15 Comments

Which James Stewart film to choose...?🤔

Gotta be Jefferson Smith's impassioned filibuster in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Modern trailer: https://youtu.be/bXoF7w6IWAc?si=mqw-R3dsaQZfcORw

Spoiler scene: https://youtu.be/s6UbYHCkoZs?si=oXrkwc8uQ1ZmAD_p

Expand full comment

Well, now. I'll just have to add that to my watch list.

Expand full comment

Yes. It's one of my all time favorites and so perfect for the days we're living in.

Expand full comment

And the winner this week was Jefferson Smith's trip to Washington. See you all tomorrow.

Expand full comment

Oh man. First thing that comes to mind (& thus keeping me from thinking of any other possible options..) is William Wallace's Freedom speech. Short, to the point, unforgettable.

I'm sure there are soooo many good ones that I just cant identify at the moment lol

final answer

Expand full comment

Oh I actually have an answer for this one!

John Quincy Adams' speech at the end of Amistad was the only thing that made watching that hard movie worthwhile for me (well, that and the historical, educational aspect).

Youtube split it into two clips:

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DqV2aWYt-A

Part 2:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7BjqVD3I6Q

Expand full comment

Admittedly, the speech wasn't written for the movie, but there is no greater inspirational speech than the St. Crispin Day Speech from Shakespeare's Henry V ("We few, we happy few, we band of brothers".) And the best version of that was performed by Kenneth Branaugh in his 1989 adaptation of the film. (Sorry, Larry O.) If you don't believe me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-yZNMWFqvM&t=8s

Expand full comment

Alex Kendrick's final speech in Courageous.

And a note - I never get notifications about conversations here, even though my profile is set to send me notifications. What can I do to help that? I'll try to remember to check back here to see if someone answers!

Expand full comment

Oh! And also, under notifications it should have all your apps listed and you can turn notifications on or off for each one. Make sure Substack is turned on.

Expand full comment

I think you have to change it in your phone settings. For example, when I get notifications on my phone, they will only remain on my screen a few seconds before they disappear. When in lock mode, I can see all the notifications that came in displayed in a row, but if I left my phone open (I think it takes about 5 minutes for it to lock on its own), I won’t see any of the notifications that came in during that time. I have to go look for them. Does that make sense?

Look at your phone settings and see what you have set up under notifications.

Expand full comment

Thank you - I can't find anything about Substack in my settings - on my computer. Which might be part of the problem - I only check this on my computer, not on my phone.

Expand full comment

Do you get email notifications? I don't use the Substack app but always get an email whenever a like or comment goes up.

Expand full comment

I do get email notifications if someone responds to my reply. But I don't get notified if someone else replies.

Expand full comment

I've been debating this one in my head all week. I really wanted to say Billy Bob Thornton in the Friday Night Lights locker room scene, but I can't. He doesn't convey the passion that Kyle Chandler always did in the spinoff tv series (in this instance I definitely prefer the latter to the original). I want to love that scene but it feels flat, and maybe it's a flat performance or maybe it's just that Billy Bob is not my favorite coach (or maybe I'm just being too critical).

There are so many great and worthy answers here already, sooo, I'm going in a totally different direction (stick with me)! My pick is Dan Ackroyd as Vic Frohmeyer in Christmas With the Kranks. He steps up and inspires the neighborhood to help out the Kranks. Cheesy Christmas movie, but Vic's speech is a sweet spot.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=tLmpO9Ryt9c&feature=shared

Expand full comment

Tough call, but I’m going with a speech that earned it’s rightful place in our history books...

Gary Oldman plays Winston Churchill...

https://youtu.be/CXIrnU7Y_RU?si=YMuGKgsfGtc4JXo2

Churchill once said, "Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king. He is an independent force in the world. Abandoned by his party, betrayed by his friends, stripped of his offices, whoever can command this power is still formidable."

Clearly, he was right about that.

Expand full comment