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.
#1 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."
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37points
#2 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?"
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35points
#4 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."
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30points
#5 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."
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28points
#6 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?"
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26points
#7 Stand By Me
"I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being."
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21points
#8 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."
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21points
#9 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.”
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21points
#10 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."
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20points
#13 The Big Lebowski
"Way out west there was this fella I wanna tell you about. Goes by the name of Jeff Lebowski."
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17points
#14 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."
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17points
#16 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?'"
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17points
#17 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."
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17points
#18 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."
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17points
#19 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."
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17points
#20 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."
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16points