Best speeches of all-time

[Popinjay]

From movies to wars to peace protests what is your favorite speech of all-time?

Name it and quote a part of it that is especially badass. I'm studying the civil rights movement and MLK's I have a dream speech is just insanely good. I would quote from it but I love it all.

[El Ishmael]

Linky. (http://www.theonion.com/content/node/41008)

[diebitter]

Churchill, near the start of the war when it looked very bleak for Britain, France was falling, and an invasion looked imminent:

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender..."


Churchill at the fall of France:

What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'


And Churchill, during the blitz:

We ask no favours of the enemy. We seek from them no compunction. On the contrary, if tonight our people were asked to cast their vote whether a convention should be entered into to stop the bombing of cities, the overwhelming majority would cry, "No, we will mete out to them the measure, and more than the measure, that they have meted out to us." The people with one voice would say: "You have committed every crime under the sun. Where you have been the least resisted there you have been the most brutal. It was you who began the indiscriminate bombing. We will have no truce or parley with you, or the grisly gang who work your wicked will. You do your worst - and we will do our best."

[spamuell]

It's a cliché but Pericles' Funeral Oration (http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/GREECE/PERICLES.HTM).

[ericd]

Gettysburg Address

[samjjones]

Those Churchill speeches are great.

[pokerdirty]

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/images/independenceday.JPG

[diebitter]

There's a few more that are moving, but I didn't want to overdo it. There's one more that deserves special mention though, about the few fighter pilots that managed, unbelievably, to hold off the Luftwaffe and cripple the invasion plans. Here's an excert:

The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the World War by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. All hearts go out to the fighter pilots, whose brilliant actions we see with our own eyes day after day…


Boy, we were lucky buggers to have Churchill on point.

[JimHammer]

"Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curveball, high fiber, good scotch... that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, I believe there ought to be a Constitutional ammendment outlawing astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft core pornography, opening your presents on Christmas morning rather than on Christmas Eve, and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days."

- Crash Davis

[xadrez]

http://www.sergioleone.net/dm-10.jpg

"Do you know what its like to fall in the mud and get KICKED, IN THE HEAD, WITH AN IRON BOOT"

[BirdieLongSocks]

The speech is in the end of the video.
Link (http://www.big-boys.com/articles/pattillman.html)

Do anyone know who made it?

[TheMainEvent]

What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

[mackthefork]

[ QUOTE ]
Churchill, near the start of the war when it looked very bleak for Britain, France was falling, and an invasion looked imminent:

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender..."


Churchill at the fall of France:

What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'


And Churchill, during the blitz:

We ask no favours of the enemy. We seek from them no compunction. On the contrary, if tonight our people were asked to cast their vote whether a convention should be entered into to stop the bombing of cities, the overwhelming majority would cry, "No, we will mete out to them the measure, and more than the measure, that they have meted out to us." The people with one voice would say: "You have committed every crime under the sun. Where you have been the least resisted there you have been the most brutal. It was you who began the indiscriminate bombing. We will have no truce or parley with you, or the grisly gang who work your wicked will. You do your worst - and we will do our best."

[/ QUOTE ]

Churchill? These are all by Roy Bubbles.

Mack

[Yeti]

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/images/independenceday.JPG

[/ QUOTE ]

Beat me to it.

[pokerdirty]

it's the obvious answer. the only good work bill pullman ever did. i think i cried when i saw this.

[miajag81]

Yeah, any of about 10 speeches Churchill made during WWII could make the cut here.

President Whitmore in Independence Day was pretty great too /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Now I've justified this to myself in all sorts of ways. It wasn't a big deal, just a minor betrayal. Or we'd outgrown each other, you know, that sort of thing. But let's face it, I ripped them off - my so called mates. But Begbie, I couldn't give a [censored] about him. And Sick Boy, well he'd done the same to me, if he'd only thought of it first. And Spud, well okay, I felt sorry for Spud - he never hurt anybody. So why did I do it? I could offer a million answers - all false. The truth is that I'm a bad person. But, that's gonna change - I'm going to change. This is the last of that sort of thing. Now I'm cleaning up and I'm moving on, going straight and choosing life. I'm looking forward to it already. I'm gonna be just like you. The job, the family, the [censored] big television. The washing machine, the car, the compact disc and electric tin opener, good health, low cholesterol, dental insurance, mortgage, starter home, leisure wear, luggage, three piece suite, DIY, game shows, junk food, children, walks in the park, nine to five, good at golf, washing the car, choice of sweaters, family Christmas, indexed pension, tax exemption clearing gutters, getting by, looking ahead, the day you die.

[IndieMatty]

You all need to know your history.

The issue here is not whether we broke a few rules, or took a few liberties with our female party guests; we did. (winks) But you can't hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few sick, perverted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? (the other Deltas cheer; Otter addresses the Student Council President directly) I put it to you, Greg! Isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? (the Deltas cheer again) Well, you can do what you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you bad-mouth the United States of America! Gentlemen!
(Otter packs his briefcase and leaves the room; the other Deltas follow, humming "The Star-Spangled Banner")

[TheMainEvent]

[ QUOTE ]
it's the obvious answer. the only good work bill pullman ever did. i think i cried when i saw this.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're serious bro?

