“Frankly, I hate dialogue,”

[re'up]

I like long stretches with no lines, or minimal lines, in movies like Terrence Malick's Song to Song, or Knight of Cups

beautiful images, and music, and acting, just little mumbled lines here and there can convey a lot, and be breathtaking

but so can great writing. I have an outline of a movie, like extremely violent, but also beautifully shot, landscapes and sunsets, and striking images like speedboats going over waves, executions--with minimal actual dialouge.

directors just start saying nonsense from time to time, it's part of being in Hollywood. Watch he will do some bizarre movie next. Some book he read from the 1920's or something.

 

[Neuromancer]

im glad he said it because i knew i wasnt crazy thinking most movies now try to get by on atmosphere and visuals. i like to read books so i like dialogue.

Movies are a story telling medium, anyone who doesn't like dialogue won't be able to tell a good story.

 

[Scustin Bieburr]

These are all old movies. What recent movies do you remember because of one line?

"Let them fight" godzilla remake.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it!" The Dark Knight
"Witness me!" Mad max fury road
"Perfectly balanced, as all things should be" avengers infinity war
"Yeah, I'm thinking I'm back" John wick


And I could quote Oppenheimer but it doesn't count since he actually said that shyt.

 

[MenacingMonk]

Movie quotes are the first thing people remember from films.

Edit: this the same guy who did Arrival where Renner said that dumbass “let’s make a baby” line. Only thing I remember from that okay movie.

 

[Bar Razor]

These are all old movies. What recent movies do you remember because of one line?

On your left
Perfectly balanced, as all things should be
All that for a drop of blood
I am Iron Man
That's my secret Cap I'm always angry
Vengeance has consumed you, it's consuming them. I'm done letting it consume me
Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from the ships cause they knew death was better than bondage

 

[MajesticLion]

He has his preference


There's no reason you can't have every-picture-a-painting AND good dialogue in the same flick.

 

[Space Cowboy]

Agreed. Dialogue is ruining video games as well.

 

[010101]

all aesthetic*

 

[Space Cowboy]

"I don't remember movies because of a good line"

Listen I fukk with dudes movies but that's a depressing thing to say. That's some adhd brain shyt right there.

Jules quoting scripture in pulp fiction
"You are a plague, and we are the cure" from the matrix or really anything agent Smith says when he starts talking his shyt.
"Yipee Kiii yay motherfukker" from die hard?
"Hasta la Vista baby" from terminator 2?

There are people who don't speak ANY English but then when they find out you're American they just start quoting their favorite movies to you. Does dude actually live on Arrakis and doesn't know about iconic movie lines?

While true, the dialogue doesn't make the movie. It enhances it.

It also depends on the genre and the movie you're trying to convey. Pulp Fiction is in the same tradition as something like Breathless where the dialogue is intimate. So I do think it's important for some films, especially if they involve comedy.

But I don't think of dialogue when I think of Terminator 2 or Die Hard. I think of the metallic cop terminator android chasing them and being shot and then his shape reforming. I think of Bruce Willis running on glass. Terminator 2 especially is a highly visual cinematic romp. Let me get this straight. The first thing you think of when you think Terminator 2 is "Hasta la vista, baby" and not the car chase?



If anything, whatever dialogue there is in this is only there to create a break in the action and simmer tension.

Watch this scene from Heat. It's the scene from Heat: the bank robbery. Dialogue is present but it's not the most important element. It's supplementary to help add realism but you're not watching this scene for the dialogue.



Watch this from Godfather II.



Yeah, the dialogue is fantastic. But when I think of this scene I don't think of the dialogue so much. I remember the visual of Michael by himself at the dinner table. I think of Michael sitting by himself alone after Fredo is killed as the lines in his face reveal themselves.

Watch this opening scene from Once Upon A Time In The West.



While he is operating on an extreme, I agree with his point. Film is memorable because of the images, first and foremost. Artistically, dialogue has a place. But dialogue in and of itself rarely makes the movie.

Old movies did not always rely on dialogue to tell a story. More and more, films overly rely on dialogue and witty lines. It is insulting to the craft unless you're a Tarantino or a Godard.

Movie quotes are the first thing people remember from films.

Edit: this the same guy who did Arrival where Renner said that dumbass “let’s make a baby” line. Only thing I remember from that okay movie.

i think he's arguing from the stand point of a creator. As a highly visual person and artist movie quotes are definitely not the first thing I remember from films.

 

[PoorAndDangerous]

The issue is most writers are ass. A lot of the lines you all are saying are memorable only because of the actor performing them, not because they’re well written (aside from Tarantino who is probably the best dialog writer ever) it’s better to show and not tell if possible in film. I don’t fully agree with Denis but y’all in here trying to shyt on a GOAT-Tier director is laughable Jon Spaights is one of the best sci-fi writers in film, and Taylor Sheridan wrote Sicario. It isn’t like he’s not putting any value in dialogue. 70% of Dune is internal monologues and I think it would’ve been a terrible decision to try to do that.

“I’ll be back” is not some Shakespearean level work

 

[Space Cowboy]

To corroborate and expand upon my point, here's the climax of Jurassic Park.



Yeah, the movie has a lot of fun dialogue and one liners, but you know what I remember? The sound of the raptors talons hitting the floor. The image of the girl scared shytless when the dinosaurs makes her jello shake from fear. Movies are most iconic tying sound to a visual. What you remember is the EXPERIENCE of watching a movie and dialogue is not a part of the experience except in few cases.

 

[Ironman]

It's like your opinion man

 

[Space Cowboy]

Also, Villeneuve, I have my own movie in my head that doesn't have a single line of dialogue. I'm going to beat you to it.

 

[RamsayBolton]

 

[FlyRy]

Movies are a story telling medium, anyone who doesn't like dialogue won't be able to tell a good story.

Well he's put out nothing but bangers for the past decade plus. He's on an all-time heater