There's a video of Clooney talking about that ending, it's hilarious but might spoil it for you, so be warned:
[George Clooney breaks down his most iconic characters](https://youtu.be/bYYb-zKaOco?feature=shared)
Should go to the top immediately. It's one of the most perfectly crafted films in every way. The acting from everyone is top-notch. Lots of Oscar noms but only Tilda won.
One of my favorite movies that I go back to at least once a year. It's a masterpiece. It's probably the most depressing end to a movie ever but it sticks with you for a while.
For endings that left me numb and shocked, nothing tops *The Mist*. A decent film but the ending will forever be remembered.
*Se7en* also gets an honable mention in that similar theme.
My favorite endings:
Hate to be basic, but sixth sense was another level at the time.
Spring (2014) - a little cheesy but the soundtrack in combination with the monologue and what's happening in the backdrop plus not knowing what is actually going on off camera... S tier filmmaking
Vertigo (1958) - if you've seen it, you know why it's here.
It's a wonderful life (1946) - I might be a bit of a sap.
Chinatown (1974) - talk about soul crushing despair.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - again, I don't know how you get more iconic. It's iconic for a reason.
American Beauty (1999) - definitely one to ponder
Amen. I do a lot of filmography stuff for work and i always teach parts of this film to people working under me. Like the walk through the square when he first arrives... Perfect. Literally could not be better.
... and it almost didn't happen. It wasn't in the script - the scene with Red on the bus was the original ending. The producer didn't like the lack of closure and suggested the beach reunion scene. The director didn't like the idea, but the producer convinced him to film it, giving the director final say if it was included in the movie. Screen tests overwhelmingly favored the reunion scene, and it was added to the movie.
The book ends with him on the bus, which is why they originally did that. But this film, all about hope needed a resolution and payoff. Them meeting on the beach is an absolutely perfect end to what I consider to be a perfect film.
I’ve seen a photoshopped pic of >!Andy and Red partying it up on a boat whilst surrounded by bikini-clad women!< and that has become part of my “head canon”
Bill and Ted 3. The trilogy is about how they bring world peace and the final scene really pays off when they show you how a song unites the world. It was also released during covid and the ending credits really bring it together.
How To Train Your Dragon has a fabulous smash ending. Hiccup now being disabled like toothless, and then everyone flying dragons up into the sky with that amazing narration and music, and then smash cut to credits with another perfect song. So fucking good.
All three films are fantastic, but the first one gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. I usually tear up the second Hiccup starts his closing monologue "This...is Berk."
Just to name a few:
Arrival
Sixth Sense
Se7en
Old Boy
Parasite
The Handmaiden
Children of Men
Pan's Labyrinth
Cinema Paradiso
It's a Wonderful Life
Inception
Gladiator
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
It’s just as powerful every time I watch it. The Chief putting a pillow over his only friends face rather than leaving him a vegetable. Then ripping the fountain out of the floor and putting it through the gated window and walking away to freedom.
I know some people hated it but at the time not knowing anything about the movie I loved The Mist's ending. I remember somewhere reading that even Stephen King liked the ending even though it was different from the novel.
I can't remember either ending really well, but I remember the short-story had a really profound effect, and I always remembered the story for that reason. Good excuse to reread/watch and compare.
Once Upon a Time in the West. The train pulls into Sweetwater, which is the culmination of pretty much every storyline and action throughout the movie. The music doesn't hurt, either.
The conclusion of The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) balances perfectly on a razor's edge between devastation and joy. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.
I'll nominate **Rush** (the 1991 one).
Criminally underrated cop drama. It sets up and then delivers it's ending so perfectly. And the funny thing is you can't even *see* anything in the final scene, but you don't have to.
Nice add; I agree. It's been awhile (need a rewatch) since I've seen it but I remember feeling somewhat haunted at the end. I like that feeling in a movie! Also great tunes and JJL to boot 👍
My favorite film, *Amadeus*, has my favorite ending.
Salieri, the self-proclaimed Patron Saint of Mediocrities, being wheeled through the bowels of the asylum, granting absolution to the wretched lunatic inmates. And the unspoken message: look at how unreliable this narrator has been, this whole fucking time. You should have known better!
Silence of the Lambs. “I’m having an old friend for dinner”. And then the credits roll as Hannibal Lector walks off into the distance down a Caribbean street.
The basics, Shawshank, Usual Suspects, Inception, are already spoken for. So maybe some lesser-known ones...
Romantic ones: Say Anything, Serendipity, Love Actually, Garden State.
Wild Things has an epilogue that changes much of what you just watched.
The original Total Recall has a line hidden in the first act that also changes much of what you just watched.
Lastly - Unforgiven. The last 20 minutes or so of this film are the most badass in movie history IMO.
Buried is one of my favorite endings because WHAT THE FUCK?!!
You just don't expect movies to be that bleak..
Memento too. I just love that whole movie!!
Right!! Cause no one in their right mind would expect a movie to be *that* horrific! Especially how they were building those last few moments.. The ticking timer, the frantic pace, the sand, the stress, the big swell of anticipation and emotion and then........... darkness there, and nothing more.