[coffeecrazy1]

JFK's speech to American University on June 10, 1963:

"For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."

Especially poignant given what happens in November of that year.

[imported_The Vibesman]

[ QUOTE ]
it's the obvious answer. the only good work bill pullman ever did. i think i cried when i saw this.

[/ QUOTE ]

I also cried when I saw Independence Day. I knew it was two hours and $8 I'd never get back.

Was going to say the St Crispin's Day, but someone beat me to it, and I knew someone would say it anyway.

[pokerdirty]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
it's the obvious answer. the only good work bill pullman ever did. i think i cried when i saw this.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're serious bro?

[/ QUOTE ]

/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[unlucky513]

suprised nobody has said this one yet...

Al Pacino's 'peace with inches' speech from Any Given Sunday... listening to that speech gets me so pumped up.

get it on limewire

[InchoateHand]

This is a really shoddy transcript of a really brilliant orator.

Bung Karno's speech at the opening of the Asia-Africa conference in 1955:


- This twentieth century has been a period of terrific dynamism. Perhaps the last fifty years have seen more developments and more material progress than the previous five hundred years. Man has learned to control many of the scourges which once threatened him. He has learned to consume distance. He has learned to project his voice and his picture across oceans and continents.

He has probed deep into the secrets of nature and learned how to make the desert bloom and the plants of the earth increase their bounty. He has learned how to release the immense forces locked in the smallest particles of matter. But has man's political skill marched hand-in-hand with his technical and scientific skill? Man can chain lightning to his command-can be control the society in which be lives? The answer is No! The political skill of man has been far outstripped by technical skill, and what lie has made he cannot be sure of controlling.

The result of this is fear. And man gasps for safety and morality.

Perhaps now more than at any other moment in the history of the world, society, government and statesmanship need to be based upon the highest code of morality and ethics. And in political terms, what is the highest code of morality? It is the subordination of everything to the well-being of mankind. But today we are faced with a situation where the well-being of mankind is not always the primary consideration. Many who are in places of high power think, rather, of controlling the world.

Yes, we are living in a world of fear. The life of man today is corroded and made bitter by fear. Fear of the future, fear of the hydrogen bomb, fear of ideologies. Perhaps this fear is a greater danger than the danger itself, because it is fear which drives men to act foolishly, to act thoughtlessly, to act dangerously. . . .

All of us, I am certain, are united by more important things than those which superficially divide us. We are united, for instance, by a common detestation of colonialism in whatever form it appears. We are united by a common detestation of racialism. And we are united by a common determination to preserve and stabilise peace in the world. . . .

We are often told "Colonialism is dead." Let us not be deceived or even soothed by that. 1 say to you, colonialism is not yet dead. How can we say it is dead, so long as vast areas of Asia and Africa are unfree.

And, I beg of you do not think of colonialism only in the classic form which we of Indonesia, and our brothers in different parts of Asia and Africa, knew. Colonialism has also its modern dress, in the form of economic control, intellectual control, actual physical control by a small but alien community within a nation. It is a skilful and determined enemy, and it appears in many guises. It does not give up its loot easily. Wherever, whenever and however it appears, colonialism is an evil thing, and one which must be eradicated from the earth. . . .

Not so very long ago we argued that peace was necessary for us because an outbreak of fighting in our part of the world would imperil our precious independence, so recently won at such great cost.

Today, the picture is more black. War would riot only mean a threat to our independence, it may mean the end of civilisation and even of human life. There is a force loose in the world whose potentiality for evil no man truly knows. Even in practice and rehearsal for war the effects may well be building up into something of unknown horror.

Not so long ago it was possible to take some little comfort from the idea that the clash, if it came, could perhaps be settled by what were called "conventional weapons "-bombs, tanks, cannon and men. Today that little grain of comfort is denied us for it has been made clear that the weapons of ultimate horror will certainly be used, and the military planning of nations is on that basis. The unconventional has become the conventional, and who knows what other examples of misguided and diabolical scientific skill have been discovered as a plague on humanity.

And do not think that the oceans and the seas will protect us. The food that we cat, the water that we drink, yes, even the very air that we breathe can be contaminated by poisons originating from thousands of miles away. And it could be that, even if we ourselves escaped lightly, the unborn generations of our children would bear on their distorted bodies the marks of our failure to control the forces which have been released on the world.

No task is more urgent than that of preserving peace. Without peace our independence means little. The rehabilitation and upbuilding of our countries will have little meaning. Our revolutions will not be allowed to run their course. . . .

What can we do? We can do much! We can inject the voice of reason into world affairs. We can mobilise all the spiritual, all the moral, all the political strength of Asia and Africa on the side of peace. Yes, we! We, the peoples of Asia and Africa, 1,400,000,000 strong, far more than half the human population of the world, we can mobilise what I have called the Moral Violence of Nations in favour of peace. We can demonstrate to the minority of the world which lives on the other continents that we, the majority are for peace, not for war, and that whatever strength we have will always be thrown on to the side of peace.

