10 Greatest Opening Lines In Movie History
8. "The Only Question Is: How Do We Arm The Other 11?" - Lord Of War
"There are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation. That's one firearm for every twelve people in the world."
Nicolas Cage's titular Lord of War, Yuri Orlov, pragmatically summarizes the fraught topic of the global arms crisis, before performing an abrupt moral U-turn and delivering what is one of the most superb opening lines in cinematic history.
"The only question is: how do we arm the other eleven?"
Cage's smooth monologue was the perfect introduction for one of the more morally questionable characters to ever appear on-screen. Imagine the sleaziest door-to-door salesman you've ever met, only as opposed to flogging pyramid schemes and timeshares to pensioners, this gentleman sells guns and tanks to warlords and despots.
The shocking soundbite instantly sets what is a darkly comic, yet endlessly nihilistic tone for one of Cage's finest and most underrated outings. Lord of War is a self aware and thought invoking commentary on one of mankind's most fraught topics, notably possessing an uncanny ability to lurch from whimsically silly to deathly serious at the drop of a hat - or in this case, a shell casing. A stellar performance from Cage is simply the icing on the cake.
All of this would never have been possible without Orlov's unforgettable first line. Regrettably, Lord of War ultimately stands as a prevalent example where the infamy of a movie's debut utterance far exceeded its overall lasting impression.