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Post by DeepArcher on Apr 7, 2020 4:56:56 GMT
I'm a fiend for great movie endings. I know pacinoyes is with me on that one -- and I'm sure many others are as well. I often talk about how the ending of a film is the most crucial part of it, a few minutes or even a few seconds that can make or break an entire film. There are movies that are great until they collapse at the ending (which, to me, really just ruins everything), there are movies that don't work or that you don't really "get" until the ending comes along and it all becomes clear, there are great movies where the ending just cements it as a masterpiece -- all of it can happen, and it's very much worth discussing, and because it's such a hard thing to do, great endings are worth celebrating. There's nothing I obsess over more than a great ending, and there's really no faster way to get me to immediately love and think about a film than when it knocks me on my ass before the fade to black. And there are so many examples, so I wanted a thread dedicated to sharing and talking about them. To be clear, this isn't a "post a list of your favorite endings" thread ... surely we've had that before, if we haven't then you can start it, and even if you did that sounds futile because I'd probably just list films off endlessly. This is a thread for mentioning and hopefully discussing great endings on an individual basis and on their own merit -- share whatever gets to you, the conclusions you remember the most, and talk about why. I thought I'd start us out with a pretty obvious and really significant one. The best ending ever (probably) to (maybe) the best film of all-time ... the hugely iconic ending of The Graduate, groundbreaking for its time and started the "trope" of the dialogue-less ending as we watch the characters' changing emotions set to expressive music -- something that's been kinda resurrected in a lot of great indie endings in recent years (what started the trend?? 45 Years??) -- and even though I call it a "trope" that's not at all a criticism, in fact it's maybe my favorite type of ending and there's so many examples of it being used effectively, and often in different contexts too. A lot of endings are inspired by The Graduate's but nothing exactly imitates or replicates it. Still a one of a kind. Where most rom-coms end with the runaway bride and her scoundrel lover escaping the church, this one keeps the cameras rolling for an extra minute to show just how ephemeral and fleeting that feeling of freedom is, as the characters became trapped with the oppressive & judgmental older generation yet again. There's nothing left to say ... we just watch as the happy ending literally evaporates from the faces of the characters, and turns into a statement of "what the fuck did we just do?" and "what the hell do we do now?" And it's the best needle drop in history ... third time in the film you hear the song, and finally the significance of the it totally crystallizes (even more than it already had) and hits like a ton of bricks. Nothing like it had been done before at the time ... and though it's a statement that's an obvious reflection of the youth of its day, it still resonates just as deep if not deeper today:
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Apr 7, 2020 5:18:56 GMT
I almost just got started on a ton of my favorites...
But then I read your actual post, so The Godfather Part II and Traffic (though, two of my favorites regardless) reign supreme. The Graduate is another supreme example.
EDIT: AND HOW DID I FORGET ROCKY?!
SECOND EDIT: I'm not good with them word things, so I'll leave it up for others, but I'm sure for sure GFII and Rocky have been spoken about in detail many, many times.
IF NOT, then when I am sober, I will!
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Post by mhynson27 on Apr 7, 2020 5:21:26 GMT
Great idea for a thread, I'm a sucker for a good ending too. One that I've been coming back to a lot recently is the ending of Captain Phillips. Fucks me up every single time. It may very well be Hanks' finest acting to date and the fact that the medical examiner in the scene isn't an actress but an actual medical examiner is a brilliant play by Greengrass.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 7, 2020 5:46:51 GMT
The perfect twist ending to David Mamet's genre masterpiece "Homicide" (1991) literally raises the movie to something that ties the missing, final narrative piece strand together in a way that almost mocks movies that try to do that. It is quite logical how it all comes together yet seems like a left-field sucker punch at the same time. You even forget that this was an issue in the film at all - much like the character forgets something earlier too - and it reminds you with a merciless clarity. People who love the movie really love the ending - and people who don't love it maybe don't see how the ending is that on-point. In its own way it evokes many great pacinoyes fave final point scenes even - and maybe the sick twisted joke of Spoorloos ending/final scene most of all. It was there all along...........:
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Post by Viced on Apr 7, 2020 5:47:10 GMT
I re-watched Kill Bill a few weeks ago (or was it a few... years ago?) and was surprised at how hard the ending of Vol. 1 still hits.