In this struggle, some success has already been scored. I think it is generally recognised that the activity of the Prime Ministers of the Sponsoring Countries which invited you here had a not unimportant role to play in ending the fighting in Indo-China.

Look, the peoples of Asia raised their voices, and the world listened. It was no small victory and no negligible precedent! The five Prime Ministers did not make threats. They issued no ultimatum, they mobilised no troops. Instead they consulted together, discussed the issues, pooled their ideas, added together their individual political skills and came forward with sound and reasoned suggestions which formed the basis for a settlement of the long struggle in Indo-China.

I have often since then asked myself why these five were successful when others, with long records of diplomacy, were unsuccessful, and, in fact, had allowed a bad situation to get worse, so that there was a danger of the conflict spreading. . . . I think that the answer really lies in the fact that those five Prime Ministers brought a fresh approach to bear on the problem. They were not seeking advantage for their own countries. They had no axe of power-politics to grind. They had but one interest-how to end the fighting in such a way that the chances of continuing peace and stability were enhanced. . . .

So, let this Asian-African Conference be a great success! Make the "Live and let live" principle and the "Unity in Diversity" motto the unifying force which brings us all together-to seek in friendly, uninhibited discussion, ways and means by which each of us can live his own life, and let others live their own lives, in their own way, in harmony, and in peace.

If we succeed in doing so, the effect of it for the freedom, independence and the welfare of man will be great on the world at large. The Light of Understanding has again been lit, the Pillar of Cooperation again erected. The likelihood of success of this Conference is proved already by the very presence of you all here today. It is for us to give it strength, to give it the power of inspiration-to spread its message all over the World.

[Rduke55]

Churchill was amazing.

[phx]

william wallace in braveheart right before the battle of sterling

and jimmy v's speech at the espys before he dies


those come to mind right away

This speech always gets me pumped up

"Whattaya lookin' at? You're all a bunch of [censored] assholes. You know why? 'Cause you don't have the guts to be what you wanna be. You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your [censored] fingers, and say "that's the bad guy." So, what dat make you? Good? You're not good; you just know how to hide. Howda lie. Me, I don't have that problem. Me, I always tell the truth--even when I lie. So say goodnight to the bad guy. Come on; the last time you gonna see a bad guy like this, let me tell ya. Come on, make way for the bad guy. There's a bad guy comin' through; you better get outta his way!"

[Shajen]

"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, Lieutenant 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 of a life spent defending something. You use them 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 that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand at post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to."


http://staff.bcc.edu/jalexand/jax07_files/image014.jpg

[nyc999]

Susan Hawk, Survivor Finale Season 1

John Goodman, Revenge of the Nerds, Locker Room Speech "You just got your @sses kicked by a bunch of god-damn nerds....NERDS!!!"

[namknils]

[ QUOTE ]

and jimmy v's speech at the espys before he dies


[/ QUOTE ]

This is what comes to my mind right away. Touching speach.

[eviljeff]

Mario Savio during Berkeley's Free Speech Movement

"There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part, you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies on the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!"

[samjjones]

I enjoy breaking into this speech and reciting it from memory at parties when I am drunk. People seem to enjoy it.

[drewjustdrew]

"We're going to have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap danced with Danny [censored] Kay".

Wav file (http://www.wavsite.com/sounds/10017/xmas28.wav)

[A_C_Slater]

"I have existed from the morning of the world, and I shall exist until the last star falls from the heavens. Although I have taken the form of Gaius Caligula, I am all men, as I am no Man--and, so, I am a God." --Bill Clinton 1993

[Robbe]

The Quotable Winston Churchill (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0976784300/103-7080299-7754245?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance)

[imported_The Vibesman]

Roy Batty, "Blade Runner":

I have seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion.
I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
All those moments will be lost in time -
like tears in rain.

Time to die.

[TheBlueMonster]

from Robert Kennedy's speech while in South Africa:

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped…

it's actually carved on his memorial at Arlington Cemetery.

[JTrout]

On Saturday, September 25, ... the Europeans had a seemingly insurmountable lead of ten to six. Texas Governor George W. Bush was barely into a steak dinner in Charlestown when Crenshaw summoned him to the U.S. team headquarters on the sixth floor of the Four Seasons Hotel.

Bush launched into a stirring reading of Travis's letter from the Alamo:

"I have sustained a continual bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man," Travis wrote. "The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion . . . I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls--I shall never surrender or retreat. . . . Victory or death. William Barret Travis."



Bush added his own postscript. "America is pulling for you," he told the U.S. team as he turned to leave the room. "You can win tomorrow--and you're gonna win tomorrow."



The rest is now well-documented history. On Sunday, Septem ber 26, the Americans rallied to defeat the Europeans 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 as University of Texas graduate Justin Leonard clinched the decisive half point with a forty-five-foot putt on the seventeenth hole of his match against defending Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain. Even the controversy caused by the U.S. team's spontaneous celebration before Olazabal could putt out could not diminish the thrill of such an improbable win. Former president Bush, who watched course-side with his wife and sons, called it "the greatest event I've ever seen in any sport."

