Do you have a favourite quote?

I have one. It is the first one below. Maybe it is of dubious taste. I don´t know. It is only a very short exchange but I think it does convey a lot. It is taken from what I think is one of the most emotional Vietnam movies. I´m sure many of you know it.

Movie 1

“Sir, I don’t know how to tell this story.”
“Well you have to, Joe. You tell the American people what happened here. You tell them how my troopers died.”
“Yes sir.”

Got it? No, no, don´t worry. It is not over yet. I´m only just starting. Here are another few for you to puzzle over. Solutions follow as well.

Movie 2

“We gotta play with more bullets.”
“What?”
“More bullets… ”
[gunshot]
“I gotta get more bullets in the gun.”
“What?”
“We gotta play with more bullets.”
“More bullets in the gun?”
“More bullets in the gun.”
“How many more bullets?”
“Three. That means we gotta play each other.”
“More bullets against each other?”
“We gotta do it! ”
“What? Are you Crazy?”
“Nicky, it’s the only way. I’ll pick the moment. The game goes until I move. When I start shootin’, go for the nearest guard, get his gun and zap the fucker!”
“I’m not ready for this! ”
“You gotta listen to me… You wanna stay down here and die? Go on. It’s up to you. Now it’s up to you.”
“NOOOOOOOO!”
“Hey! Him against me! Side by side! Side by side!”
“Get away! Get away!”
“Side by side! Me and him! Me against him!”

Movie 3

“They burned the flag and they demonstrated against us; it’s on the cover of the paper today. They have no respect. They have no idea what’s going on over there, Mom – the men that are sacrificing their lives. People are dying every day over there, and nobody back here even seems to care. It’s a bunch of goddamn shit if you ask me!”
“Ronnie, don’t take the Lord’s name in vain – not in front of the children. I agree with everything you say!”
“I served my country – and they just want to take from it – just take, take! Love it or leave it, that’s what I think.”

Movie 4

“Go back to your son. Make him the best son you can. That is the war you must fight. That is the victory you must win!”

Movie 5

“I just want to begin by saying to Roosevelt E. Roosevelt, what it is, what it shall be, what it was. The weather out there today is hot and shitty with continued hot and shitty in the afternoon. Tomorrow a chance of continued crappy with a pissy weather front coming down from the north. Basically, it’s hotter than a snake’s ass in a wagon rut.”

Movie 6

“You took an oath, Mr. Cole. You, too, Mr. Grafton. You took an oath to defend the constitution and obey the orders of the officers appointed over you. It’s the same oath that every officer in the navy has taken for damn near 200 years. And during all that time, the military has obeyed the civilian elected government. Now, they might not have always been right, or wise… or even smart, but they were elected. Any other way and the United States would be nothing more than another two-bit military dictatorship.”
“ Why did you do this, Cole? An officer with your fine record? Did you think you were going to win the war?”
“Frankly, sir, I think we’re going to lose this one. But I do love the work.”
“ Mr. Cole, you may find that amusing, but we don’t. Gentlemen, this is our country you’re messing with. Well, Mr. Grafton, you have an attentive audience here. Perhaps you can explain to us why you thought a one-plane war was the way to go.”
“Well, sir, we bomb worthless targets night after night – I mean, three tents under a tree… sampan repair yards that have been hit ten times already. Sir, you know the list better than I do. My first bombardier and 50,000 other Americans are dead and… can anyone tell me why? I realize that I’m Lieutenant Nobody. I’m… I’m not really sure about anything anymore. This war’s become very confusing. Nobody… nobody wants to fight in it. Nobody seems to want to win it. Maybe it never should have happened, but people do die in it. Maybe for me, it got personal, because I do know the difference between dying for something and dying for nothing. I know that’s no excuse. I… I know that. And I broke the faith, and for that, I am truly wrong. Perhaps I should hang.”
“Hanging, Mr. Grafton, is no longer a punishment much in use. But a prison term in Leavenworth is, or a dishonorable discharge if a court-martial should so decide. But whatever happens,I think it’s safe to say that your career in the navy is over. The only question’s how.”

Movie 7

“Darling, believe me, I try not skip a day in writing you. Whether or not I get a letter determines if it’s a good day or not.”

I hope this quiz was not too easy for you. Here are the movies (yes, one is not strictly speaking a movie) in the wrong order followed by the solution underneath.

Heaven and Earth, Born on the 4th of July, Dear America, Flight of the Intruder, We were Soldiers,  Good morning, Vietnam, The Deer Hunter.

Movie 1, Movie 2, Movie 3, Movie 4, Movie 5, Movie 6, Movie 7