First impressions count, and that’s why the way your movie starts plays a big role in how your audiences are going to react to the rest of it. You’ve got to hook them in from the very start before they switch the channel or walk out of the movie theater.
There are two ways to open your movie in a spectacular way. One is with a thrilling action scene that grips our attention from the get-go. Looking at you here, Indiana Jones and the great rolling boulder! The entire opening scene of The Raiders of the Lost Arc is masterfully done: with almost no dialogue, it still manages to tell us almost everything we need to know about the protagonist and what’s in store for us.
However, not every story requires an action scene. And here’s where movie lines can be of great help. Opening your movie with a memorable quote draws your audience’s attention and makes them want to find out what follows next. Of course, you can — and should — have great dialogues throughout your movie, but how you open it is a whole different story. Will your dialogue turn into famous quotes, or will it be just a filler between the action?
Writing a compelling dialogue is an art of its own, and not every writer possesses it, even if they can put together a breathtaking plot. You’ll notice how almost all movies from certain filmmakers contain dialogue that turns into iconic movie lines.
For this article, we collected some famous movie quotes from well-known films. How many do you recognize? Do you like using movie quotes in conversations? If yes, tell us which ones. And if you have favorite quotes from movies that didn’t make it onto this list, share them in the comments.
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The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
"The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air."
Trainspotting
"Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family, Choose a f*king big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed-interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchased in a range of f--king fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the f*k you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sittin' on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing f*king junk food into your mouth. Choose rottin' away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, f*ked-up brats that you've spawned to replace yourself. Choose a future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?"
The. Best! And if you’re into Ewan’s other work, make sure you see Shallow Grave.
Tangled
"This is the story of how I died."
Forrest Gump
"Hello. My name's Forrest, Forrest Gump. You want a chocolate? I could eat about a million and a half of these. My momma always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
The Seventh Seal
Anthonius Block: "Who are you?"
Death: "I am Death."
Anthonius Block: "Have you come for me?"
Death: "I have long walked by your side."
High Fidelity
"What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"
Stand By Me
"I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being."
Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron
"The story that I want to tell you cannot be found in a book. They say the history of the west was written from the saddle of a horse, but it’s never been told from the heart of one. Not until now."
American Beauty
“My name is Lester Burnham. This is my neighborhood; this is my street; this is my life. I am 42 years old; in less than a year I will be dead. Of course, I don't know that yet, and in a way, I am dead already.”
“My name is Kevin Spacey. This is my time; this is my movie; this is my life. I am 40 years old; in less than 18 years I will be canceled. Of course, I don't know that yet, and in a way, I am canceled already.”
Goodfellas
"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. To me, being a gangster was better than being President of the United States."
The Big Lebowski
"Way out west there was this fella I wanna tell you about. Goes by the name of Jeff Lebowski."
The Big Lebowski: "Are you employed, sir?" / The Dude: "Employed?" / Lebowski: "You don't go out looking for a job dressed like that? On a weekday?" / Dude: "Is this a... what day is this?" / Lebowski: "Well, I do work sir, so if you don't mind..." / Dude: "I do mind, the Dude minds. This will not stand, ya know, this aggression will not stand, man."
When Harry Met Sally
"I was sitting with my friend Arthur Kornblum in a restaurant. It was a cafeteria and this beautiful girl walked in and I turned to Arthur and I said, 'Arthur, you see that girl? I'm going to marry her.' And two weeks later we were married and it's over fifty years later and we are still married."
The Prestige
"Are you watching closely?"
Gone Girl
"When I think of my wife, I always think of her head. I picture cracking her lovely skull. Unspooling her brains. Trying to get answers. The primal questions of any marriage: 'What are you thinking?' 'How are you feeling?' 'What have we done to each other?'"
Megamind
"Here's my day so far: went to jail, lost the girl of my dreams, and got my b*tt kicked pretty good. Still, things could be a lot worse. Oh, that's right. I'm falling to my death."
Love this movie, my daughter and I have watched this at least 5-6 times....
Se7en
Detective Taylor: "Neighbours heard them screaming at each other, like for 2 hours, it was nothing new. Then they heard the gun go off, both barrels. Crime of passion.
William Somerset: "Yeah, just look at all the passion on that wall."
Avatar
"When I was lying there in the V.A. hospital, with a big hole blown through the middle of my life, I started having these dreams of flying. I was free. Sooner or later though, you always have to wake up."
Bridget Jones's Diary
"It all began on New Year's Day, in my thirty-second year of being single. Once again, I found myself on my own... and going to my mother's annual turkey curry buffet."
