This is what I came in here to say. It is both incredibly hilarious and subversive all at the same time. It slays me every time I even think about it.
Ladyhawke. Isabeau walks silently up to the Bishop, who had cursed her and her lover to live as animals, and drops her jesses in his hand, breaking the curse, just before Navarre runs the Bishop through.
Oh, and Wizards…
“Oh, one more thing… I’m glad you changed your last name, you son of a bitch.” Bang.
Very, very hard to beat that one!!
What could have been the greatest closing scene ever:
“Oh, Rhett, What will I do?”
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
As Rhett Butler slowly walks away, the credits roll and the house lights come up…
Sorry…but you’re close!
“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
Not only that, but in the flashback, the only person in the family who is proud of him for joining the Marines is Fredo; it’s such a sad scene.
The last line of Memento never fails to thrill me. All that, and then…
“Now… where was I?”
And I’m not sure anything, anywhere, any time has had the sheer mindblowing power of the ending of The Quiet Earth.
The Palm Beach Story: “You’re a twin? I’m a twin!” Just off-the-wall goofiness.
Raising Arizona: The sweetest-natured ending of a Coen Brothers movie. But they have so many good ones, and such a variety of last-moment effects: Fargo and A Serious Man, for example.
Dr. Strangelove: best ironic use of a popular song (at the very least).
Actually, the movie goes on a bit. Scarlett collapses, wondering what to do, then finally resolving, out loud:
Everyone seems to think it ends with Rhett and his line, but it ain’t so:
Not an omelette, just scrambled eggs. After all the amazing cooking. Yeah, great ending.
Oh, yeah.
I always loved the ending of Witness, with Harrison Ford, after the affair and all, he gets in his car and drives away.
Another favorite movie of mine. Jeremiah Johnson sees his old enemy, Paints His Shirt Red, and doesn’t know if this is another fight to the death or not. They both had a certain amount of respect for each other earlier, although JJ fished poorly.
Jeremiah starts to draw his Hawken rifle and then stops. Red Shirt just stays on his horse with his hand raised. JJ could have taken a shot, but instead raises his hand in response.
That is when JJ becomes a mountain spirit and rides off into the snowy hills.
Cop Hater, the 1958 film of the first 87th Precinct novel. It’s not over, we’re just done watching. They all go on about their business and we go home.
Friend Calmeacham, That was my point: the movie should have ended right there. The Tara sequence was unnecessary
+1.
He’s made his choice, he’s following it, but in passing Daniel, he realizes there’s absolutely no chance of changing his mind if he drives over the hill.
And Daniel’s jaunty little wave says it all.
One of the most elegant and wrenching scenes in all of film.
Yep. I know I was thinking “wait, he’s gonna stop, and run back. . . and. . . well I guess not (tear).”
There was no affair. They never got further than making goo-goo eyes at each other, did they? Harrison Ford resisted temptation when he saw her topless (even though she was evidently willing…and disappointed when he didn’t consummate their mutual attraction).
You’re right about it being a great ending, though.
The last scene in Field of Dreams. Night is falling, the camera pulls away and up, and for as far as you can see there are headlights of cars, on their way to the ball field.