[Dominic]

[ QUOTE ]
What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

[/ QUOTE ]

thread over. You really want to get shivers, watch Kenneth Branagh deliver it in his movie version....

[Dominic]

[ QUOTE ]
it's the obvious answer. the only good work bill pullman ever did. i think i cried when i saw this.

[/ QUOTE ]

god you guys are idiots. That speech is a steal from about 5 more famous ones.

Bill Pullman is great, though.

[diebitter]

[ QUOTE ]

thread over. You really want to get shivers, watch Kenneth Branagh deliver it in his movie version....

[/ QUOTE ]

Really! I've never seen that version. Have you seen the Olivier version? Is Branagh better? You say so, I'm buying it tomorrow!


PS. For anyone not up on history - the context is the battle of Agincourt, where the English went up against a French force at least 10 times bigger. And won.

We are badasses!

[imported_The Vibesman]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

thread over. You really want to get shivers, watch Kenneth Branagh deliver it in his movie version....

[/ QUOTE ]

Really! I've never seen that version. Have you seen the Olivier version? Is Branagh better? You say so, I'm buying it tomorrow!

[/ QUOTE ]

Branagh's version is pretty much considered the only reason people know who he is in the States, it made his name here. I think it was nominated for awards, and everyone I talk to thinks it's fantastic. Personally, I was flipping through channels and caught him doing the speech and thought at nervous high-schooler could have done better. But as far as I know, there's not a single person that agrees with me.

I am not fond of Branagh in anything, really, so take it FWIW.

[housenuts]

al pacino's Inches speech in Any Given Sunday

[West]

Dramatic, but as far as Bush speeches go, I'd have to go with some of his others. Like this (http://www.dubyaspeak.com/mp3/obgyn.mp3) one, or this (http://www.dubyaspeak.com/mp3/sovereignty.mp3) one.

[odellthurman]

Check out americanrhetoric.com - - it has a library with over 5,000 videos, audios, and texts of speeches. It is very addictive. I'm not a Nixon fan, but you should listen to the "Checkers" speech - it is fascinating.

[ChicagoTroy]

MacArthur's Farewell Speech at West Point:

Yours is the profession of arms, the will to win, the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory, that if you lose, the nation will be destroyed, that the very obsession of your public service must be duty, honor, country.

Others will debate the controversial issues, national and international, which divide men's minds. But serene, calm, aloof, you stand as the nation's war guardians, as its lifeguards from the raging tides of international conflict, as its gladiators in the arena of battle. For a century and a half you have defended, guarded, and protected its hallowed traditions of liberty and freedom, of right and justice.

Let civilian voices argue the merits or demerits of out processes of government: Whether our strength is being sapped by deficit financing indulged in too long, by Federal paternalism grown too mighty, by power groups grown too arrogant, by politics grown too corrupt, by crime grown too rampant, by morals grown too low, by taxes grown too high, by extremists grown too violent; whether our personal liberties are as thorough and complete as they should be.

These great national problems are not for your professional participation or military solution. Your guidepost stands out like a tenfold beacon in the night: Duty, Honor, Country.

You are the leaven which binds together the entire fabric of our national system or defense. From your ranks come the great captains who hold the nation's destiny in their hands the moment the war tocsin sounds.....

The long, grey line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and grey, would rise from their white crosses, thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country.

This does not mean that you are warmongers. On the contrary, the soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

[cdxx]

Ted Kennedy withdraws his nomination from 1980 primaries at the DNC convention (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/tedkennedy1980dnc.htm).

i burned it onto several mp3 cd's that i have in my car, so i listen to it every few weeks or so.

[West]

Dr. Lizardo:

We must act! ESCAPE, or die! We must-a work faster, to finish the Great Vehicle Itself, so we can enter the 8th dimension, and FREE our trapped comrades, so we can return home, and seize power once again!

What is the greatest joy?

Red Lectroids:

The joy of duty.

Dr. Lizardo:

Louder!

Red Lectroids:

The joy of duty!

Dr. Lizardo:

History... is-a made at night! Character... is what you are in the dark! We must-a work, while the clock, she's-a ticking!

Red Lectroid:

Lord Whorfin is strong!

Red Lectroid:

Death to the Black Lectroids!

Dr. Lizardo:

Where are we going?

Red Lectroids:

Planet Ten!

Dr. Lizardo:

When?

Red Lectroids:

Real Soon!

[cpitt398]

Malcom X - The Ballot or the Bullet. Very Good.

