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Great ends to movies

Started by kalowski, March 07, 2019, 11:03:39 PM

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Brundle-Fly

Quote from: Pearly-Dewdrops Drops on March 10, 2019, 09:37:25 PM
Surely that tacked-on final scene is one of the worst endings to a great movie?

Was it tacked on? I don't know the history. I always thought the coda was pretty powerful.  Better than the end of Frenzy (1972)

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on March 10, 2019, 09:45:09 PM
Was it tacked on? I don't know the history. I always thought the coda was pretty powerful.  Better than the end of Frenzy (1972)

Actually fair point to the bit you posted, I was thinking that was part of the immediately preceding scene where the psychiatrist explains the whole movie lest the audience be left with any sort of ambiguity.

Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry
Day of the Locust
The Fury

Black Ship

Why has nobody mentioned the original Carrie?

Bad Ambassador

I maintain that if Psycho had gone from the reveal, to an establishing shot of the police station, to a cop interrupting the interview of Vera Miles and John Gavin asking if was alright to give Norman a blanket, then to the final scene, it would have been perfect.


chveik


DukeDeMondo

Quote from: St_Eddie on March 10, 2019, 09:44:05 PM
The exposition dump has dated badly, though was necessary at the time.

I'm interested in what you mean by this? Necessary because producers demanded it, or necessary because the audience wasn't sophisticated enough to piece things together without it? Because I think the latter explanation is a load of old goose. 

kidsick5000

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on March 07, 2019, 11:09:17 PM
I watched Time Bandits with my friends and their kids earlier. The kids didn't like the end, but what do they know?

Hated it when I was a kid. Took me a lot of years to acclimatise to the dark nature.
I don't know what the happier end could have been. I think like other tales, I hate(d) it when it's clear that the adventure is over and not on the protagonists terms.

Quote from: Absorb the anus burn on March 08, 2019, 12:07:43 AM
Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers (1978 version)

That ending really affected my girlfriend when we she saw it for the first time a few years back. She was really shaken by it, took a while and some fun films to take away the sting.
So a bit later, when going to meet her, seeing her from across the road, I did the infamous Sutherland point. Because I am a genius.
Tears like you would not believe. And in public. That was a great day out ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

St_Eddie

Quote from: DukeDeMondo on March 10, 2019, 11:54:01 PM
I'm interested in what you mean by this? Necessary because producers demanded it, or necessary because the audience wasn't sophisticated enough to piece things together without it? Because I think the latter explanation is a load of old goose.

Well, certainly not the former, as it was my understanding that it was Alfred Hitchcock's choice to include that scene.  Surely that would have to be the case, given that he financed and produced it with his own production company, Shamley Productions because Paramount refused to produce it themselves.  Still, I might be wrong on it being Hitchcock's choice, given that it's been some time since I last read up on the ins and outs of the making of Psycho.

As to whether or not Hitchcock was right to doubt the audiences of the 60's ability to understand the concept of a dual personality without that exposition dump, one need only look towards modern audiences.  There are people in today's world who actually needed that clunky exposition dump at the end of Hereditary to understand the plot of the film.  On that basis, I'm not sure that I would trust audiences to know their arse from their elbow.  I suppose the real question is 'should an artist of Hitchcock's caliber pander to the lowest common denominator?' and on that front, ideally the answer would be no.  Either way, Psycho would definitely benefit from losing that scene.  That much I agree upon.

Quote from: Absorb the anus burn on March 08, 2019, 12:07:43 AM

Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers (1978 version)


Some good scenes in that: little old lady (copy) getting punched out by Donald Sutherland; dog with boy's face; that green translucent screening sheet on a rail, behind which you see moving the mysterious silhouetted figure with the broad hat and pointy nose.

St_Eddie

Quote from: Phoenix Lazarus on March 11, 2019, 07:02:49 AM
...dog with boy's face...

Dog with old homeless man's face, to be exact.  Dog with old homeless man's face and it's own banjo soundtrack every time that it runs, to be even more exact.