Haiku: Turkey curry meal, swan barking at the full moon, my mother feeds me.
To Kill A Mockingbird
"Maycomb was a tired old town, even in 1932 when I first knew it. Somehow, it was hotter then. Men's stiff collars wilted by 9 a.m in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon after their three o'clock naps. And by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frosting from sweating and sweet talcum. The day was 24 hours long but it seemed longer."
A Clockwork Orange
"There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim, and we sat in the Korova Milkbar trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening."
Love Actually
"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrival's gate at Heathrow airport."
Oh, I know it's a Christmas movie, but this really is my favorite rom-com. I'll watch it anytime u I need a reminder that love is everywhere. Plus Alan Rickman is insane for emotionally cheating on Emma Thompson.
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas
"We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold."
and then later.. "“We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.”
Fight Club
"People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden."
I know this is not the opening, but I love: “Like everyone else, I had become a slave to the IKEA nesting instinct…I would flip through catalogues and wonder ‘what kind of dining set defines me as a person?”"
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
"The key to faking out the parents is the clammy hands. It’s a good non-specific symptom; I’m a big believer in it."
I'll never forget the pain I felt when the red Porsche plunged backward into the gorge... I just don't know if it was from laughter or knowing the pain Cameron was about to be in.
Big Fish
"There are some fish that cannot be caught. It’s not that they are faster or stronger than any other fish, they’re just touched by something extra."
True Romance
"In Jailhouse Rock, Elvis was everything rockabilly's about - living fast, dying young, and leaving a good-looking corpse."
Pretty Woman
"No matter what they say, it's all about money."
The Beach
"My name is Richard. So what else do you need to know? Stuff about my family, or where I'm from? None of that matters. Not once you cross the ocean and cut yourself loose, looking for something more beautiful, something more exciting and yes, I admit, something more dangerous. So after eighteen hours in the back of an airplane, three dumb movies, two plastic meals, six beers and absolutely no sleep, I finally touch down; in Bangkok."
The Piano
"The voice you hear is not my speaking voice, but my mind's voice. I have not spoken since I was six years old. No one knows why, not even me. My father says it is a dark talent and the day I take it into my head to stop breathing will be my last."
The Talented Mr. Ripley
"If I could just go back... if I could rub everything out... starting with myself."
Black Swan
"I had the craziest dream last night. I was dancing the White Swan."
Haiku: Black swan gobbles fish, ballet is the stuff of dreams, moon glow reveals all.
Princess Mononoke
"In ancient times, the land lay covered in forest, where, from ages long past, dwelt the spirit of the gods."
The Departed
"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me."
Amelie
"On September 3, 1973, 6:28 p.m and 32 seconds, a blue fly of the Calliphorides species, whose wings can flutter 14,670 times per minute landed in Saint-Vincent Street, Montmartre."
Spider-Man (2001)
"Who am I? You sure you want to know? The story of my life is not for the paint of heart. If somebody said it was a happy little tail...if somebody told you I was just your average ordinary guy, not a care in the world... somebody lied."
Do The Right Thing
"Wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up, up ya wake, up ya wake, up ya wake, up ya wake!"
Four Weddings And A Funeral
Charles: "Oh, f**k. F**k!
Scarlett: "F**k!"
Charles: "F**k. F**k. Right, we take yours."
Scarlett: "But It only goes 40 miles an hour."
Charles: "What turn-off? Better not be the B359"
Scarlett: "It's the B359."
Charles: "F**k it!"
Scarlett: "F**k."
Charles: "F**k. F**k. F**k. F**k. F**kity F**k. Bugger."
Braveheart
"I will tell you of William Wallace. Historians from England will say I am a liar. But history is written by those who have hung heroes."
Dances With Wolves
Surgeon one: "Is this the last one?"
Surgeon two: "God, what a mess… at least there's no gangrene."
Surgeon one: 'There will be if it doesn't come off."
Surgeon two: Well I can't saw if I can't keep my eyes open. Let's coffee up… He can wait a few more minutes."
He's Just Not That Into You
Little girl: "Why did you do that?"
Little boy: "Because you smell like dog poo.You're so stupid just like dog poo! You're made of poo!"
Little girl to mum: "Made. (SOB) Of. (SOB) Dog. (SOB) Poo."
Mum: "Honey, do you know why that little boy did those things? Because he LIKES YOU."
