Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most eloquent, inspiring, and impactful monologues and addresses in film history.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most eloquent, inspiring
00:10and impactful monologues and addresses in film history.
00:25the pursuit of happiness.
00:33This heartwarming film is based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a man who dealt with
00:36homelessness while trying to build a life for himself and his young son.
00:40In this scene, as he and Christopher Jr play basketball on an apartment rooftop, Chris
00:44tells the boy not to waste too much time on the sport, since he probably won't be
00:47very good at it.
00:56When he sees his son's disappointment, he immediately regrets his words.
00:59Realising he should be encouraging his son's dreams, he gives Christopher this short but
01:04powerful pep talk.
01:12It's another poignant moment in a film that is full of them.
01:33When a ragtag group of kids discovers an old treasure map in an attic, they set off in
01:36search of the riches to save their homes from foreclosure.
01:39But they didn't count on running into a group of criminals and a bunch of ancient
01:43booby traps along the way.
01:51When given the chance to bail on their adventure, some of the kids, understandably, are eager
01:55to take it.
01:56But Sean Astin's Mikey isn't going to let them quit without a fight.
02:05This daring speech convinces them to carry on, because goonies never say die.
02:27The magical Flying Dutchman and her cursed crew are a formidable foe, and they're working
02:31for the bad guys.
02:32Elizabeth Swann has just been elected Pirate King, and their own crew is ready to give
02:36up before the battle even begins.
02:39She rallies them, and the eight other pirate lords, with this staring speech.
02:52The phrase, hoist the colours, is a callback to a scene at the beginning of the film, where
02:55a group of condemned pirates sing the anthem at their own executions.
03:00Elizabeth's battle cry is all the men need to forget their fear and face their enemy.
03:24In the 1980 Winter Olympics, the American hockey team did the impossible.
03:28The group of college players beat a professional Soviet team that hadn't lost an Olympic
03:32game since 1968.
03:34The game was dubbed, The Miracle on Ice.
03:36The 2004 film, Miracle, is based on that historic victory, following coach Herb Brooks as he
03:41works to get his amateur players in shape for an Olympic run.
03:54In this scene before the game, he delivers a classic locker room speech to the nervous
03:58group.
03:59It's enough to convince the young men that they really have a shot against the Soviets,
04:12and we all know what happens next.
04:31Remember, remember the 5th of November.
04:33The dialogue in this movie is famously poetic.
04:35The hero, V, is a man of many words, and none of them are wasted.
04:39From his introduction to the final scene, he enthralls the audience and everyone around
04:43him with his eloquence.
04:51After hijacking a TV station early in the film, he addresses the British public, urging
04:55them to join him on November 5th in one year to rebel against the fascist government.
05:07The citizens watch in captivated silence as he makes his plea, accompanied by a tense
05:12score that builds throughout the scene.
05:14If only every political speech could be this engrossing.
05:34Denzel Washington turned in a career-defining performance in this biopic of the late civil
05:38rights leader.
05:39The real Malcolm X had a distinctive, almost lyrical way of speaking, and it's easy to
05:44see why he was so good at firing up a crowd.
05:49Washington's delivery is more homage than imitation, but he captures the poetry of Malcolm
05:54X's words beautifully.
05:56As he details the ways in which black people suffer from systemic oppression at the hands
06:00of the white people in power, the crowd gets increasingly riled up.
06:10It's no wonder this movie was considered by many to be one of the best of the 90s.
06:24This late 80s comedy-drama follows a group of southern women dealing with the stresses
06:39and traumas of life.
06:40Sally Field's character has just lost her daughter to complications from type 1 diabetes.
06:45She turns in a powerhouse performance in this scene at the funeral, where she seems to go
06:49through all the stages of grief in just a few minutes.
07:01Although she initially appears to be keeping it together, she soon breaks down, crying,
07:05screaming and lashing out.
07:07Olympia Dukakis' character, Clary, is the one who snaps her out of it, as she offers
07:11up Shirley MacLaine as a sacrifice.
07:21It's a heart-rendering and accurate portrayal of loss, and the beauty of friendship.
07:32Elio has just said goodbye to his first love, an older man he'll probably never see again.
07:48Instead of being judgemental, his father reacts with sympathy.
07:51In this quiet scene, he encourages Elio to recognise how beautiful and important their
07:56brief relationship was.
08:07He even implies that he nearly had a similar relationship in his own youth, and that he
08:11wished he'd seized the moment.
08:13Michael Stuhlbarg plays Mr Pellman with such kindness and sensitivity.
08:17We should all be so lucky to have a dad like him in our lives.
08:35A lot of people don't realise that Tyler Durden is not an admirable character.
08:38You're not supposed to want to be like Tyler, but he does make some pretty powerful
08:42points in this monologue.
08:50Capitalism and materialism have led to a lot of misery, both in the US and around the world.
