“Das Boot”. Granted you are in the uncomfortable position of rooting for the German Navy but these guys survive depth charges, sunk on the bottom only to successfully get into port yet be strafed by Allied planes, several members killed and the boat sunk.
It’s been parodied to death but I remember plenty of people raving about the ending of “Planet of the Apes” when it came out.
I know. When the little girl corrects him about the name, it’s like a punch in the stomach.
Affleck should really just be a director. He’s done a good job with that.
When I saw Pleasantville, near the end, when they use the remote control to go back to the real world, the same thing happened. And I thought what a brilliant ending! But then the credits failed to appear and the manager came out. The film had actually melted LOL.
I like how “Once” ends.
They don’t end up like you’d expect, but somehow, it’s okay.
Same with “Lost in Translation”.
I think it’s hard to have a boy meets girl story that’s not formulaic, but still satisfies you.
No Way Out. A lot of his actions now make sense.
Oh yeah, great ending. Of course, it’s hard for me to watch the film again already knowing that ending…
Not to attack you, but in the science fiction community Planet of the Apes was regarded as an embarrassment, and the ending the most cringe worthy part.
The entire city of New York is vanished except for a large statue lying on the beach? And what were they doing in New York? And what was the SOL doing off its island? And didn’t Heston maybe suspect he was on Earth because the language was English, and there were horses and (dumb) humans and rifles?
So if people were raving (in a positive way) it was just the slackjaw crowd.
That ending would have been a lot better if it hadn’t been spoiled in the trailer and on the freakin’ DVD box.
My film snob girlfriend at the time scoffed at that ending and thought it was dumb that demons were real. We broke up four months later, but that was the beginning of the end.
Dittos for
Big Night
Once
My Favorite Year
Shawshank
…and then there’s
Big Fish
O Brother Where Art Thou (multiple good endings)
…and it gets some grief, but I liked the Hollywood ending of Blazing Saddles
Also the Prisoners of Love finale of The Producers.
Get Shorty also goes Hollywood in pleasant fashion
Hudsucker Proxy ends (I think) on a good joke, but I don’t remember the exact ending sequence.
The ending of The African Queen is better than the book.
Regards,
Shodan
The Deer Hunter.
The friends sing an impromptu *God Bless America *and toast Nick. I’ll never forget that.
it moves me just thinking about it.
Annie Hall.
Especially if you’ve read the short story, or even better, listened to it. Where you experienced a sliiiiiiightly different ending…
The dad drives on through the night, hope still alive because he catches some voice on the radio.
So I was utterly unprepared when I rented the movie and watched it with my young son. Who now claims I’ve screwed him up forever (oh, well, I’d already promised to pitch in on his therapy in the decades to come anyhow).
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry for an ending that kinda takes you by surprise.
The Glenn Miller Story for a weepy ending
I loved the ending to the Empire of the Sun, with Christian Bale’s parents not recognising him till he sings in a voice which is still young and innocent even though he himself isn’t.
Also from the same time period: the ending to Hope and Glory, because every kid’s dreamed of their school being harmlessly bombed.
I’ll put a plug in for David Lynch’s the Straight Story:
Alvy Straight (Richard Farnsworth) travels cross country on a John Deere lawnmower in order to see his terminally ill brother before he dies. When Alvy finally reaches his brother’s house, his brother (played by Harry Dean Stanton) is at first incredulous that he’d make such a journey. Then he quietly dissolves into tears; his loneliness & isolation quietly revealing itself.
Also, the ending to Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I guess I’m a sucker for a big sappy ending.
I remember “Imagine” playing over the final scenes of “The Killing Fields”. very moving ending.
Loved the ending of the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie. Perfect. I am in denial for the 2 follow-ups. C ourse I’m one of those weirdos who thought the very first Star Wars movie was enough for me & I liked that ending with Han & Luke getting the medals and the applause. that wrapped up the story for me.
Oh, yeah! I remember walking out of the movie thinking, “that was a perfect horror picture ending.”
J.
Don Draper - If you liked the movie ending to “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, you won’t like the ending to the novel it was loosely based on at all.
Yes.