Unforgettable Movie Endings

"Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"As you wish."

Do I really need to list the movie titles?

R1, please provide a clip.

"Is this heaven?"

"They's someone coming up the drive." "Must be lost."

"Sam?"

Schindler's Jews today

The ending to the original "Planet of the Apes."

I like the endings of both DELIVERANCE and CARRIE, where a dead hand emerges from the lake/pile of rocks, and the person having the nightmare wakes up in horror.

THIS:

As you wish.

Psycho

The Usual Suspects

Carrie

The last scene of "The Godfather". It was brilliant!

The Mist.

In Bonnie and Clyde it is Faye Dunaway's look to Clyde that is specific. There's nothing knowing in Beatty's reaction shots. It looks as if the director grabbed what he could that conveyed any sort of emotion, but he mostly looks "duh".

Carrie and the original Friday the 13th. Talk about seat jumpers.

Also, the original Halloween and Black Christmas. SO creepy knowing that the evil is still out there.

Jean Seberg

The ending of "And the Band Played On".

R15, watch it again. You've got the sequence all wrong.

I've never quite gotten over the shock of the ending of UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING. I hadn't read the book, and when it happened it nailed me. I've never been able to watch the movie again (Mary! But that's the way it is.). And it's a great movie.

R9 I love that ending! Especially the whole lead up where you don't know if he has changed. Such a metaphoric movie. Reminds me of when you see an old friend and you try to pick up where you left off and they're totally different, cold, and you feel alone. Very disconcerting. The 70s imo had the best grasp of unpleasant or indescribable emotions comitted to celluloid.

Two other 70s films with great chilling endings are Escape from Alcatraz, when the dummy head falls- the music and frozen still are so creepy and Thieves Like Us, with the bus station, people climbing the stairs in slo-mo then fading out-so eerie, suggests the passage of time and the transitory nature of our lives, I'm guessing?

R15 is an idiot trying to argue towards her preset conclusion. Being a crank doesn't excuse misstating what plainly appears in the film and what it means, especially in one of the most celebrated scenes in American film.

The 400 Blows and also Nights of Cabiria are 2 more often mentioned, but nonetheless moving.

The last scene of the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. A sudden merger of horrible fantasy and the realism of 1960s American racism.

Call me crazy but the ending of Mommie Dearest is spooky the way she says "did she"?

The Vanishing. Movie and ending discussed here.

R24 You are so right! That was so much more chilling than the whole movie. The montage effect so effective, almost like newspaper clippings, evoked the feeling the whole problem would be swept under the rug, nobody held accountable, and people dying in vain.

Raider of the Lost Ark

You would not believe how many guys of a certain age can't forget the ending of "Last American Virgin" which was a remake of the Israeli "Lemon Popsicles." The lead up is a new girl in town. Our hero falls in love with her but she only has eyes for the Big Man On Campus. He knocks her up and then dumps her. Hero helps her get an abortion. The ending is definitely a switch.

Take note: it is not Carrie's GRAVE that Sue Snell is putting flowers on. See the "For Sale" sign? It's the vacant lot where Carrie's house once stood (she destroyed it, remember?). Whenever this scene is referenced it's mistakenly said that it's Carrie's grave. But is isn't. Which makes it even more terrifying.

R26 another! Can't even watch that movie again, so disturbing, so sad.

2 more 70s movies- The stepford wives and wicker man, chilling, disturbing, very sad.

Jules's monologue at the end of Pulp Fiction.

Ladybug ladybug. Wish I could think of movies with uplifting/ happy endings.

R29 you forgot to mention that the big man on campus was his best friend.

For a tearjerker? Nothing beats the ending of Running On Empty...

R37, and also that he was played by Hollywood pass around boy Steve Antin.

The ending of working girl to me is weird. The music and pan out seem to suggest several interpretations. One is that she has gotten that far, but now she's just in a bigger more competitive bucket of crabs. The second is that her struggle is just another day/slice in the life of millions of Americans that goes on unnoticed. Or maybe just to bookend the opening shots of a ratrace. I just get a funny vibe, like she was recognized, but now shes anonymous again, swallowed up by this big office building, back to square one. The american dream is a continual climb?