SteveDave

Quote from: kidsick5000 on March 11, 2019, 12:19:16 AM
That ending really affected my girlfriend when we she saw it for the first time a few years back. She was really shaken by it, took a while and some fun films to take away the sting.
So a bit later, when going to meet her, seeing her from across the road, I did the infamous Sutherland point. Because I am a genius.
Tears like you would not believe. And in public. That was a great day out ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I did a similar thing by imitating Bob hiding at the end of the bed from Twin Peaks once and my then (now-ex) girlfriend wouldn't stop crying and asking why I would do such a thing.

My answer "Because it was funny" was not accepted.

monkfromhavana

I watched "Leviathan" last night, a straight up pastiche of Alien/The Thing/ The Abyss from 1989 starring Peter "RoboCop" Weller.

When his character and love interest are walking into the sunset at the end, they're greeted by the female corporate exec who refused to rescue them (essentially Carter from Aliens). She tells "RoboCop" Weller that she never gave up on him etc.

Then, "RoboCop" Weller just decks her as he strolls past, pow! straight in the boat race.

It shocked me to be fair, as I don't remember ever seeing that in a film (maybe in a film about abuse, but certainly not in a dodgy action film). Certainly a memorable ending.

Another is from el cheapo Sidney Sheldon adaptation, 'The Naked Face'.

Roger Moore's love interest gets shot, he cradles her in his arms, then raises one fist to the sky, gives it a shake and shouts "BASTAAAAARDS". Straight to end credits. Hilarious.

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: monkfromhavana on March 11, 2019, 01:20:28 PM
I watched "Leviathan" last night, a straight up pastiche of Alien/The Thing/ The Abyss from 1989 starring Peter "RoboCop" Weller.

When his character and love interest are walking into the sunset at the end, they're greeted by the female corporate exec who refused to rescue them (essentially Carter from Aliens). She tells "RoboCop" Weller that she never gave up on him etc.

Then, "RoboCop" Weller just decks her as he strolls past, pow! straight in the boat race.

It shocked me to be fair, as I don't remember ever seeing that in a film (maybe in a film about abuse, but certainly not in a dodgy action film). Certainly a memorable ending.

Death Machine is another one of these. Even the character names are a nod.
Quote
Brad Dourif as Jack Dante
Ely Pouget as Hayden Cale
William Hootkins as John Carpenter
John Sharian as Raimi
Martin McDougall as Yutani
Andreas Wisniewski as Weyland
Richard Brake as Scott Ridley
Rachel Weisz as Junior Executive

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: monkfromhavana on March 11, 2019, 01:20:28 PM
they're greeted by the female corporate exec who refused to rescue them

That be Meg Foster, with the impossible (in a good way) eyes.

Small Man Big Horse

Miracle Mile, because who doesn't love a happy ending?

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on March 11, 2019, 01:52:56 PM
Miracle Mile, because who doesn't love a happy ending?

And Brian Thompson in a pink leotard.
"I can fly a helicopter!"

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on March 11, 2019, 01:34:10 PM
That be Meg Foster, with the impossible (in a good way) eyes.

Who also played similar roles in They Live and Futurekick.

Cuellar

Easy Rider.

Just BOSH. done. Bleak.

jobotic

Quote from: Cuellar on March 11, 2019, 02:21:31 PM
Easy Rider.

Just BOSH. done. Bleak.

Already mentioned but its similar with Mean Streets.

Now's the time.

Cuellar

Ah, I got that confused with Green Street, the galmorous hooligan film starring Frodo Baggins, for a moment, and struggled to think of how on earth that ending could be classed as 'great'.

Brundle-Fly

The Purple Rose Of Cairo (1985) Really bleak though.

My partner at the time was furious about the conclusion and we ended up having a massive row about it because I rather sniffily told her she had missed the whole point of the film. Life really isn't like the movies, is it?


Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Prometheus - because at least it was finally over.

St_Eddie

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on March 11, 2019, 02:55:26 PM
Prometheus - because at least it was finally over.

But once it was over, I had little choice but to acknowledge what a bitter disappointment and a massive waste of potential the whole thing was.  Prometheus remains my most disappointing cinema going experience, gut-wrenchingly so in fact.  Ridley Scott returning to the Alien series and telling the story of the Space Jockey.  'What could go wrong?', I said to myself walking into the cinema.  As I left, I felt that a little piece of me had died on that day.  That sounds overly dramatic, I know but I had been dreaming about this film since first watching the original Alien as a kid.  20 odd years of expectation and daydreaming, completely obliterated within the span of 2 hours.  Devastating.


