Lawrence of Arabia Quotes
Shmoop will make you a better lover...of quotes
ALL QUOTES POPULAR BROWSE BY AUTHOR BROWSE BY SOURCE BROWSE BY TOPIC BROWSE BY SUBJECTSource: Lawrence of Arabia
Speaker: T.E. Lawrence
No prisoners! No prisoners!
Context
This line is spoken by T.E. Lawrence (played by Peter O'Toole) in the movie Lawrence of Arabia, directed David Lean (1962).
A ton of critics will tell you that Lawrence of Arabia is one of the best movies ever, and they're totally right. It's about a wild card WWI British officer who goes native with the Arabs and helps to fight a bunch of Turks. Lawrence gets more and more ruthless as the war wears on, as shown in this scene, when he screams for "No prisoners!" as his men bear down on the enemy.
Where you've heard it
Maybe, you saw the quote referenced in the 1973 movie Battle for the Planet of the Apes, but we figure it's more likely that you saw it in the original movie.
There's probably also a good chance that you saw that two-part episode of American Dad! called Stan of Arabia, which spoofs the entire film.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
It's not the most pretentious thing we've ever heard, but don't be like Lawrence and follow it up with a massacre. If you do, there's no way you're getting invited to our next party.