[Quote][R15] is an idiot trying to argue towards her preset conclusion. Being a crank doesn't excuse misstating what plainly appears in the film and what it means, especially in one of the most celebrated scenes in American film.

You're projecting. The fact that you resort to ad hominem attacks speaks to your level of mental development. It's interesting you immediately ascribed a female persona to my post. That's very telling and shows where you're really coming from. Why did you wander onto this thread and take a dump? Frustrated none of the nude fitness jocks are responding after you sent them your picture on Instagram? Anyway, no point in arguing with an imbecile who clearly is incapable of the basic understanding of the scene. Blocking you now...

"Get busy living, or get busy dying."

So true.

Shawshank Redemption

Another 70s film: Looking for Mr. Goodbar

Brokeback Mountain

Maurice

Philadelphia

Hunger ----Michael Fassbender.

Kind Hearts and Coronets

Dah-dah-dah-daddah-DAHHHHHH.

This is the one, bitches.

"Long live the new flesh" (Videodrome)

"That'll do, pig." (Babe)

"Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!" as he goes through a darkened doorway into the unknown (The Truman Show)

"They're probably watching me. Well, let them. Let them see what kind of a person I am. I'm not even gonna swat that fly. I hope they are watching. They'll see. They'll see and they'll know, and they'll say, 'Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly.'" (Psycho)

The Blair Witch Project. That screaming, Mike facing the corner and then the camera gets knocked down.

Thelma and Louise.

The Usual Suspects. "And like that... he was gone."

Here are some movies that had endings that I found unforgettable. They're quite a mixed lot:

Bonnie and Clyde

Some Like It Hot

I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang

A Star Is Born (Judy Garland version)

Gone With The Wind

The Producers (original)

It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

The Godfather

Cabaret

American Grafitti

Hamburger Hill

The Boys In Company C

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming!

Mary and Max

Gone With The Wind

Stalag 17

It's A Wonderful Life

Sunset Boulevard

Psycho

Halloween (original)

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (original)

Au Revoir, Les Enfants

Aimee and Jaguar

Planet of the Apes (original)

Deliverance

Dr. Strangelove

2001: A Space Odessey

Touch of Evil

Casablanca

Shane

Fight Club

Chinatown

The Usual Suspects

The Graduate

The 400 Blows

Seven

The Thing (John Carpenter version)

The Wild Bunch

Memento

Barbara Jean's final performance and assassination at the end of Nashville.

The final scene in Moonlight.

"I was cured all right!"

Julie Christie rotating the opium pipe in her fingers in "McCabe & Mrs. Miller."

Se7en

Selma's execution in "Dancer in the Dark."

"I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook."

"On the Beach" with Gregory Peck. It's like a sword through your heart.

Bonnie and Clyde had an impressive ending.

Another vote for The Colour Purple, The Usual Suspects.

Nueve Reinas (Nine Queens)

Anklaget (Accused)

"So David went to sleep too. And for the first time in his life, he went to that place... where dreams are born."

(I know people hate this film, but the end just slays me)

The speech Charlie Chaplin gives at the end of "The Great Dictator." Powerful and prescient.

Cinema paradiso

For me, "you mean all this time we could have been friends".

Seriously, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane had my favorite twist ending of all time. Practically the textbook of passive/aggressive codependency: The victim is really the villain, and vice versa.

The final sequence in "Greed" in Death Valley is pretty unforgettable. A spar involving handcuffs with a former best friend/now enemy, with a fortune in gold lying next to them and no water in the oppressive desert.

"Safe"

The final dance in "Black Swan."

Ahem ....

The destruction of Sal's, Mookie and Sal's chat the next morning, and the photo of Malcolm X and MLK at the end of "Do the Right Thing."

Napoleon Dynamite's dance.

Django exacting bloody revenge on Samuel L. Jackson's character in "Django Unchained."

Jackie Brown: Pam Grier driving away from Robert Forster while mouthing the words to "Across 110th Street."

How about Hair? Oh my gosh Black Swan is the campiest trash. How did Natalie ever get talked into that? The ending was very anticlimactic.

Easy. Same thing that got JLaw to do "mother!," R78.

That delicious Darren Aronofsky dick.

