MOVIE QUOTE LESSONS
Filmmaking is an art and during the Oscars we can appreciate all the artisans who contribute to the final product. I am not suggesting that anyone's eagerly awaiting the presentation of Oscar to Best Sound Effects Editing. However, I've come to appreciate the screenwriters more and more as I watch the actors open their mouths for their acceptance speeches, and engage their own thoughts: they babble, lecture or cry. This is why screenwriters should get more recognition. They can capture an emotion, establish a character, and summarize a story in just one movie quote.
Clemenza's wit in The Godfather...
"Leave the gun; take the cannoli."
Bluto's dramatic monologue in Animal House...
"Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?"
During those Oscar speeches, the actors will prove once again just how important writing is to the art of filmmaking. The art of crafting a concise and powerful message is not easy. While actors ramble on, spewing platitudes from a cocktail napkin, these movie quotes prove you can say much more, in just a few words.
JAWS
Near the end of Jaws, our heroes get their first glimpse of the great white, and Roy Scheider breaks the silence with the understated:
" We're gonna need a bigger boat."
LESSON: fail to plan---plan to fail .
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
Meg Ryan proves to Billy Crystal she can fake an orgasm while sitting in a delhi and the woman sitting at another table remarks to the waitress:
" I'll have what she's having."
LESSON: There's no better endorsement than 'word of mouth'
"SUPERMAN: The Movie."
Superman catches Lois Lane falling in the sky.
SUPERMAN: I' ve got you.
LOIS LANE: You've got me? WHO'S GOT YOU?!
LESSON: You're only as good as the people underneath you.
WEDDING CRASHER
Vince Vaughn is looking for a "sure thing" and noticed a woman with a tattoo on her lower back.
"Tattoo on the lower back? Might as well be a bullseye."
LESSON: Your personal expression may make a first impression that reveals far more than you intended.
TOP GUNAn instructor scolds Tom Cruise for flying recklessly.
"You're trying to cash checks your body can't cover."
LESSON: Don't touch, unless you can afford to buy.
ANIMAL HOUSE
Bluto: My advice to you is to start drinking heavily.
Otter: ''Better listen to him, Flounder. He's pre-med.''
LESSON: Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life.
Obviously there are many people who contribute to this art form, but please, Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio... give us a simple thank you. Hire one of your screenwriters to craft an elegant moment of appreciation,
and spare us the shout-outs to your publicist, accountant, and dry-cleaner. The other 20 million of us would like to see Best Picture and get to bed at a decent hour.
Comments
Actually, the quote from Top Gun was "Ice" Val Kilmer telling "Maverick" Tom Cruise: "Your ego's writing checks your body can't cash."
Ice was sort of a rival, so maybe that lesson was lost.
But tell me, Larry: "Do you like movies about gladiators?"
Posted by: T.J. Brown | February 23, 2007 10:46 AM
Stand corrected T.J. Brown, the quote was from "Stinger" (aka James Tolkan) who was Maverick's commander on the carrier ;)
Posted by: J.T. Mauve | March 3, 2007 11:49 PM