"Such a tragedy. They will think this was their victory. So this will become an American war. And the end will be the same... except for the numbers who will die before we get there."

"[voice-over] These are the true events of November, 1965. The Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam, a place our country does not remember in a war it does not understand. This story is a testament to the young Americans who died in the Valley of Death, and a tribute to the young men of the People's Army of Vietnam who died by our hand in that place."

"Sir, Custer was a pussy. You ain't."

"Neither the new technology nor your status as officers will keep you above the danger. Sergeant Major Plumley and I come from the paratroopers, where the officer is always the first man out of the plane. Because to follow your instincts and inspire your men by your example, you have to be with them — where the metal meets the meat...Now, I hope you men like training, 'cause me and the Sergeant Major... we love it!"

"[addressing his troops on the parade ground.] Look around you. In the Seventh Cavalry, we got a captain from the Ukraine. Another from Puerto Rico. We've got Japanese, Chinese, blacks, Hispanics, Cherokee Indians, Jews and gentiles — all Americans. Now, here in the States, some men in this unit may experience discrimination because of race or creed. But for you and me now, all that is gone. We're moving into the Valley of the Shadow of Death, where you will watch the back of the man next to you, as he will watch yours. And you won't care what color he is or by what name he calls God. They say we're leaving home. We're going to what home was always supposed to be. I can't promise that I will bring you all home alive. But this I swear before you and before Almighty God: that when we go into battle, I will be the first to set foot on the field, and I will be the last to step off. And I will leave no one behind. Dead or alive, we will all come home together. So help me God."

"Of the rapturous reception that Amélie has garnered among fans, Jeunet remembers that "when I was writing it, I was thinking 'who will be interested in this bullshit?'" but, "at the end of the film, we could feel something, it was special, there was something in the air, a buzz, you know?" Many fans feel a deep connection to the character, which he says is, "a dream for every director, every creator. Because you make something so personal and it becomes a huge success, it was a perfect win." Jeunet says that "it's difficult to understand, but there is something about generosity, Amélie doesn’t want anything in return, and I think that is one of the secrets, and it speaks about the little pleasures in life." He also attributes the post-9/11 release in the U.S. to the way in which audiences wanted to connect to a film like this."

"Serge Merlin — Raymond Dufayel"

"Jamel Debbouze — Lucien"

"Urbain Cancelier — Collignon, the Grocer"

"Arthus de Penguern — Hipolito, the Writer"

"Yolande Moreau — Madeleine Wallace, the Concierge"

"Rufus — Raphaël Poulain, Amélie's Father"

"Mathieu Kassovitz — Nino Quincampoix"

"Audrey Tautou — Amélie Poulain"

"The titular heroine's search for love and meaning in Montmartre made the world fall for her and the city as viewed through her eyes. Amélie, released in 2001, is one of the UK's highest-grossing foreign language films. But 15 years later, does its director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (pictured below) think he could make the film today given the tragic events the city has faced? "This period is more cynical, especially in France," says Jeunet from his Parisian office. "Fifteen years ago I showed the film in Toronto and the day after the screening it was 9/11. I was stunned like everybody, and I thought – Amélie is finished in the USA. But it was the opposite. People need positive stories, they need something with joy, something light. "Just two days ago it was screening in a theatre in Paris packed full of young people. Everybody had seen the film before – only two people hadn't – but when you have something positive in a story, it's always a success because it's not easy to write a positive story without it being sugary like stupid American films.""

"Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie is a delicious pastry of a movie, a lighthearted fantasy in which a winsome heroine overcomes a sad childhood and grows up to bring cheer to the needful and joy to herself. You see it, and later when you think about it, you smile. Audrey Tautou, a fresh-faced waif who looks like she knows a secret and can't keep it, plays the title role, as a little girl who grows up starving for affection. Her father, a doctor, gives her no hugs or kisses and touches her only during checkups—which makes her heart beat so fast he thinks she is sickly. Her mother dies as the result of a successful suicide leap off the towers of Notre Dame, a statement which reveals less of the plot than you think it does."

"[Mme. Wallace is reading an old letter from her long-deceased husband.] Mme. Wallace: "When my sweet little weasel appears at the station…" Did anyone ever write you like that? Amélie: No. I'm nobody's little weasel [Je ne suis la belette de personne]."

"Little boy: Quand le doigt montre le ciel, l' imbécile regarde le doigt"

"Newsstand Woman: Une femme sans amour, c'est comme une fleur sans soleil, ça dépérit."

"Eva: Les temps sont durs pour les rêveurs."

"Amelie still seeks solitude. She amuses herself with silly questions about the world below... such as, "how many couples are having an orgasm right now?""

"In such a dead world, Amelie prefers to dream until she's old enough to leave home"

"Nino is late. Amelie can only see two explanations. 1 - he didn't get the photo. 2 - before he could assemble it, a gang of bank robbers took him hostage. The cops gave chase. They got away... but he caused a crash. When he came to, he'd lost his memory. An ex-con picked him up, mistook him for a fugitive, and shipped him to Istanbul. There he met some Afghan raiders who took him to steal some Russian warheads. But their truck hit a mine in Tajikistan. He survived, took to the hills, and became a Mujaheddin. [Increasingly angry] Amelie refuses to get upset for a guy who'll eat borscht all his life in a hat like a tea cozy."

"In the apartment downstairs from Amélie lives Raymond Dufayel; they call him "The Glass Man." He was born with bones as brittle as crystal. All his furniture is padded. A handshake could crush his fingers. He's stayed inside for twenty years. Time has changed nothing."

"Voilà, ma petite Amélie, vous n'avez pas des os en verre. Vous pouvez vous cogner à la vie. Si vous laissez passer cette chance, alors avec le temps, c'est votre cœur qui va devenir aussi sec et cassant que mon squelette. Alors, allez y, nom d'un chien!"

"C'est l'angoisse du temps qui passe qui nous fait tant parler du temps qu'il fait."

"Et de ratage en ratage, on s'habitue à ne jamais dépasser le stade du brouillon. La vie n'est que l'interminable répétition d'une représentation qui n'aura jamais lieu."

"Sans toi, les émotions d'aujourd'hui ne seraient que la peau morte des émotions d'autrefois."

"Vous au moins, vous ne risquez pas d'être un légume, puisque même un artichaut a du cœur."

"Je n'aime pas dans les vieux films américains quand les conducteurs ne regardent pas la route."

"I had two heart attacks, an abortion because I smoked crack while I was pregnant. Besides that, I'm fine. [to her father, who is not paying attention]"

"It's better to help people than garden gnomes."