What An Ending

Re: What are your favorite endings?

trosman5 — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 02:32:28 GMT

I have 3 great endings for this topic

1. Fried Green Tomatoes- That movie was SO great and it was sooooooo full of reality

2. Steel Magnolias- DIDO

3. Deloris Clayborn- Yes it's a Steven King movie but if you've never seen it........... what you find out in the end makes you feel very full.

Touching Endings

blakngold — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 03:15:47 GMT

You know Pixar has really come out with some great films. They just played Monsters, Inc. on ABC tonight and I caught the last 10 minutes of it. The ending was perfect and very touching. It reminded me a little bit of the ending in Sideways which I loved and I think is a truly underrated comedy. The two endings both end at the door which opens to something that the two main characters both truly need. We only see the main characters on the final shot and they are looking at or about to see their future and what will bless them with true happiness. They are both bittersweet endings and will always have a place on my favorite endings!

Re: A Tragic Ending

joem18b — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 02:03:14 GMT

I've avoided Boys Don't Cry because of the ending, same as Titanic. Guess I never feel ready to deal with that.

Just watched Catch a Fire. I loved the way, just at the very end, the movie switched from the actor to the real person. And then showed them together in the end credits. Touching.

A Tragic Ending

blakngold — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 01:28:08 GMT

I've not seen "All the Real Girls" yet but I do plan on watching it soon. But that movie did remind me of a truly raw and tragically emotional ending in the great film Boys Don't Cry. What did all of you think of the ending of that film?

Re: What are your favorite endings?

joem18b — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 22:18:33 GMT

Somebody mentioned All the Real Girls today and I remembered that it stayed with me for a long time after I saw it. Can't exactly remember the ending except that it was bittersweet. Must go back and watch it again.

Re: What are your favorite endings?

Risselada — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 21:29:09 GMT

Just saw The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. The movie is perfect including the ending. You are almost hoping in a sick way that Balsam's character get's away with it. It doesn't really show for sure what happens, but you have a pretty good idea. And the way and place it cuts off is just perfect!

Re: What are your favorite endings?

GradysGhost — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:34:06 GMT

Oh, and for sheer popularity, The Sixth Sense.

Re: What are your favorite endings?

GradysGhost — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:31:41 GMT

Consider Eternal Sunshine seconded.

"Meet me in Montauk."

Re: Oldboy and The New World

joem18b — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 01:03:35 GMT

I've only seen the first half of The New World. Guess I'll have to watch the rest to see the ending...

Just watched Breach. Nice little ending. Chris Cooper staring out of the elevator like a ghost and instead of raging, he just says "Pray for me." And he looks like he needs a prayer or two, too.

Oldboy and The New World

blakngold — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:40:27 GMT

Oldboy was such a great film and what a disturbing one as well. Now I remember the ending! That really left a mark on me from that one scene that really summed up the entire film. You could see such an incredible amount of emotion in his facial expression when he was hugging his "daughter". The emotion I saw overpowering his entire face was a strong sense of feeling lost and a bit of confusion as to were he was and were he's suppose to go. I really love it's twisted ending and it was mixed with a bit of sadness which I found all the more perfect to conclude this very dark film.

Another ending that I think was truly misunderstood by a lot of the people that saw it, was the ending in The New World. I want to know who truly understood the last three images in that film. To this day, I haven't found one person who understood that ending. So who got it?

Re: What are your favorite endings?

joem18b — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:52:38 GMT

Watched Oldboy last night. Final shot is of Dae-su Oh embracing his lover/daughter with a look on his face of mixed happiness and total anguish.

Re: What are your favorite endings?

sarcastig — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:28:29 GMT

I can think of so many perfect endings...In fact, almost all the movies I love have good endings, because I think it's needed to go from liking to loving a movie. But a few that came immediately to mind:

*Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

*The Third Man: it's a very long shot of the main female character watching towards the camera, where the main character is standing by his car. It takes about 3 minutes, with the only sound being the great zithar music. Then she gets to the camera, and without even looking at the guy, walks past it and out of the frame. It's hard to explain why it's so perfect, but just watch the movie, it's worth it.

*The Passenger: fabulous, and rightfully famous, final scene. I won't reveal anything because you have to try to figure it out yourself

*Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Bonnie & Clyde, and Thelma& Louise. Somehow these "1 pair on the lam" movies tend to end the same way, the only way they can end, but that doesn't mean it isn't memorable.

