Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Quotes
A young fugitive prince and princess must stop a villain who unknowingly threatens to destroy the world with a special dagger that enables the magic sand inside to reverse time.
Tamina: Such a noble prince.
Prince Dastan: Such a gentle princess.
Tamina: How taken you were with my fainting act, eagerly leaping to assist the fallen beauty.
Prince Dastan: Who said you were a beauty?
Tamina: There must be a reason why you can't take your eyes off me.
Prince Dastan: You're... I... I don't trust you. And you're not my type.
Prince Dastan: Such a gentle princess.
Tamina: How taken you were with my fainting act, eagerly leaping to assist the fallen beauty.
Prince Dastan: Who said you were a beauty?
Tamina: There must be a reason why you can't take your eyes off me.
Prince Dastan: You're... I... I don't trust you. And you're not my type.
Tamina: You know you really walk like one. Head held high, chest out, long stomping strides. The walk of a self-satisfied Persian prince. No doubt it comes from being told since birth the world is yours, and actually believing it.
Prince Dastan: I wasn't born in a palace like you! I was born in the slums of Nasaf, where I lived if I fought and I clawed for it.
Tamina: Then how did you become a prince?
Prince Dastan: The king... marched into the market one day, and he... I don't know, he... he found me. He took me in, he gave me a family, he gave me a home.
Prince Dastan: [he turns away, then turns back]
Prince Dastan: What you're looking at, is... the walk of a man, who just lost everything.
Prince Dastan: I wasn't born in a palace like you! I was born in the slums of Nasaf, where I lived if I fought and I clawed for it.
Tamina: Then how did you become a prince?
Prince Dastan: The king... marched into the market one day, and he... I don't know, he... he found me. He took me in, he gave me a family, he gave me a home.
Prince Dastan: [he turns away, then turns back]
Prince Dastan: What you're looking at, is... the walk of a man, who just lost everything.
[last lines]
Tamina: How can I trust the man who breached the walls of my city?
Prince Dastan: Well, I'm starting to think I'm no longer the same man who breached those walls.
Tamina: That's a short time for a man to change so much.
Prince Dastan: Perhaps.
Tamina: It sounds as if you've discovered something here.
Prince Dastan: And what might that be?
Tamina: A new spiritual awareness.
Prince Dastan: Destiny.
Tamina: Yes, exactly.
Prince Dastan: I believe we make our own destiny, Princess.
Tamina: You have an unfortunate lack of curiosity.
Prince Dastan: No doubt one of my many flaws.
Tamina: Please don't mock me, Prince.
Prince Dastan: Oh, I hardly think we know each other well enough for that, Princess, but I look forward to the day that we do.
Tamina: How can I trust the man who breached the walls of my city?
Prince Dastan: Well, I'm starting to think I'm no longer the same man who breached those walls.
Tamina: That's a short time for a man to change so much.
Prince Dastan: Perhaps.
Tamina: It sounds as if you've discovered something here.
Prince Dastan: And what might that be?
Tamina: A new spiritual awareness.
Prince Dastan: Destiny.
Tamina: Yes, exactly.
Prince Dastan: I believe we make our own destiny, Princess.
Tamina: You have an unfortunate lack of curiosity.
Prince Dastan: No doubt one of my many flaws.
Tamina: Please don't mock me, Prince.
Prince Dastan: Oh, I hardly think we know each other well enough for that, Princess, but I look forward to the day that we do.
Tamina: [as Dastan's leaving on his horse] So you're going to leave me here, in the middle of nowhere? Noble Dastan, abandoning a helpless woman in the wilderness! What does your precious honor have to say about that?
Prince Dastan: [returning] Give me the strength not to kill her.
Tamina: [Tamina gives him a look]
Prince Dastan: [returning] Give me the strength not to kill her.
Tamina: [Tamina gives him a look]
Prince Dastan: [watching Sharaman's funeral from a rooftop, seeing thousands of guards] I need to get a message to my uncle to meet me.
Tamina: That's impossible.
Prince Dastan: [Dastan leaps across rooftops, onto ledges and horses, and delivers a secret message to Nizam; the scene cuts to him meeting up with Tamina]
Prince Dastan: Difficult, not impossible.
Tamina: All more proof you're insane.
Prince Dastan: Why do you look so impressed?
