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- "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Interesting cinematography and engaging introductory scenes are vital to reel viewers into a film, but a final line is perhaps even more important. The last bit of spoken dialogue is what's most likely to stick with audiences, and, if it's particularly poignant, it can seriously boost a film's reputation.
The opening sentence in a story is often considered the most important because it sets the tone for everything that's still to come. But, for movies, the opposite is often true. The last line is so important to nail because it will send the audience out of the theater on the right emotional note. Having a perfect capper ensures the movie will linger in the viewer's head long after it's over.
The right parting words help to drive the story's theme home in a meaningful way, encapsulating its entire point. Some are incredibly famous examples, others perhaps a little less obvious. All of them wrap their respective movies up beautifully.
Updated on August 25, 2022 by Tanner Fox:
"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Interesting cinematography and engaging introductory scenes are vital to reel viewers into a film, but a final line is perhaps even more important. The last bit of spoken dialogue is what's most likely to stick with audiences, and, if it's particularly poignant, it can seriously boost a film's reputation.
From old-school classics like Casablanca to modern masterpieces like Inglorious Basterds, these are the most remarkable final movie lines of all time.
Toy Story 3 (2010)
"So Long, Partner."
Toy Story 3 ends on a note that is both beautiful and sob-inducing. The now-college-aged Andy gives all his old toys—including Buzz Lightyear and beloved cowboy doll Woody—to a little girl. He no longer needs them and decides to leave them in the hands of a child who will love them the way he did. After playing for a few moments, Andy hops in his car and drives away. As Woody watches him fade into the distance, he utters the bittersweet words, "so long, partner."
The entire Toy Story series deals with the connection between playthings and the children who own them. Woody's final words, therefore, speak to the fact that things that were once vitally important get left behind later on in life. In many respects, the last sentence is elegiac. It touches on the ing of youth and of more innocent times in life, but it also offers hope by pointing out that sharing toys helps keep the magic of play alive.
King Kong (1933)
"It Was Beauty Killed The Beast."
The 1933 version of King Kong is an all-time classic thanks in no small part to its dramatic ending. After escaping a Broadway theater, the titular ape grabs Fay Wray's Ann and climbs up the Empire State Building. He is attacked by planes circling the building, shooting at him. Kong takes one of the planes down, but he ultimately loses his balance after being shot, leading him to fall to his death. On the ground, a police officer looks at the dead ape and says that the planes killed him. Filmmaker Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) corrects the officer, saying "no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast."
Aside from the obvious reference to Beauty and the Beast, the line is powerful because it, ironically enough, humanizes Kong a little. For much of the film, he has been portrayed as a monster; a giant, crazed animal to be feared. These final words suggest that Kong had some kind of primitive feelings for Ann. Not love, necessarily, but a protective form of kinship. He may have been a beast, but he was a beast with heart.
Se7en (1995)
"Ernest Hemingway Once Wrote..."
Anyone who has ever seen Se7en cannot forget its harrowing ending. Killer John Doe (Kevin Spacey) reveals that he cut off the head of protagonist Mills' pregnant wife and stuck it in a box. He wants Mills (Brad Pitt) to kill him so that he can finish his series of murders based on the seven deadly sins. Mills' partner, Somerset (Morgan Freeman) tries to convince him not to shoot the killer because that would allow Doe to "win." Overcome with grief and a thirst for vengeance, Mills shoots him anyway. As the movie wraps up, Somerset, in voiceover, says, "Ernest Hemingway once wrote, 'The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.' I agree with the second part."
Se7en is one of the most nihilistic motion pictures ever made, and Somerset's quote reflects that. Over the course of the movie, he sees evidence that the world can be a pretty horrible place. He witnesses suffering and pain, capped by the emotional devastation of his partner. The really interesting thing, though, is that his parting words also offer a glimpse of hope—and the only one in Seven, for that matter.
Iron Man (2008)
"The Truth Is, I Am Iron Man."
The 2008 Marvel movie Iron Man tells Tony Stark's origin story, showing how the billionaire playboy industrialist develops his trademark suit of armor and starts fighting crime. His enemy in this case is Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), his late father's old business partner, who also manages Stark Industries. Stane has a personal agenda that involves manipulating the company for his own personal gain. By the movie's end, he has a super-suit of his own, which he uses to battle Stark, but Iron Man wins. The next day, Tony stands at a press conference and makes a stunning confession: "the truth is, I am Iron Man."
The great thing about this final line is that it finds Tony Stark doing something few superheroes ever do, which publicly identifying himself. So many heroes invent personas specifically to prevent anyone from discovering their true identity. It's why Batman, Spider-Man, and so many others wear masks. Tony Stark, never one to do things in a conventional manner, defies tradition by letting the world know who the iron-clad hero they've been following really is.
Jaws (1975)
"I Can't Imagine Why."