*Many more, many of which were already mentioned here

Re: Charles Spencer Chaplin

joem18b — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:51:39 GMT

I've got to stop watching these things when I'm high.

Re: Charles Spencer Chaplin

GradysGhost — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 14:09:19 GMT

Don't you see, joem18b? That's what makes the story such a damn good one. There are clues. Every replicant in the movie, whether humanoid or animalesque, gets this glow in its eye at some point in the movie. The owl is the most noticable one. Once, when Deckard is in his apartment, you kinda see that same glow. The fact that Deckard might be a replicant whose job is to "retire" other replicants speaks numbers about the hypocracy of undercover cops in our own world.

Re: Charles Spencer Chaplin

joem18b — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 21:14:33 GMT

I think Ridley Scott says on the dvd that Deckard is a replicant. Can't remember if Deckard knows it or not. I saw a bunch of clues somewhere; maybe on Wikipedia.

Re: Charles Spencer Chaplin

GradysGhost — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:20:44 GMT

Favorite endings:

Casablanca - Here's lookin' at you, kid. We'll always have Paris. It's so depressing. Bogart sends away Bergman (who may be his one true love) so that she can be safe from the war despite the thought that he may never see her again.

The Chumscrubber - The entire movie seems to pieced together by that final zoom-out shot of the town. You see that the town is shaped like a dolphin. See the movie. You'll get it.

Seven - Nobody's mentioned this yet?

Citizen Kane - The ending to this movie I never thought was particularly powerful. It's just that when you see a movie that has this kind of twist near the end (I'm referring to Rosebud in this case), you usually get it just before the climax of the film. But Orson Welles managed to keep it from the audience until seriously the last five seconds of the film.

12 Angry Men - Someone already said that when a movie has a conclusion but no resolution, it can sometimes make for a great movie. In 12 Angry Men, a decision is made about the guilt or innocence of the defendant. But it never settled right for me. I always wondered if the verdict should have been the opposite of what it was, if some piece of evidence was missing or if one of jurors was only pretending to go along with the masses so he could get home and see the baseball game.

Blade Runner - Same type of ending as 12 Angry Men. Is Deckard or isn't he a replicant? Does Deckard even know?

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Leaving the Ugly to die. The method in which this is shot makes me laugh every time. That good kind of laugh like, "He's getting what he deserves in the perfect way."

Some Like it Hot - I think this actually won some award for Best Ending of All Time or somesuch. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis hop onto a speed boat dressed as women jazz band members with a horny old man. They explain to the old man (ZOWIE!!!) that they are also men, only dressed as women. To which the old man responds, "Well... Nobody's perfect!"

Oh yeah. And how could I forget?

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - I have never felt so relieved in a movie theater as the moment the credits rolled on this film.

Re: Charles Spencer Chaplin

joem18b — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 03:15:20 GMT

imdb 250 list is totally funky. Shawshank is #2. Grindhouse is now in the top 100.

But what happened was, my son asked me what my "imdb number" was - how high you can get in the list before there are 10 you haven't seen yet. he could only get to 29 and his friend to 47. so i checked and i was shocked at how low my number was. so since then, i've watched 31 movies on the list that i've put off seeing, and now my number is 140 or so..

But yes, I've been thinking about getting a better list. And then i'll have to sign up to netflix or some other dependable source to get hold of the movies i want to see...

we were on vacation once and went out to the movies and saw the Fellini movie Ameracord, which was just out. The next night we saw The Godfather, also just out. It seemed crudely made compared to the Fellini. Enjoyable but not art like the Fellini movie. Which just goes to show... something...

Re: Charles Spencer Chaplin

blakngold — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 02:18:53 GMT

I see what you mean now! I haven't heard of "TheCat's Meow" but I will definitely look it up. Why did you decide to watch IMDB's top 250 movies? Their list isn't really a list of the greatest films, it's just a list of movies that the majority of society likes and that's not really the greatest films of all time. They do have some great films on their list bu they are missing so many great ones because not that many people have heard of these underrated films. I'll give you a better list than there's in about a year. It might take a while to compile the greatest films of all time. "The Lord of the Rings:Fellowship of the Rings" is higher on the list than "Citizen Kane", are you kidding me? "Lord of the Rings" isn't even in the same league as "Citizen Kane". But they are both worth watching but I just don't like their list at all. I think "The Godfather" is one the very best American films of all time but it's not the greatest film of all time! That's all. Oh and The Godfather has one of my favorite endings of all time!

