# I know all the dialog to The Princess Bride... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841 "2007-10-24T18:16:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/1 "2007-10-24T18:16:38Z")
But why? What is it about certain movies that inspires that sort of attention? I don’t know anyone who claims to know all the dialog to, say, _Ella, Enchanted_ or _The Hills Have Eyes_. But there are certain TV shows and movies that seem to draw a certain sort of fan and a certain sort of attention from that fan, to the point that obscure references are traded freely, exact dialog is retained… what’s the X factor that makes a movie or TV show brain-sponge worthy[sup]\*[/sup]? - See what I did there? Eh? ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/2 "2007-10-24T18:19:43Z")
Quality of dialog? _The Princess Bride_ is funny, even after you’ve seen it 20-odd times. And hearing the lines from someone gets a chuckle. There’s also the point that some of the snappier lines are so very applicable to real life that it’s not out of place to quote them. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/3 "2007-10-24T18:25:57Z")
The dialog is clever, unique, and memorable. The movie lends itself to multiple viewings, much like other quotable movies, like _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_, _Clue_, _Spaceballs_, etc. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/4 "2007-10-24T18:45:56Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] What is it about certain movies that inspires that sort of attention? [/QUOTE] Because there are certain lines that are so memorable you like to toss them around in real life. My daughter and I love to quote lines from _Scrubs_ at each other…when she’s being a typical teenage smart-ass, I’ll point to my heart and then my head while quoting Ted “That hurt here, and here.” When she’s grumpy, I’ll go up and coo “I’m touching your creamy center!” She finally saw \*The Princess Bride \* all at one sitting…she didn’t understand why I referred to something as only mostly dead. Did anyone see _NCIS_ last week? They were throwing around the Dread Pirate Roberts syndrome to describe how a fairly young man seemed to be involved in terrorist plots going back decades. It’s a good movie. Lots of people enjoy it, and there’s enough one-liners that one can have a good time quoting them at people. ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/5 "2007-10-24T19:01:42Z")
Yep, there’s just something about yelling “you mocked me once, never do it again!” at someone. ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/6 "2007-10-24T19:08:58Z")
You know, I think it has something to do with the _nature_ of the writing, not merely its quality. This is a pretty big generalization, but I’d say that there are really two flavors of dialogue that can be written for a movie or stage play: The first, and more common, is dialogue written purely in the service of some larger aspect of the work. A given line needs to accomplish a task: maybe it needs to advance the plot, maybe it needs to illuminate a particular character or provide a particular actor with an opportunity to shine. Most dialogue writing is like this. It’s doesn’t mean that it’s bad, by any stretch of the imagination, but it mostly means that it isn’t memorable. _Frasier_ was, by and large, a skillfully written sitcom, but the dialogue was generally intended to advance the episode and series plots and provide a framework on which to hang the acting talents of the cast. Even if you watched _Frasier_ religiously, how many individual lines do you remember? Probably not many, because none of them were memorable of themselves; even dialogue like this \*is \*memorable, it is because they were _made_ memorable by the context and manner in which they were delivered. There’s nothing inherently brilliant about the words, “I’ll be back,” but they are memorable in their most famous context \*because of \* their context. The other kind of writing is the kind where the dialogue is written in such a way that the specific language in and of itself is part of the point. It’s dialogue as literature, even as poetry. Think of the lines in _The Princess Bride_. Very nearly every line of dialogue is utterly unique purely as language. The word choice, sentence structure, and avoidance of the cliche make that dialogue interesting even apart from the plot and the actors delivering it. I mean, think about it, even setting aside the most famous lines from the movie, there’s: “In my day, television was called _books_.” “So. It is down to you, and it is down to me.” “Tyrone, you know how much I love watching you work, but I’ve got my country’s 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder and Guilder to frame for it; I’m swamped.” “Have fun storming the castle!” “Your ears you keep and I’ll tell you why. So that every shriek of every child at seeing your hideousness will be yours to cherish. Every babe that weeps at your approach, every woman who cries out, “Dear God! What is that thing,” will echo in your perfect ears.” Every one of those lines is of value in and of itself. None depend on the inflection of the actor - oh, Falk and Shawn and Sarandon and Crystal and Elwes add something to each one, to be sure, but if you just put any one of those sentences on a piece of paper and handed it to a person who’s never seen _The Princess Bride_, the language of itself would have an impact on them. None of the lines are cliches; none of them are sentences you’d ever heard before. Watch a lesser film sometime, and count how many lines are stuffed in there just to move the plot, or reveal something about the character, and how many of them are stock phrases that can be plugged into any movie - “We need to get going.” “I’m not going in there.” “[Character name] is going to kill me.” Now watch _Bride_ and see how _few_ could be described in this way. The dialogue is always about finding a true but unique way to say something. Thus, since the particular language is unique and was created to have intrinsic value _as_ language, you remember it outside of its original context more readily. (I really like that movie). ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/7 "2007-10-24T19:17:40Z")
If I could tell you the x factor for that sort of thing, I would be running Universal Studios and making tons of money. And I still wouldn’t tell you. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/8 "2007-10-24T19:29:22Z")
Because lines like “Life IS pain, Highness. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something”…just…sing. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/9 "2007-10-24T20:00:03Z")
Inconceivable. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/10 "2007-10-24T20:24:26Z")