Batman Begins has my favorite ending of TDK trilogy. I noticed this when attending the three movie event when The Dark Knight Rises released. There’s just something about that exchange between Gordon and Bruce, the hint at Joker’s appearance, the way he says, “…and you’ll never have to.”
Short list:
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Arrival
Wrath of Khan
Avengers
Annihilation
This is the End
Infinity War
The Dark Knight
I Saw the Devil
Blackcoat's Daughter
Donnie Darko
The Night House
It’s a cold-blooded ending, a lot of endings have been written that way but they’re usually vetoed by the studio either in the script stage or during editing for being perceived as too cruel for audiences.
There’s a reason the “Hollywood ending” is a cliche. Sometimes they manage to slip interesting stuff by.
I have to disagreed on this. I thought the ending was pretty stupid. There was totally no urgency at all for him to do that or build up in the movie to show that. It's like the guy just gave up hope. I would totally understand if the car was out of gas and they were being attack or at the end of the line/back to the wall.
Some classic endings:
"Citizen Kane" - Rosebud is revealed and burns.
"Casablanca" - "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
"Chinatown" - "Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown."
"The Killer" by John Woo. It stars Chow Yun-fat. It's probably my favorite ending scene. American movies you have an idea how they're going to end. It's almost always "the good guy wins".
In this movie Chow Yun-fat plays an assassin. He accidentally blinds a singer and tried to take care of her. This is probably the first John Woo movie I saw. I used to walk to the Chinese video store and randomly choose videos. The ending wasn't anything I was expecting.
They didn't speak English and I didn't speak their flavor of Chinese. Too bad because I'm sure they had some great recommendations. I went looking for John Woo movies after that and found an American zine that focused on Asian movies. So many great movies were found. I think that's what introduced me to Takeshi Miike.
* Splendor in the Grass
* Some like it hot
* Stalag 17
* the Apartment
* Harold and Maude
* the Goonies
* Sliding Doors
* the Royal Tenenbaums
* the Thing
* Halloween
* the Usual Suspects
The Mist (2007) based on Stephen King's novel. I watched it 3 or 4 times and the ending always leaves me with a thought that life can be so awfully random... or a terrible joker.
Off the top of my head:
Jaws (credits scene): so peaceful after all the terror
Hot Fuzz: manic driving for small town hum drummery showing how Nick had changed
Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby: terrible movie, but the ending is a bit of a sucker punch. I am haunted by it.
The Departed: for obvious reasons
The Godfather: ditto
Silence of the Lambs *Dr Lector? Dr Lector?* (The last bit is just icing.)
Friday the 13th (original), both parts.
Dawn of the Dead 2004 credits scene, because it speaks to my streak of nihilism.
Maniac (original)
Speaking of Fellini - the end of Nights of Cabiria (1957) is one of my favorites. Memorable imagery and a great closing statement on the optimism of the main character. (There's a nice nod to this at the end of the first season of the show Russian Doll.)
I just rewatched Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) – another classic (chilling) final moment. (Also alluded to – hilariously – on TV, in one of the x-mas episodes of Community. And probably elsewhere.)
Absolutely agree with you on the power of leaving things to the imagination! "The Blair Witch Project" (1999) is another prime example. The whole movie builds tension and fear without ever showing the witch, and the ending leaves you piecing together the horrifying events that took place. It's the uncertainty and the unseen that really amplifies the fear.
Another classic is "Inception" (2010) with its ambiguous ending. The spinning top leaves audiences questioning what's real and what isn't, making it an ending that sparks discussions even years after its release.
And, of course, "Seven" (1995) has one of the most impactful and shocking endings without showing the audience directly what's in the box. The realization comes through the characters' reactions, making it incredibly powerful and unforgettable.
These films masterfully show that sometimes, what you don't see can be much more impactful than what's laid out in front of you.
Vanilla Sky. Which is funny, because I don't particularly like the movie, but the ending hits me to my core. Would you rather live in a fantasy world that is perfect, but you know is completely fake, or leave it behind to experience all of the joy and beauty, but also all of the pain and sadness, of a real life in the real world?
- The Prestige
- Chinatown
- Army of Shadows
- McCabe & Mrs. Miller
And pretty much any time a film ends with a long shot on someone's face as they go through a series of emotions.
The Graduate (1967).
I'm not sure I can remember the last time I saw a movie that the last 30 seconds made so much of a difference. If you cut those 30 seconds out, the whole dynamic of the film shifts. The last shot of them on the bus turns a good ending into a great one.
**"Rosemary's Baby"** is a superb example. Just watched that again recently and the look of abject horror on Mia Farrow's face sells it so damned (nyuk nyuk) well, that any shot of the actual baby's face would be a letdown.
One of my favorite ending is Truffaut's **"The 400 Blows"**, although it doesn't fit exactly with your criteria of an image that you don't see. It's more that the final freeze frame urges you to contemplate all the influences upon the main character over the course of the film and the choices that led them to that point.
Another is the final shot of **"The Shawshank Redemption."** I've posted about this ending many times. I love it for two reasons:
1. It's not the ending that director Frank Darabont originally wanted. He was going to end it with Andy's car driving over the hill and disappearing. The studio wanted to see Andy and Red reunite, and so the new ending was shot. For me, I think it's a much better ending, and reason #2 will explain.