Roy Scheider's Brody spends the movie trying to get the citizens of Amity Island—especially the town's mayor—to take his shark warnings seriously. At the end, an attempt to kill the shark takes place. It eats Quint (Robert Shaw), escapes an effort by Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) to spear it with poison, then attacks Brody, who is on a sinking boat. When the creature is finally killed, Brody quips, "I used to hate the water." Hooper replies, "I can't imagine why."
This is a moment of much-needed levity after the nail-biting intensity of the final battle which everything else in Jaws skillfully builds toward. Brody is, of course, being ironic. If he ever had a reason to hate the water, it would be after the harrowing experience he's just had. Hooper plays along with the joke, and the audience gets a laugh that breaks the tension before the credits roll.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
"I Think This Just Might Be My Masterpiece."
Inglourious Basterds remains one of Quentin Tarantino's most celebrated films, and that is undoubtedly due to its satisfying third act. While nowhere close to historically accurate, it's a fine example of cinematic wish fulfillment. Even more cheer-inducing is what happens in the finale; Lt. Raine (Brad Pitt) carves a swastika into the forehead of the movie's chief villain, SS Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), and declares "I think this just might be my masterpiece."
While the line can certainly be taken literally, this could also be interpreted as the director inserting a comment about the film. Tarantino is known for several stellar films, and its status as a masterpiece isn't often contested.
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
"The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of."
John Huston's 1941 noir masterpiece The Maltese Falcon is the story of private detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart), who is investigating a case involving a quest by multiple individuals to procure a falcon statue that is encrusted with jewels. Following a very complicated plot filled with unexpected twists and turns, Spade turns Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor), the woman who hired him in the first place, over to the police for murder despite the fact that he has developed feelings for her. The final scene finds him with the statue in his hands. He's asked what it is, to which he replies "the stuff that dreams are made of."
The Maltese Falcon has a plot that confuses a lot of viewers, at least on first viewing. The bottom line, though, is that it's about the way that the desire for anything valuable, monetary or otherwise, can lead people down dark roads in their efforts to obtain it.
The Matrix (1999)
"Where We Go From There Is A Choice I Leave To You."
The Matrix, released in 1999, dazzled audiences with its then-groundbreaking visuals and trippy philosophical elements. The story ends with the protagonist, Neo (Keanu Reeves), destroying the evil Agent Smith and learning how to control the Matrix. It's an action-filled finale that leads to Neo's poignant last words. In a phone call, he promises to essentially dismantle it all, creating a new world order, free of rules and controls. "Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you," he tells them before hanging up and flying off into the sky.
Everything about The Matrix is designed to make the viewer's head spin. It pulls together elements from a lot of disparate influences to ask what reality is and how anyone could really know if what they are experiencing is real. Neo's final words in the film play directly into this idea, even going so far as to suggest that reality is what people make it.
Goodfellas (1990)
"I Get To Live The Rest Of My Life Like A Schnook."
Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas is one of the definitive mob movies of all time. It is based on the true story of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), a guy who grew up idolizing gangsters as a kid. As a man, he makes his way into the Mafia, where he's guided by three mentors: Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino), Jimmy "the Gent" Conway (Robert DeNiro), and the volatile Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). For a time, Hill enjoys the flash, the cash, and the fear-driven respect that comes from being a mobster. But, eventually, he's caught in a pinch by the Feds. After ratting out Paulie and Jimmy, he enters the Witness Protection Program. His days in the mob are officially over. Henry's summation of it all: "I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook."
There is deep, delicious irony in this line. Henry wanted to become a mobster specifically so he wouldn't have to live life as an average Joe. He wanted money and power and influence, and he had those things. Crime, however, does not pay—or at least not for very long—and his house of cards comes crumbling down. Goodfellas ends with him stuck in the kind of lifestyle he always hoped to avoid.
The Dark Knight (2008)
"A Watchful Protector. A Dark Knight."
The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, is perhaps the best Batman story ever committed to film. It's dark and psychological, but also exciting as all get out. The final moments find the Caped Crusader (Christian Bale) in a tough spot. Harvey Dent, thought by many to be a hero, is dead. Batman knows that, if the citizens of crime-ridden Gotham learn of Dent's killing spree under his guise of Two-Face, all hope will go out the window. Everything will crumble. He convinces Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) to let him take responsibility for the murders to avoid the dispiriting consequences. Gordon reluctantly agrees. In voiceover, as Batman flees, viewers hear the cop state that "he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Dark Knight."
Those words are meaningful because the entire theme of The Dark Knight is meaningful. Most superhero stories end triumphantly with the good guy taking down the villain and receiving public adoration as a result. Not Nolan's tale; it finds Batman absorbing all of Gotham's rage and hostility in order to preserve an important ideal. The ending would be a downer were it not for Gordon's iring words.
