Al Pacino names the greatest dialogue ever written: “Beyond anything I can comprehend”
Over the years, many great speeches and monologues have infiltrated our everyday vocabulary and popular culture as a whole. Whether it be Laurie’s heart-wrenching “It’s no use, Jo!” monologue in Little Women or the “I drink your milkshake” moment from There Will Be Blood, countless scenes from the movies have permeated the public consciousness and become a rallying cry for film lovers everywhere. T-shirts and posters have been adorned with singular lines of dialogue from movies that have become their defining catchphrase, with people echoing the words of their favourite characters and reciting passages from scripts as if they were a sacred text.
However, with so many great words that have been committed to the page and immortalised on screen, many actors have differing opinions on the greatest texts of all time, debating between the likes of Shakespeare, Aaron Sorkin and Greta Gerwig. But as one of the most esteemed actors of all time, Al Pacino has chimed in with his own thoughts.
After starring in seminal classics like Heat, Dog Day Afternoon and The Godfather, which is often considered the monolith of contemporary cinema, Al Pacino is one of the most influential performers from the New Hollywood movement. The actor rose to prominence when the likes of Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg were finding their footing in Hollywood and changing the industry forever, prompting a shift in power between directors and the studios.
With a leading performance in The Godfather that rattled audiences all over the globe, Pacino then had his pick of the bunch, working with legendary directors like Quentin Tarantino, Michael Mann, Sidney Lumet and Brian De Palma. However, as well as working with iconic filmmakers, he has also had the privilege of bringing to life the words of some of the greatest writers of all time, such as Joan Didion and David Mamet. From the “always be closing” monologue in Glengarry Glen Ross to the notorious one-liners in Scarface, the actor has witnessed and performed some of the most infamous lines of dialogue.
Throughout his years in the business, he has become familiar with the markings of a good writer and has described what he considers to be the greatest piece of dialogue ever written. Pacino explained, “To be or not to be is” beyond anything I can comprehend. I understand it on a superficial level, but the depth of it just boggles my mind. I think it’s probably the greatest of all speeches ever written”.
Pacino is, of course, referring to the infamous monologue from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a moment with resounding weight and profound meaning that continues to be referenced, studied and performed all over the world. It is a moment of beauty and devastation, resonating with our most primal fears and desires as it reckons with Hamlet’s overwhelming anxiety and uncertainty about his future.
Unsurprisingly, it is considered as one of the greatest monologues of all time, and something that many actors would sacrifice their first-born child for the opportunity to perform. While Pacino is most known for his work on the screen and not the stage, he has been involved in stage-to-screen adaptations before, so perhaps the idea of him taking on this character is not completely outlandish.
