One of popular culture's most storied and successful brands of film, several prominent greatest war movies of all time have also played host to some of cinema's most quotable characters.

These memorable individuals have produced a number of immortal pieces of dialogue over the years, taking credit for the best quotes that can be found throughout cinema's most iconic war movies. Typically uttered with pitch-perfect timing and delivery, these superb soundbites often serve to perfectly exemplify the movie's aura, while simultaneously inviting poignant introspection on the very nature of armed conflict itself.

15 “James…Earn This.”

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

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Saving Private Ryan
Release Date
July 24, 1998
Runtime
169 minutes
Director
Steven Spielberg

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Tom Hanks stars as Captain John Miller in Steven Spielberg's 1998 WWII film. Saving Private Ryan tells the story of Miller's command of a company of soldiers who risk their lives in an attempt to extricate Private James Ryan from the fighting in Europe, in order to spare his family from losing all of their sons after Ryan's brothers are killed in the war. Matt Damon, Edward Burns,  and Tom Sizemore also star. 

Writers
Robert Rodat
Main Genre
War
Studio(s)
DreamWorks Distribution
Distributor(s)
DreamWorks Distribution, Paramount Pictures

Closing arguably the greatest war movie ever made in unforgettable fashion, Captain Miller's dying words after American reinforcements arrive to turn the tide of Saving Private Ryan's climactic battle sequence is the film's most memorable piece of dialogue. Mortally wounded after one of cinema's best last stand scenes, Tom Hanks' charge implores Matt Damon's James Ryan to "earn this" before tragically succumbing to his wounds.

Highlighting the immense sacrifice that went into saving Private Ryan, the quote also serves as a heartbreaking farewell to one of the genre's most beloved characters. It's a tear-jerking quote emblematic of the horrendous human cost associated with WWII, a fitting state of affairs for a movie lauded as one of the most authentic depictions of war ever conceived.

14 “Now I Want You To That No Bastard Ever Won A War By Dying For His Country.”

Patton (1970)

Patton - Poster

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Patton
PG
Biography
Drama
History
War
Release Date
April 2, 1970
Runtime
172 Minutes
Director
Franklin J. Schaffner
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    George C. Scott
  • Headshot Of Karl Malden
    Karl Malden

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming

Patton is a biographical war film that chronicles the career of General George S. Patton during World War II. Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, the 1970 film stars George C. Scott as the controversial and outspoken military leader. The story provides a detailed of Patton's triumphs and troubles within the U.S. Army, highlighting his leadership in key battles and his complex personality.

Writers
Ladislas Farago, Omar N. Bradley, Francis Ford Coppola, Edmund H. North
Main Genre
Biography

George C. Scott utterly loses himself in his performance as the eponymous general in 1970's Patton, perfectly capturing the real-life individual's ruthless discipline and mercurial nature. While Scott produces some masterful work in his Academy Award-winning bow, no piece of dialogue better exemplifies his character's nature than his very first line of the movie, delivered in an epic monologue against the backdrop of the American flag.

Opening the movie with a bang, "Old Blood-and-Guts" delivers his seminal line, before concluding his explanation in emblematic fashion of the legendary soldier: "He won it by making some other dumb bastard die for his country." Serving as the perfect introduction to this inimitable individual, the superb quote highlights Patton's no-nonsense personality in sharp relief.

13 “If I’m Gonna Die, I Want To Die Comfortable.”

The Hurt Locker (2008)

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The Hurt Locker
Release Date
July 31, 2009
Runtime
131 minutes
Director
Kathryn Bigelow

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From director Kathryn Bigelow comes The Hurt Locker, the 2008 oscar winning war thriller film that follows Jeremy Renner as Sergeant William James and his bomb disposal team as they navigate beyond enemy lines during the Iraq War. The movie explores the trauma and stresses the soldiers face as they attempt to disarm active explosives on the field, with the repercussions beginning to take their toll on the squates.

Writers
Mark Boal
Studio(s)
Summit Entertainment
Distributor(s)
Summit Entertainment

Winning six Academy Awards, 2008's The Hurt Locker is regarded as one of the greatest war movies of all time, even if the film was criticized by many military experts. Kathryn Bigelow's movie features an electrifying lead performance from Jeremy Renner as Sergeant William James; a prolific bomb disposal expert who is soon revealed to be an adrenaline fiend.