Aronfsky must be some fuck God. He always seems to nail down some prime young pussy.

But is it worth almost tanking your career? Benjamin Millipied ain't too shabby!

Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing"; Sterling Hayden, the "last man standing" in a racetrack heist, desperately tries to take his suitcase, stuffed with $2 million in cash, and high-tail it out of town before the cops catch up to him.

"The Killing" inspired Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" btw.

Also a great ending.

To Live and Die in L.A. has a rather shocking ending. I'm not gonna spoil it and tell what happens, like some people seem to do in this thread.

Gaslight, when Paula gets her revenge. Technically it's not the ending, because there is a scene after it, but it's so satisfying it may as well be.

City Lights

Modern Times

Camille

Queen Christina

Das Boot

The Terminator

Dinner At Eight

Jezebel

Hud

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Harold and Maude

Another great heist-movie ending (and "Reservoir Dogs" inspiration): the original "Taking of Pelham One Two Three". This time Martin Balsam is the "last man" in a subway heist. Detective Walter Matthau learns that one of the perps is a former motorman, so he's going door-to-door, interviewing motormen who didn't show up to work that day. He's only communicated with ringleader Robert Shaw via radio, but occasionally heard Balsam sneezing in the background, to which Matthau would offhandedly reply "gesundheit".

Phoebe fantasizes

All good!

The heartstrings were pulled and tears flowed bigtime at the end of

1. David Lynch's The Straight Story. (Did you ride that thing all the way out here just to see me?) Oy.

2. You Can Count On Me. Dorkiest title for a movie but Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo pulled that shit off. Amazing performances.

Didn't see it mentioned but talk about unforgettable. Edward Norton in Primal Fear.

Roman Holiday

It's a menu!!!

Edward Scissorhands is sad/magical, music and snow scene make me veklempt and reach for the kleenex.

"Sometimes you'll still catch me dancing in it" 😥

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

Dangerous Liaisons (Close wiping off her makeup is haunting)

Resurrection (Ellen Burstyn film from 1980). So moving.

R45 I don't think I remember the ending of Maurice. Was it when hugh grant is looking out the window, trapped in his marriage, and sees Maurice below. Remind me? I remember I loved it too.

Carol's semi ambiguous ending. The vacillating by Rooney and then Cate's big, warm, inviting (but with slightly apprehensive eyes) smile.

r94, gosh, all the saddest ones

r97 I choose to think of Fire Walk With Me and Resurrection as happy endings - to a degree. In FWWM, Laura accepts her death and sees the angel whereas in Resurrection - I don't want to give it away but Burstyn's character does something impactful for somebody else and also lets the audience know what she has chosen to do for the future.

Why does conventional studio wisdom hold that happy endings are best. The unforgettable ones are all sad. The only happy ending I like is the one I get from my Asian masseur in Chelsea.

Doubt. "I have doubts" "In the pursuit of wrongdoing one steps away from god" Meryl's best performance, flawless inflection and timing to lines. Sorry G.

"Cut your nails!"

I second R100.

The Heiress

The ending of the movie Without a Trace, starring Kate Nelligan, Judd Hirsch, featuring Stockard Channing. I cry crocodile tears every time I watch it. I could not locate an ending clip!

[quote][R45] I don't think I remember the ending of Maurice. Was it when hugh grant is looking out the window, trapped in his marriage, and sees Maurice below. Remind me? I remember I loved it too.

*SPOILERS* Yes, Clive (Hugh Grant) had just come inside after having met Maurice for the very last time in the garden. Maurice told him he loves Scudder and is leaving with him, and leaving Clive behind. Clive is closing the shutters for the night in their bedroom when he stops to look out the window and "sees" younger Maurice from their college days on a sunny day smiling and waving at him like asking to join him. After a moment Maurice gives up and leaves, still smiling. Clive is left living a lie with a wife and a political career he'll never be able to escape. The ending was tragic and bittersweet. The first time I saw the film I cried for half an hour. The only other film to have such a huge effect on me was Brokeback Mountain.

Thanks R104 James Ivory's usual screenwriter Ruth Jhabvala chose not to write Maurice. She said she didn't know how men relate together in the privacy of a room.

