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Index of Movie Scenes for the Book Think Like Jesus, Lead Like Moses.
3. Spartacus
5. Armageddon
6. Braveheart
7. Dave
9. Messenger
10. 300 Principle 1: Gain courage by trusting the Lord.Scene from The Prince of EgyptMoses is in a temple, and he has just awakened from a dream. He runs through the temple with a torch to light the way, and comes to a wall showing Seti, his father, having Hebrew babies cast into the Nile. He then runs and speaks to his mother, who confirms that he is a Hebrew. The next day, he is with his half brother, Ramsees, who is building a temple As you read this transcript for a scene from the movie The Prince of Egypt, consider how Moses was confronted with the fact that everything he believed about himself was a lie. Note that his confidence in himself was shattered. Or, if you prefer, watch this scene on Youtube:
RAMSEES: Last night, the gods granted me a vision. I’m not merely going to restore this temple, I will make it more grand, more … RAMSEES: Moses, look! Fate has turned our little misadventure into a great opportunity. And father will be so pleased! EGYPTIAN FOREMAN: Put your back into it! Faster! RAMSEES: And this is just the beginning: A gateway will open to an entire new city of white limestone dazzling in the sun. And here, a statute … MIRIAM: Stop this! Somebody’s got to stop it! AARON: There’s not a thing we can do. MOSES: Stop it. Stop. Stop it! Leave that man alone! RAMSEES: Moses! ANOTHER EGYPTIAN FOREMAN. Out of my way, out of my way. Move! Who did this? A SLAVE: Up there, it’s him! MIRIAM: Moses! RAMSEES: Moses, what’s going on? Moses! RAMSEES: Moses! Moses. MOSES: Let me go. RAMSEES: No. Wait! MOSES: You saw what just happened. I just killed a man! RAMSEES: We can take care of that. I will make it so it never happened! MOSES: Nothing you can say can change what I’ve done. RAMSEES: I am Egypt, the morning and the evening star. If I say day is night it will be written. And you will be what I say what you are. I say you are innocent! MOSES: What you say does not matter. You don’t understand. I can’t stay here any longer. RAMSEES: Moses … MOSES: No! All I have ever known to be true is a lie. I’m not who you think I am. RAMSEES: What are you talking about? MOSES: Go ask the man I once called father. RAMSEES: Moses? Please. MOSES: Goodbye brother. RAMSEES: Moses! Moses!
Principle 2: Understand God’s plan for your life, and be committed to its execution.Scene from It's a Wonderful LifeGeorge and his wife Mary have just finished helping the Martinis move into their new home. Sam Wainwright and his wife stop to visit, and remind George that he had the chance to get in on the ground floor in plastics. With that reminder of failure in mind, George is meeting with his enemy and president of the bank, Mr. Potter, in Mr. Potter’s office. As you read this transcript for a scene from the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, consider how George Bailey regrets the missed opportunities of his life. At a time when he is vulnerable to temptation, he is offered a compromise by his arch enemy. He must choose between self-interest and the interests of others. Or, if you prefer, watch this scene on You Tube:
GEORGE: Thank you, sir. Quite a cigar, Mr. Potter. POTTER: You like it? I'll send you a box. GEORGE: Well, I . . . I suppose I'll find out sooner or later, but just what exactly did you want to see me about? POTTER: George, now that's just what I like so much about you. George, I'm an old man, and most people hate me. But I don't like them either, so that makes it all even. You know just as well as I do that I run practically everything in this town but the Bailey Building and Loan. You know, also, that for a number of years I've been trying to get control of it . . . or kill it. But I haven't been able to do it. You have been stopping me. In fact, you have beaten me, George, and as anyone in this county can tell you, that takes some doing. Take during the depression, for instance. You and I were the only ones that kept our heads. You saved the Building and Loan, and I saved all the rest. GEORGE: Yes. Well, most people say you stole all the rest. POTTER: The envious ones say that, George, the suckers. Now, I have stated my side very frankly. Now, let's look at your side. Young man, twenty-seven, twenty-eight . . . married, making, say . . . forty a week. GEORGE: Forty-five! POTTER: Forty-five. Forty-five. Out of which, after supporting your mother, and paying your bills, you're able to keep, say, ten, if you skimp. A child or two comes along, and you won't even be able to save the ten. Now, if this young man of twenty-eight was a common, ordinary yokel, I'd say he was doing fine. But George Bailey is not a common, ordinary yokel. He's an intelligent, smart, ambitious young man — who hates his job –– who hates the Building and Loan almost as much as I do. A young man who's been dying to get out on his own ever since he was born. A young man . . . the smartest one of the crowd, mind you, a young