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?"

"What can you say about a 25 year old girl who died? That she was beautiful and brilliant? that she loved mozart and bach, the beatles...and me?"

"Pretty iconic."

sarahkn

Paramount Pictures

2.Casino: "When you love someone, you've gotta trust them. There’s no other way."

man walks to car: "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 king of love I had" (car blows up)

Suggested by erikaheyerwatts

Universal Pictures

3.The Prestige: “Are you watching closely?”

the prestige title screen then a bunch of magician's hats with the caption "are you watching closely?"

Suggested by tmclure16

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution / Warner Bros. Pictures

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?"

"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

Lions Gate Films / 20th Century Fox / SND Films

5.The Kentucky Fried Movie: "The popcorn you're eating has been pissed in. Film at 11."

"The popcorn you're eating has been pissed in. Film at 11"

Suggested by jennifercolleenoh

United Film Distribution Company

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

Suggested by mucousmembrane

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

7.Tangled: "This is the story of how I died."

flynn ryder wanted poster from tangled with the quote "This is the story of how I died"

Suggested by crispydragon55

Disney

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."

"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

New Line Cinema

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."

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

Paramount Pictures / DreamWorks Animation

10.Die Hard: “You don’t like flying, do you?"

man on a plane is clutching arm rest, and the guy next to him says “you don’t like flying, do you?” He replies “what gives you that idea?”

Suggested by rosienuttty

20th Century Fox

11.The Emperor's New Groove: "Will you take a look at that? Pretty pathetic, huh?"

"Will you take a look at that? Pretty pathetic, huh? Well, you'll never believe this, but that llama you're looking at was once a human being. and not just any human being - that guy was an emperor"

Suggested by andirants

Disney

12.Apocalypse Now: "Saigon. Shit, I’m still only in Saigon."

man looks out window shades and says  "Saigon. Shit, I’m still only in Saigon"

Suggested by johnballard

United Artists

13.Citizen Kane: "Rosebud."

man holding snow globe says "rosebud" then drops it

"Greatest opening line of all time from the greatest movie of all time."

kaischagun1

RKO Radio Pictures

14.The Virgin Suicides: “Cecilia was the first to go."

bathroom counter with perfume then a girl in bloody bath water labeled Paramount Pictures“Cecilia was the first to go"

15.Gone Girl: "When I think of my wife, I always think of her head. I picture cracking her lovely skull."

<div><p>"I love how the movie opens and closes with the same line and image. Brilliant, creepy movie. David Fincher is an amazing director."</p><p>—<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/tawanab" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:tawanab;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">tawanab</a></p></div><span> 20th Century Fox</span>

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."

"Saturday, March 24, 1984.  Shermer High School. Shermer, Illinois. 60062. 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

Universal Pictures

17.Fight Club: “People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden."

man with gun pointed in his mouth with caption “People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden"

Suggested by 1themusicrocks1

20th Century Fox

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.”

"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"

19.Rebecca: "Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again."

"Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again."

Suggested by mucousmembrane

United Artists

20.Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: "I should have known that you would be here... Professor McGonagall."

hearing McGonagall (as a cat) meow, Dumbledore says "I should have known that you would be here... Professor McGonagall" and then her shadow begins to transform

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 world is changed. I feel it in the water; I feel it in the earth; I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it" with Lord of the rings title screen

22.Lawrence of Arabia: "He was the most extraordinary man I ever knew."

at a funeral, a priest tells a man "He was the most extraordinary man I ever knew"

Suggested by mucousmembrane

Columbia Pictures

23.Goodfellas: "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."

bloody sheets and Henry in a suit with caption "as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster"

Suggested by dalemcmahon123

Warner Bros.

24.Princess Mononoke: "In ancient times, the land lay covered in forest, where, from ages long past, dwelt the spirit of the gods."

mountainous landscape with caption "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."

edzheimer

Toho

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."

girl's eye then a field with the caption "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

Trimark Pictures

26.Patton: "I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country."

general in front of american flag saying "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."

spdavid

20th Century Fox

27.The Jerk: "I am not a bum. I'm a jerk."

Navin says "I am not a bum. I'm a jerk" as the title comes onscreen

Suggested by shawnw479d64c29

Universal Pictures

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."

men running from people with caption "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."

lucy798

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

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.”

forest with horses then a view of mountains captioned “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"

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."

“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"

Suggested by rileyrockett

Paramount Pictures / DreamWorks Pictures

31.The Godfather: "I believe in America. America has made my fortune."

man saying "I believe in America. America has made my fortune"
Paramount Pictures

32.The Departed: "I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me."

title screen: boston, some years ago. Then people fighting with caption "I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me"
Warner Bros. Pictures

33.Stand by Me: "I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being."

Gordie in his car with the caption "I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being"
Columbia Pictures

34.And finally, The Sound of Music: "The hills are alive with the sound of music."

"The hills are alive with the sound of music. With songs they have sung for 1000 years!"

"Don’t tell me you all didn’t read that to the tune!"

juliaw1

20th Century Fox

Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments below!

Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.