# What is a movie that has good dialogue **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 6, 2013, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483 "2013-08-06T10:35:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/21 "2013-08-06T14:05:32Z")
My faves: Jim Jarmush “Dead Man” Oliver Stone “U Turn” Wim Wenders “Until the End of the World” Also, very good dialogues in Bladerunner, Gladiator and The Matrix. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/22 "2013-08-06T15:04:26Z")
For artificial witty dialogue that supports a good movie too, I love _All About Eve_. For realistic dialogue, I often think to a not-very-good movie called _The Real Blonde_ with Matthew Modine, Catharine Keener, and Daryl Hannah. As I said, the movie isn’t very good but there is one scene where a couple gets into an argument and it just flows perfectly to how I’ve experienced those stupid arguments only couples can have. Albert Brooks’s _Lost in America_ also did that in the scene at Hoover Dam. I don’t know why but seeing a movie realistically capture that kind of argument gives me a thrill and sticks in my brain for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/23 "2013-08-06T17:25:19Z")
The 70’s Jack Nicholson classics…films he did before he became a caricature. A few examples…The Last Detail…Five Easy Pieces…Chinatown…One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest…Carnal Knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/24 "2013-08-06T17:28:11Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > You only hear about people criticizing a movie for having bad dialogue > > who has written “good dialogue”? A lot of films have been mentioned already, so I’ll throw in a couple that haven’t yet: _To Have and Have Not The Maltese Falcon The Big Sleep_ and for a dark horse selection _The Matrix_ and for writers in general, I’ll throw in David Mamet. And speaking of the Matrix, yeah, The Wachowski… Siblings(?) what do they go by now?). Not up there with the Coen Bros, but good stuff as well. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/25 "2013-08-06T17:29:54Z")
And the greatest line of dialog ever… “My name is Pussy…Pussy Galore.” ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/26 "2013-08-06T17:33:30Z")
Joss Whedon (The Avengers, Firefly, and lots of TV shows) and Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, The American President, and TV shows like West Wing) are frequently praised for their snappy dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/27 "2013-08-06T17:34:42Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > You beat me too it. > > I actually think the original star wars trilogy has some pretty great dialogue, but a lot of it seems limited to one-liners that stuck with us. > [@madsircool](#): > > And the greatest line of dialog ever… > > “My name is Pussy…Pussy Galore.” I don’t think a one-liner can ever qualify as dialogue. For something to be a dialogue, it has to be an exchange between two or more people, that’s why it’s called dialogue. If all you remember is something that one person said, it can’t be great dialogue, it’s just a great line in what perhaps might be otherwise not very noteworthy dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/28 "2013-08-06T17:36:04Z")
**Bull Durham.** ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/29 "2013-08-06T17:53:10Z")
Not yet mentioned: _Hopscotch Silver Streak_ ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/30 "2013-08-06T18:12:48Z")
> [@bump](#): > > IANA film buff, but I tend to think there are really 2 schools of “good dialogue”. There’s the snappy repartee sort that people think of - the Tarantino / Whedon / Kevin Smith stuff, and then there’s the sort of dialogue where it’s accurate enough in the context that it doesn’t pull you out of the setting. It’s “believable” for lack of a better term. It’s also almost the opposite of the snappy repartee kind of thing; while I enjoy the banter in say… Kevin Smith movies, nobody actually talks like that in real life. What I’m talking about is the ones where the dialogue is written such that it’s absolutely believable that those words would come out of that character’s mouth at that moment. > > The latter one’s hard to think of a good example- it’s kind of chameleonic by nature, but I’m sure someone else has a good example to post. I think Mike Leigh is a good example of what you’re talking about. The dialogue isn’t not necessarily snappy or witty (although it certainly can be), but very realistic and helpful in building character and illustrating why they behave like they do. ETA: Suggested movies: **Secrets and Lies** , **Happy-Go-Lucky** , **Topsy Turvy** , **Another Year**. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/31 "2013-08-06T18:19:57Z")
I’d go with pretty much anything by the Coen Brothers. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/32 "2013-08-06T18:22:30Z")
**Before Sunrise** , **Before Sunset** , **Before Midnight** were all exceptionally well written. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/33 "2013-08-06T19:22:03Z")
**1776** ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/34 "2013-08-06T19:52:45Z")
**The Women** - The original, not the recent remake. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/35 "2013-08-06T20:00:03Z")
All About Eve Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Inherit the Wind The Lion in Winter Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/36 "2013-08-06T20:01:57Z")
I’ll go ahead and 2nd or 3rd or whatever anything by Tarantino and Coen brothers as great examples of good dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/37 "2013-08-06T21:08:30Z")
The first movie that came to mind for me was the previously mentioned _A Few Good Men_. I think that movies made from plays tend to have some of the best dialogue, since the playwright can’t use movie tricks and must rely almost entirely on the dialogue to convey his story. _A Few Good Men_ started as a play, as did _Glengarry Glen Ross_ and _Inherit the Wind_ among others. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/38 "2013-08-06T21:16:31Z")
Man I don’t understand why people like Tarantino. I think there’s a good reason most movies don’t have the characters blather on about mcdonalds and irrelevant s— for 30 minutes ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/39 "2013-08-06T21:22:13Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > **Glengarry Glen Ross** has some great dialog, IMO. I’d say more monologue than dialogue but that’s just getting into semantics. Or is it? ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483/40 "2013-08-06T21:25:48Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > Man I don’t understand why people like Tarantino. I think there’s a good reason most movies don’t have the characters blather on about mcdonalds and irrelevant s— for 30 minutes And that is because most people aren’t capable of writing that so that lots of people will enjoy listening to it. He doesn’t always succeed but he does more than most others. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-movie-that-has-good-dialogue/665483.md?page=3)