A made for tv movie called "Always Remember I Love You" starring Patty Duke and Joan Van Ark. I'm pretty certain this would have to be a favorite of many DL'ers.

R106 here. For anybody who hasn't seen it, it's sloppy, sentimental, extremely manipulative, but trust me and just watch it from the beginning. You'll be crying your fucking eyes out by the end. Anybody who HAS seen it, knows enough to just skip to the end. But seriously, if you haven't seen it, don't deprive yourself the total experience!

..X..

Only the most banal straights like Shawshank.

Only the most bitter queens with no hope left would say that about Shawshank.

Get busy dying, R109.

The Departed, Marky Mark. The post-credit scene in Hidden (Cache). Shane. Agree with Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Mist, The Usual Suspects, Running on Empty.

R104 - I recently saw a Maurice playing at some theater in NY, and an additional thing that's striking about the end is that while Hugh Grant is closing the shutters for the night, we initially see him do this from from inside the bedroom - and the sound the shutters make as they're being locked shut is almost creepy - as if he's sealing himself in his own tomb.

Anyway, here are a couple of other in addition to the ones I mentioned at R50:

Brad's birthday at the end of Testament, when Jane Alexander asks "That we remember it all...the good and the awful."

The end of Abbott & Costello's The Time of Their Lives, when Costello finds Heaven is closed because it's George Washington's Birthday.

And, of course, . . .

The ending of The Devil and Daniel Webster. Also known as All Money Can Buy.

It is very creepy in a childlike, amusing way. The Devil lost. What shall he do ? Who could be his next target ? But wait! He is coming for YOU! BOOH!

As a kid, the ending of Psycho kept me from sleeping.

R89, it works because neither Linney nor Ruffalo actually say the line. You know exactly what he means when he says "remember what we used to say to each other?" And of course they know so they don't actually have to say it. So much more realistic and affecting.

Someone mentioned GREED upthread, and I was glad to not be the only one left to think of the ending of that film (and I am 42).

MAURICE!

400 BLOWS.

I'll echo the ending of Dangerous Liaisons. I loved everything about this ending scene - the crowd booing, Close's little stagger as she retreats and the gradual fade. Rather beautiful.

And then we have the trashy, DLer version of "Les Liasons dangereuses" - Cruel Intentions!

What r91 and r99 said. Roman Holiday sets the standard against which all other romantic comedies are measured, especially because of its ending. It's bittersweet, sad and so right.

I love how the camera lingers on Joe's (Gregory Peck) face as it goes from happiness to heartbreak, bringing us with him. The Princess and Joe will find other loves, have children, but their romance will occupy a never-ending place in their hearts, minds and memories for the rest of their lives.

I watched an interview of Gregory Peck where, decades later, he said that he and Audrey Hepburn were both willing to star in a sequel. I don't remember why he said it wasn' t made, but I'm so glad it didn't come to be.

NO SPOILERS!!!!!!!

lol, r119.

R103, I was looking for that to post as well. A very unusual and unrealistic ending but it really packed a punch. I was a kid when I saw it but the detail when Kate threw her purse and groceries down to run to her son was something that stuck with me.

One few will remember is "The Clock" Judy Garland's first non-singing movie. After her courtship with Robert Walker, he leaves for battle, but the romance has turned into a woman of strength and courage. She walks purposefully through the station as the camera pans up to The Clock.

So many perfect responses here.

R106 - A thousand times yes. I remember that movie so well. The ending will tear up your insides.

"Longtime Companion" - Even though I don't know anyone personally who passed away from AIDS, the ending is extremely touching.

"Brokeback Mountain" - How can anyone with a heart not get emotional at the end?

"The Champ" (1979) - If this movie's ending doesn't make you cry, you have no soul.

"Titanic" (1997) - Yes, the ship sinks, but that's not al we learn.

I thought the ending of "Titanic" sucked. Rose, after living a rich, full life and dying in a warm bed when she's an old lady (just as Jack predicted) is transported to heaven, which in her case is a return to the Titanic to be reunited with Jack. Totally mediocre sentimental slop.

By the way, the version of "The Champ" with Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper was much superior to the 1979 remake. And Cooper's performance totally outshines Ricky Schroder's.

