Richard Jordan Quotes

The Yakuza

Trust and Loyalty in Unfamiliar Relationships

Dusty That guy doesn't like you.

Harry Kilmer No, not much.

Dusty So how come you figure you can trust him?

Harry Kilmer Giri.

Dusty Gitty?

Harry Kilmer Giri. Obligation.

Dusty You mean he figures he owes you something?

Harry Kilmer Yeah, sort of.

Dusty Well, that can work two ways, Kilmer. If you ain't alive tomorrow, he don't owe you shit.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

The Yakuza

Cultural Differences in Violence and Expression

Dusty American sword cuts on a push stroke, Japanese sword cuts on a pull stroke. When an American cracks up, he opens up the window and shoots up a bunch of strangers. When a Japanese cracks up, he closes the window and kills himself. Everything is in reverse.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Desire for Solitude and Uncertain Alliances

Eddie Fingers Coyle I need a good leavin alone, that's what I need. I don't want nobody followin me around.

Dave Foley Okay. We'll do it your way. You call me when you get something, if you do. And if I get something, I'll put it in front of the U.S. Attorney. If I don't...all bets are off. Understood?

Dave Foley Have a nice day.

[Foley departs]

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Identity of Eddie Coyle Clarified

Dave Foley The only one fuckin Eddie Coyle is Eddie Coyle.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

The Secret of My Success

Character Confusion and Revelations in Dialogue

Howard Prescott Let me get this straight - Brantley is Whitfield?

Brantley Foster That's right. Brantley is Whitfield; Whitfield is Brantley.

Vera Prescott And Christy is the bimbo! Well, now that we've all had Mouseketeer roll call, I'm just going to go call my lawyer.

Howard Prescott No, wait a minute. Christy is not the bimbo I was screwing around with at the office.

Christy Wills People better stop calling me bimbo!

Howard Prescott It was an entirely different bimbo altogether.

Vera Prescott That's fine; how many bimbos would you say there were?

Howard Prescott I misspoke myself. There weren't any bimbos at all.

Brantley Foster Except Christy.

Howard Prescott Right. No!

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Coyle's Sentencing and Request for References

Dave Foley I got this call from Coyle, so I went out to see him.

Waters What'd he want?

Dave Foley He's comin up for sentencin in New Hampshire.

Waters And he wants some references. What's he got to trade?

Dave Foley He was offerin to peddle me this guy with machine guns. That bastard. He's about this high in the bunch, but he gets around more than any man I've ever seen. One day he's here, the next day he's there, you'd think he was some fuckin stray dog. I just wish I had a line on half of what he was doin'.

[laughs; holds thumb and forefinger close together]

Waters Does he work anywhere?

Dave Foley Yeah. He's a night expediter over at Arliss Trucking. But you just try to find him there. He works about as much as ]. My friend says Coyle's been tryin to look for, uh, Scalise. My friend runs a saloon. And I know he's got an undisclosed interest. And he knows I know. Strange guy.

[[w:Santa Claus|Santa Claus]

Waters What do ya hear about, uh, Artie Van and Scalise?

Dave Foley Nothin together, no.

Waters I wonder, uh, you don't think that Artie Van and, uh, Scalise, made that withdrawal from the bank, do ya?

Dave Foley It's a thought. I wonder where Eddie fits in.

Waters Ah, he's arming some wiseguys. He's done it before. This friend of yours that runs the saloon, was that the same saloon we talked about putting a ] in a few weeks back?

[[w:Covert_listening_device|wire]

Dave Foley Yeah, that's the one.

Waters Okay, you write it up and I'll present it to the attorney.

Dave Foley Maybe we oughta talk about it some more.

Waters Now it's not gonna do you any good in your head. You wanted a ].

[[w:Wiretapping|wiretap]

Dave Foley By the time I get it written up, it'll all be over with!

Waters Well, that's what you get when you get to be an expert, kid. Or, uh, maybe you'd rather go back to the ]?

[[w:Vice#Vice_squad|Pussy Posse; Waters departs]

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Consequences of Incomplete Loyalty

Eddie Fingers Coyle I was thinkin in terms of you maybe talkin to the prosecutor up there, and havin him drop a word to the judge how I been helpin my Uncle like a bastard?

Dave Foley Well, I would. But then again you haven't been.

Eddie Fingers Coyle What? I gave you a couple of calls.

Dave Foley Yeah, you give me some real stuff, too. You tell me about a guy that's gonna get hit, 15 minutes later he gets hit. You tell me about some guys on a job, but you don't tell me till they're coming out the door with the money. That's not helping Uncle, Eddie. You gotta put your whole soul into it. Hell, the way I hear it, you may be mixed up in somethin that's goin on.

