That Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge story had an “it was all a dream” ending that was pretty well done. I may have missed it in the thread, because I was a little surprised not to see it already mentioned.
[QUOTE=Bill Door]
That Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge story had an “it was all a dream” ending that was pretty well done. I may have missed it in the thread, because I was a little surprised not to see it already mentioned.
[/QUOTE]
Yup. You missed it.
Otto
Yes, I must apologize for accusing you of revealing a plot ending. The thread itself did have a spoiler warning. :smack:
Even though I now know the clever ending to “Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla”, I can still enjoy the musical and comedic stylings of Mitchell and Petrillo. 
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink]
You know what I hate? Dream sequences in fiction. Almost always they’re just self-indulgence on the part of the author. If we don’t know as we’re reading them that someone’s dreaming, they’re lame for the reasons already explained in this thread. They’re a cheap way for the author to play the “Ha ha, gotcha” game, to get a cheap reaction out of us without having anything happen for real to justify it.
[/QUOTE]
What’s even worse is that dream sequences are almost never realistic. I mean, to the best of my recollection, I’ve never had a dream that my waking mind could confuse with real life. Have you? In dreams, things just happen, one after another. The laws of physics and causality are suspended.
[QUOTE=wolf_meister]
Since this is the SDMB (populated by some very cultured, worldly and intelligent folks), I’m surprised no one has mentioned the term for this plot device - deus ex machina - a Latin term which literally translates into “god from a machine”. In Greek tragedies an irresolvable situation was brought to a conclusion by a god (or goddess) descending onto the stage (by means of a crane) and setting everything right.
[/QUOTE]
The Superflu caused so much pain, oh!
And with evil a raging volcano
Flagg’s triumph seemed certain
Until King rang the curtain
By pulling a deus ex ano! :rolleyes:
Sometimes it’s done well. Examples:
Time Bandits: At the end we find out it’s all just a dream . . . only, not really . . .
Top Secret: Val Kilmer is arrested by the East German police. He passes out under torture and dreams he’s still in high school and there’s about to be a test he hasn’t studied for. He wakes up and he’s still being tortured. He smiles and gasps, “Thank God . . . it was just a dream . . . just a dream . . .”
Slightly off-topic, but just once I would like to see a virtual-reality movie where the characters are not at any point uncertain whether they are experiencing virtual reality or real reality. That plot device was done to death the first time it was used (either in eXistenz, The Thirteenth Floor, or The Matrix – they all came out in 1999).