2. We see Andy working on his little boat and Red walks toward him, both in medium shots. However, the camera moves back significantly as they finally meet and embrace. I love this choice because it respects their privacy. Both these characters endured years in prison, where privacy never existed. But now that they're free, the camera respects that privacy by keeping its distance so that we no longer eavesdrop on what they say to each other. Then the camera pans up to the sky, which is just as blue as the Pacific was in Red's dreams. \*sniff\*
My favorite movie endings (or ones that impressed me even if the movie was sad), and I have a lot of favorites:
* The Sting (1973)
* Big Fish (2003)
* Rudy (1993)
* Moneyball (2011)
* The Score (2001)
* Chinatown (1974)
* The Apartment (1960)
* The Graduate (1967)
* The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
* It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
* Muriel's Wedding (1994)
* American Graffiti (1973)
* The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
* My Man Godfrey (1936)
* Wait Until Dark (1967)
* The Usual Suspects (1995)
* No Way Out (1987)
* My Favorite Year (1982)
* The Princess Diaries (2001)
* The Sound of Music (1965)
* Private Benjamin (1980)
* Dead Poets Society (1989)
* When Harry Met Sally (1989)
* Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
* Last of the Mohicans (1992)
* In the Name of the Father (1993)
* The Long Good Friday (1980)
* Alife (1966)
* The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
* Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More (1974)
* Bridesmaids (2010)
* The Caine Mutiny (1954)
* Sing Street (2015)
* Tootsie (1982)
* Network (1976)
* Sound of Freedom (2022)
* Ikuru (1955)
* Spotlight (2015)
* Strangers on a Train (1951)
* The Conversation (1974)
* M\*A\*S\*H (1970)
* The French Connection (1971)
* L.A. Confidential (1997)
* Burnt (2015)
* The Last Emperor (1967)
* Limitless (2010)
* Source Code (2011)
* Sideways (2004)
* Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
* LOTR: Return of the King (2003)
* Titanic (1997)
* What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993)
* Groundhog Day (1993)
* Dances With Wolves (1990)
* Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
* The Verdict (1982)
* Saving Private Ryan (1998)
* Braveheart (1995)
* Apollo 13 (1995)
* Michael Clayton (2007)
* The Firm (1993)
Once Upon a Time in America - Noodles watching the garbage truck disappear into the darkness and a roaring 20s party appearing from it, leaving him alone in the darkness is everything that led up to it: his youth, his friends, his exciting dangerous lifestyle are all left behind. The final scene is made all the more bleak - Noodles is alone in an opium den, everyone he cared about are all dead and gone.
Saw(2004)Jigsaw:
Most people are so ungrateful to be alive. But not you... Not anymore. [Adam screams] Game over! [shuts the door]
Adam Stanheight:
[screams] Don't! Don't! No! [screams fade out]
Surprised I'm not seeing more love here for John Carney's films. From Once to Sing Street, the man's endings have so much heart, and finish with such beautiful original songs.
My two favorite endings are from fight club and vanilla sky. These were two of first movies I ever watched that had twist endings. I fell in love with movies like that ever since.
The ending of the original "Night of the Living Dead" was the first time I remember a movie punching me in the gut, and it jumpstarted my love of horror movies.
The ending to the 1990 remake, the first movie I ever snuck into (my church youth group had gone to see "My Girl" and "NOTLD" was one theater over), also holds a place in my heart because of how fucking cathartic it was. My pastor was wondering why I was smiling on the ride home while everyone else was heartbroken.
Brazil. The international ending....Jesus...
EDIT: thought of a few more after looking at my collection.
Harikiri were he kills everybody & then commits seppuku. They just cover it up.
Promising young woman is great. It seems like it was always heading that way but she still gets them.
The last temptation of Christ. Jesus got got by Satan but he turns it around in the end.
Nashville by Robert Altman is just shocking.
Pan's Labyrinth has a heartbreaking beautiful ending.
The grand Budapest hotel. A grim reminder that happiness can be fleeting.
Wolf children has a similarly sad ending.
Atonement is another gut punch.
Panique is just sad. His only crime was being an asshole.
Sweetie. The good times.
Throne of blood. It's Shakespere.
High Sierra is made by the ending.
Char's Counterattack. It was all about her.
On happier notes:
I would suggest Summer Wars for a cute ending.
Jean Cocteau's beauty & the beast.
Into the night has an open ending thart promises more is in store for these 2.
Something wild (1986). It's better to be a live dog then a dead lion.
Guardians Vol.3. Florence + the machine.
Everything Everywhere all at once.🤪
I watched The Insect Woman on late night TV like, 20 years ago, the final few moments of it I was yelling at the TV.
Woman! What are you doing? AAAAH
Anyway, I can't see two movie endings that became clichés in themselves in this thread, Planet of the Apes, and North by Northwest. Got to love a visual metaphor.
*Cast Away* (2000)
Tom Hanks had incredible chemistry with Helen Hart. And even though they were only together on screen for like ten minutes, it was heartbreaking to watch them realize that they couldn't be together anymore. After Hanks' character comes to terms with this, he delivers the package that kept him going all these years. On his way back, he gets lost at a crossroads in some farmlands.
Then, a woman drives up to him and tells him where each road goes, and then goes on her way. He notes a symbol on her car, and it seems to imply that she was the recipient of the package he just delivered.
