Water Quotes from Movies and Films

Jim Lauria

My favorite book of 2020 was about one of my favorite movies of all time, water or otherwise, Chinatown. In his book The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood, author Sam Wasson gives the perspectives of screenwriter Robert Towne, producer Robert Evans, director Roman Polanski and lead actor Jack Nicholson in the making of the 1974 film. The movie was inspired by the California Water Wars, a series of disputes over southern California water at the beginning of the 20th century, by which Los Angeles interests secured water rights in the Owens Valley.

My favorite line from the movie starts the list of water quotes from movies and films…

1. “Can you believe it? We're in the middle of a drought, and the water commissioner drowns. Only in L.A.” - Morty (Charles Knapp), Chinatown, 1974

In chronological order, here are my favorites from other movies and films…

2. “Water is more precious than gold.”- Howard (Walter Huston), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948

3. "I'm not here complaining that I know you are trying to buy the Big Muddy to keep my cows from water." - Rufus Hannassey (Burl Ives), Big Country, 1958

4. "Now he can't grow any bigger until he gets more water." - Sheriff J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum), El Dorado, 1966

5. “All those moments will be lost in time. Like tears in rain. Time to die.” - Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), Blade Runner, 1982

6. “I saw Jose Mondragon let water into his father’s beanfield. I’m not saying it’s good, I’m not saying it’s bad.” - Amarante Cordova (Carlos Riquelme), The Milagro Beanfield War, 1988

7. "I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope." - Red (Morgan Freeman), The Shawshank Redemption, 1994

8. “The future... The polar ice caps have melted, covering the earth with water. Those who survived have adapted to a new world.” - Opening narration, Waterworld, 1995

9. "There are 3 million liters of water underneath the blue dunes and you will retrieve it." - Kesslee (Malcolm McDowell), Tank Girl, 1995

10. “God is in the rain.” - Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman), V for Vendetta, 2005

11. "This is the world's most precious resource. We need to control as much as we can." - James Bond villain Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), Quantum of Solace, 2008

12.  "What if whatever is killing those cows is in the drinking water?" - Robert Bilott (Mark Ruffalo), Dark Waters, 2019

And finally from one of my favorite movies of 2020, the Netflix release of Brave Blue World, executive producer Paul O’Callaghan’s hopeful documentary that expresses my sentiments and those of many of my fellow water professional colleagues…

13.  "How lucky are we that we are the ones who get to solve this?" - Matt Damon, Brave Blue World, 2020

If you have any quotes to add, please post them in the comments section.

Thanks and please check out the other posts from my series “Water Quotes from…”

Water Quotes from Chinese Teachings

 Water Quotes from Song Lyrics

Water Quotes from Around the World

Water Quotes from Leonardo da Vinci