Since it’s mainly a big ass set-up for Vol. 2 you’d think it’d lose some of its luster after the first time around... but Carradine’s legendary line delivery and the swelling music make it transcend simply being a big reveal.
Unfathomable to me that people had to wait 6 months for the rest of the story after witnessing an ending like this.
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Post by Martin Stett on Apr 7, 2020 5:59:28 GMT
When I was watching Phoenix, my dad walked in (around the time Nelly and Johnny kiss) and asked if it was any good. I told him "I'm not sure - I think it's good, I think it's really good, but this is going to hinge on its ending." The movie did not disappoint on that score. For me, the big one is the ending of Madoka Magica: Rebellion. The final ninety seconds cement it as the saddest film I've ever seen. The ending has happened, the credits have rolled... and then there's this little stinger. Now, it's ambiguous and everyone has a different take, but this one is mine. I NEED to read The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, because I feel like I'm missing some important symbolism there (damn you Madoka and all of the studying you make me do). After all that has happened, all that everyone has fought and suffered for, after an entire story devoted to saving Homura's soul, the last images we see are of Homura dancing. Nothing has changed: she is still the broken Nutcracker, dancing endlessly and alone.
All that has changed is that now, God is dead. God remains dead, and we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet known has bled to death under our knives. Who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there with which to clean ourselves? What sacred games, what festivals of atonement must we invent? Is not this deed too great for us? Must we not become gods ourselves, just to appear worthy of it?
But if God is dead, there can be no answer. There can be no washing of the blood on her hands, there can be no comfort for the guilty, the vile and the depraved. There can be no forgiveness. There can be nothing that shields her from what she knows that she deserves. She has stood trial with her own self (not God or Jesus, but her own conscience) as the judge and the jury, and has been found resoundingly guilty.
All that she can do is to play her sacred games, to make believe and become a god herself, to dance like this world is hers. It's a half world only, but it is hers. If she rules her own life and her own world, she needn't look at herself again and know what she has done to gain this power.
The window is closed.
God is dead.
God help Homura. Edit: I didn't even get into the significance of Kyubey's presence in that scene. Get to me later and I can spit out another five thousand words about that.
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Post by mhynson27 on Apr 7, 2020 6:06:15 GMT
I re-watched Kill Bill a few weeks ago (or was it a few... years ago?) and was surprised at how hard the ending of Vol. 1 still hits. Since it’s mainly a big ass set-up for Vol. 2 you’d think it’d lose some of its luster after the first time around... but Carradine’s legendary line delivery and the swelling music make it transcend simply being a big reveal. Unfathomable to me that people had to wait 6 months for the rest of the story after witnessing an ending like this. Great, great call. I don't quite know what it is but there's just always been something about this ending that gets me hyped and send chills down my spine every single goddamn time. I actually think both the opening scene and the ending scenes alone put the film a few spots higher on my overall Top 100 then it otherwise would be.
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Post by Nikan on Apr 7, 2020 6:08:47 GMT
May be one of the most rational romantic comedies. There is no question: The princess gets back to her castle and the reporter goes back to...reporting. What else did we think would happen?
There's something in my eye dammit...
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Post by DeepArcher on Apr 7, 2020 6:16:44 GMT
Great idea for a thread, I'm a sucker for a good ending too. One that I've been coming back to a lot recently is the ending of Captain Phillips. Fucks me up every single time. It may very well be Hanks' finest acting to date and the fact that the medical examiner in the scene isn't an actress but an actual medical examiner is a brilliant play by Greengrass. This might be my first time rewatching this scene since I saw the movie like six years ago and damn, yeah, this is probably the best acting Hanks has ever done.
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Post by Archie on Apr 7, 2020 7:00:26 GMT
I have to give a shout-out to Arthur Penn's Night Moves which is one of my favorite detective movies. The ending in my opinion makes the film, from the outside it looks like your typical Chinatown-esque downer ending but it's so much more than that. The symbolism of the boat literally circling around and around and around is chilling and perfectly encapsulates the downfall of Hackman's Harry Moseby. There is a central decency and honesty to his character that is in some ways more human than most archetypal noir gumshoes. He's world-weary, yes, but not too cold or cynical as with the likes of Sam Spade. But as with Jake Gittes in Chinatown, his extreme emotional attachment to the case ultimately proves to be his undoing, he gets sucked in way too deep. It's an ending where nobody wins, but Moseby himself is the biggest loser.