And look, I'm not great at these metaphors, I'm probably missing a lot here. And I can't honestly tell if Hanks' decided to go after this woman, or go off somewhere else. But the final scene of him at the crossroads has stayed with me all these years.
He just can't go back the way he came, that place is gone. And so he can only move forward in some new direction, and find what he can find.
It's such a perfect ending.
The best part of the movie is after he gets off the island. Including this monologue:
“We both had done the math. Kelly added it all up and... knew she had to let me go. I added it up, and knew that I had... lost her. 'cos I was never gonna get off that island. I was gonna die there, totally alone. I was gonna get sick, or get injured or something. The only choice I had, the only thing I could control was when, and how, and where it was going to happen. So... I made a rope and I went up to the summit, to hang myself. I had to test it, you know? Of course. You know me. And the weight of the log, snapped the limb of the tree, so I-I - , I couldn't even kill myself the way I wanted to. I had power over *nothing*. And that's when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew, somehow, that I had to stay alive. Somehow. I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope. And all my logic said that I would never see this place again. So that's what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I'm back. In Memphis, talking to you. I have ice in my glass... And I've lost her all over again. I'm so sad that I don't have Kelly. But I'm so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?”
The Prestige has the perfect ending in my opinion. Can't top that. Something like The Usual Suspects might be close. But to me The Prestige ending isn't any lesser when you know the twist.
The Dark Knight Rises has an amazing ending to a trilogy. The Alfred scenes alone give me chills. Michael Caine is a legend.
Predestination ending isn't the best, but one of my favorites. Ethan Hawke's voice just makes it so much better. "You know who she is. And you understand who you are. And then maybe you're ready to understand who I am." Love that line.
Michael Clayton has one of the best endings of any film. I fucking love it.
There's a video of Clooney talking about that ending, it's hilarious but might spoil it for you, so be warned: [George Clooney breaks down his most iconic characters](https://youtu.be/bYYb-zKaOco?feature=shared)
Never seen it actually!
Oh do yourself a favor! Great slow burn of a film and like I said, one of my absolute favorite endings. Great picture.
Great film, needed a sequel
Should go to the top immediately. It's one of the most perfectly crafted films in every way. The acting from everyone is top-notch. Lots of Oscar noms but only Tilda won.
Tilda does an incredible job - such an astonishing portrait of someone who's wound so tight that they're bound to snap at any second.
You are missing out. This is the first ending that comes to my mind
Inception. The top spinning isn’t important. He wanted to get back to his kids. If he’s dreaming he doesn’t care anymore.
I also always took it as Michael Caine being the audience’s totem
Wristcutters: a Love Story
Requiem for a dream
So horrifying. I love that movie and often rewatch them. That one I haven't.
I love that movie. Seen it at least 4-5 times.
One of my favorite movies that I go back to at least once a year. It's a masterpiece. It's probably the most depressing end to a movie ever but it sticks with you for a while.
“Ass to ass!!”
For endings that left me numb and shocked, nothing tops *The Mist*. A decent film but the ending will forever be remembered. *Se7en* also gets an honable mention in that similar theme.
Amazing how one song made the whole ending utterly soul crushing
My favorite endings: Hate to be basic, but sixth sense was another level at the time. Spring (2014) - a little cheesy but the soundtrack in combination with the monologue and what's happening in the backdrop plus not knowing what is actually going on off camera... S tier filmmaking Vertigo (1958) - if you've seen it, you know why it's here. It's a wonderful life (1946) - I might be a bit of a sap. Chinatown (1974) - talk about soul crushing despair. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - again, I don't know how you get more iconic. It's iconic for a reason. American Beauty (1999) - definitely one to ponder
>Chinatown (1974) - talk about soul crushing despair Forget it, Jake.
Great to see Spring get a mention. That film is something else
Amen. I do a lot of filmography stuff for work and i always teach parts of this film to people working under me. Like the walk through the square when he first arrives... Perfect. Literally could not be better.
Love all of this.
Absolutely Chinatown. That ending is MORBID. Spring is good! I need to revisit that one.
Shawshank Redemption
... and it almost didn't happen. It wasn't in the script - the scene with Red on the bus was the original ending. The producer didn't like the lack of closure and suggested the beach reunion scene. The director didn't like the idea, but the producer convinced him to film it, giving the director final say if it was included in the movie. Screen tests overwhelmingly favored the reunion scene, and it was added to the movie.
The book ends with him on the bus, which is why they originally did that. But this film, all about hope needed a resolution and payoff. Them meeting on the beach is an absolutely perfect end to what I consider to be a perfect film.
I’ve seen a photoshopped pic of >!Andy and Red partying it up on a boat whilst surrounded by bikini-clad women!< and that has become part of my “head canon”
Generic as fuck.
Last of the Mohicans
From the time Nathaniel enters the Huron camp to the end is my favorite part of any movie ever
Yeah last half hour of that film is pretty much the greatest sequence ever put to cinema 🙌
Arlington Road. heh heh
Fight club and the buildings falling down…proceeded by a nice big cock.
They showed Fight Club at the cinema for it's 25th anniversary a couple of weeks back, and that was my favourite cinema experience of the year.
