Best Closing Lines in Movies
Writing is one of the, if not the most, important part of a film. Dialogue can make or break a film, and a good piece of dialogue at the end of a movie can send a movie off a great note. In this list, I’ll highlight my top 15 favorite lines that closed out a film. An honorable mention, that I didn’t put it here because another full line is spoken directly after from the ‘The Truman Show’ is Truman Burbank leaving his show and telling everyone goodbye with his catchphrase line.
Iron Man- ‘The truth is… I am Iron Man.’ The perfect closer that encapsulates the character of Tony Stark and has an elite payoff by the time the line is said again in ‘Avengers Endgame.’
The Usual Suspects- ‘The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist. And like that... he is gone.’ As both Agent Kujan & the audience realize that Verbal was the villain all along, his narration let’s us know he was playing everyone the whole time.
The Silence of the Lambs- ‘I do wish we could chat longer, but... I'm having an old friend for dinner. Bye.’ Okay, technically the closing line is Clarice responding to that line with ‘Dr. Lecter? Dr. Lecter?,’ so I’m cheating. But oh well.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower- ‘And in this moment I swear, we are infinite.’ The movie ends with Logan Lerman’s Charlie delivering a monologue in the form of a letter, and it ends with this brilliant line as he lets loose in the iconic tunnel.
Back to the Future- ‘Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.’ What a way to set up a sequel!
Some Like It Hot- ‘Well, nobody's perfect!’ The character Osgood delivers this line after he’s been obsessed with Jack Lemmon’s Jerry who is disguised as a woman named Daphne. Jerry frustratingly confesses ‘I’m a man!’ and Osgood replies with this iconic line.
Sunset Boulevard- ‘All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up.’ Even though many don’t know the context, this line is one of the most iconic in the history of film. And if you want the context, well go watch the movie.
King Kong- ‘Oh no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast.’ Just about every iteration of the story ends with this line that is originally delivered by Robert Armstrong’s Carl Denham.
Apocalypse Now- ‘The horror... the horror...’ This line, spoken by Marlon Brando’s Col. Kurtz, captures the horrors of not only this film, but war in general.
Toy Story 3- ‘So long… partner.’ Gosh it made me teary eyed just typing it.
Young Frankenstein- ‘But what did you ever get from him?’ This actually isn’t the closing line because as the movie fades out we hear Inga’s… excited reaction to what it was Dr. Frankenstein received from the monster. You may be asking, well what was it? What did he get? And I’m trying to figure out how to put this delicately, which should tell you everything you need to know.
Memento- ‘Now... where was I?’ This movie is told very well from a non-linear point of view and I won’t spoil anything, I’ll just say that if you know how good this line is, you know.
Casablanca- ‘Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.’ This feels like a line that would be delivered earlier in a movie so we could observe said friendship, but it bookends the movie really well to let us know that Rick & Captain Renault have more adventures ahead of them.
While You Were Sleeping- ‘And I told him, "It was while you were sleeping." I just watched this, so it’s fresh on the brain. But something about ending a film with the title of the movie is just such a good writing choice. I dig it.
Good Will Hunting- ‘…I have to go see about a girl.’ Okay, I left Truman off because another line is spoken after. And that’s true here with Robin Williams’s Sean reacting to Matt Damon’s Will ‘stealing his line.’ But, gosh this is the #1. It’s so good. It wraps up the story. It shows Will’s growth and the impact Sean had on him. It’s literally perfect.