Let's never tell a child again that cruelty is because someone likes them
Casino
"When you love someone, you've gotta trust them. There's no other way. You've got to give them the key to everything that's yours. Otherwise, what's the point? And for a while, I believed, that's the kind of love I had."
The Social Network
"Did you know there are more people with genius IQs living in China than there are people of any kind living in the United States?"
Love Story
"What can you say about a 25 year old girl who died? That she was beautiful. And brilliant. That she loved Mozart and Bach. And the Beatles. And me."
Out Of Africa
"He even took the gramophone on safari."
The lodge this was filmed at has a package that allows you to sit where they sat during the movie. It's quite popular with couples and some movie buffs.
Pulp Fiction
Pumpkin: "Forget it. It's too risky. I'm through doing that s*it."
Honey Bunny: "You always say that. The same thing every time, 'I'm through, never again, too dangerous.'"
Pumpkin: "I know that's what I always say. I'm always right, too."
Honey Bunny: "But you forget about it in a day or two."
Pumpkin: "Yeah, well the days of me forgetting are over, and the days of me remembering have just begun."
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Daisy: "What are you looking at, Caroline?"
Caroline: "The wind, mom. They say the hurricane is coming."
In Bruges
"After I killed him, I dropped the gun in the Thames, washed the residue off my hands in the bathroom of a Burger King, and walked home to await instructions."
Get out of the f London. Get to Bruges. I even didn't know where Bruges is. It's in Belgium.
Million Dollar Baby
"Only ever met one man I wouldn't wanna fight."
The Outsiders
"When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house. I had only two things on my mind; Paul Newman and a ride home."
Lord Of War
"There are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation. That's one firearm for every twelve people on the planet. The only question is: How do we arm the other 11?"
Annie Hall
"There's an old joke: Two elderly women are at a Catskill Mountain resort. And one of them says: 'Boy, the food in this place is really terrible.' The other one says: 'Yeah, I know. And such small portions.' Well, that's essentially how I feel about life. Full of loneliness and misery and suffering and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly."
Jaws
Tom Cassidy: "What's your name again?"
Christine 'Chrissie' Watkins: "Chrissie."
Tom Cassidy: "Where are we going?"
Christine 'Chrissie' Watkins: "Swimming."
Never Been Kissed
"You know in some movies how they have a dream sequence only they don't tell you it's a dream? This is so not a dream."
Good Will Hunting
Chuckie: "Oh my God, I got the most f**ked up thing I been meaning to tell you."
Friends: 'Oh Jesus. Here we go."
True Grit
"People do not give it credence that a young girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father’s blood, but it did happen."
The newer version,stays with the book. Mattie loses the arm. In the John Wayne version, he ( J.W.) wanted a happy ending.
Patton
"Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."
The way Patton died is sad. To bad he didn't go in the war. It would have been easier on him
Full Metal Jacket
"I am Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, your senior drill instructor. From now on you will speak only when spoken to, and the first and last words out of your filthy sewers will be 'Sir.'"
The Cider House Rules
"In other parts of the world, young men of promise leave home to make their fortunes, battle evil, or solve the problems of the world. I was myself such a young man, when I came to save the orphanage in St. Cloud's... many years ago."
The Hangover
(Doug's telephone answering message): "Hey, you've reached Doug. Sorry I missed your call. Please leave a name and number and I'll get back to you."
(Stu's telephone answering message): "Hi, you've reached Dr. Stuart Price with Divine Dentistry. Please leave a message after…"
(Phil's telephone answering message): "Hey, this is Phil. Leave me a message, or don't, but do me a favour, don't text me, it's gay."
The Help
Aibileen Clark: "I was born nineteen eleven, Chickasaw county, Piedmont Plantation."
Eugenia 'Skeeter' Phelan: "And did you know as a girl growing up, that one day you'd be a maid?"
Aibileen Clark: "Yes, ma'am. I did."
Eugenia 'Skeeter' Phelan: "And you knew that, because?"
Aibileen Clark: "My mama was a maid. My grandmama was a house slave."
Titanic
Brock Lovett: "Thirteen meters; you should see it."
Brock Lovett (seeing the shipwreck come into view for the first time): "OK; take her up and over the bow rail."
Citizen Kane
"Rosebud."
"It was his sled There, I saved you 2 boobless hours". Incredibly boring movie.
Apocalypse Now
"Saigon. S**t! I'm still only in Saigon. Every time I think I'm gonna wake up back in the jungle..."
Kill Bill Vol. 1
"Do you find me sadistic? You know, I bet I could fry an egg on your head right now, if I wanted to."
