're my blood. You're the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain't gonna have a life.
Scent of a Woman
Steel Magnolias
I'm fine.. I'm fine.. I'm fine.. I'm FINE! I could jog all the way to Texas and back.. but my daughter can't!! She never could!! Oh.. God.....I'm so mad I don't know what to do!! I wanna know why! I wanna know why Shelby's life is over!! I wanna HOW that baby will EVER know how wonderful his mother was.. Will he EVER know what she went through for him? Oh God I wanna know WHY? WHY? Lord...I wish I could understand! No...NO...NO!! It's not supposed to happen this way! I'm supposed to go first!! I've always been ready to go first! I don't think I can take this.. I.. I don't think I can take this! I just wanna hit somebody.. till they feel as bad as I do!! I just wanna hit something! I wanna hit it HARD!
Sally Field is one of the greatest actresses of all-time, in my opinion. Need proof? Her heartbreaking monologue in 1989's "Steel Magnolias" is stunning. As M'Lynn, she's struggling with the death of her daughter, Shelby (Julia Roberts). Her delivery of this monologue is powerful, raw and real.
The Shawshank Redemption
Get busy living or get busy dying. That's goddamn right. For the second time in my life, I'm guilty of committing a crime. Parole violation. Course, I doubt they're going to throw up any road blocks for that. Not for an old crook like me. I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
Morgan Freeman's voice-over monologue at the end of "The Shawshank Redemption" is just one of several amazing monologues in this 1994 classic. One of the best movie endings ever, in my opinion.
The Silence of the Lambs
You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well-scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste... Good nutrition has given you some length of bone, but you're not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you - Officer Starling...? That accent you're trying so desperately to shed - pure West Virginia. What was your father, dear? Was he a coal miner? Did he stink of the lamp...? And oh, how quickly the boys found you! All those tedious, sticky fumblings, in the back seats of cars, while you could only dream of getting out. Getting anywhere. Getting all the way - to the F...B...I.
Anthony Hopkins' performance as Hannibal Lecter in 1991's "Silence of the Lambs" is without question one of the best of his career. His dressing down of Jodie Foster's green FBI agent Clarice Starling is one of the greatest (and most mocking) monologues of all time.
Taken
I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.
In 2008's "Taken," Liam Neeson delivered a great monologue as former spy Bryan Mills, when he speaks to the person he believes has kidnapped his daughter.