The greatest opening lines in movies - 50 amazing movie quotes

The best opening lines set the scene for the movie that follows. Whether it's a quote from a book or a sly quip that encapsulates the entire plot of the film, finding the right way to open a movie is essential.

The best opening lines in movies aren't the same as the best openings for a movie. The endless star ship crawl, Indiana Jones' battle with a rolling ball, a night swimmer that acts as dinner for a great white are all memorable scenes (perhaps the most memorable) but for these opening scenes it's not about what's said but what's happening.

Here we look at the movies where the first things muttered are sublime - lines of dialogue that will be forever remembered.

Here is our pick of the 50 best opening lines in movies of all time. If we've missed your pick, then let us know below!

Greatest opening movie lines

GoodfellasHenry Hill (Ray Liotta)

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."Patton (George C. Scott)

Stand by Me"I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being."The Writer (Richard Dreyfuss)

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."Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermey)

The Godfather"I believe in America. America has made my fortune."Bonasera (Salvatore Corsitto)

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas"We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold."Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp)

Trainspotting"Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a f***ing big television."Renton (Ewan McGregor)

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."Galadriel (Cate Blanchett)

Citizen Kane"Rosebud."Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles)

Forrest Gump"Hello. My name's Forrest, Forrest Gump. You want a chocolate?"Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day"3 billion human lives ended on August 29th, 1997. The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war Judgment Day."Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton)

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?"Ace Rothstein (Robert De Niro)

Fight Club“People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden…”The Narrator (Edward Norton)

Apocalypse Now"Saigon. S**t! I'm still only in Saigon. Every time I think I'm gonna wake up back in the jungle..."Willard (Martin Sheen)

Flatliners"Today is a good day to die."Nelson Wright (Kiefer Sutherland)

The Big Lebowski"Way out west there was this fella I wanna tell ya about. Goes by the name of Jeff Lebowski."The Stranger (Sam Elliott)

The Seventh Seal

Sin City"She shivers in the wind like the last leaf on a dying tree."The Salesman (Josh Hartnett)

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."Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick)

Raging Bull"I remember those cheers. They still ring in my ears."Jake La Motta (Robert De Niro)

Reservoir Dogs"Let me tell you what 'Like a Virgin' is about..."Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino)

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."Old Man

Lawrence of Arabia

Dirty Dancing

Oliver“Please, sir, I want some more.”Oliver Twist (Mark Lester)

High Fidelity"What came first, the music or the misery?"Rob Gordon (John Cusack)

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."Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner)

The Prestige"Are you watching closely?"Alfred Borden (Christian Bale)

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."Alex (Malcom McDowell)

Sunset Boulevard

The Sound Of Music

Gone Girl

The Piano

Dr Strangelove"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.

Chinatown“All right, Curly, enough's enough. You can't eat the venetian blinds. I just had 'em installed on Wednesday.”Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson)

Rebecca"Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again."Mrs. De Winter (Joan Fontaine)

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."David Carradine (Bill)

In Bruges"After I killed him, I dropped the gun in the Thames, washed the residue off me hands in the bathroom of a Burger King, and walked home to await instructions."Ray (Colin Farrell)

Spider-Man (2001)"Who am I? You sure you want to know?"Tobey Maguire (Peter Parker)

Dead Man's Shoes"God will forgive them. He'll forgive them and let them into heaven. I can't live with that."Richard (Paddy Considine)

Amelie"On September 3, 1973, 6:28pm 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."

The Talented Mr. Ripley"If I could just go back... if I could rub everything out... starting with myself."Tom Ripley (Matt Damon)

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?"Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg)

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."Ponyboy (C Thomas Howell)

Million Dollar Baby"Only ever met one man I wouldn't wanna fight."Scrap (Morgan Freeman)

Four Weddings And A Funeral"Oh, fuck! Fuck!"Charles (Hugh Grant)

Black Swan"I had the craziest dream last night. I was dancing the White Swan."Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman)

Deliverance"You w- you wanna... you wanna talk about the vanishing wilderness?"Lewis (Burt Reynolds)

Blood Simple"The world is full o' complainers. An' the fact is, nothin' comes with a guarantee."Private Detective Visser (M. Emmet Walsh)

Do The Right Thing

• These are the best movies of the '70s.

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