The Best Speeches In Movie History

Darth Vader’s revelation that he is Luke Skywalker’s father may be taken for granted now, but this brief movie speech is one of the most impactful in film history. It is one of the most quoted (and misquoted) movie lines ever written, and it changed the course of one of film’s largest franchises.

Written by Lawrence Kasdan, The Empire Strikes Back edged the Star Wars trilogy into darker and edgier territory. It is still regarded as the gold standard for the middle chapter of a trilogy, embraced for its bold “down” ending.

The “I am your father” movie speech changes the relationship between Luke and Vader forever. It is more than a great movie speech – it is a monumental plot point, and therefore one of the best speeches put to film.

A great movie speech is more than a string of pretty words, it is a function of character. President Whitmore’s speech in Independence Day is an inspiring call to action for humanity. It is extra satisfying because it comes from a man who has struggled to find his voice as a leader.

The speech is as relevant today as it was in 1996. It challenges people to put aside their differences and to unite on the grounds of simply being human. In just a couple of minutes, Whitmore tears down physical and ideological borders to bring humanity together for the fight of a lifetime.

Sometimes a movie speech cuts to the core of life and what is worth living for. That is exactly the case in Braveheart. William Wallace’s speech to the Scottish army, passionately delivered from horseback by Mel Gibson, challenges a group of men ready to run to stand up to tyranny.

He forces the men to look to the future. Even if running preserves their lives, will they ever be satisfied knowing that they did not live with honor?

This movie speech allows viewers to contend with the same question of courage. For William Wallace, life and liberty are one and the same. Death in pursuit of freedom is no great loss; running away from destiny is a fate far worse.

A great movie speech is often great in its context, but in The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner delivers words all people can live by. After downplaying his son’s dreams of being a professional basketball player, the young boy throws the basketball aside.

Gardner sees the damage his jaded perspective has on his son, and he doubles back fast. He tells his son that he can do anything he sets his mind to, and to never listen to the naysayers, even if they are the people closest to him.

In a movie filled with heartbreaking and inspiring moments, this scene between Gardner and his son on the basketball court ranks as not only a great scene in the movie, but a great movie speech in the history of film.

Charlie Chaplin is one of the few filmmakers to make a successful transition from the silent era to sound films, and he made good use of the technology in The Great Dictator.

At the film’s climax, Chaplin delivers what many consider to be the greatest movie speech ever written. The impassioned address to the world calls on a people entrenched in fascism to rise up and fight for democracy. 

Released in the midst of World War II, the film is a scathing critique of Adolf Hitler and the Axis powers. Chaplin’s speech tears apart the Nazi agenda, calling for people to use advancements of knowledge and science for the betterment of all people, regardless of race.

It is a condemnation of tyranny and a call for democracy that is as relevant today as it was in 1940.

“What we do in life echoes in eternity.” Russell Crowe delivers more than one great movie speech in 2000’s Gladiator, but his address to his troops before battle contains some of the best lines in the film.

Maximus challenges his frightened soldiers to imagine what they will be doing three weeks from that day, and it will be so. He then expands the consequences of their actions, noting that fighting the good fight and being brave, even if it kills them, will reward them in the afterlife.

Whether one believes in the afterlife or not, Maximus’s words ring true. Even after a person passes, the echo of a life can be heard, for better or worse, for generations to come. 

Another movie full of brilliant speeches, Dead Poets Society delivers a truly masterful message with its “Carpe Diem” speech. Delivered by John Keating, the English teacher played with wit and whimsy by Robin Williams, the speech encourages a class of young men to seize the day. It reminds the boys that, though they may feel invincible, their lives will one day end.

The speech catches the class of young men off guard. Keating has an offbeat approach to education at this straight-laced private school. At first, he seems like a fool. As he continues his shocking speech, his class becomes entranced by the spell of a life well lived that Keating casts through poetry and imagination.

Carpe diem is now a popular phrase embraced by Western culture, and the words of Mr. Keating continue to echo through the generations.

Aside from a war movie, there may not be a better vehicle for a movie speech than a sports film. In Remember the Titans, Denzel Washington plays Coach Boone, a man tasked with uniting an unruly high school football team. One of his strategies: great speeches.

Boone delivers wonderful addresses throughout the film, but the best might be his speech at Gettysburg. After waking the team up at 3 AM, Boone leads the team on a run through the woods. They arrive at a cemetery on the battlefield of Gettysburg. 

Boone reminds his team what happens when people let their differences tear them apart, warning that, if the members of the team do not choose to respect each other, they, too, will fall.

If ever you seek a model for friendship, look no further than Samwise Gamgee. In the Lord of the Rings final, The Return of the King, Sam delivers an epic movie speech to rule them all. He tries to revive a fading Frodo with musings of the blossoming flowers and fruits of their home back at the Shire.

Frodo cannot remember the sweetness of food, as he is consumed by darkness and fear brought on by carrying the Ring of Power. With that, Sam decides it is time for this quest to end. Sam grits his teeth and delivers his culminating line: “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you!”

Sam heaves Frodo onto his shoulders and ascends Mount Doom in one of the most poignant moments of the entire trilogy.