Blood Simple
"The world is full of complainers. And the fact is, nothing comes with a guarantee."
The Green Mile
"You love your sister? You make any noise, know what happens? I'm gonna kill you instead of you"
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
"3 billion human lives ended on August 29th, 1997. The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war Judgment Day."
Lawrence Of Arabia
"He was the most extraordinary man I ever knew."
Peter O'Toole. And Omar Sharif. What a brilliant, beautiful casting choice.
Field Of Dreams
"I'm 36 years old, I love my family, I love baseball, and I'm about to become a farmer. But until I heard the voice, I'd never done a crazy thing in my whole life."
Sunset Boulevard
"Yes, this is Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. It's about 5 o'clock in the morning – that's the homicide squad, complete with detectives and newspapermen. A murder has been reported from one of those great big houses in the 10,000 block. You'll read about it in the late editions, I'm sure."
Gone With The Wind
"What do we care if we were expelled from college, Scarlett. The war is gonna start any day now, so it won't affect college anyhow."
Eyes Wide Shut
Alice: "How do I look?"
Bill: "You look great."
Alice: "My hair okay?"
Bill: "Perfect."
Alice: "You're not even looking at it."
L.A. Confidential
“Come to Los Angeles! The sun shines bright, the beaches are wide and inviting, and the orange groves stretch as far as the eye can see. There are jobs aplenty, and land is cheap. Every working man can have his own house, and inside every house, a happy, all-American family. You can have all this, and who knows... you could even be discovered, become a movie star... or at least see one. Life is good in Los Angeles... it's paradise on Earth. That's what they tell you, anyway."
No Country For Old Men
"The crime you see now, it's hard to even take its measure."
Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb
"For more than a year, ominous rumours had been privately circulating among high-level western leaders that the Soviet Union had been at work on what was darkly hinted to be the Ultimate Weapon, a Doomsday Device."
Dead Man's Shoes
"God will forgive them. He'll forgive them and let them into heaven. I can't live with that."
The Basketball Diaries
"When I was young - about 8 or so - I tried making friends with God by inviting him to my house to watch the World Series. He never showed."
Eve's Bayou
"Memory is a selection of images, some elusive, others imprinted indelibly on the brain. The summer I killed my father, I was 10 years old."
Jane Eyre
Diana Rivers: "St John?"
St John Rivers: "I found her at the door."
Mary Rivers: "She's white as death!"
The Usual Suspects
Keyser Soze: "How you doing Keaton?"
Keaton: "I can't feel my legs, Keyser."
Keyser Soze: "Ready?"
Keaton: "What time is it?"
Keyser Soze: "Twelve thirty."
(Keyser points his gun at Keaton and shoots him.)
Chinatown
“All right, Curly, enough is enough. You can't eat the venetian blinds. I just had them installed on Wednesday.”
Slumdog Millionaire
Kumar: "So, Jamal, tell me something about yourself."
Jamal Malik: "I work in a call centre in Juhu."
Prem Kumar: "Phone basher! And what type of call center would that be?"
Jamal Malik: "XL5 mobile phones."
Prem Kumar: "Ohh... so you're the one who calls me up every single day of my life with special offers?"
Jamal Malik: "Actually I'm an assistant."
Prem Kumar: "An assistant phone basher? And what does an assistant phone basher do exactly?"
Jamal Malik: "I get tea for people and..."
Prem Kumar: "Chaiwalah! Well ladies and gentlemen, Jamal Malik, garma garam chai dene walah from Mumbai, lets play Who Wants To Be A Millionaire!"
I know several cinephiles, yet I haven't heard any of these "famous opening lines" quoted.
How on earth did they come across most of these? They're in no way movies "we all quote". I mean, movie quotes "we" all use is easy! And yet they pick lines I don't know existed from movies I quote often.
I realized something was wrong with this when the quotes were merely the first few sentences you hear when the movie starts. Otherwise, you'd definitely see the quote or two from "Pokemon Movie 2000" where Meowth and Mewtwo give very life changing quotes!
I know several cinephiles, yet I haven't heard any of these "famous opening lines" quoted.
How on earth did they come across most of these? They're in no way movies "we all quote". I mean, movie quotes "we" all use is easy! And yet they pick lines I don't know existed from movies I quote often.
I realized something was wrong with this when the quotes were merely the first few sentences you hear when the movie starts. Otherwise, you'd definitely see the quote or two from "Pokemon Movie 2000" where Meowth and Mewtwo give very life changing quotes!