Note: This article was previously published by Helium.com under my name, of course. But I’ve made some modifications and revisions for highest quality possible for this blog. For whose rights this article belongs to is basically me.
Movie quotes can oftentimes be considered as inspiration to an individual’s life. When you digest a certain line from your favorite movie, you always want to apply it in real life, or at least imitate the admirable quality of the character who said it. It is amazing how a movie can influence a person’s life from a character’s point of view. Human acculturation in psychology is probably the reason for this.
Anyway, there are many movie quotes that greatly influence me as a person. I even was more involved with them when I began to get more absorbed with Literature and the movies. So here are among my favorite movie quotes of all time:
“A good lawyer with his brief case can steal more money than a thousand men with guns and masks.”
This might have not actually been said in the movie The Godfather, but it is my favorite quote from the novel of the same title by Mario Puzo. These are Don Corleone’s words speaking to his son Michael, whom he wants to “pull the strings,” to become a lawyer someday, words that come from a man who do business illegally through force and violence to its enemies.
It simply tells that human aptitude can be much more powerful than fear and violence if applied skillfully. As a man of violence, Don Corleone wants his son not to be like him when he grows up, and being a lawyer can make a big difference to the the fate of the family, despite the fact that a Sicilian blood is already running in his own son’s veins.
“I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse” is probably the most popular quote of The Godfather. It speaks of power that cannot be defied by a rational mind, as Don Corleone has been known for his rationality. An offer from a very powerful and reasonable Mafia man like Don Corleone is impossible to refuse.
But this is not my second most favorite quote from The Godfather. My second favorite quote from The Godfather is, “Every man has but one destiny.” This line means in the movie how a member of a mafia family cannot defy fate. Although in real life it can mean how the power of will can completely change a man’s life. As with Don Corleone, The Godfather, whom had led a life from his own strength of will, “A man has only but one destiny” pertains exactly to a choice you make in early life, and leads you to a fate that you can’t ever change.
This is a famous line from the movie, “A Few Good Men,” which stars Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, and Demi Moore. These words are from Jack Nicholson, who plays the role of Colonel Nathan Jessep, after being cross-examined in a court marshal by a navy lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise). Colonel Jessep is put into a witness stand about the murder of one of his men in the marines named Santiago. A chance for Kaffee to find answers about the murder. The dialogue in the movie goes:
Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I think I’m entitled.
Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I want the truth.
Jessep: You can’t handle the truth!
There you go. These words from Colonel Jessep are clear that he’s almost on the verge of admitting the crime. As in real life, this line could mean an admission of mistake or crime but somehow wants to insist that no one can do anything about it because it’s been done and it cannot be undone. It could also mean a justification of a crime that has been done.
“He’s a good guy, a wise guy. He’s one of us.”
A common line, it is from a Martin Scorcese’s film, “Good Fellas.” It simply states something about the difference between mediocrity and exceptionality. In the movie, which stars Robert de Niro, Joe Pesci, and Ray Liotta, wherein three guys who stick together and share the same common ingenuity in getting away with crime, this quote in real life tells about loyalty, cleverness, and trust. In the movie it speaks about these three qualities that a real gangster should have.
“If I were a man I was five years ago, I’ll take a flame thrower in this place!”
No one else could have ever said it but Al Pacino, one of the great actors of all time. These words are from the movie wherein he won an Oscar award for best actor: “Scent of a Woman.” This quote speaks about integrity and courage.
In Scent of a Woman, Al Pacino is a blind Lieutenant Colonel Slade whom a young Chris O’Donnell as Charlie Simms is assisting for quite some time. Simms, who also shares to Colonel Slade his experiences in school, has apparently been a witness to an offense in the school grounds. This is how Simms is put into an inquiry in front of students and members of the disciplinary committee.
With Slade on Simm’s side, the inquiry is opened by the headmaster named Trask, who is then forcing Simms to blurt out the names of the offenders in exchange for his chances of graduation, a choice that puts his college education at stake, which seem to Slade a disgusting move for Trask to make to someone who doesn’t want to speak out and doesn’t want to, “sell anybody out to buy his future,” as Colonel Slade goes on to say.
These words that Slade expresses are so moving that it touches the marrows of my soul. These words are the outcome of his frustrations and sentiments about the tyrannical world. He simply goes on to say the importance of an institution to its students; an institution that should embrace the valuable future of students who will become the future leaders.
There are still many movie quotes that have great meaning to me such as the one from the movie Primal Fear which goes: “We’re a great team, Mr. Vail, you and me.” This tells about lies and deceit. Edward Norton as Aaron Stampler is the one who said it to his defense lawyer Mr. Vail (Richard Gere). Apparently these two characters share the same goal in the trial, to deceive and to use all their cleverness to win the case.
All movies quotes have all the moral lessons in it. Movies as an art present an exaggeration to what really happens in real life, and the dialogue quoted from them allows the viewers to easily understand the message of the story.
As Conrado De Quiros had once said, “A movie is a kind of fiction that tells the truth in a world where facts lie. It is a fiction which expresses fury that comforts in a world where reason afflicts. There lies its power. There lies its art.”
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