34 Absolutely Incredible Opening Lines That Convinced People To Watch The Rest Of The Movie
Recently, we asked the BuzzFeed Community about the best opening movie lines ever.* Here are some of their submissions!
Some of these are a bit more than one sentence — we're counting up to the first three lines/the end of the thought.
1.Love Story: "What can you say about a 25 year old girl who died?"
"Pretty iconic."
2.Casino: "When you love someone, you've gotta trust them. There’s no other way."
Suggested by erikaheyerwatts
3.The Prestige: “Are you watching closely?”
Suggested by tmclure16
4.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?"
Suggested by hiitsnicetomeetyou
5.The Kentucky Fried Movie: "The popcorn you're eating has been pissed in. Film at 11."
Suggested by jennifercolleenoh
6.The Haunting: "An evil old house, the kind some people call haunted, is like an undiscovered country waiting to be explored."
Suggested by mucousmembrane
7.Tangled: "This is the story of how I died."
Suggested by crispydragon55
8.The Basketball Diaries: "When I was young — about eight or so — I tried making friends with God by inviting him to my house to watch the World Series. He never showed."
Suggested by carmenwilkie
9.Megamind: "Here's my day so far: went to jail, lost the girl of my dreams, and got my butt kicked pretty good. Still, things could be a lot worse. Oh, that's right. I'm falling to my death."
Suggested by cbrodon
10.Die Hard: “You don’t like flying, do you?"
Suggested by rosienuttty
11.The Emperor's New Groove: "Will you take a look at that? Pretty pathetic, huh?"
Suggested by andirants
12.Apocalypse Now: "Saigon. Shit, I’m still only in Saigon."
Suggested by johnballard
13.Citizen Kane: "Rosebud."
"Greatest opening line of all time from the greatest movie of all time."
14.The Virgin Suicides: “Cecilia was the first to go."
“Cecilia was the first to go…” followed by the startling image of a 13-year-old in bloody bath water."
15.Gone Girl: "When I think of my wife, I always think of her head. I picture cracking her lovely skull."
"I love how the movie opens and closes with the same line and image. Brilliant, creepy movie. David Fincher is an amazing director."
16.The Breakfast Club: "Saturday, March 24, 1984. Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois, 600062. Dear Mr. Vernon, We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong."
Suggested by mrsrath
17.Fight Club: “People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden."
Suggested by 1themusicrocks1
18.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.”
"The first line of Big Fish always gets me. ... It really sets the tone of this whimsical, wonderful film."
19.Rebecca: "Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again."
Suggested by mucousmembrane
20.Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: "I should have known that you would be here... Professor McGonagall."
"The music, the magic, then Dumbledore saying: 'I should have known that you would be here...Professor McGonagall' and the cat transforming. As a child, I was amazed."
21.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."
"The Fellowship of the Ring all the way — the cinematography is gorgeous, the narration perfect. ?? every time."
22.Lawrence of Arabia: "He was the most extraordinary man I ever knew."
Suggested by mucousmembrane
23.Goodfellas: "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."
Suggested by dalemcmahon123
24.Princess Mononoke: "In ancient times, the land lay covered in forest, where, from ages long past, dwelt the spirit of the gods."
"A voice tells us the story in its context with this music by Joe Hisaishi, which accompanies the voice perfectly. Chills."
25.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."
Suggested by superkay
26.Patton: "I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country."
"It's a lot more than one line, but the opening speech from the movie Patton."
27.The Jerk: "I am not a bum. I'm a jerk."
Suggested by shawnw479d64c29
28.Trainspotting: "Choose life; choose a job; choose a career; choose a family. Choose a fucking big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers."
"I mean, you just can’t beat Trainspotting’s opening monologue."
29.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.”
"I may be slightly biased, since that movie was my entire personality for my whole childhood, but that opening scene still gives me chills."
30.War of the Worlds: “No one would have believed in the early years of the 21st century that our world was being watched by intelligences greater than our own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns, they observed and studied, the way a man with a microscope might scrutinize the creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water."
Suggested by rileyrockett
31.The Godfather: "I believe in America. America has made my fortune."
32.The Departed: "I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me."
33.Stand by Me: "I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being."
34.And finally, The Sound of Music: "The hills are alive with the sound of music."
"Don’t tell me you all didn’t read that to the tune!"
Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments below!
Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.
