Inspirational Speeches in Movies

Oh we love a good "pick the troops up" speech in a movie, don't we! Also known as the St. Crispin's Day speech, my favourite one is actually a very quiet affair in the excellent but ignored, Serenity. But I want to start with an actual St. Crispin's Day Speech delivered by the amazing Billy Zane in Tombstone.
Background: Billy and his acting troupe have landed in the ominous and aptly named Tombstone to entertain the locals. Unfortunately for him, the locals include one of the most notorious gangs of the wild west, The Cowboys, who are just as likely to shoot you as they are to poke fun at you. Zane's courage and delivery wins them over. Well done Billy:

Gotta have some Aaron Sorkin. When it comes to speeches, the man is a master. I don't know if this is his best one (his television shows are an embarrassment of riches) but given the current climate (and President) I think this needs to be in here.

Background: President Andy Shepard (Michael Douglas) has seen his numbers drop in recent months because he started dating lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening). The Republican candidate, Bob Rumson (a brilliantly smarmy Richard Dreyfuss) has been scoring points with "judgemental America". Sydney has just dumped The President because, in order to keep his job he's thrown her job under the bus. He realises he was wrong and sets about making it right.

Next up, Alien 3. Now, you probably hate this movie (if you do, you're wrong) but you cannot deny the delivery here.
Background: After Ripley crash lands on Fiorina 161 she is rescued by the locals. Sadly for her the locals are prisoners and they are all terrible. Dillon (Charles S. Dutton) is the leader of the pack and when an Alien starts picking them off, Ripley formulates a plan to kill it. Unfortunately for her, most of the inmates hate her. Fortunately for her, Dillon has her back...



Return of the King. This one doesn't get enough love. It's an odd one because it's in one of the most successful movies ever made and it's a fantastic piece of acting by Viggo Mortensen. Well I'm happy to give it some love here.
Background: Frodo and Sam are deep in Mordor trying to destroy the one ring. Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli lead their troops to the Black Gate of Mordor to call out the Dark Lord. It's all a ruse to by Frodo time. The numbers are against them, they cannot win. Nobody told Aragorn!

This next speech is more motivational than inspirational but I think it deserves a spot on my list because of the wonderful delivery and dark humour.

Background: O-Ren Ishii (a brilliant Lucy Liu) has taken over "the council" and one of her peers is less than happy. She listens to his concerns before responding in deadly fashion. Truly memorable stuff:

Let's up the cheese factor, shall we. Independence Day isn't a great movie but when it landed in the mid 90's it was the absolute bollocks! It hasn't aged very well though and when you read the dialogue of this speech you'll wonder how it made it to final draft. It's to Bill Pullman's credit that he, almost, makes it work.

The movie, Pearl Harbour is an abject lesson in how NOT to do inspiration because if you thought Bill Pullman's effort above was risible well you ain't seen nothing yet. Endurance points if you make it to the end of this puke-fest:

                                     
Did you make it? :)

Moving on. Sports movies generally have their speeches right before the final fight or match, depending on the sport and they're generally pretty good. Some of them are low key affairs but the best ones start out quiet with the speechmaker adding something human to the mix, usually personal loss or failings and it all ends with a defiant "yes we can" moment from all involved. The best of these is delivered by Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday. Enjoy:

How do we top that one? Well, I think most people recognise this next one is the best one. I saw this in the cinema back in the 90's and the place went nuts. It's the only time I went to a movie where there was a standing ovation when it was over and the moment it went from enjoyable romp to cast iron classic was when Mel delivered this speech. It's absolute perfection and the fact that it's wormed its way into popular culture (along with Freeedooooom) is no surprise.
Background: The English have been butchering the Scots for long enough. William Wallace thinks he can take them but he needs the Scottish army to stick together. I nearly signed up for the fuckin' 'RA when I heard this:

And finally my personal favourite. I love this because of how it's delivered. No shouting. No chest beating. Just a steely determination and total commitment to his beliefs. Yes, I love the characters far too much but I'm able to dial that back and analyse it without bias and I think Nathan Fillion's delivery is top notch. I also adore the writing. The lighting on our hero isn't bad either.
Background: The crew of Serenity have uncovered a government secret that could potentially take down The Alliance... if they can survive a suicide run against impossible odds to deliver the message:

Feel free to share your favourites!

Cheers,

G.