I would have liked to see Gattaca on the list. One of the few times a movie ending has made me tear up.
The list seemed to be heavy on twist endings and not so much on ending that were just well done. I loved seeing A History of Violence on there though, that ending gave me chills. Agreed with their #1 listing, that final scene in the war room is just perfect and the choice of music is classic.
Sixth Sense… I don’t know. While I’m also one of the people who didn’t figure it out (and I DID figure out The Usual Suspects and Fight Club) I don’t know if the movie itself is good enough to be on the list. It’s really kind of mediocre, only the ending saves it. (By that logic the sub-Z film Screamers deserves to be on the list too.)
I just saw Casablanca for the first time last night and was blown away by how many cultural references are in the last five minutes alone.
Whether it’s the final scene or not, it’s still “the ending”.
That’s opposed to, say, “The Crying Game” where the Big Reveal is still about 30 minutes from the end of the movie.
Except, that’s not really “logic”. It’s just your opinion.
I thought that the movie The Sixth Sense – even without the ending – was tense, and well-acted, and scary and creepy. Willis, Osment, and Toni Collette all give superb performances, and the evolving relationship between Osment and Willis was very well-done.
Best movie ending of all times is random hearts (I think that was the title) with Harrison Ford. Seeing that movie finally end was the best thing I ever saw!
I never claimed my opinions were anything but opinions. Maybe you aren’t aware of the casual use of the word “logic” especially in the phrase “by that logic.” But rest assured it is a colloquial phrase that does not necessarily mean that I think my opinion is the only logically sound one. It’s just a fucking phrase.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. They mention it in the description of Bonnie and Clyde, but it’s good enough to stand on its own. Maybe they didn’t want two similar endings on the list.
My Man Godfrey. This is the funniest closing line in movie history, and Some Like it Hot can suck eggs.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The shootout in the graveyard, the camera work, the music, digging up the gold, and Blondie and Tuco find a way not to kill each other.
Typical list in that there are plenty of recent movies at the expense of older ones. The one truly horrendous inclusion, though, is Jacob’s Ladder–a bullshit, schizophrenic ending if I ever saw one.
Some true classics get the shaft: The Palm Beach Story, Man’s Castle, Modern Times, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Incredible Shrinking Man, King Kong, The Third Man, Bringing Up Baby, Kiss Me Deadly (to name just a few)–all no-shows.
And I gotta agree with Trunk about Lone Star, too.
Nitpick: It’s Batman Begins that made the list, though your point still stands.
One of my favorite movie endings is from Twelve Monkeys. It is very sad and everything has gone wrong. It seems as though Cole’s efforts have been all for nothing, until we see the David Morse character introducing himself to the woman on the plane. The woman from the future. She gives him her name, shakes his hand and says, “I’m in insurance.” Great ending.
Please could you explain the ending to ‘Twelve Monkeys’?
(What I remember is Bruce Willis (= Cole?) going back in time repeatedly to try to find the source of a horrific plague, and a late scene at an airport where he gets shot…)
You think that means she went back in time and succeeded in stopping him? I always thought it meant it was her as a younger woman, just as dumb in the 20th century as she was tyrannical in the twenty-first.
I’m gonna have to TiVo that the next chance I get.
Anyway, I never bother reading those lists, but I think the ending of Casino Royale needs to be on it. In the #1 slot.
However, an incredibly number of people did NOT figure it out, and for us pea-brains, it was one of the most jaw-dropping moments of our movie-going lives. I have NEVER heard as much of a simultaneous gasp from a movie audience as I did then.
Which is not to say that it’s a perfect movie, but that moment was set up absolutely brilliantly, I thought.
Shame I’m so stupid that I have to eat my food through a straw.
Anyhow, I nominate The Iron Giant, although I’m talking about the REAL climax, not the very final epilogue. I also think one of the most fun and sastifying movie endings is Wayne’s World, with the 4th-wall-breaking discussion of the scooby doo ending and the mega-happy ending, along with not one but two post-credits moments:
I think that once Jose found Cole in the airport, it opened the door for other future people to arrive at the proper location. Hence, she was from the future, making the “insurance” line appropriately humorous. If not, that would be one truly off-the-charts coincidence.
To the OP, I personally would place Big Night in the top three, if not #1.
The very first movie I thought of when I heard “great endings” was The Third Man. How can you get any better than that? Alida Valli on that looong walk, Joseph Cotton waiting for her, lighting a cigarette, and you’re sure she’s going to go to him…but she walks right by. Classic! I was sure it would be on the list, but I began to get worried as I read through it noticing how very very skewed it was to recent movies…
Also “It’s a Wonderful Life” – can you get more classic than that?