man who has to sit by and watch his friends go places, because he's trapped. Yes, sir, trapped into frittering his life away playing nursemaid to a lot of garlic-eaters. Do I paint a correct picture, or do I exaggerate? GEORGE: Now what's your point, Mr. Potter? POTTER: My point? My point is, I want to hire you. GEORGE: Hire me? POTTER: I want you to manage my affairs, run my properties. George, I'll start you out at twenty thousand dollars a year. George drops his cigar on his lap. He nervously brushes off the sparks from his clothes. GEORGE: Twenty thou . . . twenty thousand dollars a year? POTTER: You wouldn't mind living in the nicest house in town, buying your wife a lot of fine clothes, a couple of business trips to New York a year, maybe once in a while Europe. You wouldn't mind that, would you, George? GEORGE: Would I? You're not talking to somebody else around here, are you? You know, this is me, you remember me? George Bailey. POTTER Oh, yes, George Bailey. Whose ship has just come in –– providing he has brains enough to climb aboard. GEORGE: Well, what about the Building and Loan? POTTER: Oh, confound it, man, are you afraid of success? I'm offering you a three year contract at twenty thousand dollars a year, starting today. Is it a deal or isn't it? GEORGE: Well, Mr. Potter, I . . . I . . . I know I ought to jump at the chance, but I . . . I just . . . I wonder if it would be possible for you to give me twenty-four hours to think it over? POTTER Sure, sure, sure. You go on home and talk about it to your wife. GEORGE: I'd like to do that. POTTER: In the meantime, I'll draw up the papers. GEORGE: All right, sir. POTTER: Okay, George? GEORGE: Okay, Mr. Potter . . . No . . . no . . . no . . . no, now wait a minute, here! I don't have to talk to anybody! I know right now, and the answer is no! NO! Doggone it! You sit around here and you spin your little webs and you think the whole world revolves around you and your money. Well, it doesn't, Mr. Potter! In the . . . in the whole vast configuration of things, I'd say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider. You . . . STORMS OUT OF THE OFFICE
Scene from Spartacus Spartacus rides a horse into the abandoned gladiator training grounds, dismounts, and walks through the empty slave quarters. He hears the sound of men yelling outside, and emerges into the arena where former gladiator slaves are forcing their former Roman captors to fight to the death. As you read this transcript from a scene from the movie Spartacus, consider how Spartacus attracts followers who will become his close advisors and confidants. Note that he sets a goal and rallies them to believe in a cause bigger than themselves. Additionally, you may wish to view the official trailer from the movie on You Tube:
SPARTACUS: Noble Romans, fighting each other like animals. Your new masters, betting to see who will die first. Drop your swords. (Yelling) CRIXUS: I want to see their blood, right over here where Draba died. (Jumps into the arena) When I fight matched pairs, they fight to the death. SPARTACUS: I made myself a promise, Crixus. I swore that if I ever got out of this place, I’d die before I saw two men fight to the death again. Draba made that promise too. He kept it. So will I. Go on, get out. SPARTACUS: What are we, Crixus, what are we becoming? Romans? Have we learned nothing, what’s happening to us? We look for wine when we should be hunting bread. DYONISUS: When you’ve got wine, you don’t need bread! SPARTACUS: We can’t just be a gang of drunken raiders. DYONISUS: What else can we be? SPARTACUS: Gladiators! An army of gladiators. There’s never been an army like that. One gladiator is worth any two Roman soldiers that ever lived. CRIXUS: We beat the Roman guards here, but a Roman army’s a different thing, they fight different than we do, too. SPARTACUS: We can beat anything they send against us if we really want to. CRIXUS: It takes a big army for that, Spartacus. SPARTACUS: We’ll have a big army once we’re on the march. We’ll free every slave in every town and village. Can anybody get a bigger army than that? DYONISUS: That’s right, once we cross the Alps, we’re safe. CRIXUS: Nobody can cross the Alps. Every pass is defended by its own legion. SPARTACUS There’s only one way to get out of this country. The sea. FORMER SLAVE: What good is the sea if you have no ships? SPARTACUS: The Cilician pirates have ships. They’re at war with Rome. Every Roman galley that sails out of Brundusium pays tribute to them. DAVID: They’ve got the biggest fleet in the world. I was a galley slave with them. Give them enough gold and they’ll take you anywhere. DYONISUS: We haven’t got enough gold. ANOTHER FORMER SLAVE: Take every Roman we capture and warm his back a little. We’ll have gold alright! DAVID: Spartacus is right. Let’s hire these pirates and march straight to Brundusium! (They cheer, and begin to march across the countryside, picking up slaves in every village and hamlet they come to, taking them back to their camp at Vesuvius to train them to fight).