Tamina: That's impossible.
Prince Dastan: [Dastan leaps across rooftops, onto ledges and horses, and delivers a secret message to Nizam; the scene cuts to him meeting up with Tamina]
Prince Dastan: Difficult, not impossible.
Tamina: All more proof you're insane.
Prince Dastan: Why do you look so impressed?
Prince Dastan: I've heard all these terrible stories of this place.
Sheik Amar: [laughing] The bloodthirsty slaves, murdering their masters? It's a good story; it's well told, ever-evolving, yeah but alas untrue.
Prince Dastan: But the skeletons that we saw at the...
Sheik Amar: ...I bought those from a gypsy in Bacara. Ah, I crafted our lurid reputation in order to fend off the most insidious evil that's been lurking this forsaken country of ours. Y'know what I'm talking about?
[Dastan shakes his head]
Sheik Amar: Taxes!
[spits]
Sheik Amar: Gah, these Persians! Their armies, their fortresses, their roads. Who pays for it all, eh? The small businessman! See that's why I started a little campaign, to spread some false notoriety. I spread it like a venerable disease in a Turkish harem!
Sheik Amar: [laughing] The bloodthirsty slaves, murdering their masters? It's a good story; it's well told, ever-evolving, yeah but alas untrue.
Prince Dastan: But the skeletons that we saw at the...
Sheik Amar: ...I bought those from a gypsy in Bacara. Ah, I crafted our lurid reputation in order to fend off the most insidious evil that's been lurking this forsaken country of ours. Y'know what I'm talking about?
[Dastan shakes his head]
Sheik Amar: Taxes!
[spits]
Sheik Amar: Gah, these Persians! Their armies, their fortresses, their roads. Who pays for it all, eh? The small businessman! See that's why I started a little campaign, to spread some false notoriety. I spread it like a venerable disease in a Turkish harem!
Sheik Amar: Yeah, nothing beats a good story, eh? But yours however, trading her in for a camel, please! I mean look at her, she's worth at least two! And as for you, young man, do you know your brother's offered a reward for you? Which quite frankly between you and me, borders on the obscene! I'd trade in my own mother for that kind of gold.
[Seso gives him a surprised look]
Sheik Amar: What? Oh you didn't know what she was like.
[Seso gives him a surprised look]
Sheik Amar: What? Oh you didn't know what she was like.
Sheik Amar: [to Dastan] We've been tracking you for a week! That little riot you started, it went on for *two days*! My beloved racetrack, all washed away like footprints in sand. You see Anita there? Hmm? Look at her. She's all that's left of my gaming empire. And no matter your skills as a promoter, *you can't organize an ostrich race with just one ostrich*! Am I right?
Crowd: Yeah!
Sheik Amar: Yes, sir. Come with me.
[takes off the textile covering Anita's head]
Sheik Amar: Did you know that ostriches have suicidal tendencies? Look at this poor thing. She used to be a grand champion. Now I have to watch her night and day to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid.
Crowd: Yeah!
Sheik Amar: Yes, sir. Come with me.
[takes off the textile covering Anita's head]
Sheik Amar: Did you know that ostriches have suicidal tendencies? Look at this poor thing. She used to be a grand champion. Now I have to watch her night and day to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid.
Prince Dastan: What aren't you telling me?
[Tamina looks around for help]
Prince Dastan: The tribesmen left. Maybe they tired of your penchant for lies and backstabbing.
Tamina: I had no choice but to leave you. I take it your uncle didn't listen.
Prince Dastan: It wasn't Tus that killed my father, it was Nizam.
Tamina: [confused] Your uncle?
Prince Dastan: His hands were burnt. He said it happened trying to pull off the cloak that killed my father. I've gone over it and over it in my mind, he never touched the cloak, he must have handled it before. It was Nizam who poisoned it. What good does turning back a few moments of time do my uncle? None. He murdered my father for more than just a dagger. What aren't you telling me?
[produces the dagger]
Prince Dastan: You know, you've got quick hands, but so do I. If you want it back, you tell me everything. No more games, no more lies.
[Tamina looks around for help]
Prince Dastan: The tribesmen left. Maybe they tired of your penchant for lies and backstabbing.
Tamina: I had no choice but to leave you. I take it your uncle didn't listen.
