And Dialogues They Are … After All
Of all the movies I have seen, I always forgot their storyline, the beginning and the end, the cast and at times even their names. Short memory span, what can I do … age (May be that’s why I enjoy watching one movie like twelve times without bothering that I have seen it already.) Even in all this chaos of poor memory syndrome, there are chunks very well recollected. Each time, one scene or a specific dialogue would linger as aftertaste, bringing a sublime idea, thought, and at times, a smile.
Of all the pieces of movies kept in memory, ones that clung the most are the funny ones. Get this for instance, remember Analyze This? Of course you do, one of the funniest mafia movies; and remember Paul Vitti and Dr. Sobel’s first meeting? Short and witty; Paul Vitti is a mafia don who walks into a psychiatrist’s office while trying to keep it a secret.
Paul Vitti: You know me?
Dr. Sobel: Yes.
Paul Vitti: No you don’t.
Dr. Sobel: Okay.
Paul Vitti: You see my picture in the paper?
Dr. Sobel: Yes.
Paul Vitti: No you didn’t.
Dr. Sobel: I don’t even get the paper.
And then there’s Ace Ventura telling Melissa “If I’m not back in five minutes… just wait longer” … genuine. While one of the cutest characters in recent cinema experience, the Donkey in Shrek, proudly broadcasts, “You might have seen a housefly, maybe even a superfly, but I bet you ain’t never seen a donkey fly” and that was of course before he was dusted. One of the best part of Shrek movies is the stupendously stupid dialogues between Shrek and the donkey; take a look at this for example how Shrek tries to talk deep about how ogres are and how donkey perceives it.
Shrek: Ogres are like onions.
Donkey: They stink?
Shrek: Yes. No.
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry.
Shrek: No.
Donkey: Oh, you leave em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin’ little white hairs.
Shrek: NO. Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.
[sighs]
Donkey: Oh, you both have layers. Oh. You know, not everybody like onions.
Best thing about humorous dialogues is that they are short and prompt. In Ice Age, an excellent movie, Sid has hardly ignited fire and claims;
Sid: From now on, you’ll have to refer to me as ‘Sid – Lord of the Flame’.
Manfred: Hey, Lord of the Flame, your tail’s on fire.
And Martin Lawrence can’t seem to convince his sister to stay away from dangerous pursuits of criminals;
Marcus: [To his sister, a Miami DEA agent] That was reckless, that was stupid, and that was dangerous. [Pauses] I’m telling Mommy.
And then of course there are dumb moments when Harry and Lloyd meet and greet each other in utmost casual tone;
Harry: Hi Lloyd!
Lloyd: Hi Harry!
Harry: How was your day?
Lloyd: Not bad. Fell off a jet way again.
Amongst all those funny movies and dialogues, there are those serious movies that talk serious business.
No mention of serious movies would be complete without Godfather of course, packed with some great dialogues. Don Corleone advises his son Michael, “Do you spend time with your family? Good. Because a man that doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.” And of course where Michael is asked how he will arrange to buy a hotel from Moe Greene and he says, “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.” And in part 2 he recalls one of his father’s advices, “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”
Some of my favorite dialogues that have stayed in my memory ever since I first heard them;
“You have to think like a hero merely to behave like a decent human being.” The Russia House.
“Perhaps it is good to have a beautiful mind, but an even greater gift is to discover a beautiful heart.” A Beautiful Mind.
“Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it.” Braveheart
“Every man dies, not every man really lives.” Braveheart
“What we do in life echoes in eternity.” Gladiator
“Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.” Shawshank Redemption
“Fear can set you prisoner, hope can set you free.” And of course this was the tagline for Shawshank Redemption.
And finally, the dialogues that make you feel like you are falling into that movie and becoming a part of it. I vaguely remember Robin Wright Penn, in the movie Message in a Bottle, suggesting Kevin Costner to visit her in her city and Kevin asks her on the phone, “When do you want me to come?” And Robin Wright says, “Yesterday!” Perfect.
In the same movie, she asks him at some other event, “And you’ll just forget about me, right?” and Costner (playing Garret Blake) says, “Everyday.”
And then of course there is this classic; Jerry Maguire entering the living room looking for his wife says hello and then goes on rumbling all those words.
Jerry Maguire: I love you. You… complete me.
Dorothy: Shut up. Just shut up. You had me at “hello.”
(This was one of my favorite scenes as well and that gives me idea to write an article next time on some of the good movie scenes.)
Anyways, next up in the line is Seth (Nicolas Cage) explaining expressions to Maggie (Meg Ryan) in City of Angels;
Seth: You’re a good doctor.
Maggie: How do you know?
Seth: I have a feeling.
Maggie: Yeah, well that’s pretty flimsy evidence.
Seth: Close your eyes. Just for a second… (touching her hand) what am I doing?
Maggie: You’re… touching me.
Seth: How do you know?
Maggie: Because, I feel it.
And this one’s my favorite when Seth runs into the hospital looking for Maggie while he has fallen from a height to turn a human from an angel (so that he could be with Maggie), and he is all hurt and bleeding. The nurse asks him what happened? And he says, “I fell … (pause) … in love.”
Anna Scott in Notting Hill asks William not to tell anyone about the incident taking place during their first meeting and William in return says, “Of course I wont. I mean I will tell myself sometimes, but I wont believe that.” That was fabulous.
While in the Man in the Iron Mask, D’Artagnan tells Queen Anne, “To love you is treason against France. But not to love you is treason against my heart.” And then Harrison Ford concludes the movie Sabrina as he asks her, “I’ve been following in footsteps all my life. Save me, Sabrina fair, you’re the only one who can.”
To finish this article, there is this cute little dialogue from an Indian movie, don’t remember its name though. Shah Rukh Khan is teasing his lady and she is all irritated and says, “Tum Insaan ho ya Bandar?” And SRK quite innocently asks in return, “Tumhein Kya Pasand hei?” That was prompt.
So here it is then, most probably will follow it up with an article on my favorite movie scenes. Till then, Ciao.
Category: Articles
