# Movies where the main character doesn't survive? (unboxed SPOILERS)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849>\
**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:** 4\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/61 "2004-05-23T05:07:51Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> 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?

He’s dead at the begining then he has to prove he overcame fear in order to ‘move up’ if not he goes back to earth. His girlfriend moved up and he (in the very end) got to move up too. It’s never made clear what the next stage is so it’s entirely possible they’ll be reborn somewhere and not remember each other.

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**Author:** ![caligynephobia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7feea3/32.png) [@caligynephobia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligynephobia)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/62 "2004-05-23T05:43:55Z")

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Samuel L. Jackson in _187_ and _Deep Blue Sea_ (where I considered him to be the main character). I’m gonna have to search and see if someone has done a “greatest Samuel L. Jackson movie one-liners” thread.

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**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/63 "2004-05-23T06:31:23Z")

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William Peterson in _To Live and Die in L.A._. Came as quite a surprise to my friends and I when we saw the video. Not a great film (VERY 80s), still fun to watch Peterson and Willem DeFoe chew their lines.

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**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-main-character-doesnt-survive-unboxed-spoilers/245849/64 "2004-05-23T07:39:55Z")

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\*\*An American Werewolf in London \*\* seems to fit the op pretty well. Both of the two hitchhikers are dead by the end.

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