Scene from Star Trek Generations Captain Picard is in the Nexus, talking to Guinan about how to prevent Soran from destroying a planet called Veridian III. She indicates she knows someone who might help him. Suddenly Picard finds himself standing outside a rustic house somewhere in the Canadian Rockies. Picard hears the sound of wood being chopped from around the corner of the house. Picard moves to look and sees James T. Kirk. As you read this transcript for a scene from the movie Star Trek: Generations, consider how Captain Kirk is tempted to chose his personal comfort and safety over the needs of people who need him. Additionally, you may wish to view this scene from the movie on You Tube:
PICARD: Kirk. James T. Kirk. KIRK: Beautiful day. PICARD: Yes, it certainly is. KIRK: (Kirk points to a log.) Do you mind? PICARD: Oh. (Picard places the log on the block). Captain, I’m wondering, do you realize … KIRK: Hold on. Do you smell something burning? (Kirk rushes into the house, Picard follows.) KIRK: Looks like someone was trying to cook some eggs. (to Picard) Come on in, it's all right. It’s my house, or at least it used to be. I sold it years ago. PICARD: I'm Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the starship Enterprise. (An antique clock on a shelf chimes as it strikes the hour.) KIRK: This clock, I gave this clock to Bones. PICARD: I'm from what you would consider the future; the 24th-century … (A dog barks, large dog bounds into the room) KIRK: Butler! Butler, how can you be here? (to Picard) He's been dead seven years. ANTONIA'S VOICE: Come on, Jim, I'm starving. How long are you going to be rattling around in that kitchen? KIRK: Antonia. What are you talking about?. The future? This is the past. This is nine years ago, … the day I told her I was going back to Starfleet. These are Ktarian eggs, her favorite. I was preparing them to soften the blow. PICARD: I know how real this must seem to you, but it's not. This isn't really your house. We've both been caught up in some sort of temporal nexus. KIRK: Dill PICARD: I beg your pardon? KIRK: Dill weed. In the cabinet, second shelf to the left … behind the oregano. (Picard grabs the dill weed and hands it to Kirk.) PICARD: How long have you been here? KIRK: I don't know. I was aboard the Enterprise-B, in the deflector control room...oh … stir these, will you? (gives eggs to Picard). The bulkhead in front of me disappeared, then I found myself out there just now before you walked up, chopping wood. Thanks. (Kirk takes the pan from Picard.) PICARD: Look, ah, History records that you died saving the Enterprise-B from an energy ribbon eighty years ago. KIRK: You say this is the 24th-century, and I'm dead? PICARD: Not exactly. As I said, this is some kind of … KIRK: Temporal nexus, yes, I heard you. … Something is missing. (Kirk puts toast on the plates.) PICARD: Captain, look, I need your help. I want you to leave the Nexus with me. (Kirk goes out of the kitchen and Picard follows.) PICARD: We have to go back to a planet, Veridian III. We have to stop a man called Soran from destroying a star. Millions of lives at stake. KIRK: You say history considers me dead. Who am I to argue with history? PICARD: You're a Starfleet officer and you have a duty … KIRK: I don't need to be lectured by you. I was out saving the galaxy when your grandfather was still in diapers. Besides, I think the galaxy owes me one … Oh, yeah. I was like you once- so worried about duty and obligation I couldn't see anything past my own uniform. And what did it get me? An empty house. Not this time. This time, I'm going to walk up these stairs, march into that bedroom and tell Antonia I want to marry her. This time it’s going to be different. (Kirk goes through a bedroom door, and Picard follows him into a barn) PICARD: This isn’t your bedroom. KIRK: No, it's not. It's better. PICARD: Better? KIRK: This is my uncle's barn in Idaho. (Points to a horse) I took this horse out for a ride eleven years ago, on a spring day … like this one. If I'm right, this is the day I met Antonia. (He turns to Picard.) KIRK: This Nexus of yours is very clever. I can start all over again; do things right from day one. (Kirk mounts the horse and rides out of the barn. Picard follows.) Scene Changes to countryside. Kirk is riding his horse. There is a large ravine up ahead. Kirk spurs his horse faster toward the ravine. Then makes a daring leap to the other side. Horse and rider land together, and he brings his horse to an immediate stop. He turns and stares at the ravine – something is wrong. Picard rides up and stops