[CallMeIshmael]

http://www.gonemovies.com/WWW/WanadooFilms/Misdaad/PulpHorloge1.jpg
Captain Koons: Hello, little man. Boy, I sure heard a bunch about you. See, I was a good friend of your dad's. We were in that Hanoi pit of hell together over five years. Hopefully...you'll never have to experience this yourself, but when two men are in a situation like me and your Dad were, for as long as we were, you take on certain responsibilities of the other. If it had been me who had not made it, Major Coolidge would be talkin' right now to my son Jim. But the way it turned out is I'm talkin' to you, Butch. I got somethin' for you. This watch I got here was first purchased by your great-grandfather during the first World War. It was bought in a little general store in Knoxville, Tennessee. Made by the first company to ever make wrist watches. Up till then people just carried pocket watches. It was bought by private Doughboy Erine Coolidge on the day he set sail for Paris. It was your great-grandfather's war watch and he wore it everyday he was in that war. When he had done his duty, he went home to your great-grandmother, took the watch off, put it an old coffee can, and in that can it stayed 'til your granddad Dane Coolidge was called upon by his country to go overseas and fight the Germans once again. This time they called it World War II. Your great-grandfather gave this watch to your granddad for good luck. Unfortunately, Dane's luck wasn't as good as his old man's. Dane was a Marine and he was killed -- along with the other Marines at the battle of Wake Island. Your granddad was facing death, he knew it. None of those boys had any illusions about ever leavin' that island alive. So three days before the Japanese took the island, your granddad asked a gunner on an Air Force transport name of Winocki, a man he had never met before in his life, to deliver to his infant son, who he'd never seen in the flesh, his gold watch. Three days later, your granddad was dead. But Winocki kept his word. After the war was over, he paid a visit to your grandmother, delivering to your infant father, his Dad's gold watch. This watch. (holds it up, long pause) This watch was on your Daddy's wrist when he was shot down over Hanoi. He was captured, put in a Vietnamese prison camp. He knew if the gooks ever saw the watch it'd be confiscated, taken away. The way your Dad looked at it, that watch was your birthright. He'd be damned if any slopes were gonna put their greasy yella hands on his boy's birthright. So he hid it in the one place he knew he could hide something. His ass. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ass. Then he died of dysentery, he gave me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable hunk of metal up my ass two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you.

How did we miss this one?


What? "Over"? Did you say "over"? Nothing's over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell, no!

-Germans?
-Forget it, he's rolling.

And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the going gets tough...the tough get going! Who's with me?

Let's go! Come on!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Belushi_in_Animal_House.jpg/180px-Belushi_in_Animal_House.jpg

[ChicagoTroy]

Nothing by Hitler yet? A little Churchill, a little MLK, but if we're being honest, Adolf Hitler pwns everybody in the speechmaking department.

WTF is up with Bill Pullman even being mentioned? Jesus.

[drewjustdrew]

"Well, I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life. Well good luck to you Peter. I'm sure this decision won't haunt you forever. "

http://www.freiepresse.de/TEXTE/TREFFPUNKT/BILDERGALERIEN/243/5342.jpg

Any Given Sunday - Pacino's speech in the last football game. Heres an excerpt.

Tony D'Amato: You find out life's this game of inches, so is football. Because in either game - life or football - the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step too late or too early and you don't quite make it. One half second too slow, too fast and you don't quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They're in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team we fight for that inch. On this team we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when add up all those inches, that's gonna make the [censored] difference between winning and losing! Between living and dying!

[TiK]

I seem to be a little late with my contribution, but here it is, perhaps not the best of all-time, and perhaps not really a "speech," but definitely one of my favorite quotes:

"My style is impetuous. My defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious. I want your heart. I want to eat his children. Praise be to Allah!"

He goes from using words such as impetuous and impregnable to speaking of eating Lenox Lewis' children, and praising Allah. [censored] sweet.

[A_C_Slater]

[ QUOTE ]
Nothing by Hitler yet? A little Churchill, a little MLK, but if we're being honest, Adolf Hitler pwns everybody in the speechmaking department.

WTF is up with Bill Pullman even being mentioned? Jesus.

[/ QUOTE ]


The content of Hitler's speeches were not what made them great. It was the tone and inflection of his voice combined with his operatic histrionics that made the speeches so amazing.

If you read transcript's of his actual speeches they are quite dry. It was the delivery that was masterful. The way he made them almost musical, starting slowly and then slowly rising to an orgiastic climax.

Hitler admitted that he sometimes acheived sexual climax at the apex of his speeches.

Without a doubt though he is the greatest orator to ever live and his oratory alone was practically the source of all his future political power.

Or as JFK said "In the dark days and darker nights when Britain stood alone -- and most men save Englishmen despaired of England's life -- he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle. The incandescent quality of his words illuminated the courage of his countrymen."

[A_C_Slater]

[ QUOTE ]
Or as JFK said "In the dark days and darker nights when Britain stood alone -- and most men save Englishmen despaired of England's life -- he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle. The incandescent quality of his words illuminated the courage of his countrymen."

[/ QUOTE ]


This raises an interesting question. Is it the syntax of a nation's language that gives it it's power? Is a population that is able to describe solutions to problems more concisely the reason for it's superiority?

[Sponger15SB]

[ QUOTE ]
"Well, I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life. Well good luck to you Peter. I'm sure this decision won't haunt you forever. "

http://www.freiepresse.de/TEXTE/TREFFPUNKT/BILDERGALERIEN/243/5342.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

This seriously made the movie. Hilarious.