The eternal sunshine of the spotless mind always has me in tears. Just "ok". And i hate jim carrey.

Perhaps, R123, but I haven't seen a lot of dramatic movies. Not a big fan of drama. I'm more of a comedy/sci-fi guy.

When's the last time someone said that a comedy or sci-fi movie had a great/emotional/"unforgettable" ending?

No one has mentioned the ending of "Toy Story 3".

R125, let's also remember the ending of "Up", which was a complete emotional wipeout for so many people because of what came before.

And the ending of Monsters, Inc.

'The Lives Of Others.'

'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.'

The former Stasi head, now a mail delivery man, goes into a bookstore... the wrenching ending of The Lives of Others. Hard to believe it's a first film.

Great call above - Resurrection, 1980. I'd forgotten about that wonderful film.

Hi R114, just watched last scene again. It plays beautifully. Easily one of my favorite films.

r99 “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

More great endings that weren't the actual endings.

The narration of Chris's death as River Phoenix fades away in Stand by Me.

And Raymond's head nod and C-H-A-R-L-I-E. Charlie finally made his connection.

The Lives of Others (R128, R129)

One more not-actual-ending. Setting fire to the house in What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

How about the end of "The Graduate"? After all that histrionic drama and Benjamin and Elaine are at the back of the bus, deflated. Is this all there is? Now what?

"I didn't like seeing Donny go. But then I happen to know that there's a little Lebowski on the way. I guess that's the way the whole darned human comedy keeps perpetuating itself..."

The Empire Strikes Back. DRAMA!

The Age of Innocence. We discover May knew all along and then there's this beautiful wordless scene.

R103 and R121, I HATE YOU BOTH! And yet I LOVE YOU! I was going to post about the ending of WITHOUT A TRACE. It never failed to get me blubbering like a fool, even though it seemed so impossible at the time. But it has happened several times since the movie was made.

Mulholland Drive. Terrifying, tragic, bittersweet and bizarre.

The last image of Repulsion stays with you a long time. They zoom on the girl in the pic. Even as a child, she wasn't never quite right. Or was she abused ? Something was disturbing her when the pic was taken and it disturbs us in turn.

I'm finished.

R142 and r143 yes! Somebody said the picture reappears in Chinatown, but I can never find it. Maybe they just meant the abuse.

I always found the ending to The Dead to be beautiful. John Huston's last film, made while he was dying. Written by Tony Huston hewing very closely to the source material and staring Angelica Huston. Very underrated movie. I love Donal McCann's ending narration.

Thanks R135

I like the big production number that ends CHICAGO, esp when they cut to Richard Gere and Queen Latifah in the audience, and they're thanking the audience, throwing the flowers, etc.

And have we mentioned "Oh Jerry....let's not ask for the moon - we have the stars," and the cigarettes?

Bette also looks good riding away on the yellow fever wagon at the end of JEZEBEL.

Two classics:

Sarah Jane throwing herself on her mother's coffin at the end of IMITATION OF LIFE.

Barbara Stanwyck standing out in the rain, looking up through the window at her daughter's wedding.

Oops - in STELLA DALLAS, of course -

I know it's not a movie but I loved the ending of the new Twin Peaks series. The new season was loathed by many but I loved the ending. It was very dark. And while many complained that the new season didn't connect to the old Twin Peaks, the ending, in fact, connected very strongly to the original - in the darkest, bleakest and most terrifying way.

2001: A Space Odyssey

Blade Runner

"The Thing" (1982)

Shane (1953)

Dr. Strangelove

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

The ending to Toy Story 3.

I was 8 when the first was released in 1995 and practically grew up on the franchise.

Watching this ending as a 23 year old, practically Andy's age, tore my heart open. So much nostalgia and memories of lost childhood wrapped in this ending.

Les Diaboliques (1955)

Basic Instinct

Cache (2005)

Cary Grant, who usually charms, delights and amuses me in his films, genuinely moves me to tears when he finally sees the portrait he painted of Deborah Kerr in her room in "An Affair to Remember" and realizes why she had stood him up at their meeting. His reaction is heartbreaking.

Before Sunrise.

In the Mood for Love.

