# Movies that begin at the end **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934 "2011-03-25T05:01:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/21 "2011-03-25T14:15:05Z")
**Fallen** , with Denzel Washingon. An underrated little thriller, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/22 "2011-03-25T14:20:48Z")
I was going to say **The Usual Suspects** since the first scene is the end of the action on the boat. But then I realized that much of the investigative portions of the flick come later. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/23 "2011-03-25T14:44:28Z")
**May** begins with a glimpse of the shocking ending. ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/24 "2011-03-25T14:45:34Z")
_The Prestige_. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/25 "2011-03-25T14:55:57Z")
_Lawrence of Arabia_ opens with T.E. Lawrence wiping out on his motorcycle, followed by his funeral. The rest of the epic-length film is a flashbacky biopic. (I’ve only seen the first half.) ---
**Author:** ![Silent\_Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Silent\_Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silent_Kal)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/26 "2011-03-25T15:04:43Z")
_Casino._ ---
**Author:** ![Peanut7316](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@Peanut7316](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanut7316)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/27 "2011-03-25T15:44:00Z")
This is a wonderful list (and I’ve seen most of these) but sadly it’s not the one stuck in my head. The device used in Monsters and the one I’m thinking of is less of an _in media res_ and more _How We Got Here_. As I thought on it, I’m pretty sure the one I’m thinking of starts with some video camera style or night vision. Either way, the action is less than clear and a little blurry. (I really hope I didn’t just dream a film like this…) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/28 "2011-03-25T16:16:58Z")
Another film told in reverse chronological order, besides **memento** and **Betrayal** , is Gaspar Noe’s 2002 film **Irreversible** ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/29 "2011-03-25T20:12:05Z")
How about Mission Impossible III? If it’s the same effect I’m thinking of, it has become my biggest pet peeve in Hollywood today. I see it in probably a third to half of the movies I see. It’s an embarrassingly lazy screenwriting crutch. Take a cut of the final scene or climax and stick it at the beginning because it’s artsy! and interesting! Foreshadowing! I think I saw it most recently in Battle: Los Angeles, but I don’t remember how it started. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/30 "2011-03-25T20:21:42Z")
The Bucket List begins with an epilogue set many years after the events of the main film. The Terminator films pretty much all begin with scenes from the future and then go back into the “present” for the main storyline. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/31 "2011-03-25T20:33:17Z")
Moulin Rouge ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/32 "2011-03-25T20:36:38Z")
One of my all time favorite movies, **[Comrades, Almost a Love Story](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117905/)**, fits this description. The first scene shows a fellow from mainland China arriving in Hong Kong for the first time. The move ends by replaying that same scene, only with a bit of added information that is a perfect coda to what went before. My full-length review is on the IMDb, if anyone is interested. A wonderful movie. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/33 "2011-03-25T21:10:02Z")
_Apocalypse Now_ opens with the bombing of Kurtz’ compound (all the napalm exploding) that Captain Willard called in, even though that’s not really obvious until the end of the film. There is a big hint: the Doors’ song _The End_ playing at the beginning of the film. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/34 "2011-03-25T21:44:57Z")
**It’s a Wonderful Life, Courage Under Fire** and **Head** (the Monkees movie) all start near the end and do extensive flashbacks. So might **The Adventures of Ford Fairlane** , but it’s been a while and I could be misremembering. **Little Big Man** and **Edward Scissorhands** both open with a protagonist in a nursing home many years later ( **A League of Their Own** opens kind of similarly), and **Big Fish** and **Stand By Me** both open with news of the protagonist’s death. ---
**Author:** ![Lethal\_Babydoll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3be4f8/32.png) [@Lethal\_Babydoll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lethal_Babydoll)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/35 "2011-03-25T22:32:34Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > \*\*Citizen Kane Isn’t the first scene in Kane the one where Kane dies and drops the snow globe. A lot happens after that. The reporter interviewing people and the famous explanation of Rosebud. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/36 "2011-03-25T23:08:33Z")
The Land that Time Forgot ---
**Author:** ![Obeseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbce88/32.png) [@Obeseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obeseus)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/37 "2011-03-25T23:21:53Z")
One Hour Photo starring Robin Williams begins with the final scene with the movie being a flashback/retelling by Williams. The original Invasion of the Body Snatchers does also. ---
**Author:** ![brocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/38 "2011-03-26T00:11:11Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > One of my all time favorite movies, **[Comrades, Almost a Love Story](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117905/)**, fits this description. So does just plain “Love Story.” ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/39 "2011-03-26T00:38:34Z")
Maybe _Go_. Definitely _The Hangover_. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934/40 "2011-03-26T02:11:57Z")
[_Vagabond_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089960/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-begin-at-the-end/575934.md?page=3)