[Sponger15SB]

BOOKMAN: Well, let me tell you something, funny boy. Y'know that little stamp, the one that says "New York Public Library"? Well that may not mean anything to you, but that means a lot to me. One whole hell of a lot. Sure, go ahead, laugh if you want to. I've seen your type before:

Flashy, making the scene, flaunting convention. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. What's this guy making such a big stink about old library books? Well, let me give you a hint, junior. Maybe we can live without libraries, people like you and me. Maybe. Sure, we're too old to change the world, but what about that kid, sitting down, opening a book, right now, in a branch at the local library and finding drawings of pee-pees and wee-wees on the Cat in the Hat and the Five Chinese Brothers?

Doesn't HE deserve better? Look. If you think this is about overdue fines and missing books, you'd better think again. This is about that kid's right to read a book without getting his mind warped! Or: maybe that turns you on, Seinfeld; maybe that's how y'get your kicks. You and your good-time buddies. Well I got a flash for ya, joy-boy: Party time is over. Y'got seven days, Seinfeld. That is one week!

[Ipodkid]

Derek: I don't see anyone doing anything about it, and it bleeping pisses me off. This isn't our bleeping neighbourhood. It's a battlefield. We're on a battlefield tonight. Make a decision. Are we going to stand on the sidelines, quietly standing there while our country gets raped? Are we going to ante up and do something about it? You're goddamn right we are!

[Bigdaddydvo]

[ QUOTE ]
MacArthur's Farewell Speech at West Point:

Yours is the profession of arms, the will to win, the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory, that if you lose, the nation will be destroyed, that the very obsession of your public service must be duty, honor, country.

Others will debate the controversial issues, national and international, which divide men's minds. But serene, calm, aloof, you stand as the nation's war guardians, as its lifeguards from the raging tides of international conflict, as its gladiators in the arena of battle. For a century and a half you have defended, guarded, and protected its hallowed traditions of liberty and freedom, of right and justice.

Let civilian voices argue the merits or demerits of out processes of government: Whether our strength is being sapped by deficit financing indulged in too long, by Federal paternalism grown too mighty, by power groups grown too arrogant, by politics grown too corrupt, by crime grown too rampant, by morals grown too low, by taxes grown too high, by extremists grown too violent; whether our personal liberties are as thorough and complete as they should be.

These great national problems are not for your professional participation or military solution. Your guidepost stands out like a tenfold beacon in the night: Duty, Honor, Country.

You are the leaven which binds together the entire fabric of our national system or defense. From your ranks come the great captains who hold the nation's destiny in their hands the moment the war tocsin sounds.....

The long, grey line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and grey, would rise from their white crosses, thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country.

This does not mean that you are warmongers. On the contrary, the soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

[/ QUOTE ]

BINGO. My best friend's dad was a plebe when Mac gave this speech, so unfortunately he didn't pay much attention (more concerned w/not p*ssing off upperclassmen at the table, etc)

[shadow29]

Faulkner's nobel acceptance speech:

[ QUOTE ]
I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work -- a life's work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for glory and least of all for profit, but to create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before. So this award is only mine in trust. It will not be difficult to find a dedication for the money part of it commensurate with the purpose and significance of its origin. But I would like to do the same with the acclaim too, by using this moment as a pinnacle from which I might be listened to by the young men and women already dedicated to the same anguish and travail, among whom is already that one who will some day stand here where I am standing.

Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only the question: When will I be blown up? Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat.

He must learn them again. He must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid; and, teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and truths of the heart, the old universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed -- love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice. Until he does so, he labors under a curse. He writes not of love but of lust, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, of victories without hope and, worst of all, without pity or compassion. His griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He writes not of the heart but of the glands.

Until he relearns these things, he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man. I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.

The poet’s, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.

[/ QUOTE ]

Bartlet's (West Wing) Two Cathedrals speech:

[ QUOTE ]
She bought her first new car and you hit her with a drunk driver. What, was that
supposed to be funny? "You can't conceive, nor can I, the appalling strangeness of the
mercy of God," says Graham Greene. I don't know who's ass he was kissing there 'cause
I think you're just vindictive. What was Josh Lyman? A warning shot? That was my son.
What did I ever do to yours but praise his glory and praise his name? There's a
tropical storm that's gaining speed and power. They say we haven't had a storm this
bad since you took out that tender ship of mine in the north Atlantic last year...
68 crew. You know what a tender ship does? Fixes the other ships. Doesn't even carry
guns. Just goes around, fixes the other ships and delivers that mail. That's all it
can do. [angry] Gratias tibi ago, domine. Yes, I lied. It was a sin. [holds out arms]
I've committed many sins. Have I displeased you, you feckless thug? 3.8 million new
jobs, that wasn't good? Bailed out Mexico, increased foreign trade, 30 million new
acres of land for conservation, put Mendoza on the bench, we're not fighting a war,
I've raised three children...

He ascends the stairs to the Inner Sanctuary.

BARTLET
[pleading] That's not enough to buy me out of the doghouse? Haec credam a deo pio?
A deo iusto? A deo scito?

He stops at the top of the stairs and extends his arms.

BARTLET
Cruciatus in crucem! Tuus in terra servus nuntius fui officium perfeci. [angry]
Cruciatus in crucem. [waves dismissively] Eas in crucem!