08:55Many people are forced to work meaningless jobs just to get by, and the feeling of purposelessness
09:00is a real problem.
09:08We can understand why so many audience members would relate to a character who wants to blow
09:13up the whole system.
09:26While Elio's father gave him sympathy and understanding, Robert's dad doles out some
09:30tough love.
09:31Robert thinks that living in the shadow of his famous father, Rocky Balboa, is the source
09:35of his hardships in life.
09:36Although there may be some truth to that, there's no point in wallowing in it, according
09:40to his dad Rocky.
09:50Rocky tells Robert exactly what he needs to hear.
09:53If he's ever going to achieve his dreams, he has to fight through adversity.
09:56The Rocky franchise has also had its ups and downs, but this father-son talk is definitely
10:01one of its high points.
10:15So much has changed for women over the last 150 years, and yet some things have hardly
10:20changed at all.
10:21Jo March doesn't see herself being tied to a man for life, but at the same time, she
10:25yearns to be loved.
10:26Her frustration and pain at this contradiction comes spilling out in this heartfelt monologue.
10:41Writer-director Greta Gerwig is brilliant at capturing women's stories on screen.
10:462023's Barbie features another passionate speech from a woman who is fed up with the
10:50impossible demands placed on women in the modern era.
10:56We have a feeling Jo March and Barbie's Gloria would have a lot in common.
11:17Will is a genius, but he's also a scared kid who uses his intellect to hold other people
11:22and life itself at arm's length.
11:24Sean is a therapist who has been through some pretty tough times of his own, and he sees
11:28right through Will's facade.
11:38He might be the only person alive who knows how to get through to Will, and convince him
11:41to drop his defences, and he proves it in this candid conversation.
11:50It's amazing how many similarities there are between this monologue and another one
11:57that Robin Williams gave just eight years earlier.
11:59In Dead Poets Society, he addressed a classroom full of prep school boys and helped them to
12:04understand the value of literature and poetry.
12:23On the eve of Saint Crispin's Day at the Battle of Agincourt, the English troops are
12:27outnumbered five to one, but King Henry doesn't want to hear any complaining about it.
12:32He riles up his men by encouraging them to think of the glory they'll have if they're
12:36victorious, and how envious the men who stayed home will be.
12:46The speech comes straight from Shakespeare's original play, written over 400 years ago.
12:51The language might sound archaic to modern ears, but the sentiments, and the soldiers'
12:55inspired cheers are timeless.
13:13The first scene that takes place in Shawshank Prison, and the first time we meet Red, is
13:17at a parole hearing.
13:18He's still relatively young and eager to tell the parole board what they want to hear.
13:31Twenty years later, Red is much older, more jaded, and more honest.
13:35He no longer cares about pandering to the board.
13:38Instead, he's open about the terrible choice he made that led him to this place, and he's
13:42accepted that he may never leave it.
13:49Ironically, it's this honesty that finally earns him his freedom.
14:09It might be one of the seven deadly sins, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing.
14:12At least, not in Gordon Gekko's eyes anyway.
14:15In fact, if you replace the word greed with something else, like desire or striving, the
14:19things he's saying wouldn't sound so bad.
14:27However, considering how many terrible things we see him do in the pursuit of wealth, there's
14:32no question that greed, in this case, is very, very bad.
14:35But that doesn't make this speech any less fun to watch.
14:48Douglas' performance as the single-minded Gekko earned him an Oscar, and judging from
14:52this scene alone, we'd say he deserved it.
14:57Even if you've never seen this movie, you probably know this scene, or at least the
15:10last line.
15:11Facing up against a much larger and stronger English force, the Scottish army is ready
15:15to cut and run.
15:20But William Wallace has seen the brutality of the English first-hand, and he doesn't
15:29want to live under their thumb anymore.
15:41He acknowledges that they're outnumbered, and that there's a good chance they'll
15:44die if they stay and fight.
15:45But, in his mind, it's better to die fighting for freedom than to live a long life as someone
15:50else's subject.
16:05Viola Davis and Denzel Watkinson had already starred in the 2010 Broadway revival of August
16:10Wilson's play, Fences, and they both won Tonys for their performances.
16:14That means they'd already had plenty of practice at this scene before they filmed,
16:18so it's no surprise that they absolutely nailed it.
16:27After decades of standing loyally by her husband, Rose confronts Troy over his infidelity.
16:32Thinking of the dreams and opportunities that have passed her by, all of her pain and anguish
16:37comes pouring out.
16:47We all know Davis is an incredible actor, and she's at her peak in this powerful monologue.
16:52It's no wonder she took home a slew of awards for the film.
17:08This 1970s black comedy basically predicted the cable news outrage machine.
17:13News anchor Howard Beale is in the middle of a breakdown, but instead of pulling him
17:17off the air, his savvy boss makes sure the camera stays on him.