"Take Shelter" - Michael Shannon's premonitions come true, and he isn't crazy after all.

"Melancholia"

The end of Trilogy of Terror, when Karen Black waits for her mother to arrive.

Chinatown

Butterfield 8

R116 already posted my choice with the ending of Dangerous Liaisons. What was the Marquise thinking as she absently wiped away the makeup? That she was finished? Or that she had a lot of work to do to reestablish her place in society?

Point Break

The Mist

The Hidden

The Howling

Somewhere In Time

The Sixth Sense

The Others

American Beauty

Scanners

12 Monkeys

Jacob's Ladder

2010 ?? - sequel to 2001 A Space Odyssey

Although it's understated, I love the end of Manchester By The Sea and the ball. There's no tidy happy ending, just people who have come a little further than they were and are trying their best to be ok. It's all they can do.

This.

Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice

I always loved the ending of Silence of the Lambs, Clarice on the phone saying "Dr. Lecter" over and over as Hannibal melts into the crowd pursuing his next victim. Perfection

I just realized how the endings of "Midnight Cowboy" and "Brokeback Moutain" have similar meanings.

Both depict two lost souls who never achieved in life what they could have.

Fun fact: Dustin Hoffman had two iconic roles in two iconic movies, with unforgettable endings. And they both ended with him on a bus: The Graduate and Midnight Cowboy.

(and both had unforgettable songs/soundtracks) including Mrs. Robinson and Everybody's Talkin'

AND - at least 3 lines that would have made American Film's top 100:

"Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me"

"Plastics, my boy, plastics!"

"Hey - I'm walkin' here!"

Billy Elliot Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid The Sting Jagged Edge

Breakfast at Tiffany's with the cat peeking out between the kissing lovers in the rain

The Ruling Class. Total gut-punch of an ending.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. "He lived happily ever after."

Paths of Glory. Someone please post. "Let the men have a few more minutes...." Kirk Douglas

Memorable indeed, R181. At first, I was afraid for the terrified singer. Then, the soldiers 'nostalgia is gut wrenching.

Anna's rejection of Holly at the end of The Third Man, or "Why Men Smoke."

I agree about Manchester R170 although the very last scene is the silent one of uncle and nephew fishing. I think some of the cinema audience waited in case there was a post credits "resolution" but that would have been trite in a superb movie.

I know everyone here loathes GP but I thought Shakespeare in Love had the perfect ending.

"How will this to end?"

"As stories must when love's denied. With tears and a long journey."

^ How IS this to end.

It's not the very last scene but the farewell scene and then the narration describing his next play, "And her name shall be Viola" had me sobbing.

The ending of Cocoon was pretty epic.

Antonioni flicks always have killer endings: l'Avventura, Eclisse, The Passenger, Blow-up.

But this blows them all out of the league. Complete cinematic insanity. How this ever got out of MGM is beyond me

Not quite the ending scene but just before it.

A Streetcar Named Desire

R186 - get the Kleenex!!

It was a tv movie, but I thought "The Night Stalker" with Darren McGavin had an absolutely riveting ending. "Crowhaven Farm", another tv movie, had an ending that I never forgot. Same with "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" with Kim Darby. All tv movies, but all had endings that stay with you forever.

"Sid and Nancy":

I never saw SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, should I?

It looks...inauthentic.

R192, I second Sid & Nancy. I was just about to post that clip. Wonderful movie which added to the mystique of their turbulent relationship.

I liked the surreal ending to "Sid and Nancy" but some people didn't. I thought it expressed very well what did happen after Nancy died; she was gone but Sid was still influenced by her. And I really liked the haunting "Taxi to Heaven" music, although it should have been more aptly titled "Taxi to Hell."

An unexpected comedic ending works as well......

I second crowhaven. Saw as kid on Elvira H'ween special. Husband reincarnated, tied bow certain way, ???? Foggy in my mind but stays with me. Please explain.

Reminds me of liz bowen short story her demon lover

R106 I love that movie. I don't know why they don't show it every year during Christmas, like they use to.

Nobody did endings better than Billy Wilder.

“Double Indemnity”with Fred MacMurray saying “I love you, too” to Edward G. Robinson.