next to Kirk. KIRK: I must have jumped that fifty times, scared the hell out of me each time. Except this time … because it isn’t real. (Kirk turns and looks toward a particular hill in the distance and sees the distant figure of a woman walking her horse. PICARD Antonia? KIRK: She's isn’t real either, is she? Nothing here is. Nothing here matters. You know, maybe this isn’t about an empty house. Maybe it’s about that empty chair on the bridge of the Enterprise. Ever since I left Starfleet, I haven’t made a difference. … Captain of the Enterprise, huh? PICARD: That's right. KIRK: Close to retirement? PICARD: I’m not planning on it KIRK: Well, let me tell you something- don't. Don't let them promote you. Don't let them transfer you. Don't let them do anything takes you off the bridge of that ship because while you're there, you can make a difference. PICARD: Come back with me. Help me stop Soran. Make a difference again. KIRK: Who am I to argue with the captain of the Enterprise? What was the name of that planet, Veridian III? PICARD: Yes. KIRK: I take it the odds are against us and the situation is grim? PICARD: You could say that. KIRK: You know, if Spock were here, he'd say I was being an irrational, illogical human for wanting to go on a mission like that. Sounds like fun.
Scene from ArmageddonA planet-killing meteor is just 18 days away from hitting the Earth. NASA enlists the help of Harry Stamper, an expert deep core driller, to train their astronauts and help them drill into the asteroid and plant a nuclear bomb. But Harry figures the astronauts can't be trained in time and opts to go with his own oil drilling crew. Mr. Truman realizes that NASA must trust Stamper and his crew, sending them up instead of the astronauts they’ve been training. As you read this transcript for a scene from the movie Armageddon, consider how Mr. Truman agrees to delegate to Harry Stamper and his men the task of saving the world from an asteroid headed right at Earth – even though the government prefer that this responsibility not be delegated to a group of civilians. Additionally, you may wish to view this scene from the movie on Youtube: MR. TRUMAN: So when the rogue comet hit the asteroid belt, it sent shrapnel right for us. For the next 15 days, the earth’s in a shooting gallery. Even if the asteroid itself hits the water, it’s still hitting land. It will flash boil millions of gallons of sea water and slam into the ocean bedrock. Now if it’s a Pacific ocean impact, which we think it will be, it will create a tidal wave 3 miles high, traveling a 1,000 miles an hour covering California and washing up in Denver. Japan’s gone, Australia’s wiped out, half the world’s population is incinerated by the heat blast, the rest will freeze to death from nuclear winter. GRACE: It’s unbelievable MR. TRUMAN: Actually, this is as real as it gets. Well it’s coming, right now, right for us at 22,000 miles an hour. Not a soul on earth can hide from it. STAMPER: I take it you’re not alerting everyone like this. MR TRUMAN: Nobody knows. That’s the way it stays. In the next 10 days, there are only 9 telescopes that can spot the asteroid, and we control 8 of them. The President has classified this information as top secret. If news of this got out, there’d be an overnight breakdown of basic social services worldwide. Rioting, mass religious hysteria, Total chaos, you can imagine. Basically the worst parts of the Bible. STAMPER: 6 billion people on the planet, why’d you call me? Scene switches to an airport hanger MR. TRUMAN: We need you to prep the team we’re sending up. We’ll send ‘em to the asteroid, they’ll land, they’ll dig a hole, drops some nukes, and take off and detonate if we can fix this equipment problem. QUINCY. We’ve got … drilling units prototype we’ve been building for the Mars project. You, ah, might recognize the rig. STAMPER: Well I guess I should recognize it. My design. What did you do, steal a key to the paten office? MR. TRUMAN: Ya, basically. STAMPER: Let me get this straight. I got pulled off an oil rig and flown half way around the world because you stole my drill design, couldn’t read the plans right, did a piss poor job of putting it together QUINCY - Engineer guy tries to interrupt. MR. TRUMAN: Shut up, Quincy. It’s not going to Mars anymore. It’s going to try to save this planet. And we need to know what’s wrong with it pretty quick. MR. TRUMAN: You said we did a bad job of putting it together. STAMPER: No, I said you did a piss pour job of putting it together. First of all, you’ve got the flow system all reversed. Let me guess, you’ve