# Movies That End With the Main Character's Death - Spoilers Obviously **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 5, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389 "2003-07-05T16:26:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/81 "2003-08-14T10:02:16Z")
Road to Perdition… unless the boy is supposed to be the main character. But I’m pretty sure he’s not. ---
**Author:** ![herman\_and\_bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@herman\_and\_bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herman_and_bill)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/82 "2003-08-14T11:35:41Z")
Bruce Willis in “The Sixth Sense” How is this one figured out? ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/83 "2003-08-14T14:59:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DanielWithrow \* > **[_The Vanishing_](http://www.imdb.com/Title?0096163), in the most terrifying death scene I’ve ever seen.** Oh, _thanks_ for reminding me of this one **Daniel** , now I’ll be going [shiver] “glaga, ugla, yucka” [/shiver] all day. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/84 "2003-08-14T15:42:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wumpus \* > \*\*How many movies _start_ with the main character’s death? I can think of two classics off the bat … \*\* **Ghandi** does, IIRC. As for movies ending with the main character’s death, does **Glory** count? It ends with the corpses of the main characters being thrown in a mass grave, and then there’s written end captions (but not a voiceover). ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/85 "2003-08-14T15:52:39Z")
So does **Gandhi** …I can’t spell…🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/86 "2003-08-14T16:34:38Z")
**Dancer in the Dark** ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/87 "2003-08-14T18:52:52Z")
**Bugsy**. **Gigli** , **The Wedding Planner** , **Maid in Manhattan**. (Oh wait, that was only in my head). ---
**Author:** ![Foolonthehill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Foolonthehill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foolonthehill)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/88 "2003-08-15T05:29:02Z")
“I Legend” Vincent Price dies in the church and the camera cranes back and the credits roll as the “vampires” creep into the church to stare at his body. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/89 "2003-08-15T05:56:57Z")
**Earthquake** - Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner are swept away in a flooding sewer. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/90 "2003-08-15T06:07:01Z")
How could I forget: **Ace in the Hole** a.k.a. **The Big Carnival** “How’d you like to make a thousand dollars a day, Mr. Boot? I’m a thousand-dollar-a-day newspaperman. You can have me for nothing!” **The Spy Who Came in from the Cold** - shot at the Berlin Wall. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/91 "2003-08-15T10:07:17Z")
DeNiro’s character dies at the end of **Heat** while Pacino’s character stares into the camera. Watched this last night with my grandson. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2003, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/92 "2003-08-15T11:38:32Z")
Couple of movies starring John Travolta: [Phenomenon](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0117333) [Michael](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0117038) (although he doesn’t exactly _die_ ) And [Powder](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0114168) - which was released the year before the two movies above, but is similar to them in many ways… Hmmm… ---
**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:** [August 15, 2003, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/93 "2003-08-15T11:40:44Z")
Oh… [The Green Mile](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0120689) ---
**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:** [August 15, 2003, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/94 "2003-08-15T11:49:56Z")
Erk! That’ll teach me to read the OP; none of my suggestions qualify due to extra scenes. OK, how about [Falling Down](http://www.imdb.com/Title?0106856) and [The Mosquito Coast](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0091557) and [url=“[http://us.imdb.com/Title?0085271](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0085271)”] ---
**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:** [August 15, 2003, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/95 "2003-08-15T11:51:15Z")
oops… And [Brainstorm](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0085271). ---
**Author:** ![Kobaltblu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/77aa72/32.png) [@Kobaltblu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobaltblu)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/96 "2003-08-15T12:57:39Z")
I have to nitpick “Betty Blue” and “Gallipoli” because the story is told through another character’s viewpoint. In “Betty Blue,” Betty’s lover relates her story, and hears of her death offscreen. After she’s died, and everything he’s gone through, he starts writing again but hears her spirit talking to him. In Gallipoli, Mel Gibson’s character is the “everyman” to his military partner’s ideal persona. He hears the offscreen fusillade of bullets that kill his friend. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/97 "2003-08-16T11:13:32Z")
“Easy Rider” comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Cholo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Cholo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cholo)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/98 "2003-08-16T18:18:52Z")
**Saving Private Ryan** …seemed like most everybody died except Ryan. **Cape Fear** **The Doors** **Tommy** **The Thing** …this actually made the film work in my opinion! ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/99 "2003-08-16T22:32:08Z")
_The Shootist_ ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389/100 "2003-08-18T21:17:05Z")
**Reservoir Dogs**. Though a whole lot of people are dead by the end of the movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-end-with-the-main-characters-death-spoilers-obviously/186389.md?page=4)