Confronted with a car boot groaning under enough explosives to blow him to hell, James demonstrates the extent of his complete disregard for his own safety. The soldier removes his protective gear to allow him to work quicker, wryly remarking there's "enough bang in there to send us all to Jesus" before delivering the soundbite that perfectly encapsulates his daredevil nature.

12 “This Is Sparta!”

300 (2007)

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300
Release Date
March 9, 2007
Runtime
117 minutes
Director
Zack Snyder
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Vincent Regan
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Giovanni Cimmino

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Loosely based on Frank Miller's comic series of the same name, Zack Snyder's 300 tells the legend of the historical battle of Thermopylae. It follows King Leonidas of Sparta (Gerard Butler) as he leads a small force of 300 Spartans against the amassed Persian army of 300,000. Meanwhile, his wife Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) remains in Sparta to negotiate reinforcements against political resistance.

Writers
Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, Michael B. Gordon
Main Genre
Action
Studio(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Distributor(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures

Depicting a fictionalized take on the Battle of Thermopylae, Zack Snyder's 300 is widely viewed as one of the best sword-and-sandals movies ever made. Gerard Butler's Leonidas turns in a litany of iconic war movie one-liners, but his foremost soundbite comes in the movie's early goings, as he ruthlessly disposes of a Persian emissary demanding a Spartan surrender.

Confronted with Spartan swords, the panicked Persian reasons that "This is madness!" only for Leonidas to set the score straight with his unforgettable quote before dispatching him. Things don't get much more Spartan than gleefully booting a diplomatic messenger into a bottomless pit, underlining the Greek warriors' indomitable nature and seamlessly setting the tone for the movie to follow.

11 “Ideals Are Peaceful. History Is Violent.”

Fury (2014)

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Fury
Release Date
October 17, 2014
Runtime
135 Minutes
Director
David Ayer

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming

Brad Pitt stars as tank commander Don "Wardaddy" Collier in David Ayer's war movie Fury. Set during the end of World War II, the film follows the Allied forces breaking through into Nazi as Don and his crew pilot their tank known as Fury into enemy lines in gruesome battles to capture critical stronghold points and help secure victory in the war.

Writers
David Ayer
Studio(s)
Sony
Distributor(s)
Sony

Chronicling WWII's endgame from the perspective of a US Sherman tank crew, David Ayer's Fury is a front-runner for one of the best war movies of the century. Painting a harrowing and graphic picture of the brutal conflict, the movie relentlessly stresses that "war is hell," a state of affairs summarized in sublime fashion by a piece of dialogue from Brad Pitt in one of his finest war movies.

Showing Logan Lerman's Ellison a roomful of dead German aristocrats who had committed suicide to avoid capture, Pitt's Wardaddy offers up his iconic one-liner as rationale to hammer Ayer's message home with merciless pragmatism. Later history books might show that the town was taken with no violence, but the roomful of corpses tells a different story.

10 “You Are Never Out Of The Fight.”

Lone Survivor (2013)

lone-survivor

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Lone Survivor
Release Date
December 25, 2013
Runtime
121 minutes
Director
Peter Berg

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Lone Survivor is a dramatization of the United States Navy SEALs' Operation Red Wing, an unsuccessful military operation that aimed to track down the leader of the Taliban. The film follows the four-man SEAL team, and the danger and psychological strain they faced on their mission.

Writers
Peter Berg
Studio(s)
Universal Pictures
Distributor(s)
Universal Pictures

Unsurprisingly, for a film paying tribute to the real-life bravery of US Navy SEALs, 2013's Lone Survivor heavily features a common saying among these elite soldiers: "I am never out of the fight." Spoken by Marcus Luttrell at the beginning and end of the movie, the rousing one-liner is also Michael Murphy's last quote before his heroic sacrifice, exposing himself to a hail of Taliban gunfire to regain communications in a moment that never fails to elicit goosebumps.

Even after the horrific extent of his ordeal, the rousing quote is also what brings Marcus back from the brink of death. Perfectly encapsulating the spectacular bravery and steadfast resilience of these near-superhuman soldiers, there's arguably no better quote that exemplifies SEAL culture.

9 “…They May Take Our Lives, But They’ll Never Take Our Freedom!”