Bartlet turns away in anger. He descends to the lower sanctuary and lights a cigarette.
He takes a single puff, drops the butt to the floor, and grinds it defiantly with his
shoe. He looks back at the altar.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address:

[ QUOTE ]
Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

[/ QUOTE ]

These are my favorites that haven't been posted yet.

[jester710]

Patton's famous speech, both the real one and the watered-down version from the movie. Text of it here: http://www.pattonhq.com/speech.html, about 2/3 of the way down.

""Don't forget," Patton barked, "you men don't know that I'm here. No mention of that fact is to be made in any letters. The world is not supposed to know what the hell happened to me. I'm not supposed to be commanding this Army. I'm not even supposed to be here in England. Let the first bastards to find out be the Goddamned Germans. Some day I want to see them raise up on their piss-soaked hind legs and howl, 'Jesus Christ, it's the Goddamned Third Army again and that son-of-a-[censored]-bitch Patton'."

[HoldingFolding]

Out of order, I show you out of order. You don't know what out of order is, Mr. Trask. I'd show you, but I'm too old, I'm too tired, I'm too [censored]' blind. If I were the man I was five years ago, I'd take a FLAMETHROWER to this place! Out of order? Who the hell do you think you're talkin' to? I've been around, you know? There was a time I could see. And I have seen. Boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off. But there isn't nothin' like the sight of an amputated spirit. There is no prosthetic for that. You think you're merely sending this splendid foot soldier back home to Oregon with his tail between his legs, but I say you are... executin' his soul! And why? Because he's not a Bairdman. Bairdmen. You hurt this boy, you're gonna be Baird bums, the lot of ya. And Harry, Jimmy, Trent, wherever you are out there, [censored] YOU TOO!

Pacino can certainly deliver speeches.

[PoBoy321]

Well if you're gonna bring Animal House into it, you picked the wrong speech.

[ QUOTE ]
Otter:Ladies and gentlemen, I'll be brief. The issue here is not whether we broke a few rules, or took a few liberties with our female party guests - we did.
[winks at Dean Wormer]
But you can't hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few, sick twisted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, Greg - isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen!
[Leads the Deltas out of the hearing, all humming the Star-Spangled Banner]

[/ QUOTE ]

[PoBoy321]

Just my .02, Socrates' Apology.

[ QUOTE ]
How you have felt, O men of Athens, at hearing the speeches of my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that their persuasive words almost made me forget who I was - such was the effect of them; and yet they have hardly spoken a word of truth. But many as their falsehoods were, there was one of them which quite amazed me; - I mean when they told you to be upon your guard, and not to let yourselves be deceived by the force of my eloquence. They ought to have been ashamed of saying this, because they were sure to be detected as soon as I opened my lips and displayed my deficiency; they certainly did appear to be most shameless in saying this, unless by the force of eloquence they mean the force of truth; for then I do indeed admit that I am eloquent. But in how different a way from theirs! Well, as I was saying, they have hardly uttered a word, or not more than a word, of truth; but you shall hear from me the whole truth: not, however, delivered after their manner, in a set oration duly ornamented with words and phrases. No indeed! but I shall use the words and arguments which occur to me at the moment; for I am certain that this is right, and that at my time of life I ought not to be appearing before you, O men of Athens, in the character of a juvenile orator - let no one expect this of me. And I must beg of you to grant me one favor, which is this - If you hear me using the same words in my defence which I have been in the habit of using, and which most of you may have heard in the agora, and at the tables of the money-changers, or anywhere else, I would ask you not to be surprised at this, and not to interrupt me. For I am more than seventy years of age, and this is the first time that I have ever appeared in a court of law, and I am quite a stranger to the ways of the place; and therefore I would have you regard me as if I were really a stranger, whom you would excuse if he spoke in his native tongue, and after the fashion of his country; - that I think is not an unfair request. Never mind the manner, which may or may not be good; but think only of the justice of my cause, and give heed to that: let the judge decide justly and the speaker speak truly.

[/ QUOTE ]
Here's the whole thing (http://www.saliu.com/socrates.html)

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

and jimmy v's speech at the espys before he dies


[/ QUOTE ]

This is what comes to my mind right away. Touching speach.

[/ QUOTE ]

Best was when he said they were giving him the light... "As if I care..". I'm from the same hometown as Jimmy V, and were very partial to him.

Beavis' "We're never gonna score" speech.

"We traveled, uh, uh, a hundred miles cuz we thought we we're gonna score."

[ChipWrecked]

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for 17 years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure I'm lucky. When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that¹s the finest I know. So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."

--Lou Gehrig

[Iplayragstoo]

The scene later contained a great exchange.....watching the way his face changes, and how pissed off he gets as he is being told the story is great.

COCCOTTI
Sicilians are great liars. The best in the world. I'm a Sicilian. And my
old man was the world heavyweight champion of Sicilian liars. And from
growin' up with him I learned the pantomime. Now there are seventeen
different things a guy can do when he lies to give him away. A guy has
seventeen pantomimes. A woman's got twenty, but a guy's got seventeen. And
if you know 'em like ya know your own face, they beat lie detectors to
hell. What we got here is a little game of show and tell. You don't wanna
show me nothin'. But you're tellin' me everything. Now I know you know
where they are. So tell me, before I do some damage you won't walk away
from.

