I watched this movie on DVD recently, and really liked it.
But the ending left me a little puzzled. Even after watching the ending three or four times, I’m still not sure what happened during the scene when Noodles is outside of Max/Bailey’s mansion, and the Mack truck with the grinding/crushing equipment pulls away. There is a shot of Max coming up to the truck, and when the truck pulls away, Max is no longer there.
When the truck passes by, Noodles can see into the back of the truck, which contains grinding equipment that appears to be mashing its way through garbage, but no evidence of any bodies or blood.
I’m not sure what to make of this scene. Can anyone help me here?
Well, one good thing about resurrecting this thread now is the Google ads for trucks and disposal services (just in case you had that odd body in the basement).
This is one of my favorite movies. The DVD has an interview with James Woods, and he said that he is still questioned (to this day) as to the meaning of the ending. According to him, Leone wanted it to be enigmatic, so it is really your own interpretation.
I think that Max really wanted Noodles to shoot him, and the people in the truck probably had orders to throw Noodles into the truck unless they were told differently. When Noodles refused, Max came down to the driveway to let them know he was still alive.
After that, I think that there are really two possibilities: Either Max threw himself into the back of the truck to avoid the investigation. Or, he just disappeared into the night, with the only witness unsure whether he was dead or not.
I had always thought it was the second one. Max and Noodles were just too close, and Max wouldn’t have wanted Noodles to go on if he (Max) was gone. But Max would have had some sort of escape planned if Noodles hadn’t killed him. Everything Max had done, including the truck, was a warning to Noodles that he could be found if he was going to talk.
You got that right. Incredible movie. The scene with the pastry has stuck with me forever.
That aside, I looked for this thread yesterday because of Atreyu’s comment in another thread (about threads that get no responses), and I felt bad that I couldn’t help with the mystery.
Interestingly, that scene is remarkably like one in a short story written by P G Wodehouse. It involved a young lady who wanted fresh strawberries. I can’t remember the name of the story, but yes - it is indelible.
Only my light. Your light may vary. There are some that think that the whole story is just an opium dream. Gotta love these ambiguous movies.
My thought was that Max had in fact been killed and was getting mashed in the truck. The powers that be had killed off Max to end the scandal trail. Max knew this would happen which is why he wanted Noodles to do the job instead. When Noodles refused, Max was whacked anyway and ended up in the garbage.
i think many people miss the point of the ending. here is the thing:
the annoying ring at the beginning is a tip what the story is about. it stops when noodles’s mind is under the influence of drug. at the end, every thing is cleared up… noodles (not the old noodles) comes chinese theater with the newspaper in his pocket. the final smile tells us all we watched is in noodles’s mind.
But to clear up the ending, im positive max was murdered and thrown into the truck. Purely because earlier in the movie, the gang want to roll a drunk but the policeman is in sight and Max rides along on his carriage to intercept the drunk and rob him himself. In the end, Max has now been intercepted (replace the carriage with a garbage truck) using the old trick. It may not be definitive but its symbolic and I think makes the most sense.