been tearing up rotars and you can’t figure out why? QUINCY: Yah, that’s right, actually … STAMPER: Well, that’s because you’ve got your cams all wrong, Mr. Wizard. Who’s been operating this thing? MR. TRUMAN, pointing to the crew: Right there QUINCY: We’ve had them training for 8 whole months solid now. STAMPER: 8 whole months? QUINCY: Well, pretty much, yah. STAMPER. Well, gee whiz. MR. TRUMAN: Well this is the team that has to do the job up there. We need you to train ‘em down here. …. Well Mr. Stamper, what do you think? STAMPER: You know drilling’s a science… it’s an art. I’m a third generation driller, been doing this all my life, and I still haven’t got it figured out. I assume you sent for me because somebody told you that I was the best. Well, I’m only the best because I work with the best. If you don’t trust the men you’re working with, you’re as good as dead. Now if you want to send these boys into space, fine, I’m sure they’ll make fine astronauts. But they don’t know jack about drilling. What’s your contingency plan. MR. TRUMAN: Contingency plan? STAMPER: Your backup plan. You gotta have some sort of back up plan, right? MR. TRUMAN: No. We don’t have a backup plan. This is it. STAMPER: This is the best that you … that the government, the US government, can come up with? I mean, you’re NASA for crying out load. You put a man on the Moon, You’re geniuses! You’re the guys that think this stuff up! I’m sure you’ve got a team of men somewhere right now just thinking stuff up, and someone backing them up. You telling me you don’t have a back up plan, that these 8 boy scouts right here are the world’s hope, is that what you’re telling me? MR. TRUMAN: Yah STAMPER: Oh, Jesus! Damn it! MR. TRUMAN: We’re a little short on time here. Will you help us? STAMPER: All they gotta do is drill? MR. TRUMAN: That’s it STAMPER: No space walking, no crazy astronaut stuff? MR. TRUMAN: Just drill. STAMPER. How many men were you planning on taking up there? MR. TRUMAN: We’re sending up two shuttles. Two teams. STAMPER: If I do this, I’m gonna want to take my own men. MR. TRUMAN: You got it. … So you’re saying you’ll help us? STAMPER: Yes sir. MR. TRUMAN: Thanks.
Scene from BraveheartThe Scots have beaten the English at the Battle of Stirling. In celebrating their victory, the Scottish Nobles knight William Wallace, and then attempt to win his support for their various claims to the throne of Scotland. Seeing that Wallace is about to leave, they cease their bickering amongst themselves, they ask him where he is going. Wallace explains his plan to invade England. As he leaves the gathering, he is confronted by William the Bruce who chases after him. As you read this transcript from a scene from the movie Braveheart, consider how William Wallace is willing to give up the mantle of leader of the Scottish rebellion in order to support the one man he believes deserves to be the leader. How might the expression of such confidence from a potential rival motivate another to become the person God has called them to be? Additionally, you may wish to view this scene from the movie on Youtube: CRAIG: Gentlemen! Please, Gentlemen! Wait! Sir William, where are you going? WALLACE: We have beaten the English, but they'll come back because you won't stand together. CRAIG: Well, what will you do? WALLACE: I will invade England and defeat the English on their own ground. CRAIG: Invade? That's impossible. WALLACE: Why? Why is that impossible? You're so concerned with squabbling for the scraps from Longshank's table that you've missed your God given right to something better. There is a difference between us. You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure that they have it. ROBERT: Wait! I respect what you said, but remember that these men have lands and castles. It's much to risk. WALLACE: And the common man that bleeds on the battlefield, does he risk less? ROBERT: No, but from top to bottom this country has got no sense of itself. Its nobles share allegiance with England. Its clans war with each other. If you make enemies on both sides of the border, you'll end up dead. WALLACE: We all end up dead; it's just a question of how and why. ROBERT: I'm not a coward. I want what you want, but we need the nobles. WALLACE: We need them? ROBERT: Ay. WALLACE: Now tell me, what does that mean to be noble? Your title gives you claim to the throne of our country, but men don't follow titles, they follow courage. Now our people know you. Noble, and common, they respect you. And if you would just lead them to freedom, they'd follow you. And so would I.
