# Movies where the main character doesn't survive? (unboxed SPOILERS) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2004, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849 "2004-05-18T21:33:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/41 "2004-05-21T19:33:38Z")
> [@Laughing Lagomorph](#): > > \*West Side Story \* (It half fits the OP). > _2001: A Space Odyssey_, if you assume Frank Bowman or HAL is the main character. > _Defending Your Life_ Actually, I believe you mean “Frank Poole”. Dave Survives and becomes the star baby. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/42 "2004-05-21T20:01:32Z")
If you consider the Title Character to be the main character, **Dracula, The Wolfman, Frankenstein, and The Phantom of the Opera** all fit the bill. I’m not sure if “The Adventures of Baron Munchasen” counts or not. The Title character dies in the movie, but doesn’t. “And that was one of the many times I met my death” Matrix Revolutions pretty well, considering Neo and Trinity buy it. ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/43 "2004-05-21T21:06:36Z")
The original **Dawn of the Dead** , if you watch the director’s cut. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Johnny\_Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Powers)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/44 "2004-05-21T21:06:57Z")
Troy. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/45 "2004-05-21T21:49:03Z")
> [@Chastain86](#): > > The original **Dawn of the Dead** , if you watch the director’s cut. I’ve seen the director’s cut many times, and although I’ve heard about the supposed deaths, I don’t think they were ever filmed. I keep looking for the head, but I’ve never seen it, and in no version I’ve seen does Roger shoot himself. But, in the second greatest zombie movie of all time **Bio-Zombie** , the two survivors are infected. Still alive, but doomed. Seems to be the case in pretty much all of Luccio Fulci’s zombie films as well. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/46 "2004-05-21T22:23:49Z")
Steve McQueen **The Sand Pebbles** William Holden **The bridges at toko ri** Bruce Dern **Silent Running** ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/47 "2004-05-21T22:27:45Z")
> [@El Elvis Rojo](#): > > I’ve seen the director’s cut many times, and although I’ve heard about the supposed deaths, I don’t think they were ever filmed. I keep looking for the head, but I’ve never seen it, and in no version I’ve seen does Roger shoot himself. _blink blink_ Uh, but their deaths are **implied.** You never see Butch and Sundance die, either. The primary 4 all die at the end. This is as opposed to the version with the woman flying off in the helicopter. Am I somehow misunderstanding what you’re saying? I could have gotten a case of the stupids. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/48 "2004-05-21T22:55:22Z")
Would you count **Life of Brian** , I wonder…cos, well, unless someone rescues him… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/49 "2004-05-21T23:34:14Z")
_Charlotte’s Web._ I hope nobody considers Wilbur to be the main character in _Charlotte’s Web_. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/50 "2004-05-21T23:37:07Z")
> [@Chastain86](#): > > _blink blink_ > > Uh, but their deaths are **implied.** You never see Butch and Sundance die, either. > > The primary 4 all die at the end. This is as opposed to the version with the woman flying off in the helicopter. > > Am I somehow misunderstanding what you’re saying? I could have gotten a case of the stupids. ::Plot Spoilers in case it matters:: There’s a big difference in the implied deaths here. In **Butch Cassidy** , they run out in front of a group of people with guns pointed at them…there’s no chance for escape. At the end of **Dawn of the Dead** the two survivors fly off in a helicopter. Sure, it’s pretty apparent no matter where they’re going to land, they’ll be screwed, but it doesn’t mean they’re dead (at least, not right away). Peter becomes a zombie and dies. Steven becomes a zombie and dies. Roger and the girl (I can’t remember her name) fly away, unbitten and alive. Now, there are stories of a version of the script where Roger does indeed shoot himself instead of changing his mind at the last minute, and the woman stands up in the helecopter blades and decapitates herself, but despite all I’ve heard, I’ve watched the movie numerous times and have seen no proof that either of those sequences were actually filmed. I think that’s the ending you were refering to, I could be wrong. Still, at the end, the two of them are both very much alive. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/51 "2004-05-21T23:43:26Z")
> [@SPOOFE](#): > > _The Sadist_: Arch Hall, Jr. buys it, much to our delight. Cabbage Patch Elvis! Speaking of, might as well mention the movie **Eegah**. The title character dies. Unfortunately, Arch Hall lives. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/52 "2004-05-22T00:35:01Z")
yippee! I get to be the first to mention one of my favorite noir films… [D.O.A.](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00003RQO8.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg) starring Edmund O’Brien, kind of sums it all up. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/53 "2004-05-22T00:39:45Z")
By the end of \*The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover \* , neither the thief nor the lover is alive. If you want to include children’s movies, both _The Yearling_ and \*Incident at Hawk Hill \* have animal protagonists that don’t survive. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/54 "2004-05-22T00:43:50Z")