17:28At the time, American society was dealing with problems that would feel pretty familiar
17:32to us today.
17:33Crime, inflation and increasing isolation.
17:36We get why Howard's rants connected with so many viewers.
17:39Sadly, Peter Finch passed away shortly after this iconic performance, but the Academy still
17:43recognised him with a posthumous Oscar.
17:54Opening a window and shouting into the void actually sounds pretty cathartic.
17:58You might even want to give it a try.
18:11They just don't make movies like this anymore.
18:16Bill Pullman's short but impassioned speech to a mismatched group of pilots doesn't
18:20contain a drop of sarcasm or cynicism.
18:32It might come across as corny today, but if you saw this movie in a theatre back in the
18:35mid-90s, you know that audiences absolutely ate it up.
18:39Pullman's eloquence and sincerity, combined with the intense score, made people want to
18:43stand up and cheer.
18:48There's a reason this movie made over $800 million at the box office, and that figure's
18:59not adjusted for inflation either.
19:08Every sports movie worth its salt includes a powerful motivational speech from the coach.
19:19Denzel Washington gives a great one on the site of the Battle of Gettysburg in Remember
19:23the Titans.
19:24And of course, Matthew McConaughey's address in We Are Marshall is also a classic.
19:28But our pick for one of the best goes to Al Pacino as Tony D'Amato in any given Sunday.
19:40The speech takes place in a more traditional setting, a locker room, but Coach D'Amato's
19:45words are pretty unconventional.
19:55He gets real about his life and all the mistakes he's made along the way, and the little
19:59things that could have made a difference.
20:01His brutal honesty is enough to get his players on their feet and cheering.
20:23When a speech gets quoted as often as this one does, you know it's gotta be good.
20:27Colonel Jessup is testifying at the trial of two Marines who beat another to death.
20:32But JAG lawyer Lieutenant Caffey, played by a young Tom Cruise, suspects that it was Jessup
20:37himself who gave the order for the beating.
20:47Nicholson gives the performance of his career in this role, appealing to the audience's
20:51love of freedom to defend his actions and his beliefs.
21:01Whether you agree with him or not, you have to admit, it's an incredibly effective speech.
21:21We might not look it in this movie, but Robert Shaw was a Shakespearean-trained actor from
21:25England, and although his character Quint comes across as a grizzled old man, Shaw was
21:29only in his late 40s at the time of filming.
21:38His ability to disappear into the role is astounding.
21:41In this monologue, Quint recounts the story of a real-life disaster, the sinking of the
21:45USS Indianapolis during World War II.
21:55Up to this point, the audience has mostly seen Quint as an eccentric weirdo, but this
21:59monologue reveals that he's witnessed true horrors.
22:02It is totally enthralling, and his crewmates are under his spell through the entire story.
22:13But this day, the Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King.
22:20There are so many inspiring monologues and speeches in this trilogy, it's almost impossible
22:23to pick just one.
22:25King Theoden's rallying cry to the Rohirrim at Gondor is short, but it still gives us
22:29chills.
22:30Nothing tops Aragorn's speech to the men of the West at the Black Gate.
22:44The men are vastly outnumbered, and they know they probably won't come out of this battle
22:48alive.
22:49Their goal is not to win, but to distract Sauron and the Orcs long enough for Frodo
22:52to complete his mission.
22:54Only a leader like Aragorn could convince an army to take on such a hopeless mission.
23:18Gregory Peck had a long and successful career as an actor, but the role he's best known
23:22for today is the lawyer Atticus Finch.
23:24He's tasked with defending a black man accused of assaulting a white woman in 1930s Alabama,
23:30and he knows he has his work cut out for him.
23:41The evidence is clear, but it will still take more than reasonable doubt to clear Tom Robinson's
23:46name.
23:47In his closing statement, he calls out the townfolk's own racism, pointing out how
23:50absurd it would be to condemn this clearly innocent man.
24:01He truly believes in equal justice for everyone, and he implores the jury to carry it out.
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24:37Charlie Chaplin is best known for his comedy, and most of this film, which satirises the
24:42Third Reich, is pretty funny.
24:43Chaplin's character, a Jewish barber, happens to look exactly like the dictator Adonaid
24:49Hinkel.
24:50This, of course, leads to plenty of hijinks.
24:52However, when the barber is called on stage to address a victory parade, he seizes the
24:56opportunity to call for kindness, brotherhood and democracy.
25:08At the time of filming, World War II was devastating Europe.
25:11Chaplin himself was English, but working in the US, and many see this speech as a rallying
25:16cry aimed directly at his American audience.
25:19I mean, what can we say?
25:29It's beautiful, poignant, and as relevant today as it was nearly a century ago.
25:40So which movie's speech makes you want to stand up and cheer?
25:43Let us know in the comments.