Re: Charles Spencer Chaplin

joem18b — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 01:24:07 GMT

What I meant was, I had never seen a Chaplin movie. But now that I'm watching the IMDB 250 movies, I've seen City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator so far, with more to come.

And I've seen The Cat's Meow (2001). Eddie Izzard plays Chaplin in that one.

Re: Charles Spencer Chaplin

blakngold — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 01:12:22 GMT

You've never seen Chaplin but you've seen "The Great Dictator"? I have seen most of "Chaplin" the film and Robert Downey Jr. is great as usual. Sven Nykvist did the cinematography in the film which makes it even more beautiful to look at. You should definitely check out all of Charlie Chaplin's films, they're all wonderful. Did you know that Orson Welles favorite film of all time is "City Lights"?

Re: Charles Spencer Chaplin

joem18b — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 00:21:28 GMT

Somehow I never watched Chaplin. Now I'm watching the movies one by one. City Lights at the end, when she felt the Tramp's arm and realized who he was, jerked the tears for sure. He said that it was his perfect ending, I think.

I'd also like to watch the Chaplin biopic with Robert Downey. Mixed reviews but now I'm interested. Seen it?

Charles Spencer Chaplin

blakngold — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 23:20:07 GMT

Yes, Chaplin always had great endings. I loved "The Great Dictator" and it's amazing story of comedy and drama blended in with it's political commentary. I've always noticed how Robert Benigni seems to have been influenced by Chaplin. Also the girl clown from Fellini's "La Strada" seemed very influenced by Chaplin's most famous character "The Tramp". One of his greatest endings was of course in "City Lights". What did you think of that ending? Did you know that Hitler was a big fan of Chaplin's work? Chaplin was most likely the greatest comedian of all time. He wrote, directed, starred and composed the music for most of his films and most of them were incredible pieces of work!

Re: JeffLebowski

joem18b — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 20:43:45 GMT

Watched The Great Dictator last night. It certainly has a striking ending.

If you haven't seen this one, it's Chaplin making fun of Hitler in 1940, before the US got into the war. He doesn't pull any punches and he sort of looks like Hitler (plus, they were born the same week, I think).

Anyway, there are all the usual Chaplin laughs and then at the end, all that screeches to a complete halt and Chaplin, as a Jewish barber who has been mistaken for Hitler, delivers a straight, impassioned speech for world peace, right out of the screen, and everyone cheers. But obviously Hitler himself wasn't paying attention.

Re: JeffLebowski

joem18b — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:33:32 GMT

[Spoilers for Rest Stop, 10 Items or Less, Tunes of Glory, and Double Indemnity]

Now I'm noticing endings. I saw four endings this weekend.

Rest Stop at the end has yet one more take on the bad guy who won't die, but it still suprised me a little. I was satisfied. Plus the dvd had 3 other endings for those who didn't like the theatrical version. Horror movies the last ten years or so (?) don't go in for happy endings, it seems. This one sure didn't.

A quick survey of film classics reveals that happy endings vs sad endings come right down to the wire, with Moby Dick being the tie-breaker.

In Ten Items or Less, Morgan Freeman is an actor who says several times that a strong ending is most important, so naturally I was anxious to see how the movie itself would end. He says, "We'll never see each other again." Then Paz Vega says, "Never." Screen goes black and the credits roll. Bittersweet. Nice.

The ending of Paths of Glory is probably a classic. Three men executed for no reason, then the men go to a bar and heckle a young German woman. But then she sings and they all sing along, doomed to go back to the front immediately and probably be killed.

And then, Double Indemnity. An ending among endings. McMurray and Robinson, with Robinson lighting a match for McMurray and telling him how close he felt to him. Wilder actually spent several hundred thousand on an additional gas-chamber scene but cut it, thank goodness.

Re: JeffLebowski

joem18b — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 00:29:34 GMT

I'm too lazy to try and prove it, but I'm willing to bet that more great movies have sad endings than happy ones. Brief Encounter and Easy Rider immediately pop into my head.