Scene from DaveDave, a temporary stand-in pretending to be President Bill Mitchell, is about to address a joint session of Congress regarding a scandal in the administration involving a financial institution known as “First Liberty.” Across town, his former Chief-of-Staff, Bob Alexander, is hosting a party of friends and associates to watch the speech in his house. Some of the people have brought signs, such as “Bob Alexander for President.” The scene shifts back and forth between Dave giving his speech, Bob Alexander’s house, and Mrs. Mitchell (who knows Dave’s secret). As you review this description from a scene from the movie Dave, consider how Moses dealt with challenges to his authority in a humble, honest way. Consider how you have dealt with circumstances in a challenge over leadership. Did you act like Dave, or the chief of staff, Bob Alexander? Additionally, you may wish to view the movie trailer on Youtube:
SCENE: BOB ALEXANDER’S HOUSE
BOB: Hello, Ben
BEN: Big day, Bob
BOB: Come on in. You know the Clackhorns, don’t you?
BEN: Of course, of course. FRIEND: Hey, Bob, what do you think? (POINTING TO SIGN FOR PRESIDENT). BOB: Put that away. Let’s wait for the speech first. SCENE: HOUSE CHAMBER, DAVE AS PRESIDENT ENTERS
SGT. AT ARMS: Mr. Speaker... The President of the United States.
SCENE: BOB ALEXANDER’S HOUSE
BOB Shhh shh... Here it comes. SCENE: HOUSE CHAMBER DAVE: Thank you Mr. Speaker, members of Congress, my fellow Americans. … I wish I could be here today under different circumstances... There's certainly a lot of things about this country that we should be discussing, but I realize that's not possible now. As all of you know, my former Chief of Staff has implicated me in a scandal involving the First Liberty Savings and Loan. ... And once people start talking about scandal it's hard for them to talk about anything else. So fine. Let's talk about it. Bob Alexander has accused me of ... Let me read this to make sure I get it right...Illegally influencing government regulators on behalf of major campaign contributors -- interfering with an ongoing Justice Department investigation - - and violating Federal election laws in the area of campaign finance. Okay -- let's get right to the guts of it... Each one of these charges is absolutely true. SCENE: BOB ALEXANDER’S HOUSE BOB: Oh, ho ho ho! Die, you pond scum! SCENE: HOUSE CHAMBER DAVE: I'm the President and as they say 'The buck stops here.' So I take full responsibility for every one of my illegal actions. But you see that's not the whole story, and I think each one of you is entitled to the whole truth. I have written proof here in the form of...Notes, memoranda and personal directives' proving that Bob Alexander was involved in each one of these incidents and in most cases planned them as well... SCENE: BOB ALEXANDER’S HOUSE (ALL GUESTS HAVE LEFT) BOB: Alan... SCENE: HOUSE CHAMBER, AFTER APOLOGIZING TO VICE PRESIDENT NANCE DAVE: And while we're on the subject, I'd like to apologize to the American people...You see, I forgot that I was hired to do a job for you and that it was just a temp job at that. I forgot that I had two hundred and fifty million people who were paying me to make their lives a little better and I didn't live up to my part of the bargain. You see, there are certain things you should expect from a President. I ought to care more about you than I do about me... I ought to care more about what's right than I do about what's popular...I ought to be willing to give this whole thing up for something I believe in... SCENE: MRS. ELLEN MITCHELL WATCHES TV FROM HER ROOM, SWITCH BACK TO HOUSE CHAMBER SCENE. DAVE: Because if I'm not ... If I'm not...If I'm not... Then I don't belong here … in the first place...COLLAPSES, FALLS TO THE FLOOR.