The hidden bottles throughout the city in “The Lost Weekend.”

And everyone knows the final lines of “Sunset Blvd.” and “Some Like It Hot,” while “Shut up and deal” is another great closer from “The Apartment” that isn’t quite as iconic.

The Miracle Worker

Did no one mention It's a Wonderful Life, or did I just miss it? Definitely unforgettable, especially if you grew up when it aired relentlessly during Christmas season.

The Sixth Sense

Don't Look Now:

Some Like It Hot. Galipolli.

"I second crowhaven. Saw as kid on Elvira H'ween special. Husband reincarnated, tied bow certain way, ???? Foggy in my mind but stays with me. Please explain."

Yes, it would seem that her husband (whose life she sacrificed to the witches in order to save her own) has come back in the body of the sinister policeman. He was played by William Smith; he was perfect. When Hope Lange notices he tied the bow in the same unusual way her husband did, she looks at him and he's just staring at her. Then his face breaks into a sly grin and he tells her "it's been a pleasure talking with you. And if it's any comfort to a woman alone like yourself, you can be sure that from now on I'll have my eye on you....and your little boy." Then he rides off. Such a great ending.

Crowhaven was super weird. The husband does something nice for what looks like a 12 yo girl and she decides he's going to be her husband and Hope Lange didn't have much problem letting her have him.

Another nod for "Night Of The Living Dead." The ouside the box casting of Duane Jones, an black man, not only in the cast, but as the lead, is one of the most unsung acts of courage in film making.

In true irony, Jones' character, Ben, through sheer ability, manages to stay one step ahead of the zombies to become the last man standing, only to discover, too late, that the greatest danger would prove to be at the hands of those who were sworn to protect not destroy.

Someone already mentioned this, but here's the clip:

Stella Dallas - Stanwyck's favorite of her roles and a truly, truly weepy ending.

And I love the sweet stepmother who makes sure that the drapes are open because she knows....

AWK They cut the ending!

This one has more the ending - sorry the clip is not as good.

Not sure if it was mentioned but I may be the only one impressed by the ending of "Godspell" -- with the cast turning the corner and gone, lost in the crowd, in the pre-invisible cut days. There are no doorways to hide in either and I can't figure out how they did it (with no special FX). Not available on youtube, sorry.

I'd forgotten about "Godspell." I liked that ending too.

This reminds me of the end of Being There, the main character, Chance, walks away from us, on the surface of a pond. My heart/mind interpreted this as Chance being unable to really connect with people, which broke my heart. So many characters in the movie were mistaking Chance's simple-minded thinking for something more profound, except for the doctor near the end, who kindly sussed him out, to Chance's apparent relief. That was really the only new person in Chance's life who understood Chance. I just sobbed at Chance walking on the surface of the water.

"A Star is Born," 1954

The final dramatic scene of the film: Still dressed in his dressing gown, Norman Maine walks away from his house, into the Malibu surf, never to be seen again.

R212 - Here's some levity from the film's closing credits to lighten your melancholy mood.

How did the original psycho end. I can't remember? Was it the shower scene or was that early on? I saw it when I was really young, many years ago and not since.

R215 - this is missing the explanation from the psychiatrist.

The last scene in The Birds which always seems to get discussed here. Truly a perfect ending to me.

Peter Sellers hated the end credits that featured him cracking up. He thought it "broke the spell." And it did. It should have ended with Chance walking across the pond.

Interesting. I always just interpreted it as Chance could walk on water because nobody ever told him he couldn't. Like the rest of what had just happened to him.

Thanks for posting R 182. I used to be obsessed with this scene. I found the song -- it is a lullaby, which I'm sure is obvious.

I read an article a while back about the California Youth Authority. Someone visited the boys there and began reading to them at night before bed . Everyone was shocked because these violent young men were mesmerized by tales of Winnie the Pooh.

It made me think of this final scene,

The ending of SOM, the Von Trapps are Walking over that mtn range. If they did that from Salzburg, they would be walking into Germany...and the NAZIS!

The Howling just aired on Peachtree. It's a great shock ending with Dee Wallace's character and the cuts to dog food and beef being cooked.

The Nun's Story final scene haunted me through my childhood.