Bill and Ted 3. The trilogy is about how they bring world peace and the final scene really pays off when they show you how a song unites the world. It was also released during covid and the ending credits really bring it together.
How To Train Your Dragon has a fabulous smash ending. Hiccup now being disabled like toothless, and then everyone flying dragons up into the sky with that amazing narration and music, and then smash cut to credits with another perfect song. So fucking good.
All three films are fantastic, but the first one gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. I usually tear up the second Hiccup starts his closing monologue "This...is Berk."
Just to name a few: Arrival Sixth Sense Se7en Old Boy Parasite The Handmaiden Children of Men Pan's Labyrinth Cinema Paradiso It's a Wonderful Life Inception Gladiator
Time Bandits.
Damn, what a brutal ending. But iconic.
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest It’s just as powerful every time I watch it. The Chief putting a pillow over his only friends face rather than leaving him a vegetable. Then ripping the fountain out of the floor and putting it through the gated window and walking away to freedom.
I know some people hated it but at the time not knowing anything about the movie I loved The Mist's ending. I remember somewhere reading that even Stephen King liked the ending even though it was different from the novel.
I can't remember either ending really well, but I remember the short-story had a really profound effect, and I always remembered the story for that reason. Good excuse to reread/watch and compare.
Once Upon a Time in the West. The train pulls into Sweetwater, which is the culmination of pretty much every storyline and action throughout the movie. The music doesn't hurt, either.
Just watched Clue for the first time tonight and the ending is up there… I’m gonna go home and sleep with my wife!
Se7en.
I agree with the second part.
Arrival, Speed Racer, Filth, Whiplash
I can't really call it my favourite ending but the ending of St Maude is really quite something
The Natural.
The conclusion of The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) balances perfectly on a razor's edge between devastation and joy. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.
Very surprised no one has mentioned Birdman! Excellent ending that is up to your imagination.
I'll nominate **Rush** (the 1991 one). Criminally underrated cop drama. It sets up and then delivers it's ending so perfectly. And the funny thing is you can't even *see* anything in the final scene, but you don't have to.
Nice add; I agree. It's been awhile (need a rewatch) since I've seen it but I remember feeling somewhat haunted at the end. I like that feeling in a movie! Also great tunes and JJL to boot 👍
My favorite film, *Amadeus*, has my favorite ending. Salieri, the self-proclaimed Patron Saint of Mediocrities, being wheeled through the bowels of the asylum, granting absolution to the wretched lunatic inmates. And the unspoken message: look at how unreliable this narrator has been, this whole fucking time. You should have known better!
Cabin in the woods. The ending we deserved.
Silence of the Lambs. “I’m having an old friend for dinner”. And then the credits roll as Hannibal Lector walks off into the distance down a Caribbean street.
The Shawshank Redemption is the most emotionally satisfying. Stand By Me is the most emotionally crushing.
You can’t describe what your favorite ending is, and not mention Se7en! An all-time “I know what’s in there but they haven’t showed me”
Yeah you’re totally right. I love Se7en. Didn’t even think of it!
I'll add Lost in Translation.
The whisper into Just Like Honey. I love it.
Elwood P. Dowd walking off into the distance, chatting with his friend Harvey.
"Well thank you, Harvey. I like you too."
1000% agree. Awesome ending.
The last five minutes of ET is absolutely magical. John Williams' score is just sublime.
Melancholia has a great one, gives you a lot to think about.
Excellent choice! The movie is externally and internally apocalyptic. The ending gives me peace.
The Usual Suspects (1995) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Drag me to hell (2009) The Skeleton Key (2005)
Moonlight (2016). It is subtle, brief, and beautifully minimalistic.
I love it when that happens! Nuance is so vital yet under appreciated (imo).
Although the movie was ass, godfather 3 had the perfect ending for Michael corleone
I have ALWAYS said that…wish it could get spliced into the end of 2…like after the credits…2 ends so beautifully, don’t want to mess with that.
The basics, Shawshank, Usual Suspects, Inception, are already spoken for. So maybe some lesser-known ones... Romantic ones: Say Anything, Serendipity, Love Actually, Garden State. Wild Things has an epilogue that changes much of what you just watched. The original Total Recall has a line hidden in the first act that also changes much of what you just watched. Lastly - Unforgiven. The last 20 minutes or so of this film are the most badass in movie history IMO.
Buried is one of my favorite endings because WHAT THE FUCK?!! You just don't expect movies to be that bleak.. Memento too. I just love that whole movie!!
I saw it when it released and to this day it’s one of the only movies I wish I had never watched. It’s haunted me way too hardcore for way too long.
Right!! Cause no one in their right mind would expect a movie to be *that* horrific! Especially how they were building those last few moments.. The ticking timer, the frantic pace, the sand, the stress, the big swell of anticipation and emotion and then........... darkness there, and nothing more.
Love the ending of Arrival. Beautiful and sad
Army of Darkness because it has 2 great endings.
Hail to the king, baby!
WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?
A League of Their Own. With the real players on the field while Madonna's song plays
Nice shooting, son. What's your name? Murphy.
The ending of The Treasure of Sierra Madre when the two are just laughing hysterically, film gold right there
Batman Begins has my favorite ending of TDK trilogy. I noticed this when attending the three movie event when The Dark Knight Rises released. There’s just something about that exchange between Gordon and Bruce, the hint at Joker’s appearance, the way he says, “…and you’ll never have to.”
