300
written by Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, and Michael Gordon, from the graphic novel by Frank Miller & Lynn Varley
Queen Gorgo: 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 - three hundred families that bleed for our rights, and for the very principles this room was built upon. We are at war, gentlemen. We must send the entire Spartan army to aid our king in the preservation of not just ourselves, but of our children. Send the army for the preservation of liberty. Send it for justice. Send it for law and order. Send it for reason. But most importantly, send our army for hope - hope that a 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.
Xerxes: Your gods were cruel to shape you so, friend Ephialetes. The Spartans too were cruel to reject you. But I am kind. Everything you could ever desire every happiness you can imagine every pleasure your fellow Greeks and your false gods have denied you I will grant you for I am kind Embrace me as your king and as your god. Lead my soldiers to the hidden path that enters behind the cursed Spartans and your joys will be endless. You will find I am kind. Unlike the cruel Leonidas, who demanded that you stand, I require only that you kneel.
Dilios: He did not wish tribute, nor song, or monuments or poems of war and valor. His wish was simple. "Remember us" he said to me. That was his hope, should any free soul come across that place, in all the countless centuries yet to be. "May all our voices whisper to you from the ageless stones, "Go tell the Spartans, passerby, that here by Spartan law, we lie." And so my king died, and my brothers died; barely a year ago. Long I pondered my king's cryptic talk of victory, but time has proven him wise, for from free Greek to free Greek, the word was spread that bold Leonidas and his 300, so far from home, laid down their lives... not just for Sparta, but for all Greece and the promise this country holds. Now here on this ragged patch of earth called Plateaea, let his hordes face obliteration! Just there the barbarians huddle, sheer terror gripping tight their hearts with icy fingers... knowing full well what merciless horrors they suffered at the swords and spears of 300, yet they stare now across the plane at 10,000 Spartans commanding 30,000 free Greeks... The enemy outnumber us a paltry 3 to 1, a match for any Greek. This day we rescue a world from mysticism and tyranny and usher in a world brighter than anything we can imagine, Give thanks, men, to Leonidas and the brave 300! To victory!
Credit and many thanks to Suzanne for (one of these) monologues, it is very much appreciated.