BY BLUE KAUFMAN
Just before the words “The End” appear on the screen and the theater lights flicker back to life, the audience is left with what is known as the “curtain call line”. The last phrases of a movie are crucial, and what may seem like a mere punch- line, actually helps define what a film was truly about. After 2 hours of staring at a screen, my eyes are usually glazed over and a movie’s conclusion has me hastily exiting the theater, my half eaten popcorn still sprawled on the floor. However there are several cases, where a film’s final lines have ensnared me in my seat, my jaw open in a strange mixture of shock and admiration as credits continue to roll down the screen. Here are some of my favorite last lines.
*Spoiler Alert: Many of these lines reveal important parts of the movies plots.
The Silence of the Lambs
“I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old friend for dinner”
Memento
Now….Where was I?
The Dark Knight
“Because he’s the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him, because he can take it, because he’s not a hero, he’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector, a dark knight.”
Se7en
“Ernest Hemingway once wrote, ‘The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.’ I agree with the second part.”
Back to the future
“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads”
Citizen Kane
“Throw that junk in!”
(500) days of summer.
“Autumn.”
It’s a Wonderful Life
“Attaboy Clarence!”
Inglorious Basterds
“You know somethin’, Utivich? I think this just might be my masterpiece.”
There will be blood
“I’m finished.”
Buried
I’m sorry Paul, I’m so sorry.
Casablanca
“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship
