Great Dialogue

[neuroparenthetical]

State and Main by David Mamet was one of the most layered, elegant takedowns of play/movie dialogue I've ever seen. You could tell Mamet loved and hated the art form in equal measures, and with maximum intensity. It's basically impossible to pin down where he lands when the movie is done. Is he celebrating writers who engage with the world instead of staying in their rooms all day, or is he denouncing them as shameless, vapid plagiarizers of life itself whose horrible from-the-void dialogue was at least less morally reprehensible? Both? It's one of those brilliant pieces that reveals something of the viewer to themselves depending on what they get out of it, and what judgments they make.

The black satire of the moviemaking industry is, in my mind, secondary to that thread. It's also pretty fuckin' great, though.

 

[RoperTrace]

So just like bad dialogue can pull you out of a story, great dialogue can pull you in and have you intellectually swooning in your head.

Often we think of the big exchanges and the big memorable moments such as “Show me the money” etc, but I often find that great dialogue needn’t be showy, sometimes a few words in the right order can hit harder than the big scene.

Everyone remembers “ADRIAN” from Rocky. I always preferred “Where’s your hat?” He’s gone 15 rounds with the world champ and that’s his concern, it shows character beautifully.

So as before, what dialogue do you rate that might go over others heads?

Since you brought up Rocky. Some of my favorite dialogue was in the Western, The Outlaw Josey Wales.

Josey Wales : Whenever I get to likin' someone, they ain't around long.
Lone Watie : I notice when you get to DISlikin' someone, they ain't around for long neither.

Josey Wales: You have any food here?
Lone Watie: All I have is a piece of hard rock candy. But it’s not for eatin’. It’s just for lookin’ through.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

I loved a lot of the classic lines from Princess Bride, too.

-"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

-"I'm on the Brute squad." "You are the BRUTE squad."

-"Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while."

-"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

-"I wonder if he is using the same wind we are using."

-"I do not mean to pry, but you don't by any chance happen to have six fingers on your right hand?" -- "Do you always begin conversations this way?"

-"Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?" -- "Yes." -- "Morons!"

-"Since the invention of the kiss, there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, this one left them all behind."

There are so many good lines in the movie. Every time I see it, I still laugh.

This is my favourite from the film because when you hear it, you think about it and conclude it’s true.

“You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - the most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia"

 

[Emilymcplugger]

In To Have and Have Not, a famous bit.

Slim: You know, Steve, you're not very hard to figure. Only at times. Sometimes I know exactly what you're going to say - most of the time. The other times [She sits in his lap], the other times you're just a stinker. [She plants a kiss on his lips]
Morgan: What'd you do that for?
Slim: Been wondering whether I'd like it.
Morgan: What's the decision?
Slim: I don't know yet.[She kisses him again]
Slim: It's even better when you help.

Their entire thing is so goddamn sexy in that movie and it was great seeing how comfy Bogart was on a boat.

They’re also amazing in THE BIG SLEEP which features this one.

“She tried to sit on my lap when I was standing up”.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

"See, that's your problem, Jason. You were never serious about the craft."

GALAXY QUEST is in my top 5 best scripted movies ever, where if you pull at a thread it unravels the tapestry of the film.

Here are the rest.

DIE HARD
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
HOT FUZZ
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.

So much good dialogue in these and so many top performances

 

[gunhilltrain]

I'll just post the scene, because the non-verbal part is as important as the dialogue. The point is that Michael and Kay used to be so relaxed and natural with each other, as in the opening scene of the movie. That's completely gone here. He doesn't even kiss or hug her, and she doesn't try either. The marriage that they're talking about is purely "transactional." It benefits them both, but it won't have any emotional content beyond that (obvious in the later scenes, and in Godfather, Part II when it starts to fall apart). His proposal to her sounds stilted; he probably planned what he'd say before hand. I think they both know that his statement about going legitimate, although perhaps not an outright lie, is based mostly on wishful thinking at best.

I like the way his car trails behind him (as the new Don, it's dangerous for him to even be in public). Then he opens the door for her and she gets in. She's giving her assent without having to explicitly state it.

 

[cuppatea]

Shaun of the Dead.

 

[SimonDoom]

State and Main by David Mamet was one of the most layered, elegant takedowns of play/movie dialogue I've ever seen. You could tell Mamet loved and hated the art form in equal measures, and with maximum intensity. It's basically impossible to pin down where he lands when the movie is done. Is he celebrating writers who engage with the world instead of staying in their rooms all day, or is he denouncing them as shameless, vapid plagiarizers of life itself whose horrible from-the-void dialogue was at least less morally reprehensible? Both? It's one of those brilliant pieces that reveals something of the viewer to themselves depending on what they get out of it, and what judgments they make.

The black satire of the moviemaking industry is, in my mind, secondary to that thread. It's also pretty fuckin' great, though.

Mamet wrote a number of movies with great dialogue passages. GlenGarry GlenRoss has lots of great dialogue. The short scene with Alec Baldwin is one of the highlights of his career. One of his lesser known movies, The Winslow Boy, has one of my all-time favorite dialogue endings. A well-known barrister in the early 20th century, Sir Robert, has just successfully challenged a cheating charge against a boy and has a conversation with his older sister, Catherine Winslow, a young woman of feminist leanings with whom he has sometimes verbally sparred. As he is leaving, they say this:

Sir Robert: You still pursue your feminist activities?