> [@El Elvis Rojo](#): > > ::Plot Spoilers in case it matters:: There’s a big difference in the implied deaths here. In **Butch Cassidy** , they run out in front of a group of people with guns pointed at them…there’s no chance for escape. At the end of **Dawn of the Dead** the two survivors fly off in a helicopter. Sure, it’s pretty apparent no matter where they’re going to land, they’ll be screwed, but it doesn’t mean they’re dead (at least, not right away). Peter becomes a zombie and dies. Steven becomes a zombie and dies. Roger and the girl (I can’t remember her name) fly away, unbitten and alive. Speakng of implied demises, there’s the final two guys in _John Carpenter’s The Thing_. As well as Jon Voight’s Character in _Runaway Train_. And for a non-implied demise, Jon Voight’s title character in Franco Zeffirelli’s _The Champ_. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/55 "2004-05-22T05:48:50Z")
Most of the characters in \*\*The Terminator \*\* die. Ditto with **Alien**. ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/56 "2004-05-22T16:47:46Z")
> [@El Elvis Rojo](#): > > At the end of **Dawn of the Dead** the two survivors fly off in a helicopter. Sure, it’s pretty apparent no matter where they’re going to land, they’ll be screwed, but it doesn’t mean they’re dead (at least, not right away). Peter becomes a zombie and dies. Steven becomes a zombie and dies. Roger and the girl (I can’t remember her name) fly away, unbitten and alive. > > Now, there are stories of a version of the script where Roger does indeed shoot himself instead of changing his mind at the last minute, and the woman stands up in the helecopter blades and decapitates herself, but despite all I’ve heard, I’ve watched the movie numerous times and have seen no proof that either of those sequences were actually filmed. I think that’s the ending you were refering to, I could be wrong. Still, at the end, the two of them are both very much alive. I believe that ending **was** filmed. In any case, I do remember seeing it. There’s also [this cite](http://www.houseofhorrors.com/dawn.htm) courtesy of the House of Horrors web page: > [@](#): > > There was an alternate “suicide” ending for “Dawn of the Dead” and it goes like this: After the bikers let all the zombies in, Peter and Fran escape to their apartment in the mall. Peter tells Fran to go on without him, because he doesn’t want to go. This is the same as the regular ending. Peter then decides to kill himself instead of fighting off the zombies. Fran goes up to the helicopter and decides she doesn’t want to go on alone, so she sticks her head up into the blades and gets decapitated. The credits role showing the helicopter still running and at the end, sputtering and running out of fuel. It’s been **ages** since I saw DotD, but I definitely remember seeing the alternate ending described above on the Director’s Cut DVD. (Since OOP, I believe.) I had to Google it to make sure I wasn’t losing my mind, but I was pretty sure I wasn’t imagining it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/57 "2004-05-22T23:20:11Z")
> [@Chastain86](#): > > It’s been **ages** since I saw DotD, but I definitely remember seeing the alternate ending described above on the Director’s Cut DVD. (Since OOP, I believe.) > > I had to Google it to make sure I wasn’t losing my mind, but I was pretty sure I wasn’t imagining it. 😉 Hmmmm…I knew all about the ending, but I’ve owned the director’s cut VHS for a few years now, and watched at least one other “Special Addition” version of the film with extra footage and still haven’t seen the “suicide” ending. As far as other implied deaths, **The House on Haunted Hill** had the only two survivors sitting on the ledge of a 100 story drop outside a window of a house containing a flesh crisping big ball of evil. ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/58 "2004-05-23T00:17:44Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > THat brings up an interesting question. If the main character dies but is alive at the end regardless, does that fit the op, or do they have to stay dead? The OP is “doesn’t survive”, so they’d have to stay dead. ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/59 "2004-05-23T01:02:50Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > That would be like saying Buffalo Bob was the main character in Silence of the Lambs Psst… that’s Buffalo _Bill_. Buffalo _Bob_ was in _Joe Dirt_. Don’t be ashamed, I liked it too. Oh, back to the OP… don’t even want to spoil it, as it is one of the finest psych-horror films I’ve seen Jacob’s Ladder ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/60 "2004-05-23T01:39:44Z")
But do movies where the main character was already dead at the beginning really count? I thought that the Alfred Brooks character in “Defending Your Life” was already dead and that he triumphed by getting to stay dead with his best girlie. Or am I misremembering? Actually, I think movies about someone’s afterlife, although technically fitting the OP, are kind of off-point, but for a really bad (and pretentious) but visually gorgeous movie with a dead protagonist, you can’t do better than “What Dreams May Come,” in my book. Patrick Swayze in “Ghost” fits the OP. Captain Kirk bites it – “Oh, my!” – in one of the “Star Trek Next Generation” movies, but I don’t remember the name of it. Anyway, I guess he isn’t the protagonist. And what about Kenny in the South Park movie? Since it’s actually an ensemble piece, and the real protagonist is Satan, who’s either immortal or already dead depending on how you look at it, I say Kenny qualifies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849.md?page=4)