Prince Dastan: It wasn't Tus that killed my father, it was Nizam.
Tamina: [confused] Your uncle?
Prince Dastan: His hands were burnt. He said it happened trying to pull off the cloak that killed my father. I've gone over it and over it in my mind, he never touched the cloak, he must have handled it before. It was Nizam who poisoned it. What good does turning back a few moments of time do my uncle? None. He murdered my father for more than just a dagger. What aren't you telling me?
[produces the dagger]
Prince Dastan: You know, you've got quick hands, but so do I. If you want it back, you tell me everything. No more games, no more lies.
Prince Dastan: The secret guardian temple outside Alamut is a sanctuary, the one place the dagger can be hidden safely, the only way to stop this Armageddon. That's the truth, Dastan. Give me back the dagger, so that I can take it there.
Tamina: Oh. I can't do that.
[he starts walking away]
Tamina: ... I'm coming with you.
Prince Dastan: [in disbelief] You're going to help me?
Tamina: Well we can sit here and chat, or you can get on the horse.
Tamina: Oh. I can't do that.
[he starts walking away]
Tamina: ... I'm coming with you.
Prince Dastan: [in disbelief] You're going to help me?
Tamina: Well we can sit here and chat, or you can get on the horse.
King Sharaman: [to Dastan] The princess of Alamut will be your first wife!
[Dastan looks shocked and Tamina looks uncomfortable]
King Sharaman: What say you, Dastan?
Prince Dastan: Uh...
King Sharaman: He plunges into a hundred foes without thought, but before marriage he stands frozen with fear! And there are those who say he is not yet wise!
Prince Dastan: [quietly to Bis] I need a drink.
[Dastan looks shocked and Tamina looks uncomfortable]
King Sharaman: What say you, Dastan?
Prince Dastan: Uh...
King Sharaman: He plunges into a hundred foes without thought, but before marriage he stands frozen with fear! And there are those who say he is not yet wise!
Prince Dastan: [quietly to Bis] I need a drink.
Tamina: So I'm being escorted by Prince Dastan, the Lion of Persia. Must feel wonderful winning such a claim for destroying such an innocent city.
Prince Dastan: Oh, a pleasure to meet you too, princess. And allow me to offer, that if punishing the enemies of my king is a crime, then it's one I'll gladly repeat.
Tamina: Then you are a true prince of Persia. Brutal. Without honor.
Prince Dastan: Don't make the mistake of thinking you know me, princess.
Prince Dastan: Oh, a pleasure to meet you too, princess. And allow me to offer, that if punishing the enemies of my king is a crime, then it's one I'll gladly repeat.
Tamina: Then you are a true prince of Persia. Brutal. Without honor.
Prince Dastan: Don't make the mistake of thinking you know me, princess.
Prince Dastan: Incredible! Releasing the sand... turns back time! And only the holder of the dagger is aware of what's happened. He could go back and alter events, change time. And no one knows but him. How much can it unwind? Answer me, Princess!
Tamina: You destroyed my city!
Prince Dastan: Our invasion wasn't about weapon forges, it was about this dagger. After the battle, Tus asked for this dagger as tribute. I didn't think anything of it, but now I see. With it he could change anything, he could change the, the course of a critical moment in battle, he could foresee the blade of a rival! He wouldn't just be king, he'd be the most powerful ruler Persia has ever seen, greater even than my father. It was all about this dagger!
Tamina: You destroyed my city!
Prince Dastan: Our invasion wasn't about weapon forges, it was about this dagger. After the battle, Tus asked for this dagger as tribute. I didn't think anything of it, but now I see. With it he could change anything, he could change the, the course of a critical moment in battle, he could foresee the blade of a rival! He wouldn't just be king, he'd be the most powerful ruler Persia has ever seen, greater even than my father. It was all about this dagger!
Prince Dastan: We can't stop.
Sheik Amar: Well perhaps you can't, but we can!
Tamina: We could use your help getting to the temple.
Sheik Amar: Oh, by crossing the Hindu Kush with a storm blowing? You attract trouble like flies 'round rotting mango *and* you're insane!
Tamina: There's gold at the temple. More than ten horses can carry. Tax-free.
Sheik Amar: Well perhaps you can't, but we can!
Tamina: We could use your help getting to the temple.
