20. “Fly, Fly, Fly” in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Ever since this iconic scene hit the big screen, it set the bar for how a movie should introduce a character like Hannibal Lecter.
The slow pacing builds toward an explosive chaotic conclusion. The camera is uncomfortably close to Anthony Hopkins’s face, forcing an intimacy that you really don’t want to have with someone like Hannibal Lecter.
By the time Clarice Starling runs out, you’re right there with her, unable to escape the dungeon quickly enough. It’s the kind of scene you can’t help but return to, again and again.
Related:The Best Serial Killer Movies of All Time, Ranked
19. “I Have a Competition in Me” in There Will Be Blood (2007)
There Will Be Blood’smilkshake scene is its most known, but this scene is the one that defines Daniel Plainview as a character. It reveals him as a complete misanthrope who’s motivated purely by greed and power.
He sees people only as obstacles and tools to manipulate, control, or do away with. As we come to learn, this applies even to his own son.
Related:The Best Movies About Obsession and Ambition, Ranked
18. “One Hundred Nazi Scalps” in Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Quentin Tarantino knows how to make exposition entertaining, and this scene fromInglourious Basterdsis a prime example.
This is how you introduce a character while filling the audience in on what’s happening in a movie. This is “show, don’t tell”—but it’s also not. He just comes right out and says it, but it’s wrapped in fantastic dialogue and an epic performance.
Many writers treat exposition as a necessary evil that just needs to happen so the movie can continue. Tarantino turns exposition into one of the best scenes of the movie.
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17. “And It’s a Beautiful Day” in Fargo (1996)
This scene really wraps upFargoperfectly. Two opposite worlds collide, and neither can comprehend the other. It’s good and evil engaging in one-sided Midwestern small talk on the way to the police station.
Frances McDormand’s character can’t understand how a man could do such horrible things—and on a beautiful day, no less!
Meanwhile, the concept of a “beautiful day” is probably something that doesn’t exist for him.
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16. “Coffee Is for Closers” in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Glengarry Glen Rossonly has one scene with Alec Baldwin in it, but that one scene is the most iconic scene of the entire movie—and possibly the most iconic scene of Baldwin’s acting career.
Sure, he played Jack Donaghy on30 Rock—a strong contender for his most defining acting role—which is funny because you can almost seeGlengarry Glen Rossand30 Rockexisting in the same universe, with Jack Donaghy being an older version of Blake.
But Jack Donaghy would never have delivered a monologue as powerful, humiliating, and frightening as this one.
Related:The Best Movies About Jobs and Working in an Office
15. “You’re Nothing to Me Now” in The Godfather Part II (1974)
John Cazale is the actor who plays Fredo in the first twoGodfathermovies. He only made five feature films in his career, yet every one of those five movies is a timeless classic.
Cazale was a fantastic actor and I can only imagine what kind of performances the world missed out on due to his death at a relatively young age.
But if you judge his batting average against hisGodfatherco-stars, he clearly comes out on top in the end.
Related:The Best Scenes From The Godfather Movies, Ranked
14. “The Smell of Napalm in the Morning” in Apocalypse Now (1979)
No other actor appears in American Film Institute’s list of Top 100 American Movies more times than Robert Duvall. He’s great in everything he does—andApocalypse Nowis no exception.
Like the movie itself, this scene is often misunderstood. It has, unfortunately, excited as many people toward the idea of war as it has away from it.
In Francis Ford Coppola’s own words: “An anti-war film cannot glorify war, andApocalypse Nowarguably does. Certain sequences have been used to rev up people to be war-like.”
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13. Group Therapy in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
This isn’t just one of the greatest monologues of all time—it’s also one of the funniest movie monologues ever. This might be the greatest moment in Mike Myers' acting career.
This scene hasn’t lost any of the mojo it had when it first came out. He had a lot of great material before this, but sadly not much after.
Related:The Best Spy Movies for Espionage Thriller Fans, Ranked
12. The Gold Watch in Pulp Fiction (1994)
This scene accomplishes more than just being a self-contained piece of brilliant acting and writing. It also fills out the character of Butch in an interesting way, while providing another MacGuffin to tie intoPulp Fiction’salready unconventional plot.
Related:The Most Famous MacGuffin Examples in Movies, Explained
11. Father and Son in Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Call Me By Your Namegot a lot of hype when it was first released. Looking back, large portions of the film didn’t live up to that initial excitement—but the final monologue by Elio’s father took the cake.
A musing on life, time, and the fleeting nature of summer love, it’s a an insightful monologue that would benefit any and every teenager who’s wise enough to give it a listen.
Related:The Best Slice-of-Life Movies Where Nothing Really Happens
10. “A Particular Set of Skills” in Taken (2008)
InTaken, Liam Neeson created a forever memeable moment with this outstanding monologue spoken into a phone.
When he realizes that his daughter is about to be abducted, he warns her kidnappers in a legendarily badass way how bad the idea is for them to continue, ending with the most chilling threat:
Liam Neeson’s cadence makes it all the better, proving how great he is as an actor—as if that were ever in question.
