There are many great movie quotes and some of them are the ending lines. I love movies that end on a classic line rather than an unanswered question, a clichu00e9 or a cliffhanger. And I didn't realize how powerful the effect of closing lines had on me until I was writing this article and didn't have to do any research! I simply recalled them. Here are some of my favorite and best last lines in the movies:
Warning contains spoilers
1. The Silence of the Lambs
I do wish we could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner. Bye. This chilling yet humorous final line from the early 90s classic The Silence of the Lambs is uttered by Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter, and perfectly encapsulates his sinister yet undeniably sharp and in many ways likeable character. He and Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling were a fascinating partnership.
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2. King Kong
Oh no, it wasn't the airplanes, it was beauty killed the beast. A somber and poignant line that ends one of the defining action/horror/sci-fi films in the history of cinema. As King Kong is finally defeated and falls from the Empire State Building, the film makes the audience reflect on the fact that, without the interference of ma kind, this fate would never have come to the huge creature.
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3. The Wizard of OZ
Oh Auntie Em, there's no place like home. Everything about The Wizard of Oz is iconic, including its closing line. Judy Garland's Dorothy utters the immortal words not only to return to Kansas from Oz but also to express her joy to her aunt that she is home and safe and after an adventure that has just as money ups as it did downs!
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4. Back to the Future
Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads. This memorable final line from the 1980s classic Back to the Future perfectly sums up the tone and atmosphere of the film, one full of adventure and wacky situations. Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox are great pair in the film, and the final left us wondering just what kind of trouble they were going to get in to next!
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5. Gone with the Wind
I'll go home and I'll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day! Arguably one of the most iconic closing lines of all time, Vivien Leigh's Scarlett O'Hara is left shocked and standing alone in her mansion hall after Clark Gable's Rhett Butler leaves her high and dry. This line is paired with another classic, Butler's frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!
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6. Stand by Me
I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone? Stand By Me was an absolute smash hit in the mid eighties, and the entire film, especially the final line, perfectly encapsulates and portrays the kind of childhood nostalgia that we all long for in older age; full of lazy days and crazy adventures.
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7. Babe
That'll do pig, that'll do. Nobody wants to admit that a pig completing a set of sheep dog trials brought them to tears, but come on, you know you did! The big screen adaptation of Dick King Smith's novel is brought to the perfect end when farmer Arthur Hogget praises his talented animal in the best way he knows how; a restrained, reserved but love filled way.
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8. Some like It Hot
Well, nobody's perfect! Some Like It Hot comes to a hilarious and fitting end when Jack Lemon reveals himself to be a man in front of his admirer Osgood Fielding III. Rather than being angry, Fielding simply states that we can't all be perfect, a quite risquu00e9 line in 1959 but it still packs a comic punch today.
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9. Spider-Man
This is my gift, my curse. Who am I? I'm Spider-Man. The 2002 reboot of Spider-Man certainly had its critics, but one thing that can't be argued is that the film's final line was the perfect way to end it. As Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker swings from building to building, his final acceptance of his identity ends the movie on a real high point and leaves us wanting more.
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What's your favorite last line?