Here are six more Last Lines that my friend Nick Clark says you've GOT to put on any list of cinematic conclusions.
So, here we go:
"Take good care of the forests, Dewey!"Bring-bring, bring-bring, bring-bring...
"Arthur? Arthur? Arthur?"
"I have to leave you now, I'm going to have Christmas dinner with my family."
“My name's, McCardle. Well, so long.”
“So long.”
"Cut the red wire, chaps... R - E - D, RED!"
Meanwhile, for the hundreds who’ve been pestering me to identify the earlier lines listed on this blog -- well, maybe not YOU, but they are out there, believe me! -- check out the answers in the comments to the original posts: my personal Top Ten (+ One) Last Lines and James the Magician’s Favourite Movie Lines.
Alternatively, get a life….
[Image: Internet Movie Poster Awards]
1 comment:
Here are the answers to Nick’s Six:
"Take good care of the forests Dewey!"
Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) to one of the three android gardeners (named after Donald Duck’s nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie) in ‘Silent Running’ (1972)
Nick: Fantastic film - the juxtaposition of the hippy dream over a sci-fi theme and a great soundtrack from Joan Baez!
***
Bring-bring, bring-bring, bring-bring...
The unanswered telephone call box being dialed by Mac MacIntyre (Peter Reigert) at the conclusion of ‘Local Hero’ (1983)
Nick: A defining moment for Mac as he reaches out (via the phone) to the little village on the coast of Scotland from his downtown pad in a big American metropolis; and with another great score, this time by Mark Knopfler.
***
"Arthur? Arthur? Arthur?"
Percival (Paul Geoffrey) after completing his mission to dispose of the eponymous prop in ‘Excalibur’ (1981)
Nick: Sir Percival is sent to throw Excalibur back into the Lake. When he returns, his King is being whisked off to Avalon by a ferry-load of nice looking ladies! John Boorman's film has ‘The Funeral of Siegfried’ to carry through its more cinematic highlights with some majesty!
***
“My name's, McCardle. Well, so long.”
“So long.”
Juror #8 (Joseph Sweeney) to #9 (Henry Fonda), the only two of the ‘12 Angry Men’ to be identified by name on the courthouse steps at the end of the 1957 film.
Nick: Juror #8 is the old man who is the first whom Fonda convinces to change his verdict. Since ‘the twelve’ are referred to throughout only by their jury numbers (as they are in the cast list), I guess the point is that, at its best, the process of decision-making is ultimately impersonal and that, for me, is what makes these end lines so poignant.
***
"I have to leave you now, I'm going to have Christmas dinner with my family."
Ebenezer Scrooge (Albert Finney) to the Cratchit family in the musical, ‘Scrooge’ (1970)
Nick: The emphasis on the family Christmas dinner is more American than English.
***
"Cut the red wire, chaps… R - E - D, RED!"
Lt Cmdr Anthony Fallon (Richard Harris) giving the crucial order about which wire to cut to defuse the bomb in ‘Juggernaut’ (1974)
Nick: Just an old favourite. Richard Harris as a drunken bomb disposal expert trying to defeat his old boss by diffusing some explosive devices on a luxury liner. Right at the end he is left with a choice of wires and no clues. Forced to ask the now arrested bomb maker (whose code name is 'Juggernaut') he then has to decide whether his answer is true or false. He makes his decision - shouting it out to his other team members - and, fortunately for everyone, makes the right choice!
The silver screen! Don't we love it?!
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