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Apr 7, 2020 7:16:50 GMT
this is a sticky-worthy thread idea tbh, and I hope it does get stickied because all these discussion threads are becoming hard to keep up with
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2020 7:32:12 GMT
End of Evangelion's final scene is incredible from an emotional and aesthetic perspective, and in a single line - no, a single word - relays 6-7 different meanings simultaneously.
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Post by themoviesinner on Apr 7, 2020 8:40:29 GMT
Alexander The Great (1980) by Theodoros Angelopoulos for me has definitely one of the greatest film endings of all time, because the film is a series of symbols and allegories, tied together with a simple narrative that all cumulate into a weighty, contemplative statement. Throughout the film we follow Alexander, a bandit, that becames a leader in an egalitarian community at he end of the 19th century. The people there hail him as someone that will bring fortune and prosperity to the community, but, as the film progresses, his leadership becomes more and more authoritarian and his decisions cause mostly strife, pain and sorrow. At the end of the film, while Alexander is ready to drag the community into an unwanted war, the people turn on him and murder him. Nothing is left of Alexander, but a marble sculpture of him: In the last shot of the film, we see Alexander overlooking a modern Athens, while voice-over utters a single phrase: "And that's how Alexander entered the cities". It's an incredible ending that shows that mostly leaders that bring "glory" to a nation through war and conquest, often disregarding the needs of it's people are seen as national heroes and praised as great leaders. It also shows how history repeats itself and that people will always make the same mistakes, look more upon those that promise fortune and grandeur to lead them, while their only concern is their personal gain, than those that actually care for their needs and demands. It is a masterful film with an even more masterful ending and I highly recommend it to anyone interested, although it is a film that requires a lot of patience and persistence, as most of the symbols in the film are based on Greek history and traditions, so the meaning behind them might be somewhat unclear to anyone that doesn't have some knowledge on the subject.
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Post by JangoB on Apr 7, 2020 8:49:10 GMT
It's a good thread but I just hope that people won't get too carried away with posting images of their favorite endings so freely on it - I had to scroll through some posts damn fast so as not to spoil stuff and keep the surprise element. 'Cause I old-fashionedly believe in the importance of that shit Anyway, a great ending I saw recently was Fat City - it's a film that I didn't think was a masterpiece or anything but the ending certainly made it an impact that the rest of the movie never quite got to reaching. I think it's directly inspired by "The Graduate" - we see the faces of our characters who are sitting side by side in silence, looking at their future. The difference is that in "The Graduate" it's obviously a question mark for the characters while here the two guys see the future exactly for what it will be. One man's moment of glory is behind him and is now unreachable, the other is yet to have that moment but he already knows that he'll most likely end up at the same spot as his companion. And so after a terrific final line 'Talk awhile...' they just remain silent, one soul next to the other. So when the credits appear you just know that it was an excellent place to finish the film and to make an impact that it otherwise might not have made.
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Post by themoviesinner on Apr 7, 2020 8:56:59 GMT
Martin Stett the way I see Madoka's ending is that it cements the basic theme of the series, that light and darkness, good and evil, ect. are two sides of the same coin and that neither can exist without the other. Homura understands this. For someone to trully live his life and rule his own world, one needs to embrace both these sides, both the light and the dark, otherwise his life would be a lie, a lifeless fantasy (as is shown in the first part of Rebellion) and his existance would be an empty shell, devoid of anything meaningful, just like Kyubey.