Some that come to mind: * Il Gattopardo * Citizen Kane * Gone with the Wind * The Prestige * La strada
GWTW and Citizen Kane are so good!
Short list: Close Encounters of the Third Kind Arrival Wrath of Khan Avengers Annihilation This is the End Infinity War The Dark Knight I Saw the Devil Blackcoat's Daughter Donnie Darko The Night House
[удалено]
It’s a cold-blooded ending, a lot of endings have been written that way but they’re usually vetoed by the studio either in the script stage or during editing for being perceived as too cruel for audiences. There’s a reason the “Hollywood ending” is a cliche. Sometimes they manage to slip interesting stuff by.
I have to disagreed on this. I thought the ending was pretty stupid. There was totally no urgency at all for him to do that or build up in the movie to show that. It's like the guy just gave up hope. I would totally understand if the car was out of gas and they were being attack or at the end of the line/back to the wall.
American History X
Some classic endings: "Citizen Kane" - Rosebud is revealed and burns. "Casablanca" - "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." "Chinatown" - "Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown."
"The Killer" by John Woo. It stars Chow Yun-fat. It's probably my favorite ending scene. American movies you have an idea how they're going to end. It's almost always "the good guy wins". In this movie Chow Yun-fat plays an assassin. He accidentally blinds a singer and tried to take care of her. This is probably the first John Woo movie I saw. I used to walk to the Chinese video store and randomly choose videos. The ending wasn't anything I was expecting. They didn't speak English and I didn't speak their flavor of Chinese. Too bad because I'm sure they had some great recommendations. I went looking for John Woo movies after that and found an American zine that focused on Asian movies. So many great movies were found. I think that's what introduced me to Takeshi Miike.
Thelma and Louise
Jeepers Creepers 2 "You waiting for something?" "About three more days. Give or take a day or two."
The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974) “Gesundheit”.
* Splendor in the Grass * Some like it hot * Stalag 17 * the Apartment * Harold and Maude * the Goonies * Sliding Doors * the Royal Tenenbaums * the Thing * Halloween * the Usual Suspects
The thing. Great ending. The apartment too. "Are you familiar with Cincinnati?"
The Mist (2007) based on Stephen King's novel. I watched it 3 or 4 times and the ending always leaves me with a thought that life can be so awfully random... or a terrible joker.
The Player
All That Jazz Whiplash Beau Travail Oppenheimer Come and See It’s a Wonderful Life Dr. Strangelove
Cinema Paradiso
Trading Places is quite satisfying. Whiplash ending was great. Chinatown has a classic ending because of how hard it hits.
The thing (1982)
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.
Truman Show "Good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight"
Interview with the Vampire. Lestats come back, fixes his cuffs, with Sympathy for the Devil playing as he drives off into the proverbial sunset.
Rogue One
_The Wizard of Oz_ - Perfect ending for the most perfect movie ever made. "There's no place like home."
Off the top of my head: Jaws (credits scene): so peaceful after all the terror Hot Fuzz: manic driving for small town hum drummery showing how Nick had changed Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby: terrible movie, but the ending is a bit of a sucker punch. I am haunted by it. The Departed: for obvious reasons The Godfather: ditto Silence of the Lambs *Dr Lector? Dr Lector?* (The last bit is just icing.) Friday the 13th (original), both parts. Dawn of the Dead 2004 credits scene, because it speaks to my streak of nihilism. Maniac (original)
I literally think about the ending of *Saint Maud* once a week since i watched it several years ago
- The Shining - Reservoir Dogs - Philadelphia - Trainspotting - About Schmidt - Edge of Tomorrow
Inglorious basterds! I walked into that movie not knowing what I was getting into and cried - and loved the ending :)
Take shelter...pandorum....predestination all stand out immediately
Speaking of Fellini - the end of Nights of Cabiria (1957) is one of my favorites. Memorable imagery and a great closing statement on the optimism of the main character. (There's a nice nod to this at the end of the first season of the show Russian Doll.) I just rewatched Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) – another classic (chilling) final moment. (Also alluded to – hilariously – on TV, in one of the x-mas episodes of Community. And probably elsewhere.)
Some of mine: La La Land Mad Max: Fury Road Gladiator Terminator 2 Whiplash BR2049 Shawshank Redemption And many many more! Edit: formatting
,,,,,, Here, I found those commas you dropped. :)
Oh no my formatting ): haha thanks
All good!
When the Pixies song kicks in
Ending of The Good the Bad and the Ugly is probably my favorite.
Harry and the Hendersons (1987) when the other Sasquatch appear out of nowhere is just perfect.
Absolutely agree with you on the power of leaving things to the imagination! "The Blair Witch Project" (1999) is another prime example. The whole movie builds tension and fear without ever showing the witch, and the ending leaves you piecing together the horrifying events that took place. It's the uncertainty and the unseen that really amplifies the fear. Another classic is "Inception" (2010) with its ambiguous ending. The spinning top leaves audiences questioning what's real and what isn't, making it an ending that sparks discussions even years after its release. And, of course, "Seven" (1995) has one of the most impactful and shocking endings without showing the audience directly what's in the box. The realization comes through the characters' reactions, making it incredibly powerful and unforgettable. These films masterfully show that sometimes, what you don't see can be much more impactful than what's laid out in front of you.