Robert Towne wanted Chinatown to have a happy ending. Thank goodness he didn't get his way.

28 Days Later has both happy and sad endings on the dvd.

I was just talking to my son about the ending of 2001. I was making a list of baby movies and wanted to include it because of the fetus at the end. He informed me that it was purely symbolic and that Arthur Clarke hated it. Oh well.

Back in the 50s, it seemed like every other B sci fi movie ended with "The End... of the beginning?" or "The beginning of... The End...?"

Speaking of Ennio Morricone, I'd like to tip my hat to the ending of Once Upon a Time in the West. The plot threads are tied up. Jason Robards has expired (cut out of the US drive-in version. boo.). The camera pulls back, up, back and we see the new town being built, the workers on the railroad, Claudia Cardinale bringing out water to them, and the symphonic Morricone music soaring. wow.

JeffLebowski

blakngold — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 22:34:17 GMT

Ah yes, Kubrick's endings. The only ending I can remember from any of his films was 2001:A Space Odyssey. That ending is still swirling around in my head, teasing me and telling me that the ending is all the mysteries of life and the psychology of everything. That is one of the most debated endings of all time and it's still new everytime you see it.

About Speilberg and his version of A.I. Now even though i've never seen Kubrick's A.I., I know that it probably contained the better ending of the two. But you must take into consideration what Spielberg always says about movies. He says,"Make a movie that everyone wants to see and one that everyone wants to know what happens next." That being said, he knows what the majority of people want in movies. They don't want a "non-happy ending" unless it's a true story that everyone knows about, such as "Schindler's List". If he ended it the way Kubrick did, do you think the movie would have been as successful as it is? I'm not saying that he only uses "hollywood happy endings" in his films but he knows that he can't end any of his films with a "downer" because he's very aware that most people that go to the movie theaters want to be satisfied with at least a minor happy ending. I think that the movies would be less popular if Hollywood mostly came out with sad endings and they might contain a much more poignant ending to many of their films,but because of all this it would probably create a much darker atmosphere for the theaters and less enthusiasm about wanting to see the next depressing movie. I love sad movies but then again I don't have a large crowd standing beside me for this type of love. They're usually in the theater next to me. You know what I mean?

Cinema Paradiso

blakngold — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 22:04:02 GMT

Of Course, how could I have left out Cinema Paradiso and it's simply perfect ending. I never thought of the film having two endings. Although there are two different versions of the film and both of them are great. You know it's interesting how some of these films use music so perfectly to match the last scene and the entire film of course. With Ennio Morricone's score for the final scene in "Cinema Paradiso", there's a much deeper power that many are unaware of because they get so caught up in the story that all they want to see is what happens at the end. Music has worked magic in film and especially how they are used for the endings. In older hollywood films they would end with a big bang and then have "The End" flash onto the screen. If you look at older japanese films, most end in a sort of subtle way and basically it's like they are leaving the audience in a peaceful manner. Then in horror films, you are usually left with an uneasy feeling like not everything is all right even though the movie is over. Hollywood brings happy endings to the public whereas independent films don't usually deliver these happy endings. But what's interesting is when a film brings a happy and a sad ending to the audience. That's exactly what "Cinema Paradiso" did and they placed that scene at the perfect time, at the end.

Nights of Cabiria Re: What are your favorite endings?

mitch-4 — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 21:28:10 GMT

(Spoiler --- but I guess this whole discussion thread and even group imples spoilers...)

The end of Fellini's Nights of Cabiria is unsurpassed. Somewhere on spout there may be a list of top 5 closeups, and I ought to go find that and list the final shots of

Giulietta Masina

trudgng along that miserable road, having lost everything, everything, and the teenagers on their vespas weave around and start playing a guitar and singing, and somehow, from somewhere in her soul, Cabiria starts to smile She smiles! Where, o where, can that be coming from? There's no answer to her practical disaster, it isn't a deus ex machina, yet somehow it has trned around and the ending is upbeat, we believe again in hope and possibility.

Re: What are your favorite endings?