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Post by ibbi on Apr 7, 2020 9:20:11 GMT
I don't know that it's great in terms of meaning or anything like that, but regarding what you say about a few seconds making or breaking things, I remember watching Before Sunset, and just yelling (internally) at the screen "END! END NOW!" and it faded to black within a couple of seconds. Odd ending to a movie, but it sure damn well worked for me. Well played, Linklater.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 7, 2020 10:10:06 GMT
You have to be careful as a movie fan - heck as a person - to be able to distinguish between the disappointing and the profoundly ambiguous. The "unclear" movie ending - the "hey - you can take it anyway you want to, it's Art!" usually just means I take it like you didn't how to end your stupid movie and also that's questionable Art. But the best ambiguous ending I can think of: Oldboy (2003) is most certainly Art - my favorite ending of this century and one of my all-time favorite endings period. Coming after a blitzkrieg of narrative exposition it is a blackhearted heartbreaker - the difference between denial and knowing and the choices we make too in the same way everyday That's not just in keeping with the set-up - it's even in keeping with it in other ways: It is thematically correct and philosophically true and logical and never once feels less than fully realized. A preposterous movie, but in the best sense because in its logic - as improbability piles on improbability it achieves something rare and beautiful - its entirely OWN movie logic....and also it's staggeringly cinematic and gorgeous too which is why I can close my eyes and play it in my head. "Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone" is the quote the centers this whole movie and you hear that clearly .......... even though those words are not said in the ending, at all.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2020 12:30:24 GMT
Like Fish, The Godfather Part II ending stands alone. I always prefer Part I, but when I see that flashback scene, its like I don't know which one I prefer anymore. Okay, we already know all the players at the table, but this scene invites you into a most intimate setting with the Corleone's. It reinforces every action Michael chose in Part II, led to the undoing of his father's success of building a family that we just previously saw.
"You can never lose family". Wrong. Every relationship is practically broken and most are dead. "I don't feel I have to wipe everybody out, Tom. Just my enemies". And your family. "Never take sides against the family". Ah, Michael look at you alone on the other side. And Fredo was the only one that took your side about enlisting.
It works even better without the Don there. Its his power and love that looms over his family and friends. There just so happy to be there for his birthday surprise, and Michael deflates the joyous mood with his cavalier attitude. If ever an ending could stand alone and work so well being a flashback, its this one.
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Post by jimmalone on Apr 7, 2020 14:50:39 GMT
Yeah, endings are very important to me. They are the scenes that usually stay the most with you after a film. Some of the greatest endings: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Casablanca High Noon Gladiator The Shawshank Redemption Dead Poets Society On the Waterfront
So to add an explanation to (some of) them: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly:
Here the magnificance of the ending lies just in Leone's craft. He has build the whole film to the inevitable showdown between the three of them, has then Morricone's music building it up even more (I'm talking about the ecstasy of gold) and makes a climax that's as terrific as it gets, with formibable editing, cinematography and the score once again. Those last 20-30 minutes are still as good as any other scene(s) I've watched.
Casablanca Till the end we just don't know exactly what will happen. Standard would have been that Rick rides with his girl into the sunset. He doesn't do what he would like to do and what's the best for him, but he does what he thinks is the best for Ilsa and what he thinks is the right thing to do. This close-ups of Bogart and llsa and all the feelings you can read on their faces are just great. And finally he reveals his heroic side the viewer has seen before, openly joining the resistance. The whole airport scene is packed probably with more great and unforgetable lines than most movies can provide during their full length and also with great pictures, when you think about the fog and finally Rick and Louis going away to their new friendship.
High Noon I'm actually not talking about the showdown here, which is fine enough, but there have been better ones. But just about how Kane throws his star away, which summarizes - together with the great look on Gary Cooper's face - better than any words the disgust about all the people in the town, for whom he risked his head once again.
Gladiator This is one of the endings that brings together so many different feelings inside me. There's a bit of joy and sadness at the same time and not many endings could achieve this. (One of the rare that is cabable of this as well is Lost in Translation).
Maximus got his revenge in a scene that's great already, but it's just beautiful how he dies for it and how he is honored. It has a true sublimity to it.
Shawshank Redemption Not much to say about this. It's just beautiful.
Dead Poets Society This is one of the rare film endings that always has me down in tears. I know this is a hate-it or love-it ending. Many people find this kitschy. I just think it's a beautiful gesture of sorrow and the denomination of how much Mr. Keating meant to the boys. At the same time even more this is the moment, when the boys, or at least, Mr. Anderson, finds self belief and knows who he wants to be. Finally he puts down the cocoon and has the courage to stand up for himself and others and for his own points of views.
On the Waterfront As with Good, Bad, Ugly everything is up to the pictures Kazan generates here. That look of Marlon Brando, hurt and full of pain, how despite the great power against him, he simply refuses to go down and climbs up the plank, is one of the most iconic scenes I've ever watched.
