"Mostly Aussies, some Lime, some British, Indians, Burmese, Siamese...They died, of malaria, dysentery, beriberi, gangrene. Other causes of death: famine, overwork, bullet wounds, snake bites, Saito. And then there were some who just got tired of living."

"Here lies Corporal Herbert Thompson, serial number 01234567, valiant member of the King's own, and Queen's own, or something, who died of beriberi in the year of our Lord 1943. For the greater glory of...[pause] what did he die for?...I don't mock the grave or the man. May he rest in peace. He found little enough of it while he was alive."

"What have I done?"

"[on feeling down] It is quite understandable. It's a very natural reaction. But one day, in a week, a month, a year, on that day when God willing, we all return to our homes again, you're going to feel very proud of what you have achieved here in the face of great adversity. What you have done, should be, and I think will be, an example to all our countrymen, soldier and civilian alike. You have survived with honour, that and more: here in the wilderness, you have turned defeat into victory. I congratulate you. Well done."

"[To Saito, after the bridge is finished] I've been thinking. Tomorrow it will be 28 years to the day that I've been in the service. 28 years in peace and war. I don't suppose I've been at home more than ten months in all that time. Still, it's been a good life. I love India. I wouldn't have had it any other way. But there are times when suddenly you realise you're nearer the end than the beginning. And you wonder, you ask yourself, what the sum total of your life represents, what difference your being there at any time made to anything, or if it made any difference at all really. Particularly in comparison with other men's careers. I don't know whether that kind of thinking is very healthy, but I must admit I've had some thoughts on those lines from time to time. But tonight—tonight!"

"[To Clipton, after Clipton questions the bridge's construction] One day the war will be over. And I hope that the people that use this bridge in years to come will remember how it was built and who built it. Not a gang of slaves, but soldiers, British soldiers, Clipton, even in captivity."

"I tell you, gentlemen, we have a problem on our hands. Thanks to the Japanese, we now command a rabble. There's no order, no discipline. Our task is to rebuild the battalion. It isn't going to be easy, but fortunately, we have the means at hand, the bridge...We can teach these barbarians a lesson in Western methods and efficiency that will put them to shame. We'll show them what the British soldier is capable of doing...It's going to be a proper bridge. Now here again, I know the men. It's essential that they should take a pride in their job."

"Barry Levinson - Doctor"

"Lucinda Jenney - Iris"

"Beth Grant - Mother at Farm House"

"Bonnie Hunt - Sally Dibbs"

"Ralph Seymour - Lenny"

"Jerry Molen - Dr. Gerald Bruner"

"Valeria Golino - Susanna"

"Tom Cruise - Charlie Babbitt"

"Dustin Hoffman - Raymond Babbitt"

"A journey through understanding and fellowship."

"Charlie and Raymond. They are strangers. They are brothers. They have just met."

"What you have to understand is, four days ago he was only my brother in name. And this morning we had pancakes."

"Charlie Babbitt made a joke."

"If the syrup is on the table after the pancakes, then it will definitely be too late."

"Are you taking any prescription medication?"

"Allison: I should have my head examined again."

"Lois Kelly-Miller - Jamaican Woman."

"David S. Howard - Eddie Sloane"

"Jeffrey Tambor - Quince"

"Marcia Gay Harden - Allison Parrish"

"Jake Weber - Drew"

"Claire Forlani - Susan Parrish"

"Anthony Hopkins - William Parrish"

"Brad Pitt - Joe Black"

"Meet Joe Black: Sooner or Later Everyone Does."

"He's Expecting You."

"No one can die - while he loves!"

"Jamaican Woman: It nice it happen to you. Like you come to the island and had a holiday. Sun didn't burn you red-red, just brown. You sleep and no mosquito eat you. But the truth is, it bound to happen if you stay long enough. So take that nice picture you got in your head home with you, but don't be fooled. We lonely here mostly too. If we lucky, maybe, we got some nice pictures to take with us."

"Susan Parrish: Love, passion, obsession, all those things you told me to wait for, well, they've arrived. What are you afraid of, Dad? That I'll fall head over heels for Joe? Well, I have."

"Do you have any peanut butter?"

"Hello Bill."

"You got enough nice pictures?"

"Make no mistake, should you choose to test my resolve in this matter, you will be looking at an outcome that will have a finality that is beyond your comprehension, and you will not be counting the days, or the months, or the years, but millenniums, in a place with no doors."

"I can't believe you people. I come for you, and you want to stay, I let you stay and you want to go."

"Thank you for loving me."

"Easy Bill, you'll give yourself a heart attack and ruin my vacation."

"Thank you, Drew. Yeah. I did enjoy—or rather I was interested in meeting John Bontecou, yesterday. And—impressive, I suppose. But... But, it did get me to thinking. See, I started in this business because this is what I wanted to do. I knew I wasn't going to write the great American novel, but I also knew there was more to life than buying something for a dollar and selling it for two. I'd hoped to create something, something which could be held to the highest standards. And what I realized was I wanted to give the news to the world, and I wanted to give it unvarnished. The more we all know about each other, the greater the chance we will survive. Sure, I want to make a profit. You can't exist without one. But John Bontecou is all profit. Now if we give him license to absorb Parrish Communications, and he has his eye on a few others after us, in order to reach the world you will have to go through John Bontecou. And not only will you have to pay him to do this, far more important, you'll have to agree with him. Reporting the news is a privilege and a responsibility, and it is not exploitable. Parrish Communications has earned this privilege. John Bontecou wants to buy it. As your Chairman, I urge you to agree this company is not for sale."

"You're not Death. You're just a kid in a suit."

"I want you to sing with rapture and dance like a dervish."

"You never know, lightning could strike."

"My wife turned me on to cold lamb sandwiches. Not as chewy as roast beef. Not as boring as chicken. She knew stuff like that."

"I thought I was going to sneak away tonight. What a glorious night! Every face I see is a memory. It may not be a perfectly... perfect memory. Sometimes we've had our ups and downs, but we're all together, And you're mine, for a night. And I'm going to break precedence and tell you my one candle wish: that you would have a life as lucky as mine, where you can wake up one morning and say, "I don't want anything more." 65 years... Don't they go by in a blink?"

"Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. I say fall head over heels, find someone you can love like crazy and who'll love you the same way back. How do you find him? Well, you forget your head and you listen to your heart and I'm not hearing any heart. Because, the truth is there is no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love - well, you haven't lived a life at all. But you have to try, because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived... Stay open, who knows? Lightning could strike."