BigJeffLebowski — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 17:03:49 GMT

I've always felt that Stanley Kubrick gave us some of the best film endings ever. Paths of Glory's war weary soldiers brought to tears by a song, Dr. Strangelove's "I can walk!" / bomb ride / explosion montage, 2001's star child, Clockwork Orange's "I was cured, all right," The Shining's cryptic photograph, Full Metal Jacket's sing-along to the Mickey Mouse Club theme; each and every one a classic. Even Nicole Kidman's final insistence to Tom Cruise at the end of Eyes Wide Shut is brilliant on its own smaller scale.

I'd also maintain that if Spielberg had filmed Kubrick's original ending for AI (the boy is trapped underwater, feet away from the statue for eternity) it would have saved that film. Instead of turning it into a Pinocchio fable, Spielberg should have recognized the power of Kubrick's vision: the boy is a robot with human emotions, and will therefore not only feel pain and sorrow for having come so close and yet failed, but will feel it eternally, since he will never die. It's a tragic, and affecting ending that would have been far more rewarding -- even if it is a bit of a downer.

Re: What are your favorite endings?

joem18b — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 04:41:08 GMT

I was watching Nuovo Cinema Paradiso last night. Halfway through, there is a scene in the theater where a film is ending and everyone is in tears. One fellow is reciting the lines along with the film. Finally, "FINE" appears on the screen and I discovered that I had shed a few tears myself. So that's my first ending.

And then at the end of Paradiso, Salvatore, back in Rome, is watching the film left to him by Alfredo. He's smiling and crying as the montage of kisses clipped from all the movies that played throughout his youth are displayed in front of him. More tears! Two great endings in one movie.

Re: What are your favorite endings?

JimBell — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 03:07:31 GMT

Although I have difficulty remember the endings of a lot of films that I have not seen recently, I liked the following:

1. The Human Stain--after the couple in love die happily (so to speak), you'd think the movie was over, especially since it opened with the death scene. But there is an additional scene where the novelist goes out onto the ice in the New England winter where the woman's ex-husband (and murderer) is fishing all alone. The way the killer handles the auger, and talks of the icy depths, and leans toward the author creates a lasting feeling of menace which is totally appropriate for the movie.

2. The Prestige--what the guy was actually going through when he was locked into the tank of water. . . !

3. Casablanca--"the start of a beautiful friendship"--you gotta love that sense of humour and comraderie under miserable conditions.

4. Cast Away--the ending is not that Tom Hanks survives and returns to civilization but rather how he sees civilization through new, awakened, and critical eyes.

5. Turtles Can Fly--The young refugee rag-a-muffins are always excited to make the best of the next messy war situation, but when the American troops roll in, our hero, young Satellite, turns his back. He has already, as a kid, seen too much of the rape and plunder of war.

6. Slaughterhouse-Five--After the Allies carpet bombed Germany's city of the arts (Dresden), the movie ends with the cry of a new born baby, born to Billy Pilgrim and Montana Wildhack on the planet Tralfalmadore--a wonderful sound in a location as bizarre as World War II Dresden.

Re: What are your favorite endings?

Jakegittes1 — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 16:33:48 GMT

Off the top of my head here are a few:

SPOILERS ABOUND

The Usual Suspects - Keyser Soze unfolding his body and walking into Kobayashi's car.

Touch of Evil - the guy was guilty all along ("he was some man")

The Seven Samurai - "it was the farmers who won"

When I return, I should have a few that (and you know what I mean, ladies and germs) turn your head around (redeeming another otherwise mediocre film).

Re: What are your favorite endings?

quint — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 04:35:15 GMT

I don't know that these are my favorite endings, but they did surprise me. All are Sci Fi:

A Boy and His Dog. As to why, well, last minute taboos always surprise me.

A more obscure one would be Ikarie XB-1. This is the opposite sort of ending where I am surprised by a charming bit of humanity I had not expected.

The Thing. And here is the synthesis. Human or not human? Enigma sometimes works as resolution.

What are your favorite endings?

blakngold — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:10:10 GMT

Hello to whoever has stumbled upon this group in some way or another. I've listed some of my favorite endings in film that have left quite an impact on me in some way. Now it's your turn. I want to know your favorite endings and why and how they have made it to your favorites. Now you must really think back on all of those films that struck you hard on the last frame and left you speechless or in some cases breathless. Now I will end this the way it should end. Let's begin the discussion of greatest endings throughout film history. GO!