Scene from Kingdom of HeavenThe scene opens with Balian praying at night in a courtyard for his father, Godfrey of Ibelin, who is dying from a fatal battle wound. A knight in his father’s service comes to get him and bring him to his father before he dies. Godfrey knights him, and as he recites the Knight’s Oath, he slaps Balian so that he will remember that oath. Later in the movie, as the Muslim army prepares to assault the walls of Jerusalem, Balian is the only remaining knight; all the others have been killed. A priest asks how they can defend the city without knights. In answer, Balian commands all the men to kneel. He chooses one man to represent all the others gathered round about him. He is the Priest’s servant. After he administers the oath, he slaps the man as his father did to him. And then, commanding all the newly knighted soldiers, Balian declares “Rise, a Knight!” As you read this transcript for a scene from the movie Kingdom of Heaven, consider how Balian is first discipled by his father, Godfrey of Ibelin, and then inspires the defenders of Jerusalem in the same way. Additionally, you may wish to view the movie trailer on You Tube:
KNIGHT: Balian, hurray! (Takes Balian to where Godfrey is) I can go no further. HOSPITALLER: Get on your knees. GODFREY: (wheezing, faint): Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath. (Strikes Balian) …And that's so you remember it. HOSPITALLER: Rise a knight and Baron of Ibelin. GODFREY: Defend the King. If the king is no more, protect the people. Scene changes to the final battle for Jerusalem. The King is dead, and Balian is the last remaining knight charged with defending the city against the armies of the Muslim general, Saladin. THE PATRIARCH: My Lord, my Lord, my Lord … How are we to defend Jerusalem without knights? We have no knights! BALIAN: Truly (Looks at men surrounding him, speaks to one young man near by) What is your condition? SERVANT: I’m servant to the Patriarch. THE PATRIARCH: He’s, uh, one of my servants. BALIAN: Is he? … You were born a servant? Kneel … Every man at arms, or capable of bearing them. Kneel! … On your knees! (All the men kneel) BALIAN: Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless. That is your oath. (Strikes Patriarch’s servant) …And that is so you remember it. Rise a Knight. Rise, a Knight! THE PATRIARCH: Who are you? Do you think you can change the World? Does making a man a knight make him a better fighter? BALIAN Yes. BALIAN: Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Safeguard the helpless. Never lie, even if it leads to your death; that is your oath. (BALIAN slaps the servant) BALIAN: And that is so you don't forget it. Rise a knight... rise a knight! (BALIAN turns to the people of Jerusalem) BALIAN: It has fallen to us, to defend Jerusalem, and we have made our preparations as well as they can be made. None of us took this city from Muslims. No Muslim of the great army now coming against us was born when this city was lost. We fight over an offence we did not give, against those who were not alive to be offended. What is Jerusalem? Your holy places lie over the Jewish temple that the Romans pulled down. The Muslim places of worship lie over yours. Which is more holy? BALIAN: The wall? The Mosque? The Sepulchre? Who has claim? No one has claim. … All have claim! THE PATRIARCH: That is blasphemy ALMARIC: Be quiet. BALIAN: We defend this city, not to protect these stones, but the people living within these walls.
Scene from The MessengerJoan of Arc (Jeanne) is being interrogated by a priest named Beaupere. As the questioning takes place, a character known as “The Man” appears to argue with her. The scene changes from the legal chambers of the Inquisition to her cell. No one can see the Man but her. Pacing her cell floor, a debate rages in her mind as memories of the various events she is testifying to wash over her. By replaying these memories, The Man uses Jeanne’s own words to convince her that she was acting to further her own interests, not God’s. After going back and forth, The Man causes Jeanne to recall the words she spoke leading the battle for the City of Orleans. As you read this transcript for a scene from the movie The Messenger, consider how Joan of Arc is torn over whether or not she has acted in God’s Name, or to serve her own vanity. Additionally, you may wish to view the scene on Youtube:
BEAUPERE: Did you use the sword that you held in your hand? JEANNE: No, I... I held it up to... BEAUPERE: You held up your sword and flourished it about in the air? Like this? JEANNE: Yes, maybe... I don't remember... BEAUPERE: ... so you were in the middle of the battlefield, with your sword in your hand, waving it above your head... charging against the enemy, screaming and yelling... fighting for your life... and you want us to believe that in the middle of all this excitement you never killed anyone? JEANNE: No, I... I never killed anyone! A man only Jeanne can see appears to her in her cell. MAN: I can't believe you can lie like that! JEANNE: I'm not lying, I’m not lying, leave me alone, I... I can't remember... I never killed anyone, I can’t remember. MAN: Let me help your memory. JEANNE: I don’t want to hear any more, leave me alone, I didn’t kill that man, leave me alone! MAN: Oh? You can't remember? Let me help your memory...MEMORY: an Englishman is skewed during the battle of Orleans... JEANNE: No! I don't want to know anymore! Leave me alone! I didn't kill that man! Stop, I can’t remember. The battles were so confusing, I was only defending myself. There was so much dust, and smoke, and noise! I was being attacked on all sides. So maybe, perhaps, I fought back. But it was only to defend myself. MAN: So your memory’s coming back? JEANNE: Yes MAN: Good. JEANNE: Yes MAN: Good. JEANNE: Now, you tell me, why did God let all those battles happen in the first place? If He’s so powerful, He said, He’s the creator of heaven and earth, the source of all life, He could easily have stopped all that blood and all that misery. Why, why didn’t He? MAN: Is He the on who spread all that blood and misery? Is He? JEANNE: No, but He could have stopped it. What, what did he get? Pleasure? Pleasure from watching us killing each other in His name? MAN: In His name?? JEANNE: Yes, in His name! We fought and killed in His name... the King of Heaven! MAN: Really? MEMORY: Jeanne is seated in her saddle before Orleans, raising her standard with the cry – JEANNE: Let all who love me follow me! Back in Jeanne's cell: MAN: "Let all who love me follow me"... Where does God get mentioned? Come on Jeanne, be honest. You fought for yourself, in your name.
