"And it just cracks me up that we try so desperately to be unique when we're all the same cat - Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, me, you, every cat has got that one chick who really busted up his ass!"

"Please! Don't take away my words! They're just words! I'm not hurting anybody!"

"I am totally corrupt. I mean, really! My whole act. My whole economic success, whatever that is, is based solely on the existence of segregation, violence, despair, disease and injustice. And if, by some miracle, the whole world were suddenly tranquil, pure, I'd be standing on an unemployment line somewhere. So you see, I'm not a moralist. If I were, I'd be donating my salary to those schoolteachers. Right?"

"That's where the conflict starts! We all want for a wife a combination Sunday school teacher and $500-a-night hooker."

"Are there any niggers here tonight? Can you turn on the house lights, please, and could the waiters and waitresses just stop serving, just for a second? And turn off the spot. Now what did he say? Are there any niggers here tonight? I know there's one nigger here; because, I see him back there working. Let's see. There's two niggers. And between those two niggers sits a kike. And there's another kike. That's two kikes and three niggers. And there's a spic, right? Hm? There's another spic. Ooh, there's a wop. There's a Polack. And then, oh, a couple of greaseballs. There's three lace-curtain Irish Micks. And there's one hip, thick, hunky, funky boogie. Boogie, boogie. Mm-mm. I got three kikes. Do I hear five kikes? I got five kikes. Do I hear six spics? Six spics. Do I hear seven niggers? I got seven niggers. Sold: American! I'll pass with seven niggers, six spics, five Micks, four kikes, three guineas, and one wop. You almost punched me out, didn't ya? I was trying to make a point and that is it's the suppression of the word that gives it the power, the violence, the viciousness. Dig. If President Kennedy would just go on television and say I'd like to introduce you to all the niggers in my cabinet. And if he'd just say nigger, nigger, nigger, nigger, nigger to every nigger he saw, boogie, boogie, boogie, boogie, boogie, nigger, nigger, nigger, nigger, nigger till nigger didn't mean anything anymore! Then you'd never be able to make some six year old black kid cry because somebody called him a nigger in school."

"[reading from "Time" magazine] Sick comic Lenny Bruce whose jokes about the President... Blah, blah, blah, blah. You know what's sick? Zsa Zsa Gabor will get $60,000 a week in Las Vegas, Nevada. And school teacher salaries in that state, top salary is $6,000 a year. Now, that's really sick! And that's the kind of sick l wish they would have written about."

"I'm not anti-Christ or anti-religion, l just think it's encouraging that people are leaving the Church and going back to God."

"What's the worst thing you can say to anybody? Fuck you, mister! That's really weird, because if l wanted to hurt you, l should say, Unfuck you, mister Because fuck you is really nice, man."

"Martin Sheen - Oliver Queenan"

"Mark Wahlberg - Dignam"

"Jack Nicholson - Frank Costello"

"Matt Damon - Colin Sullivan"

"Leonardo DiCaprio - Billy Costigan"

"Loyalty is a lie."

"Cops or Criminals. When you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?"

"Unrestrained"

"Undercover"

"Underhanded"

"Lies. Betrayal. Sacrifice. How far will you take it?"

"Most people wouldn't trust anybody with an immaculate record. I do. I got an immaculate record."

"[after punching a computer technician] YOU FUCKED THIS WHOLE THING UP!!!! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO, YOU COCKSUCKER?!?!?! LET GO OF ME!!!! I'M GONNA RIP YOUR ARM OFF AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR FUCKING ASS, YOU HEAR ME?!?!?!"

"Please tell me those cars aren't empty. I mean, Jesus fucking Christ, please tell me that those Chinamen's cars AREN'T EMPTY!!"

"[to Colin Sullivan] Marriage is an important part of getting ahead. It lets people know you're not a homo. A married guy seems more stable. People see the ring, they think 'at least somebody can stand the son of a bitch.' Ladies see the ring, they know immediately that you must have some cash, and your cock must work."

"[to Madolyn] If we're not gonna make it, it's gotta be you that gets out, cause I'm not capable. I'm fucking Irish, I'll deal with something being wrong for the rest of my life."

"[Gives Billy a cellphone] Now, whenever you make a call, ask for Mikey. MIKEY! Heh...you ask for a Mikey, because there is no Mikey."

"[to Colin] One of us had to die. With me, it tends to be the other guy."

"The cops are saying he's a cop. So I won't look for the cop. Are you soft, Fitzy? When I tell you to dump a body in the marsh, you dump him in the marsh. Not where some guy from John Hancock goes every Thursday TO GET A FUCKING BLOWJOB! [Fitzy laughs, Frank hits him with his hat] DON'T LAUGH! THIS AIN'T REALITY TV!!!"

"When you decide to be something, you can be it. That's what they don't tell you in the church. When I was your age they would say we can become cops, or criminals. Today, what I'm saying to you is this: when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?"

"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me. Years ago we had the church. That was only a way of saying - we had each other. The Knights of Columbus were real head-breakers; true guineas. They took over their piece of the city. Twenty years after an Irishman couldn't get a fucking job, we had the presidency. May he rest in peace. That's what the niggers don't realize. If I got one thing against the black chappies, it's this - no one gives it to you. You have to take it."

"Kevin Corrigan - Cousin Sean"

"Alec Baldwin - Ellerby"

"Anthony Anderson - Brown"

"Vera Farmiga - Madolyn"

"Ray Winstone - Mr. French"

"People are always asking me how is it that firefighters run into a burning building when everyone else is running out. Courage is the answer."

"[Latched onto a frantic man while hanging from a rope] Calm down! Sir - you need to calm down! I swear to God I'll drop you!"

"You know, Mike asked me tonight if I loved the job like I did before, and for the first time in my life, I didn't know what to say."

"[to command firefighter] Ok, shut down all exterior operations, get your asses in there and find him. Go-go-go."

"[speaks into radio] Deputy Chief One to communications I'm on location assuming command, strike out a fourth alarm!"

"[his firefighters are fighting] Hey! HEY! [throws chair against a wall with a loud bang, stopping the fight] What the Hell's going on here?! HUH?! I come back from tellin' a mother her son is dead. And this is goin' on, in my house. [bellows] IN MY HOUSE! [angrily] We deal with this by stickin' together. We take it. We learn from it. And we get back on the GODDAMN TRUCK, AND THAT'S HOW WE HONOR DENNIS! YOU GOT THAT?! Anybody thinking of lowering the flag? [looks at Jack] [in stern voice] Do it."

"[last words, sadly] It's never an easy thing; Saying goodbye to a brother firefighter. It's not. And this time, particularly, is difficult for me, because, I watched Jack grow into a-- Well, into one of the finest firefighters I've ever known. He joined this department because he wanted to help people. Who knows how many homes are still standing because Jack was there, or how many lives were spared? He gave his life for that cause. We'll never forget you, Jack. And we're better for having known you. But I make you this one promise; Tomorrow, when that bell rings, we will be back on the truck, because you were the bravest of the brave. People are always asking me: "How is it that firefighters run into a burning building when everyone else is running out?" Well, Jack, you answered that question by saving another man's life. Your courage is the answer. And, today, we will be as brave as you. By not mourning you, but by celebrating your life. So, I'd like everyone to stand up and celebrate the life...of Jack Morrison. [everyone gives Kennedy a standing ovation.]"

"Billy Burke - Dennis Gauquin"

"Morris Chestnut - Tommy Drake"

"Robert Patrick - Lenny Richter"

"Jacinda Barrett - Linda Morrison"

"John Travolta - Captain Mike Kennedy"

"Joaquin Phoenix - Jack Morrison"