Shit Good Nose

Quote from: St_Eddie on March 11, 2019, 05:12:35 PM
Ridley Scott returning to the Alien series and telling the story of the Space Jockey.  'What could go wrong?'

You obviously hadn't seen many of the films he'd made in the last 15-20 years...

I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when he dropped himself out of Blade Runner 2049, cos I knew there was NO WAY he'd be able to make it decent.

St_Eddie

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on March 11, 2019, 06:47:17 PM
You obviously hadn't seen many of the films he'd made in the last 15-20 years...

Yes, I had.  Here's the 20 years worth of films which Ridley Scott directed prior to Prometheus...

* 1492: Conquest of Paradise
* White Squall
* G.I. Jane
* Gladiator
* Hannibal
* Black Hawk Down
* Matchstick Men
* Kingdom of Heaven
* A Good Year
* American Gangster
* Body of Lies
* Robin Hood


There's a lot of stinkers in there but also some really good films.  Ridley Scott has only ever been as good as the script that he's working from.  Regardless, the thing about Prometheus is that it marked his return to the science-fiction genre for the first time since Blade Runner.  In hindsight, yeah, that didn't mean that it was automatically going to be anywhere near as good as that film or Alien but come on, man!  The first science-fiction film in 30 years, from the man who helped define the genre.  At the time, that was cause for excitement and optimism, I'd say.

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on March 11, 2019, 06:47:17 PMI breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when he dropped himself out of Blade Runner 2049, cos I knew there was NO WAY he'd be able to make it decent.

Shame that it still turned out to be a boring old pile of shite, not fit to lick the boots of the original, regardless then really, huh?

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: St_Eddie on March 11, 2019, 07:13:33 PM
Yes, I had.  Here's the 20 years worth of films which Ridley Scott directed prior to Prometheus...

* 1492: Conquest of Paradise
* White Squall
* G.I. Jane
* Gladiator
* Hannibal
* Black Hawk Down
* Matchstick Men
* Kingdom of Heaven
* A Good Year
* American Gangster
* Body of Lies
* Robin Hood


There's a lot of stinkers in there but also some really good films.  Ridley Scott has only ever been as good as the script he's working from.  Regardless, the thing about Prometheus is that it marked his return to the science-fiction genre for the first time since Blade Runner.  In hindsight, yeah, that didn't mean it was going to be as good as that film or Alien but come on, man!  The first science-fiction film in 30 years, from the man who helped define the genre.  That was cause for excitement and optimism, I'd say.

Shame that it still turned out to be a boring old pile of shite, not fit to lick the boots of the original, regardless then really, huh?

2049 is aces, and most people agree, so nyah.


Look, I'm one of Scott's biggest defenders and have been for years - Blade Runner was my favourite film pre-"Director's Cut", when most people and critics still thought it was a terrible gasbag of style over substance, and I've long admired what many have considered to be his mediocre also-rans (Legend, 1492, Black Rain - all great films in my opinion), but I'm under no illusion that the last properly good film he made was Matchstick Men (I'll also allow the extended cut of Kingdom of Heaven - which, rightly, is now the standard cut - but maintain the originally released theatrical cut was terrible and may as well be a completely different film) [N.B. - I'm purposely ignoring American Gangster cos I saw it when it came out at the cinema once and haven't seen it since and remember almost nothing about it] and since then he's largely been relying on Russell "man of a thousand voices" Crowe's various grunts and different coloured hair (it's no secret I think Crowe is one of the most over rated actors working today). 

The fact that Prometheus was poor came as absolutely no surprise to me whatsoever.  More surprising that Covenant was slightly better.

Anyway, I don't think he's got "it" now and he's a bit like pseudo-director Kathleen Kennedy, in that he has a formula and a template that he sticks to, which generally seems to work with mainstream audiences but doesn't stand up to much scrutiny.

Having said that, something about The Counsellor - and I can't put my finger on exactly what it is - makes me think it will be reconsidered in 25 years-or-so time as a minor classic.  Like most others, I didn't think it was very good, but there's just that something bubbling away beneath the surface that I reckon will make it be reappraised and received more enthusiastically in future.  It's not often I think that about a film, but it struck me pretty much all the way through watching it.

Anyway, that.