Scene from 300Queen Gorgo comes before the Spartan Council to plead that they send the entire army to assist her husband, King Leonidas, and his men. Theron, a key Spartan leader, has been working behind the scenes to prevent the Spartan Army from going to war. The previous night, he raped the queen in exchange for a promise that he would allow her plea to go unchallenged - a promise which he now breaks. Queen Gorgo kills him with a sword, revealing the Persian gold he had been paid hidden in his tunic. Though too late to come to the aid of the 300 Spartans, and in spite of facing insurmountable odds, their sacrifice inspired all of Greece to rally against the Persians. In the movie, the loan survivor, Dilios, recounts the vision of King Leonidas, who in the words of Homer said: “Go tell the Spartans, passerby, that here by Spartan law, we lie.” As you read this transcript for a scene from the movie 300, consider how Queen Gorgo paints a vision, calling her people to act courageously in response to her husband, King Leonidas, brave stand against the invading Persians. Additionally, you may wish to view this scene from the movie on You Tube at:
QUEEN GORGO: Councilmen, I stand before you not only as your queen. I come to you as a mother. I come to you as a wife. I come to you as a Spartan woman. I come to you with great humility. I am not here to represent Leonidas. His actions speak louder than my words ever could. I am here for all those voices which cannot be heard: Mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, – 300 families that bleed for our rights, and for the very principles this room is built upon. We are at war, gentlemen. We must send the entire Spartan to aid our king in the preservation of not just ourselves but of our children. … Send our army for hope. Hope that the king and his men have not been wasted to the pages of history. That their courage bonds us together. That we are made stronger by their actions, and that your choices today reflect their bravery. THERON: (Clapping, walks toward her.) Moving, eloquent, passionate. But it doesn’t change the fact that your husband has brought war upon us. QUEEN GORGO: You are wrong. Xerces brought if forth, and before that his father Darius at Marathon. The Persians will not stop, until the only shelter we will find is rubble and chaos. THERON: This chamber needs no history lesson, my queen. QUEEN GORGO: Then what is the lesson you would like to leave? Shall I begin to enumerate all of them? Honor, duty, glory? THERON: You speak of honor, duty, glory. But what of adultery? THE LOYALIST: How dare you! THERON: How dare I? Watch her, carefully. She is a trickster in true form. Do not play with the members of this sacred chamber, my queen. Just hours ago you offered yourself to me. Were I a weaker man, I would have her sent on me still. THE LOYALIST: This is outrage! THERON: Ah, the hypocrite speaks. Did you not receive a similar payment, which you took, in exchange for her having an audience with these noble men? QUEEN GORGO: That is a lie. THERON: Is it? Was he not by your invitation asked to come to the king’s bed chamber, the very bed where you attempted to negotiate with me so vigorously? … (Mumbling from the chamber) THERON: You look shocked, a bribe of the flesh, gentlemen, while her husband promotes anarchy and war. Words escape even most cunning tongue, my little whore-queen. (She strikes him). What queen like behavior. Remove her from this chamber before she infects us further, with her inglorious and shabby self. QUEEN GORGO: (Grabs a sword from a guard and runs Theron through.) This will not be over quickly. You will not enjoy this. I am not your queen. (Persian coins spill from his belt, proof of his treachery.) (Traitor, Traitor, Traitor! The call of traitor rises from the Spartan council chamber.)
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