Kiss Me Deadly. Terrifying!

Kiss Me Deadly (link = SPOILER)

DELIVERANCE - when Jon Voight awakes from his nightmare.

The ending of a film called Sarah’s Key, as I recall it, is very moving. Aiden Quinn and Kristen Scott Thomas, both very good in it,

The ending of Mario Bava’s Bay of Blood is disturbing.

hannibal calling clarice while he goes off to kill the awful psychiatrist

Because they were both painfully wounded and flawed, you rooted for them: An Officer and A Gentleman

The double-sided dildo scene from the end of A Requiem for a Dream. It was inspiring.

A lot of Kubrick was mentioned, but oddly, not the ending of The Shining.

"Buster & Billie" no movie today would ever have an ending like that.

The ending of Happiness was weird but then so was the entire movie.

"What was the Marquise thinking as she absently wiped away the makeup? That she was finished? Or that she had a lot of work to do to reestablish her place in society? "

She was truly looking at herself for, possibly, the first time ever. I think she realised that it was over. She had literally played with everyone and their emotions for her whole life - she now realised she no longer had the resources or strength...or time...to fight for anything of value to her.

The mask had finally slipped - publicly and irreparably - and there was nothing underneath.

R228, I thought it was hilarious.

The film offered very little in narrative cohesion, so the preposterous ending came right in tune with the nonsensical tone of the film.

The feel-good music that accompanies the patri/matricidal siblings as they frolic in soft-focus is Bava’s crowning touch.

Yes r186. The music is so beautiful and powerful too.

I've never forgotten the ending to a little seen British horror film called Frightmare. It's about a woman coming to terms with the fact that her mother is a cannibal and the rest of her family keeps defending her and bringing meat home for her. It's almost like an allegory for addiction. It really has to be one of the most haunting and depressing endings I've ever seen. I won't even spoil it, because it's a terrific movie and you should all check it out.

The ending to Black Christmas always freaked me out, too. Just the idea that they got the wrong guy and "Billy" is still there, waiting for his next victim. So creepy. The shock endings of Carrie and Friday the 13th are certainly memorable, too.

I'll never forget the ending to Death Becomes Her, which is still find hilarious. "Do you remember where you parked the car?"

r19, and OP. Not that poster but he is right and you have got the sequence wrong. It is Dunaway's slight smile, that knows it's the end.

Frailty. Bill Paxton wasn't crazy after all.

Pitch Black!

Pitch Black! ? Frankly I couldn't see it.

Ending of Mike Leigh's Naked (1993)

r82 I agree -- one of the best. Great film.

I love how at the end of the social network it tells you how powerful zuckerberg is and how much money he has but yet he is still lonely and miserable.

The Omen (1976). Creepy kid smile at the end.

What? No mention of "The Baby" ????

Don't believe anyone has mentioned The Asphalt Jungle. Sterling Hayden collapses in the field, the curious horse nudges him with his nose, while Jean Hagen runs for help.

Don't think this has been added yet. May we all have something like this for our famous final scene.

Finale of "All That Jazz".

Yes r250! Brilliant. I am watching the beautiful "Handmaid's Tale" movie with Saint Faye, but that's in my favorites and now I want to put it on next.

[quote]The ending of Mario Bava’s Bay of Blood is disturbing.

I saw this movie for the first time the other night and thought the ending was fantastic! I guess it is disturbing, but it's perfect dark humour to me. And you know, it was well deserved...

All great endings listed so far!!! What made Planet of the Apes ending so memorable was it was pre-internet (by decades) and no one knew it was coming. I'll add two Hitchcock endings here: Jimmy Stewart's last line in The Man Who Knew Too Much and the last line (and final cut) in Frenzy.

That last line in Frenzy was ace, I agree, R253. I saw it for the first time only a few weeks ago. It was very disturbing, that film.

The Abyss

Shakespeare In Love, including Gwyneth walking up that endless (Norfolk!).

House of Sand and Fog (2003) with Jennifer Connelly

"Are you Kathy Niccolo?"

"Yeah."

"is this your house?"

One of the most profound tearjearker movies I have ever seen. If you like to watch movies in which two well-intentioned cultures clash, this one's for you.