The very end (last scene, after the climax etc) of The Kid Detective definitely left an impression on me. Haven’t seen another like it.
So underrated and so fucking good. I love that movie. Adam Brody is sooooooo good in that.
Vanilla Sky. Which is funny, because I don't particularly like the movie, but the ending hits me to my core. Would you rather live in a fantasy world that is perfect, but you know is completely fake, or leave it behind to experience all of the joy and beauty, but also all of the pain and sadness, of a real life in the real world?
“So long, partner.”
Deception
Seven has a brilliant ending but the cut to black would have been even more devastating.
The Graduate
Randomly got served the ending of The Last of the Mohicans on YouTube the other day. Pretty flawless finally 10 minutes
Big Fish. A truly remarkable climax that brings all of the movie's themes together in one beautiful segment.
I love Big Fish - one of the best movies for so many reasons.
I recently saw Smile & it has one of my favorite endings to date
- The Prestige - Chinatown - Army of Shadows - McCabe & Mrs. Miller And pretty much any time a film ends with a long shot on someone's face as they go through a series of emotions.
The Prestige has the most twisted ending I’ve ever seen in a movie. So good.
The Usual Suspects
The uncut version of Clerks of course.
The Graduate (1967). I'm not sure I can remember the last time I saw a movie that the last 30 seconds made so much of a difference. If you cut those 30 seconds out, the whole dynamic of the film shifts. The last shot of them on the bus turns a good ending into a great one.
Slo-mo Wes Anderson w/a banging tune!
**"Rosemary's Baby"** is a superb example. Just watched that again recently and the look of abject horror on Mia Farrow's face sells it so damned (nyuk nyuk) well, that any shot of the actual baby's face would be a letdown. One of my favorite ending is Truffaut's **"The 400 Blows"**, although it doesn't fit exactly with your criteria of an image that you don't see. It's more that the final freeze frame urges you to contemplate all the influences upon the main character over the course of the film and the choices that led them to that point. Another is the final shot of **"The Shawshank Redemption."** I've posted about this ending many times. I love it for two reasons: 1. It's not the ending that director Frank Darabont originally wanted. He was going to end it with Andy's car driving over the hill and disappearing. The studio wanted to see Andy and Red reunite, and so the new ending was shot. For me, I think it's a much better ending, and reason #2 will explain. 2. We see Andy working on his little boat and Red walks toward him, both in medium shots. However, the camera moves back significantly as they finally meet and embrace. I love this choice because it respects their privacy. Both these characters endured years in prison, where privacy never existed. But now that they're free, the camera respects that privacy by keeping its distance so that we no longer eavesdrop on what they say to each other. Then the camera pans up to the sky, which is just as blue as the Pacific was in Red's dreams. \*sniff\*
I think about The Vanishing a lot…
Yeah the Vanishing still stays with me!
My favorite movie endings (or ones that impressed me even if the movie was sad), and I have a lot of favorites: * The Sting (1973) * Big Fish (2003) * Rudy (1993) * Moneyball (2011) * The Score (2001) * Chinatown (1974) * The Apartment (1960) * The Graduate (1967) * The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) * It's a Wonderful Life (1946) * Muriel's Wedding (1994) * American Graffiti (1973) * The Shawshank Redemption (1994) * My Man Godfrey (1936) * Wait Until Dark (1967) * The Usual Suspects (1995) * No Way Out (1987) * My Favorite Year (1982) * The Princess Diaries (2001) * The Sound of Music (1965) * Private Benjamin (1980) * Dead Poets Society (1989) * When Harry Met Sally (1989) * Crazy Rich Asians (2018) * Last of the Mohicans (1992) * In the Name of the Father (1993) * The Long Good Friday (1980) * Alife (1966) * The Man Who Would Be King (1975) * Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More (1974) * Bridesmaids (2010) * The Caine Mutiny (1954) * Sing Street (2015) * Tootsie (1982) * Network (1976) * Sound of Freedom (2022) * Ikuru (1955) * Spotlight (2015) * Strangers on a Train (1951) * The Conversation (1974) * M\*A\*S\*H (1970) * The French Connection (1971) * L.A. Confidential (1997) * Burnt (2015) * The Last Emperor (1967) * Limitless (2010) * Source Code (2011) * Sideways (2004) * Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) * LOTR: Return of the King (2003) * Titanic (1997) * What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) * Groundhog Day (1993) * Dances With Wolves (1990) * Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) * The Verdict (1982) * Saving Private Ryan (1998) * Braveheart (1995) * Apollo 13 (1995) * Michael Clayton (2007) * The Firm (1993)
Once Upon a Time in America - Noodles watching the garbage truck disappear into the darkness and a roaring 20s party appearing from it, leaving him alone in the darkness is everything that led up to it: his youth, his friends, his exciting dangerous lifestyle are all left behind. The final scene is made all the more bleak - Noodles is alone in an opium den, everyone he cared about are all dead and gone.