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Post by jimmalone on Apr 7, 2020 14:55:56 GMT
May be one of the most rational romantic comedies. There is no question: The princess gets back to her castle and the reporter goes back to...reporting. What else did we think would happen? There's something in my eye dammit... Totally agree. I always thought this ending had so much dignity.
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Post by stephen on Apr 7, 2020 15:13:37 GMT
They don't get better'n this:
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Post by jimmalone on Apr 7, 2020 16:25:29 GMT
They don't get better'n this: This is indeed still my #1 choice in this category.
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Post by DeepArcher on Apr 7, 2020 17:02:59 GMT
Loving these posts so far, keep it up!
My next pick is another obvious and significant one ... the ending of Chinatown, just relevant in the "morally questionable" thread, maybe the single saddest movie ending ever and also I think the most American movie ending ever. Obviously this movie is a masterclass in every way and there's so much more to talk about and unpack than I can cover in a single readable post, but the entire film -- often considered the best screenplay ever written -- is built around this breathtaking conclusion, where all of the tension and mystery the film has been building up finally boils over into this absolute explosion. Here, our jaded noir hero haunted by his failure and so desperate to avoid history repeating itself simply brings about the failure once again from his actions, there's an imagined happy ending of redemption that simply can't exist -- once again, there's absolutely no beating The Man, all we can do is turn away and walk home. The fact that it mirrors the reality of the filmmaker himself just makes it all the more depressing ... a cruel reminder that this isn't just movie cynicism, this is the shit that happens, this is the world we live in...
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Post by jimmalone on Apr 7, 2020 17:07:56 GMT
Loving these posts so far, keep it up! My next pick is another obvious and significant one ... the ending of Chinatown, just relevant in the "morally questionable" thread, maybe the single saddest movie ending ever and also I think the most American movie ending ever. Obviously this movie is a masterclass in every way and there's so much more to talk about and unpack than I can cover in a single readable post, but the entire film -- often considered the best screenplay ever written -- is built around this breathtaking conclusion, where all of the tension and mystery the film has been building up finally boils over into this absolute explosion. Here, our jaded noir hero haunted by his failure and so desperate to avoid history repeating itself simply brings about the failure once again from his actions, there's an imagined happy ending of redemption that simply can't exist -- once again, there's absolutely no beating The Man, all we can do is turn away and walk home. The fact that it mirrors the reality of the filmmaker himself just makes it all the more depressing ... a cruel reminder that this isn't just movie cynicism, this is the shit that happens, this is the world we live in... First I think the ending is great already the way it is. Second I think it would have been even better if they would have found a way and arrested Noah Cross. Wouldn't have taken away anything from the poetry that all Gittes wanted had broken down because he wanted it too much, but would even have added the poetry of a certain justice.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 7, 2020 17:31:24 GMT
Loving these posts so far, keep it up! My next pick is another obvious and significant one ... the ending of Chinatown, just relevant in the "morally questionable" thread, maybe the single saddest movie ending ever and also I think the most American movie ending ever. Obviously this movie is a masterclass in every way and there's so much more to talk about and unpack than I can cover in a single readable post, but the entire film -- often considered the best screenplay ever written -- is built around this breathtaking conclusion, where all of the tension and mystery the film has been building up finally boils over into this absolute explosion. Here, our jaded noir hero haunted by his failure and so desperate to avoid history repeating itself simply brings about the failure once again from his actions, there's an imagined happy ending of redemption that simply can't exist -- once again, there's absolutely no beating The Man, all we can do is turn away and walk home. The fact that it mirrors the reality of the filmmaker himself just makes it all the more depressing ... a cruel reminder that this isn't just movie cynicism, this is the shit that happens, this is the world we live in... Well it's my all-time number 1 and I'd just add: There can't be really be another ending imo - It could never end with Cross dying or being arrested - because in the narrative everything is set up as those who win and those who lose - the last words you hear in Chinatown are even "Get off the street!" they aren't "Forget it Jake it's Chinatown" and those last words matters a whole lot - it's what happens next that matters - what happens after Jake forgets (maybe)......because the farmers we see earlier, the Chinese in the frame margins, the elderly in the nursing home, you and me etc. are all subject to the evil coming down the street - so get off it. It's not merely the greatest film I've ever seen but it's a righteously moral one too......I can't think of a more morally unquestionable movie tbh.....
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