I’m sure there will need to be spoiler alerts in this thread so I’ll just start off.
I was watching Monsters this evening and after reaching the end, I realized that the opening scene of the movie was actually the aftermath of the final scene. (I had that inkling all along, the way the movie was going)
I’ve had an image of another movie doing the same thing stuck in my head, but I can’t figure out what it is. I think it’s also in the same context of a military action. Any ideas would be much appreciated, but let’s see what other movies use the same effect.
Pan’s Labyrinth is one coming to mind now. Any others?
I believe Pulp Fiction comes close, as the beginning of the movie is a scene from the diner that is the ending scene in the movie.
However, the movie isn’t exactly linear, so this isn’t the last “action” the characters have during the movie (for example, Travolta dies earlier in the movie, but later by the actual movie timeline. He gets shot AFTER the diner scene, even though the diner scene is the first and last locale of the movie.
I think I once worked out that if you were to watch pulp fiction in chronological order, the ‘final scene’ would be the bit where bruce willis drives off on his bike saying “zed’s dead”…of course I could be wrong
The type of device you describe could be one of two different devices: in medias res (where the viewer enters into the plot in the middle of action, which is usually presented later in flashback) or the framing story. The boundary the two can be a little blurry, as in the films below:
If you only mean that the first scene is really the end of the story, and then it starts from the beginning of the story, one classic is Sunset Boulevard.
The Comic begins at the funeral of the main character. The Oscar starts at the Oscar ceremony; then there’s a long flashback. Yankee Doodle Dandy has Cohan visiting the President after his comeback. Megamind starts at nearly the end of the action.
Citizen Kane Kind Hearts and Coronets Annie Hall Double Indemnity Forrest Gump
Lots of films start at the end as a framing device (like both versions of D.O.A.), but it’s a rare film that tells the story in reverse chronological order, like memento.
Another is Harold Pinter’s 1983 Betrayal, starring Jeremy Irons and Ben kingsley.
Grave of the Fireflies opens with the protagonist dead. (I don’t think I need to put that in spoilers, and it’s not the worst thing that happens in the movie.)