Eddie Fingers Coyle Like what?

Dave Foley Oh, well, I wouldn't wanna confront a man with somethin I heard. You know me better than that.

Eddie Fingers Coyle Well, uh...suppose we was to talk about machine guns.

Dave Foley Just to change the subject?

Eddie Fingers Coyle Well, suppose someone should put you on to somebody who was sellin machine guns. You wouldn't want em to go to jail, would ya? I mean, somebody who was helpin ya like that, you wouldn't want em to go to jail and embarrass his kids and all, would ya?

Dave Foley When's this supposed to come off?

Eddie Fingers Coyle How much ya interested?

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Desperation and the Futility of Revenge

Dillon I heard a guy on television the other night. He was talking about pigeons. He called them "flying rats". I thought that was pretty good. What he had in mind, he was going to give them a pill or something, to make them extinct. Now, uh, here was a guy, who got shit on, probably got shit on again, then he got mad. They ruined his suit or something, so he's going to spend the rest of his life getting even with pigeons, they ruined a four hundred dollar suit. Now, uh, there's no percentage in that, you know, because there's probably ten million pigeons in Boston alone. All of em layin eggs every day, which generally produce more pigeons. All, uh, droppin tons and tons of shit, every day, rain or shine. And this guy in New York, he's goin "well, there just aren't gonna be any more of em in this world." A man gets desperate. He does a few things, he knows it won't work. Pretty soon he quits, packs it in, goes away someplace. That's the only way there is.

Dave Foley Okay. You gave us Scalise, and we're grateful. You can't talk about Coyle, you can't talk about Coyle. It's all right.

Dillon Thanks.

Dave Foley Screw. We been friends a long time now. I never asked a friend yet to do somethin he really couldn't do, I knew he couldn't do it.

Dave Foley Have a nice day.

[begins walking off in a different direction]

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Tension and Humor Among Friends

Dillon There's nothin much goin on.

Dave Foley You guys must've taken up circle jerks or somethin'. They ought to run one of these grand juries every three weeks or so. It sure puts you guys in the closet.

[chuckling]

Dillon Fuck you.

Dave Foley By the end of the week, Artie Van's gonna be sellin papers, or shinin shoes, or somethin'. You ought to get unemployment.

[laughing]

Dillon Cut it out.

Dave Foley All right. That was a cheap shot, I apologize. But, if there isn't anything goin on...

Dillon There's somethin goin on.

Dave Foley A bunch of the boys gettin together to watch dirty movies?

Dillon Mmm...To tell you the truth, I don't know what it is. People are tryin to sort of avoid people, you know? Guys telephonin for guys that aren't there.

Dave Foley Here's twenty. Who's callin up?

[hands Dillon some money]

Dillon Remember Eddie "Fingers"?

Dave Foley Fella that got his hand busted up. Who's he lookin for?

Dillon Jimmy Scalise. Do you know him?

Dave Foley Last time I heard, he was in Florida, gettin some sun. Does he find him?

Dillon I don't know. I'm just a messenger boy.

Dave Foley They give you numbers?

Dillon Telephone numbers. I'm a law-abiding citizen. I got a liquor license.

Dave Foley No, you work for a guy that's got a liquor license. Ever see him? You're a convicted felon.

Dillon Like I say, I work for a guy got a liquor license. I forget sometimes.

Dave Foley Want to forget this?

Dillon I'd just as soon.

Dave Foley You ought to get yourself a car.

Dillon I don't drive. I could afford a car, I wouldn't be takin twenty a week from you.

[begins walking away]

Dave Foley Have a nice day.

The Yakuza

Understanding Giri: Obligation and Burden

Dusty This Giri...

Ken Tanaka Giri? Hai.

Dusty It means obligation, right?

Ken Tanaka Burden.

Dusty Burden?

Ken Tanaka It's called, the burden hardest to bear.

Dusty Yeah, well, suppose you don't bear it. I mean, no one's going to come down on you?

Ken Tanaka No.

Dusty Well, you guys believe in some kind of Heaven and Hell?

Ken Tanaka No.

Dusty Then what is it you believe in that makes you do it?

Ken Tanaka Giri.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Trust and Wisdom in Unexpected Places

Eddie Fingers Coyle I shoulda known better than to trust a cop. My own goddamn mother coulda told me that.

Dave Foley Everybody oughta listen to his mother.

Memorable Quotes from Richard Jordan