Catherine: Oh yes.

Sir Robert: Pity. It's a lost cause.

Catherine: Oh, do you really think so, Sir Robert? How little you know about women. Goodbye. I doubt that we shall meet again.

Sir Robert: Oh, do you really think so, Miss Winslow? How little you know about men.

 

[RoperTrace]

Mamet wrote a number of movies with great dialogue passages. GlenGarry GlenRoss has lots of great dialogue. The short scene with Alec Baldwin is one of the highlights of his career. One of his lesser known movies, The Winslow Boy, has one of my all-time favorite dialogue endings. A well-known barrister in the early 20th century, Sir Robert, has just successfully challenged a cheating charge against a boy and has a conversation with his older sister, Catherine Winslow, a young woman of feminist leanings with whom he has sometimes verbally sparred. As he is leaving, they say this:

Sir Robert: You still pursue your feminist activities?

Catherine: Oh yes.

Sir Robert: Pity. It's a lost cause.

Catherine: Oh, do you really think so, Sir Robert? How little you know about women. Goodbye. I doubt that we shall meet again.

Sir Robert: Oh, do you really think so, Miss Winslow? How little you know about men.

I second GlenGarry GlenRoss. Absolutely great scenes with five future Oscar winners. And Alec Baldwin, David Mamet, and Jonathan Pryce were Academy Award nominees.

 

[Zootonius]

Mamet wrote a number of movies with great dialogue passages. GlenGarry GlenRoss has lots of great dialogue. The short scene with Alec Baldwin is one of the highlights of his career. One of his lesser known movies, The Winslow Boy, has one of my all-time favorite dialogue endings. A well-known barrister in the early 20th century, Sir Robert, has just successfully challenged a cheating charge against a boy and has a conversation with his older sister, Catherine Winslow, a young woman of feminist leanings with whom he has sometimes verbally sparred. As he is leaving, they say this:

Sir Robert: You still pursue your feminist activities?

Catherine: Oh yes.

Sir Robert: Pity. It's a lost cause.

Catherine: Oh, do you really think so, Sir Robert? How little you know about women. Goodbye. I doubt that we shall meet again.

Sir Robert: Oh, do you really think so, Miss Winslow? How little you know about men.

If you are referring to the 1999 movie, Jeremy Northam played Sir Robert Morton.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Trying to think of great lines that aren't played for comedy.

Line of Duty was excellent with the dialogue, particularly the memorable "Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey, can we just move this thing along before it drives us all round the bloody bend?"

I remember having to do the Winslow Boy at school. Eventually got to watch the 1948 film which changed the ending and made him clearly innocent. Have to admit I found both playscript and film horribly tedious.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

Honestly, I think I enjoy bad dialogue with bad actors. That's what I remember most and quote all the time.
I have a favorite movie, my comfort movie, Squirm. It's cheesy and the actors aren't the best but I quote stuff from it all the time.
At the very beginning one line is "No ma'am, Miss Saunders ma'am" I say that all the time!
This movie was on MST2K if that tells you what kind of movie it is.

I'll have to think of some 'good' dialogue while I'm at work today.

I think one of the best lines ever written comes from Terminator 2, and it’s a line that shows nothing but tells everything.

T1000: Say, that’s a nice bike.

The line gives nothing away on the face of it but it tells us two things.

1. The police officer he’s speaking to is about to die.
2. And he’s gonna steal his bike.

It’s a cracking piece of dialogue. It reveals character and moves the plot forward.

 

[RoperTrace]

I think one of the best lines ever written comes from Terminator 2, and it’s a line that shows nothing but tells everything.

T1000: Say, that’s a nice bike.

The line gives nothing away on the face of it but it tells us two things.

1. The police officer he’s speaking to is about to die.
2. And he’s gonna steal his bike.

It’s a cracking piece of dialogue. It reveals character and moves the plot forward.

The actor who delivers that line, Robert Patrick is a favorite villain of mine. He's aged into playing mostly good guys nowadays, but I'm always waiting for his character to turn bad. Of course he didn't write that line.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

The actor who delivers that line, Robert Patrick is a favorite villain of mine. He's aged into playing mostly good guys nowadays, but I'm always waiting for his character to turn bad. Of course he didn't write that line.

Perfect casting. I love how even early on the T1000 is able to expertly fake social skills at times.

Another great line with weight is in Casablanca when the young woman is talking to him.

YW: Monsieur, you are a man. If someone loved you very much, so that your happiness was the only thing that she wanted in the world, but she did a bad thing to make certain of it, could you forgive her?

Rick: nobody ever loved me that much.

It’s a simple line that shows what he thinks of Ilsa, what he thinks of himself, and how it’s shaped him going forward. It’s what makes the next scene (“have you tried 22 tonight?”) even better.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think one of the best lines ever written comes from Terminator 2, and it’s a line that shows nothing but tells everything.

T1000: Say, that’s a nice bike.

The line gives nothing away on the face of it but it tells us two things.

1. The police officer he’s speaking to is about to die.
2. And he’s gonna steal his bike.

It’s a cracking piece of dialogue. It reveals character and moves the plot forward.

One of the many smart decisions of T2 was making the new terminator completely different from Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger looks like an alien whatever he does, whereas Patrick looks like the nice friendly cop walking down the street. That line fits his demeanor to a T.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Just about anything from Tom Stoppard. All the more impressive given that he's not a native English speaker.