**storyteller** , you are well-named. What a lovely post outlining the nebulous “what _is_ that?” that is the Princess Bride. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/11 "2007-10-24T20:32:26Z")
Oh, well _said_, **storyteller0910** old chap. The dialogue in _Princess Bride_ is also written in such a way that much of it is applicable outside the context of the movie itself. Look at _Pirates of the Caribbean_. The rhythm and cleverness of the writing is superb IMO, but nearly all the lines are in service of the plot, even the memorable ones, like: > [@Barbossa](#): > > For too long I’ve been parched of thirst and unable to quench it. Too long I’ve been starving to death and haven’t died. I feel nothing. Not the wind on my face nor the spray of the sea. Nor the warmth of a woman’s flesh. You best start believing in ghost stories Miss Turner. You’re in one. As neat as I think it is, there’s just no easy way to quote it except when talking about the movie. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/12 "2007-10-25T00:43:15Z")
I dunno about that **Bosstone** ; the “You best start believing in ghost stories Miss Turner; You’re in one.” line is pretty memorable, as are other lines from that film. Hardly the worst offender (and your criticism most certainly applies much more to the two sequels, which are almost completely lacking in any such lines, and what is there is perfectly serviceable, nothing more). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/13 "2007-10-25T01:12:50Z")
[QUOTE=storyteller0910] This is a pretty big generalization, but I’d say that there are really two flavors of dialogue that can be written for a movie or stage play: \ Every one of those lines is of value in and of itself. None depend on the inflection of the actor - oh, Falk and Shawn and Sarandon and Crystal and Elwes add something to each one, to be sure, but if you just put any one of those sentences on a piece of paper and handed it to a person who’s never seen _The Princess Bride_, the language of itself would have an impact on them. None of the lines are cliches; none of them are sentences you’d ever heard before. [/QUOTE] An excellent, and insightful post, **teller**. But one other type of dialog comes to mind; it’s very rare, but quite memorable. It’s a combination of the first two types, and the opposite of both. I was reading something about Robert Stack a while ago. Apparently, when he first read the script for _Airplane_, he thought it was the worst thing he had ever read. He was probably right. Put this bit of dialog on paper and hand it to someone who’s never seen the movie: “Surely, you can’t be serious.” “I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley.” As text on a page, that sucks. But delivered in just the right way, it’s fantastic. There’s something about the utterly mundane words in what should be a hyperdramatic situation that works. And the brilliance of the writers and performers was in creating the situation to make the words jump out the way they do. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/14 "2007-10-25T01:37:56Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller] Inconceivable. [/QUOTE] You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/15 "2007-10-25T01:41:06Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] I dunno about that **Bosstone** ; the “You best start believing in ghost stories Miss Turner; You’re in one.” line is pretty memorable, as are other lines from that film. [/QUOTE] That’s my point, really. I just meant it as a further contrast to PB, which is both memorable and quotable. PotC is memorable but not very quotable. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/16 "2007-10-25T02:13:16Z")
Hello, my name is F., and I’ve never seen The Princess Bride in its entirety. D & R. I would merely like to offer one thing I believe about similar movies, e.g., Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Casablanca, Dr. Strangelove, etc. Many of us know every line because (as stated already) each line stands on its own. And yet, there is a coherence that makes the _nth_ line remind us of the _(n + 1)st_ line. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/17 "2007-10-25T02:24:00Z")
“I want my father back, you son of a bitch!” Movie dialogue doesn’t get any better than that. ---
**Author:** ![as\_u\_wish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@as\_u\_wish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/as_u_wish)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/18 "2007-10-25T02:28:14Z")
Isn’t it similar in music? No one can really define why some tunes are “catchy” and others, while equally “musical” and enjoyable to hear performed, don’t stick in your head for days. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/19 "2007-10-25T12:27:31Z")
[QUOTE=Frostillicus] “I want my father back, you son of a bitch!” Movie dialogue doesn’t get any better than that. [/QUOTE] Best sword fight scene in Moviedom. Period. Did you know Mandy was thinking of his dad, who died of cancer, during that scene? \*A Knight’s Tale \* has some good lines too. “It’s called a lance! Hellooooo!” ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/20 "2007-10-25T12:58:02Z")
I think it helps to be an adolescent when you first see the movie. My brothers and I quote _Fletch_ and _The Sunshine Boys_ to each other partly for the reasons mentioned above, and partly because they were part of our shared experience growing up. I’m not saying “Never mind! It’s the tea!” just because it might be tangentially related to whatever conversation we’re having, but because it’s part of our shared language. It’s a reference to all the other times I’ve put on a terrible Walter Matthau voice and shouted that line. It _helps_ to be an adolescent, but it’s not necessary. My wife and I quote _Cold Comfort Farm_ for about the same reason. One of the characters in that movie keeps repeating the mantra, “There have always been Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm”, which we started using as our metaphor for anybody (usually at work) who stupidly does things the way they’ve always been done. “Why does she make fifteen copies of that form instead of emailing it?” “Because ‘There have always been Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm!’”. It connects a line of memories back to the night we sat on our couch in our little apartment, watching the low-quality VHS someone leant us when we were first married. It’s a quotable line in and of itself, but it’s part of our language because it’s tied up with an important and emotionally intense part of our lives. Do you quote these lines to people you’re not very close to? I might sputter “Inconceivable!” to one of my co-workers, but it’s not the same as when I sputter to it my friend from college who I saw the movie with the first time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841.md?page=2)