Related:The Best Movies About Father-Daughter Relationships
9. “You’re Terrified of What You Might Say” in Good Will Hunting (1997)
Robin Williams put on one of the greatest performances of his career inGood Will Hunting, peaking with this single scene.
Here he plays Dr. Sean Maguire, a therapist for the brilliant but troubled Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon). Faced with his irreverent behavior, Dr. Maguire tries to communicate on a deeper level.
Wrapped in a somber mood, he talks about the experience of things as distinct from knowledge. It’s a showing of the old meeting the young, the wise educating the intelligent. It’s a monologue that earned an Oscar.
Related:The Best Dark Academia Movies, Ranked
8. “Don’t Give In to Nostalgia” in Cinema Paradiso (1988)
This monologue fromCinema Paradisowill hit you surprisingly hard if you’ve ever had to leave home and long for past times.
Just as Salvatore is about to leave home, Alfredo—who has lost his sight in a devastating fire—warns him about the dangers of nostalgia. He tells him to chase his dreams and to never turn back for homesickness.
By refusing him the opportunity to return in failure, he gives his protégé all he needs for success. It’s a touching final encounter between friends.
Related:The Best Classic Old Movies Everyone Should See, Ranked
7. “The Tales That Really Mattered” in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Where would Frodo have been without Samwise Gamgee? In some ways, Sam was the real hero ofThe Lord of the Rings.
In this rousing monologue, we’re shown just how much wisdom Sam had to share and how much support he had to offer. When Frodo asks what it’s all for, Sam lays out everything they’re fighting for.
When all seems lost, it’s Sam’s huge heart that still sees the light at the end of their dark journey. He drags victory from the jaws of defeat and he gives Frodo the strength to hope for a brighter day.
Related:The Best Lord of the Rings Movie Quotes, Ranked
6. “What Is It You Want, Mary?” in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
It’s a Wonderful Lifegave us one of the most tear-jerking monologues in cinema history, which is why it’s considered a timeless classic.
We’re first shown George Bailey talk about all of his hopes and dreams. That’s shortly followed by him telling Mary all of the things he can give to her—most of all, the moon itself.
It’s a charming scene with a monologue that reveals to us how George is too giving and too kind. He truly belongs with Mary, and by the end of the film, he comes to realize and accept that.
Related:Inspirational Movie Quotes on Life, Friendship, and Love
5. “You Can Shoot Me, But You Can’t Kill Me” in Training Day (2001)
Denzel Washington is one of the most underrated actors of his era, proven by his immense performance as Alonzo Harris.
In this climactic scene, he’s finally turned on by the hood from which he claims to hail. It causes him to break down, resulting in a monologue that’s breathtaking as Washington enunciates every syllable.
As a bonus, it also gave us the now iconic line: “King Kong ain’t got shit on me!” Legendary.
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4. The U.S.S. Indianapolis Speech in Jaws (1975)
Talk about character development! Quint’s dramatic turn from drunken sailor regaling old fishing stories to divulging the horrific origins of one of his scars is the stuff that cinema is made of.
On the U.S.S. Indianapolis, a torpedo puts all of his men into the water. It isn’t long before a shiver of sharks appears and starts picking off his men, one by one, down into the depths.
Between screams in the dark and blood in the water, it isn’t long before people start wondering if they’ll survive the night of horror. It’s all dramatically recounted in this spectacular monologue.
Related:The Best Movies About Sharks and Shark Attacks
3. “I Don’t Have Anything Big to Say” in Manchester By the Sea (2016)
Carey Mulligan isn’t inManchester By the Seafor long, but she does an amazing job stealing the show with this powerful portrayal of grief.
When Randi bumps into Lee on a walk, it stirs up old feelings. She knows that she has things to say, but can’t quite verbalize them.
Then, of course, it all tumbles out into one of the best written and exquisitely performed movie monologues of all time. Her voice choked with emotion, sure to reduce anyone watching to tears.
Related:The Best Movies About Forgiveness
2. Tears in Rain Monologue in Blade Runner (1982)
The ending scene fromBlade Runner—of the lead Replicant bad guy waxing philosophical in the rain—is still one of the most iconic scenes in movie history, let alone among sci-fi movies.
Apparently, Rutger Hauer wrote this speech on the fly in his trailer. He convinced director Ridley Scott, who wanted nothing to do with it, to sit down and give it a listen. Ridley Scott was, of course, blown away… and the rest is history.
Related:The Most Iconic Sci-Fi Movie Scenes
1. “Here’s Looking at You, Kid” in Casablanca (1942)
How could there be any other choice for best movie monologue than Rick Blaine’s iconic monologue inCasablanca?
Rick and Ilsa may have been desperately in love with each other, but that doesn’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. After Rick realizes this, he tells her that they can never be.
It’s one of the most heartbreaking monologues ever put to film, and it ends with one of the most classic lines ever uttered:
Though it inspired countless imitators, there has never been—nor will there ever be—a monologue as moving as the one inCasablanca. It’s a clear winner for best movie monologue of all time.
