30 Killer Movie Opening Lines
Solid starts and the best beginnings…
BY Oct 8th 2009 12:12PMFILED UNDER: Features
User Comments (11)
The Film: LA Confidential (1997)
The Line: “'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.' Ha ha ha ha. That's what they tell you, anyway.”
The Film: Conan The Barbarian (1982)
The Line: "Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of.
“And unto this, Conan, destined to wear the jewelled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow. It is I, his chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!"
The Film: Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)
The Line: "We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold."
Next: The Jerk, The Big Lebowski & The Departed
Print Comments (11)
1: Desperation says
I can't remember if it's the actual opening line or not, but it must be as near as makes no difference.
"3 billion human lives ended on August 29th, 1997. The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war Judgment Day. They lived only to face a new nightmare: the war against the machines."
Posted: Oct 8th 2009 // 9:09AMAlert a moderator
2: theGlimmerTwin says
Most definitely one of my favourite opening lines is that from High Fidelity (2000):
"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?"
Posted: Oct 8th 2009 // 10:41AMAlert a moderator
3: Munkybren says
pretty sure the first line of American Beauty belongs to Thora Birch
Posted: Oct 8th 2009 // 7:13PMAlert a moderator
4: AlonseR says
Dead Man's Shoes gave me an idea for another feature you could do. The Best Sweary(sic) Moments. I would include Paddy Considine's quite disturbing "I'm looking at you, ya c**t"
Mickey Rourke in the Wrestler "Get your own f***ing cheese" to name a few. Would be quite fuuny to see what you come up with.
Posted: Oct 9th 2009 // 6:06PMAlert a moderator
5: seanankerr says
Come on no Godfather?
"I believe in America. America has made my fortune. And I raised my daughter in the American fashion. I gave her freedom but I taught her never to dishonor her family. She found a "boy friend," not an Italian. She went to the movies with him. She stayed out late. I didn't protest. Two months ago he took her for a drive, with another boy friend. They made her drink whiskey and then they tried to take advantage of her. She resisted. She kept her honor. So they beat her. Like an animal. When I went to the hospital her nose was broken. Her jaw was shattered, held together by wire. She couldn't even weep because of the pain. But I wept. Why did I weep? She was the light of my life. A beautiful girl. Now she will never be beautiful again."
also the Wild Bunch with the double whammy of the imagery of the ants and scorpions being burnt (if ever there was a brilliant metephor for the sadism of the artist towards his charracters...) and the brilliant line "If they move kill 'em!"
Posted: Oct 10th 2009 // 2:45AMAlert a moderator
6: lolcaa says
I always chuckled at the opening lines for "The Way of The Gun"
Also no guy ritchie?
Posted: Oct 10th 2009 // 11:07AMAlert a moderator
7: Bennythemule says
I like the line said by Michael Cain in that familiar cockney accent in the Italian Job...
"you're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off"
Posted: Oct 10th 2009 // 11:28AMAlert a moderator
8: Bennythemule says
Al Pacino in the Godfather Part 3..
"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in"
and
Andy Garcia
"I say we make him dead, you give me the word and I will take care of it myself"
Posted: Oct 10th 2009 // 11:35AMAlert a moderator
10: Joseph says
"God, I feel horny!" -the opening line from Doctrs' Wives(1971)said by Dyan Cannon
Posted: Oct 12th 2009 // 7:39AMAlert a moderator
11: thegreatiaino says
How are "Rosebud" and "People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden…" great opening lines?
They only seem great in the context of the rest of the film. Taken on their own (which presumably is the point of this article) they're completely meaningless.
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