‘I’ll tell you what you already know’: 18 years later, this speech is still one of the most powerful we’ve heard in cinema

There are lines in movies that we know by heart and love to belt out with friends. Lines that made us cry with laughter the first time we heard them and never got tired of them. Lines that we treasure in the corner of our memory and that we sometimes recall with a small smile of nostalgia.

And then there are the lines that helped us. Getting up sometimes when life beats us down. To build yourself up. to fight us These lines that once upon a time we could express in the face of adversity, like throwing an uppercut to an opponent during a boxing match. These answers, which in certain specific cases allowed us to hold on, helped us not to give up, maybe even saved our lives.

• “What are we doing with our lives…”: Spoken 24 years ago in one of the most epic films of all time, this line still resonates in the hearts of audiences.

The most beautiful replica of the rock

Between the encouraging speeches of Maximus or William Wallace in Gladiator or Braveheart, the sweet and tender life lessons of Forrest Gump’s mother or the wise advice of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, there is no shortage of treasures in cinema material. And more specifically, thanks to Sylvester Stallone’s strong and sharp pen, which holds its own on the blank page as much as in the ring, The Rocky Saga is full of this kind of gore.

It is in the sixth opus of the franchise, released in 2007 and directed by Sly himself, that the most masterful tirade of the character is found. It sounds on screen as The Rock, then around 60 years old, prepares to return to action to face an opponent 35 years his junior.

Her son Robert, from whom she has become increasingly estranged in recent years, then scolds her for her fame, claiming she was the first victim of his life. Rocky, tired of seeing her mope and worry, then offers her (and everyone else watching the film) a terrifying and powerful tirade intended to bring her back to her feet.

“That’s how you win!”

A perfect intersection of love, anger and authority, it still resonates today in the memory of those who heard it at the time:

“I will tell you what you already know: the sun, the rainbow, this is not the world, there are real storms, hard trials. No matter how big and strong you are, life will bring you to your knees and leave you like that. Forever if he lets you, me, hit no one, as in life that’s how you win.”

“If you are sure of what it is worth, you should try everything to get it, but also admit that there will be harm, instead of pointing the finger at your neighbor and saying: I missed everything in life because of him.” Either his or I don’t know who. It’s a coward and you’re not one, you’re better than that!”

“I will always love you, no matter what choice you make. I love you no matter what. You are my child, the most precious thing I have, the best thing that ever happened to me. But so much that you don’t believe it. In yourself, in your dreams, in your In life, it will not be life.”

To this vocal shock, which instantly acts like a defibrillator on his exhausted soul, Rocky Balboa’s son finds no response and is content to watch his father return to his small Italian restaurant, following him with his eyes. Two eyes that hadn’t seen it clearly in a long time.

What is your favorite Rocky Balboa line?

(Re)discover our video dedicated to Sylvester Stallone…