Braveheart (1995)

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Braveheart
R
Biography
Drama
History
Release Date
May 24, 1995
Runtime
178 Minutes
Director
Mel Gibson

WHERE TO WATCH

Writers
Randall Wallace
Main Genre
Biography
Studio(s)
Paramount Pictures
Distributor(s)
Paramount Pictures

In of quotes that are arguably more famous than their parent movie at this point in proceedings, William Wallace's imioned battle cry in 1995's Braveheart serves as the quintessential example. A prevalent staple of popular culture almost three decades later, Mel Gibson's charge roars the piece of dialogue to rally the Scottish forces for battle against the English.

A textbook battlefield pep talk that also forms the basis of Wallace's final words, it's near-impossible not to get pumped up as the Scot concludes his speech with this fierce line against the backdrop of James Horner's stirring score. The quote is now virtually synonymous with Scotland and the country's fierce desire for independence, serving as the perfect tribute to Wallace himself; glaring historical inaccuracies aside, that is.

8 “One Shot Is All It’s About.”

The Deer Hunter (1978)

The Deer Hunter Movie Poster

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The Deer Hunter
Release Date
February 23, 1979
Runtime
184 Minutes
Director
Michael Cimino

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The Deer Hunter is a 1978 war drama film by director Michael Cimino that centers on three men in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania during the Vietnam War. The film explores the effects of the war on small-town workers, with the trio of Russian-American friends bonding over one last hunting trip. Holding onto the hope of bringing home militaristic glory back to their friends and families, their reality quickly comes crashing down when they experience the war in Vietnam firsthand.

Writers
Deric Washburn, Michael Cimino, Louis Garfinkle, Quinn K. Redeker
Studio(s)
EMI Films
Distributor(s)
Universal Pictures

One of the best war movies of the 1970s, The Deer Hunter is a devastating examination of the mental scars left by war. The movie's immortal soundbite is used to demonstrate the characters' journey from the quote's first appearance to its last; first featuring when Mike and Nick discuss the humane way to kill a deer, before returning in the movie's final game of Russian Roulette.

De Niro's charge uses memories of their hunting trips to try and bring Christopher Walken's shell-shocked character back from the brink, compounding the tragedy when his dear friend still shoots himself. The quote's most devastating aspect is that it reveals that Nick finally recognized Mike in his last seconds, but was so broken by his experiences that he pulled the trigger anyway.

7 “Each And Every Man Under My Command Owes Me 100 Nazi Scalps…And I Want My Scalps!”

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

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Inglourious Basterds
Release Date
August 21, 2009
Runtime
153 minutes

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In Nazi-occupied , a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" execute a mission to terrorize the Third Reich. Simultaneously, a young Jewish cinema owner plots to kill Nazi leaders attending a premiere at her theater. Both plans converge in a high-stakes showdown filled with action and revenge​.

Main Genre
War
Studio(s)
Universal Pictures
Distributor(s)
Universal Pictures

A front-runner for the most quotable war movie character of all time, Brad Pitt's Aldo Raine serves as the leader of the eponymous group of Jewish-American soldiers in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. Raine explains the mission to his men with an unforgettable speech, turning in one of the single greatest introductory monologues in the history of cinema.

Demanding that each soldier kill and defile 100 Nazis in non-negotiable fashion, Raine's orders capture a perfect snapshot of the man's ruthless nature; he is called "Aldo the Apache," after all. The quote also serves to remind audiences of Tarantino's penchant for graphic excess; is there a better exemplification of the director's love for spectacular violence than the visual of 100 bloody human scalps?

6 “This Is My Safety.”

Black Hawk Down (2001)

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Black Hawk Down
R
War
Drama
History
Release Date
January 18, 2002
Runtime
144 minutes
Director
Ridley Scott

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming

Black Hawk Down recounts the harrowing true story of a U.S. military mission gone awry in Somalia. Tasked with capturing a warlord, elite soldiers find themselves in a fierce battle against Somali militia forces.

Writers
Ken Nolan

Turned in by Eric Bana's Delta Force operator Norm "Hoot" Gibson, Black Hawk Down's "This is my safety" line is arguably the acclaimed 2001 movie's most iconic piece of dialogue. Chastised for failing to place the safety catch on his assault rifle, Hoot deadpans the immortal line in ice-cool fashion while motioning a trigger finger squeeze in the irate face of Jason Isaacs' Captain Steele.

Providing an intriguing window into the procedure-be-damned personality of arguably the movie's most memorable character, Bana's slick one-liner spawned countless memes and parodies that are still doing the rounds to this day. Tactfully defying a stuck-up superior officer is likely the stuff of soldiers' dreams, a daydream given life by Hoot's classic soundbite in one of Ridley Scott's best movies.