“When the fall is all there is…”

I get traffic from people searching for this quote almost daily.  Aaron Sorkin paraphrased it twice–once on Sports Night, and again on The West Wing.  I’ve used it before too, once in describing Harry’s role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Sorkin’s paraphrase goes like this: “As if it matters how a man falls down.  When the fall is all that’s left, it matters very much.”

The line comes from The Lion in Winter, as Prince Geoffrey and Prince Richard find themselves in the dungeon, believing they hear their father’s approach…

Richard: He’s here. He’ll get no satisfaction out of me. He isn’t going to see me beg.
Geoffrey: My you chivalric fool… as if the way one fell down mattered.
Richard: When the fall is all there is, it matters.

And here it is in living color! (Unfortunately, the only YouTube video I found that displays this scene refuses to let me embed it–click the link and enjoy.)