Sheik Amar: Oh, by crossing the Hindu Kush with a storm blowing? You attract trouble like flies 'round rotting mango *and* you're insane!
Tamina: There's gold at the temple. More than ten horses can carry. Tax-free.
Tamina: I'm desperate for a drop of water!
Prince Dastan: Well that's more than we have since you emptied our canteen hours ago.
Tamina: I wasn't born of this desert like you Persians, all shriveled and angry. My constitution is much more... delicate.
Prince Dastan: I think you mean spoiled.
Tamina: The wells of Alamut are famed for their clean, cold water.
Prince Dastan: Perhaps less time admiring your wells and more time guarding your walls, and you wouldn't be here.
[pause]
Prince Dastan: Hah, a miracle! I've silenced the princess!
[he turns around to see Tamina lying on the ground; he moves over to help her]
Prince Dastan: Tamina? Tamina. Can you hear me?
Tamina: [she suddenly knocks him out cold with a bone and steals the dagger] Yes Dastan, I can hear you!
Prince Dastan: Well that's more than we have since you emptied our canteen hours ago.
Tamina: I wasn't born of this desert like you Persians, all shriveled and angry. My constitution is much more... delicate.
Prince Dastan: I think you mean spoiled.
Tamina: The wells of Alamut are famed for their clean, cold water.
Prince Dastan: Perhaps less time admiring your wells and more time guarding your walls, and you wouldn't be here.
[pause]
Prince Dastan: Hah, a miracle! I've silenced the princess!
[he turns around to see Tamina lying on the ground; he moves over to help her]
Prince Dastan: Tamina? Tamina. Can you hear me?
Tamina: [she suddenly knocks him out cold with a bone and steals the dagger] Yes Dastan, I can hear you!
Tamina: The dagger blade is the only thing that can pierce the Sand Glass and remove the Sands of Time, but the handle only holds one minute.
Prince Dastan: What if one were to place the dagger in the Sand Glass and press the jewel button at the same time?
Tamina: Sand would flow through endlessly...
Prince Dastan: ...you could turn back time as far as you like.
Tamina: Yes, but it is forbidden.
Prince Dastan: What if one were to place the dagger in the Sand Glass and press the jewel button at the same time?
Tamina: Sand would flow through endlessly...
Prince Dastan: ...you could turn back time as far as you like.
Tamina: Yes, but it is forbidden.
Tus: [voiceover] Moved by what he saw, the king adopted the boy Dastan into his family. A son with no royal blood and no eye on his throne. But perhaps there was something else at work that day, something beyond simple understanding. The day a boy from the unlikeliest of places became a prince of Persia.
Sheik Amar: [Dastan is encircled by men on horses, and a knife is thrown at him but deliberately misses] Do you know where you are, Persian? And yet you enter still? In the heart of Sudan, there is a tribe of warriors known as the Ngbaka. They strike fear into the hearts of all they cross. The Ngbaka are masters of the throwing knife, wielding blades said to have been blessed by the Creator himself. Their aim is so murderously accurate, they can decapitate *three men*... with one strike.
[Dastan tries to grab the knife]
Sheik Amar: Oh I wouldn't even bother doing that if I were you, d'you know why? This... is Seso. He's an Ngbaka. I had the good fortune of saving his life which means that he is now enduringly indebted to me. So tell me Persian: is there any good reason why I shouldn't tell Seso to put his next throw... just a little higher?
[Seso poises to throw again; Dastan notes the previous knife is positioned above his groin and quickly shakes his head]
[Dastan tries to grab the knife]
Sheik Amar: Oh I wouldn't even bother doing that if I were you, d'you know why? This... is Seso. He's an Ngbaka. I had the good fortune of saving his life which means that he is now enduringly indebted to me. So tell me Persian: is there any good reason why I shouldn't tell Seso to put his next throw... just a little higher?
[Seso poises to throw again; Dastan notes the previous knife is positioned above his groin and quickly shakes his head]
King Sharaman: [to those inside the palace after suggesting Dastan should marry Tamina] He plunges into a hundred foes without thought, but before marriage he stands frozen with fear! And there are those who say he is not yet wise!
[the Persians laugh]
Prince Dastan: [quietly to Bis] I need a drink.
