What we've got here is (a) failure to communicate
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| "What we've got here is failure to communicate" | |
|---|---|
| Character | The Captain Luke |
| Actor | Strother Martin Paul Newman |
| Created by | Donn Pearce Frank Pierson |
| First used in | Cool Hand Luke |
| Voted #11 in AFI's 100 Movie Quotes poll | |
The phrase "What we've got here is (a) failure to communicate" is a quotation from the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, spoken at different points in the movie first by Strother Martin (as the Captain, a prison warden) and later Paul Newman (as Luke, a young prisoner).
The line is delivered by the Captain added with the following:
- "Some men you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it... well, he gets it. I don't like it any more than you men."
[edit] Usage
- The quotation appears twice by rock band Guns N' Roses: first in the 1990 song "Civil War" (of the Use Your Illusion II album) and again in 2008 song "Madagascar" (from Chinese Democracy).[1]
- The phrase is #11 on the American Film Institute list, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes.[2]
- In 1988 film Ernest Saves Christmas, Ernest (Jim Varney) says "What we've got here is a failure to 'accumulate'" while talking to Santa Claus.
- In the 1995 film Waterworld, the Deacon (Dennis Hopper, an original cast member of Cool Hand Luke) uses this line to the Mariner (Kevin Costner) towards the end of the film.
- In the Stickin' Around episode "Night of the Living Dumpster", Stacy and Bradley imagine that Stacy's mom says half of the line.
- The Rugrats episode "Cool Hand Angelica" features this line, mainly due to the fact that the episode is a parody of the film.
- Hip hop duo Danger Doom quotes this line in their song "El Chupa Nibre".
- In the 1995 film Major Payne, Major Benson Winifred Payne (portrayed by Damon Wayans) uses this line when speaking to his cadets.
- In Rob Zombie's 2007 remake of Halloween, the truck driver (Ken Foree) uses the line to Michael Myers (Tyler Mane).
- David Duchovny uses this line in season 2 episode 11 of Californication while firing a shotgun into the ceiling at a party in order to break up a catfight.
- In The Cleveland Show, Cleveland uses this line when coaching children.
- In Pitchshifter's album Desensitized.
- In Hustle on BBC1, in the episode that aired on 18 February 2011.
- In The A-Team during a shakedown in Season 3 Episode 10.
- In Here Comes Garfield, Garfield uses the line when Jon doesn't understand him trying to say that Odie had been taken to the city pound.
- In the short lived Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza, the line appeared in the game "Sentences" in the same playing as the famous "sexbutt" joke.
- In A Perfect Getaway, by Timothy olyphant's character.
- In Arena (2011 film), by Samuel L. Jackson's character.
- In NCIS, DiNozzo uses the line in "Engaged (Part 2) & Frame-Up", along with other lines of Cool Hand Luke, when he talks to God while standing alone in a chapel.
- In the opening of Kevin Smith's movie Cop Out, the line is used by Paul (Tracy Morgan) among many other famous quotes as a way to put pressure on a suspect.
[edit] References
- ^ Madagascar Lyrics, stlyrics.com; accessed May 14, 2010
- ^ "Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Give A Damn", AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes, American Film Institute.
[edit] External links
- Sound clip of the phrase (.wav, 57 KB)
- The quote on IMDb