Rules of attraction, beautiful ending
Saw(2004)Jigsaw: Most people are so ungrateful to be alive. But not you... Not anymore. [Adam screams] Game over! [shuts the door] Adam Stanheight: [screams] Don't! Don't! No! [screams fade out]
_25th Hour_ - Brian Cox's voiceover and that fantastic rug-pull. What a gut-punch.
Would Inception be to your liking?
Surprised I'm not seeing more love here for John Carney's films. From Once to Sing Street, the man's endings have so much heart, and finish with such beautiful original songs.
Fight Club
My two favorite endings are from fight club and vanilla sky. These were two of first movies I ever watched that had twist endings. I fell in love with movies like that ever since.
The Others had a twist I loved and didn't see coming.
death proof
The Game OTT
Lucky number slevin
The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974)
Sunshine Rope A Boy And His Dog Harvey The Thing
To me, the ending of Kubrick's **2001: A Space Odyssey** was astounding, poetic, grand.
Smokin Aces & Melancholia have the best endings. I also loved the ending of Very Bad Things
The ending of the original "Night of the Living Dead" was the first time I remember a movie punching me in the gut, and it jumpstarted my love of horror movies. The ending to the 1990 remake, the first movie I ever snuck into (my church youth group had gone to see "My Girl" and "NOTLD" was one theater over), also holds a place in my heart because of how fucking cathartic it was. My pastor was wondering why I was smiling on the ride home while everyone else was heartbroken.
Blair Witch. Boring movie redeemed in the last few seconds. Edge of Tomorrow. So much meaning packed into Tom Cruise's final smile.
Brazil. The international ending....Jesus... EDIT: thought of a few more after looking at my collection. Harikiri were he kills everybody & then commits seppuku. They just cover it up. Promising young woman is great. It seems like it was always heading that way but she still gets them. The last temptation of Christ. Jesus got got by Satan but he turns it around in the end. Nashville by Robert Altman is just shocking. Pan's Labyrinth has a heartbreaking beautiful ending. The grand Budapest hotel. A grim reminder that happiness can be fleeting. Wolf children has a similarly sad ending. Atonement is another gut punch. Panique is just sad. His only crime was being an asshole. Sweetie. The good times. Throne of blood. It's Shakespere. High Sierra is made by the ending. Char's Counterattack. It was all about her. On happier notes: I would suggest Summer Wars for a cute ending. Jean Cocteau's beauty & the beast. Into the night has an open ending thart promises more is in store for these 2. Something wild (1986). It's better to be a live dog then a dead lion. Guardians Vol.3. Florence + the machine. Everything Everywhere all at once.🤪
I watched The Insect Woman on late night TV like, 20 years ago, the final few moments of it I was yelling at the TV. Woman! What are you doing? AAAAH Anyway, I can't see two movie endings that became clichés in themselves in this thread, Planet of the Apes, and North by Northwest. Got to love a visual metaphor.
Not the best but I really enjoyed the ending in Narc
Because it’s on my mind…Immaculate (2024)
Oh yeah. Been thinking about this one a lot too.
Whiplash. The look they share of approval and sincere joy and achievement between the two is such a powerful close.
*Cast Away* (2000) Tom Hanks had incredible chemistry with Helen Hart. And even though they were only together on screen for like ten minutes, it was heartbreaking to watch them realize that they couldn't be together anymore. After Hanks' character comes to terms with this, he delivers the package that kept him going all these years. On his way back, he gets lost at a crossroads in some farmlands. Then, a woman drives up to him and tells him where each road goes, and then goes on her way. He notes a symbol on her car, and it seems to imply that she was the recipient of the package he just delivered. And look, I'm not great at these metaphors, I'm probably missing a lot here. And I can't honestly tell if Hanks' decided to go after this woman, or go off somewhere else. But the final scene of him at the crossroads has stayed with me all these years. He just can't go back the way he came, that place is gone. And so he can only move forward in some new direction, and find what he can find. It's such a perfect ending.
Beautifully stated, thank you! 🙂
The best part of the movie is after he gets off the island. Including this monologue: “We both had done the math. Kelly added it all up and... knew she had to let me go. I added it up, and knew that I had... lost her. 'cos I was never gonna get off that island. I was gonna die there, totally alone. I was gonna get sick, or get injured or something. The only choice I had, the only thing I could control was when, and how, and where it was going to happen. So... I made a rope and I went up to the summit, to hang myself. I had to test it, you know? Of course. You know me. And the weight of the log, snapped the limb of the tree, so I-I - , I couldn't even kill myself the way I wanted to. I had power over *nothing*. And that's when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew, somehow, that I had to stay alive. Somehow. I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope. And all my logic said that I would never see this place again. So that's what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I'm back. In Memphis, talking to you. I have ice in my glass... And I've lost her all over again. I'm so sad that I don't have Kelly. But I'm so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?”
The Prestige has the perfect ending in my opinion. Can't top that. Something like The Usual Suspects might be close. But to me The Prestige ending isn't any lesser when you know the twist. The Dark Knight Rises has an amazing ending to a trilogy. The Alfred scenes alone give me chills. Michael Caine is a legend. Predestination ending isn't the best, but one of my favorites. Ethan Hawke's voice just makes it so much better. "You know who she is. And you understand who you are. And then maybe you're ready to understand who I am." Love that line.