The awful pain in Cliff's hand is being replaced by the awful pain in his heart. He looks deep into Coccotti's eyes.

CLIFF
Could I have one of those Chesterfields now?

COCCOTTI
Sure.

Coccotti leans over and hands him a smoke.

CLIFF
Got a match?

Cliff reaches into his pocket and pulls out a lighter.

CLIFF
Oh, don't bother. I got one.
(he lights the cigarette)
So you're a Sicilian, huh?

COCCOTTI
(intensly)
Uh-huh.

CLIFF
You know I read a lot. Especially things that have to do with history. I
find that [censored] fascinating. In fact, I don't know if you know this or not,
Sicilians were spawned by niggers.

All the men stop what they were doing and look at Cliff, except for Tooth-pic Vic who doesn't speak English and so isn't insulted. Coccotti can't believe what he's hearing.

COCCOTTI
Come again?

CLIFF
It's a fact. Sicilians have nigger blood pumpin' through their hearts. If
you don't believe me, look it up. You see, hundreds and hundreds of years
ago the Moors conquered Sicily. And Moors are niggers. Way back then,
Sicilians were like the wops in northern Italy. Blond hair, blue eyes. But,
once the Moors moved in there, they changed the whole country. They did so
much [censored]' with the Sicilian women, they changed the blood-line for ever,
from blond hair and blue eyes to black hair and dark skin. I find it
absolutely amazing to think that to this day, hundreds of years later,
Sicilians still carry that nigger gene. I'm just quotin' history. It's a
fact. It's written. Your ancestors were niggers. Your great, great, great,
great, great-grandmother was [censored] by a nigger, and had a half-nigger kid.
That is a fact. Now tell me, am I lyin'?

[phx]

[ QUOTE ]
"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for 17 years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure I'm lucky. When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that¹s the finest I know. So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."

--Lou Gehrig

[/ QUOTE ]


get teary eyed whenever i hear that

[goofball]

I get goosebumps every time I watch that part of independence day. Every time.

Same with everytime I hear Lou Gherig's luckiest man speech.


If you combine everything though I think 'I have a dream' takes it.

[cdxx]

forgot about this one. a speech that turned out to be a hoax, never written by vonnegut, never given at a commencement. still good though.

[ QUOTE ]
**Deep Thoughts, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.**

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97:

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss..

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

[/ QUOTE ]

[gunt]

[ QUOTE ]
What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

[/ QUOTE ]

[diebitter]

Here's a link to the mp3 of Brannagh's version

St Crispins (http://enginesofmischief.com/music/crispin.mp3)

[SinCityGuy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
it's the obvious answer. the only good work bill pullman ever did. i think i cried when i saw this.

[/ QUOTE ]

I also cried when I saw Independence Day. I knew it was two hours and $8 I'd never get back.

[/ QUOTE ]

I cried too, because I was laughing so hard at one of the corniest and overly hyped movies of all-time.

[Mike Haven]

The man of my dreams is almost faded now; the one I have created in my mind. The sort of man each woman dreams of in the deepest most secret reaches of her heart.

I can almost see him now before me.

What would I say to him if he were really here?

"Forgive me, I've never known this feeling. I've lived without it all my life. Is it any wonder then I failed to recognize you? You brought it to me for the first time. Is there any way that I can tell you how my life has changed? Anyway at all to let you know what sweetness you have given me? There is so much to say. I cannot find the words except for these ... I love you."

*

Elise's On-stage Soliloquy: Somewhere in Time (http://members.tripod.com/swit-boc/indexswitmanofmydreams.html)

[diebitter]

[ QUOTE ]
Here's a link to the mp3 of Brannagh's version

St Crispins (http://enginesofmischief.com/music/crispin.mp3)

[/ QUOTE ]
And here's the olivier one: St Crispins (http://www.happyhunter.com/crispins.mp3)

And here's the blade runner one:
I've seen things... (http://www.happyhunter.com/iveseenthings.mp3)

[tomdemaine]

70+ posts and noone mentions "I have a dream"? You're all a bunch of racists. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

edit : lol I'm dumb ISSCKM

[diebitter]

[ QUOTE ]
70+ posts and noone mentions "I have a dream" other than the original poster? You're all a bunch of people that actually read the first post. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]FYP

[Conspir8or]

"I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth; banks are going bust; shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter; punks are running wild in the street, and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it.

"We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat. And we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be!

"We all know things are bad -- worse than bad -- they're crazy.

"It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out any more. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we're living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, "Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials, and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone."

"Well, I'm not going to leave you alone.

"I want you to get mad!

"I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot. I don't want you to write to your Congressman, because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street.

"All I know is that first, you've got to get mad.

"You've gotta say, 'I'm a human being, goddammit! My life has value!'

"So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!!'"

--Howard Beale, Network (1976)