[the robe Sharaman is wearing begins to smoke and burn him; soldiers rush to pull it off only for their hands to be burned]
Garsiv: [runs in to help] Out of my way!
[soldiers pull him back after his hands burn]
Prince Dastan: [kneels next to the king] Father.
Nizam: Oh God, help us! The robe, it's poisoned!
Prince Dastan: Somebody help him.
Garsiv: The robe Dastan gave him!
King Sharaman: [to Dastan] Why?
Prince Dastan: *Somebody help him*!
Garsiv: Seize the murderer!
Prince Dastan: *Somebody help him*!
[the Persians laugh]
Prince Dastan: [quietly to Bis] I need a drink.
[the robe Sharaman is wearing begins to smoke and burn him; soldiers rush to pull it off only for their hands to be burned]
Garsiv: [runs in to help] Out of my way!
[soldiers pull him back after his hands burn]
Prince Dastan: [kneels next to the king] Father.
Nizam: Oh God, help us! The robe, it's poisoned!
Prince Dastan: Somebody help him.
Garsiv: The robe Dastan gave him!
King Sharaman: [to Dastan] Why?
Prince Dastan: *Somebody help him*!
Garsiv: Seize the murderer!
Prince Dastan: *Somebody help him*!
Tamina: Dastan, the Sands contained within the Sand Glass are incredibly powerful. Opening the dagger while it's inside the glass breaks the seal... and destroys the Sand Glass, causing it to crack and shatter. The Sands of Time would no longer be contained, and they would carry the Gods' wrath with them once more, destroying everything in their path, and all mankind would pay for Nizam's treachery. This is all that would be left of us.
Tamina: Our friends in the palace say the Persians have broken through to the first level of the tunnels. They'll reach the Sand Glass within hours. Nizam's keeping the dagger in the High Temple, guarded by some sort of demon, covered in spikes.
Prince Dastan: The Hassansin that killed my brother.
Tamina: It's the only thing that stands between us and the dagger. No man can stand within twenty yards of him and live.
Seso: Some don't need to get that close.
Prince Dastan: The Hassansin that killed my brother.
Tamina: It's the only thing that stands between us and the dagger. No man can stand within twenty yards of him and live.
Seso: Some don't need to get that close.
Tamina: Every road to Avrat will be covered with Persian troops!
Prince Dastan: Well, I'm not taking roads. I'm going through the Valley of the Slaves.
Tamina: No one goes near that wasteland. It's filled with murdering cutthroats.
Prince Dastan: Yes, so they say.
Tamina: Your whole plan is suicide!
Prince Dastan: My brother murdered my father and let his blood in my hands! If I die trying to set that right, then so be it!
Prince Dastan: Well, I'm not taking roads. I'm going through the Valley of the Slaves.
Tamina: No one goes near that wasteland. It's filled with murdering cutthroats.
Prince Dastan: Yes, so they say.
Tamina: Your whole plan is suicide!
Prince Dastan: My brother murdered my father and let his blood in my hands! If I die trying to set that right, then so be it!
Bis: That's our way in. There are two gates. The outer one is easy; it's the inner gate that's impossible. That gate mechanism is protected by two-man guard towers.
Prince Dastan: Yeah well there's always a way in, Bis. You take care of the outer gate, you leave the impossible one to me.
Bis: Oh so you won't be happy until you get us all killed.
Prince Dastan: Oh, wonderful speech, Bis. Rousing!
Prince Dastan: Yeah well there's always a way in, Bis. You take care of the outer gate, you leave the impossible one to me.
Bis: Oh so you won't be happy until you get us all killed.
Prince Dastan: Oh, wonderful speech, Bis. Rousing!
[first lines]
Tus: [voiceover] Long ago in a land far away, there once rose an empire that stretched from the steppes of China to the shores of the Mediterranean. That empire was Persia. Fierce in battle, wise in victory. Where the Persian sword went, order followed. The Persian king, Sharaman, ruled with his brother, Nizam, upon the principles of loyalty and brotherhood.
Tus: [voiceover] Long ago in a land far away, there once rose an empire that stretched from the steppes of China to the shores of the Mediterranean. That empire was Persia. Fierce in battle, wise in victory. Where the Persian sword went, order followed. The Persian king, Sharaman, ruled with his brother, Nizam, upon the principles of loyalty and brotherhood.
