the 40 greatest movie endings in film history « taste of cinema

20/08/15 12:47 amThe 40 Greatest Movie Endings In Film History « Taste of Cinema

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The 40 Greatest Movie Endings In Film History

Unlike movie openings, movie endings are always the most important andmesmerizing part of a film. It lifts the film to a new level and gives the audiencessomething to digest afterwards. Sometimes we can recall the ending scene in a clearimage even we forget what the film is about.

Two weeks ago we made a list of the greatest movie opening scenes in film history, it’sno-brainer making a follow-up list with movie endings. This time we decide to doublethe size, but there is still plenty room for suggestions. Please leave a comment if youfeel one of your favorites is missing here.

Without further ado, here is our choice of the 40 greatest movie endings in filmhistory. BEWARE OF SPOILERS!

40. Before Sunset

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A Waltz for a night (Before Sunset) Julie Delpy

We are with the two for the whole film, now like the first film, it’s time for some realsentiment. Upon his departure, Jesse is invited to Celine’s apartment and is treated asong written by Celine herself. Every feeling is all in Julie Delpy’s sweet voice and thebeautiful song “A Waltz for a Night”. Is he staying? We hope so. Thank god thedirector made the third film and proved we are right.

39. Children of Paradise

One of the greatest French films ever made also has one of the most tragic endings of

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all French romance films. In one of the most epic crowd scenes in film history,Baptiste is pushed away from the love of his life further and further by the flood ofpeople, the helplessness of this scene is tremendously moving.

38. Blow Out

Under the cover of a political thriller, this is a very sad romance film at its core. Jackis not able to save his love Sally at the last moment. However, he manages to get theperfect scream which pleases his boss. It’s an ironic and tragic ending, it’s highlyemotional because of John Travolta’s brilliant performance and Pino Donaggio’stouching score.

37. Aguirre: The Wrath Of God

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Aguirre, who claims to be the wrath of god, leads his troops into the wild Peruvianrain forest. He thinks he can conquer this wild land, but he is wrong. People aroundhim die out, at last only him and a bunch of monkeys are left on the raft. The camerarevolves around the raft in rapid speed to emphasize the solitude of the crazy manand his doomed failure to fight against the nature.

36. Usual Suspects



Probably the greatest twist ending in modern film history. Kent makes everything upbased on the texts he saw in the office and totally fooled the police officer and us. It’sone of these endings that the villain never gets caught, but Kevin Spacey’s superbperformance makes it unique and charming.

35. Fight Club

At the end of this thought-provoking film, the Edward Norton character shot himself,we are as shocked as Marla. Before we realize what is going on here, the skyscrapers



start to fall down in front of them as well as us. Where is my mind?

34. Vengeance Is Mine

Shohei Imuamura’s classic ends in a fashion that is quite unusual in Japanese cinemahistory. The serial killer is executed; his family takes his ashes to the mountain topand splashes it. Then it’s a freezing frame, it’s like the earth is unwilling to accept ahuman being who’s so evil.

33. Ashes and Diamonds

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Ashes and Diamonds is one of the greatest Polish films ever made. At its ending, thePolish James Dean character is shot, he crawls on a dump and dies like a dog. Ahighly emotional ending to a great film.

32. The Wages of Fear

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In this breathtaking French thriller made by Henri Georges Clozout, four Europeanmen, down on their luck, drive two trucks loaded with nitroglycerine needed toextinguish the flames of an oil company.

At the end, only Mario survives and a party is held to celebrate his arrival. The camerafrequently cuts between the party and the exhausted yet excited Mario on his wayback. It seems like a happy ending. Then the girl faints during her dance, and thetruck falls down a cliff. The film gives us the biggest thrill at the end.

31. The Holy Mountain

In this mind-bending surreal masterpiece by Alejandro Jodorowsky, a team set out tothe Holy Mountain to find immortality. Near the top, the alchemist, played byJodorowsky himself, suddenly breaks the fourth wall by saying “Zoom back thecamera”.

The camera zooms back, revealing all the casts & crews and filmmaking equipment.The director talks to the team member, as well as us, “Real life awaits us”, then thefilm ends. It’s surprising Jodorowsky ends his surreal film in such a realistic way, thisending adds more layers to the philosophy of this film.

30. Through the Oliver Trees

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In the last chapter of Abbas Kiarostami’s Koker Trilogy, actor Hossein pursues one ofthe actress he works with while the film goes on. After finishing her scene, the actressleaves, Hossein runs to follow her.

The ending is a long take, showing us the process of pursuit from long distance.Hossein catches up with the girl, they talk, he runs back with her response. There isno close-up shot of his face so we have no idea what the girl’s response is. The filmends after he runs through the olive trees.

29. The Marriage of Maria Braun

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The Marriage of Maria Braun, the first film in Fassbinder’s BRD Trilogy, follows theups and downs of a woman called Maria during and after the WWII.

In the mesmerizing finale, Maria is visited by the executor Senkenberg. In thebackground plays the live radio broadcast of the final match of FIFA Would Cup 1954.As we hear a gas explosion which indicates Maria’s death, the radio is celebrating thewinning of the German National Team. Fassbinder made this ironic ending to remindthe people in Germany that they should not forget their own history.

28. The Leopard

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In this epic tale of decay, director Luchino Visconti puts a long ball scene in thesecond half to make a contrast between the noble Prince and the young people of thenew generation.

At the end of the ball, the Prince of Salina looks into a mirror and sheds some tears ofsadness. His time has passed, but will the future be better? He refuses to take thecarriage and walks alone in the alley.

27. Yi Yi

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Edward Yang’s epic of life begins with a wedding and ends with a funeral. At thefuneral, Yangyang, the son of the protagonist NJ, stands in front of his grandma’scoffin and reads his letter to her. “I feel I’m old too” he says. Watching this film is likeliving one’s life through in 3 hours. After the film experience, we feel the same asYangyang feels.

26. Dr. Strangelove

Only a daring filmmaker like Kubrick could end a film with a montage of a series ofatomic bombing footage. One of the most popular songs during the WWII period “WeWill Meet Again” is played in the background. This is Kubrick at his most satirical, ifwe will ever meet again, where and when?

25. Cinema Paradiso



At the end of this Oscar Best Foreign Language winning film. The adult Toto flies tohis hometown and finally gets the chance to see the reel of film Alfred left him. Totowatches this alone in the dark, it’s a montage of kissing scenes that were cut by Alfredsince they were forbidden in public cinema. Toto is moved to tears, so are we. EnnioMorricone’s brilliant score is the ice on the cake.

24. Sansho the Bailiff

Probably the saddest ending of all time. Zushio finally finds his mother who’s



supposed to be dead, the blind old woman is sitting at the beach singing a bitter song.Zushio tells her that both his sister and father are dead, and he quits the post ofgovernor to follow his father’s teachings. It’s a deeply tragic ending of the reunion of abroken family.

23. Lola Montes

In the finale of the tragic story of a notorious courtesan and showgirl, Lola Montes iskept in a cage and whoever pays just one dollar is able to kiss her hand. The camerakeeps pulling back, leaving Lola and showing us the long queue of men who lust forher body. It’s the last elegant camera movement Max Ophuls left us, the curtain of hiscareer is drawn at the end.

22. Landscape in the Mist

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Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos’ classic tells the story of two children in searchof their father. At the end, through the thick mist, they find a tree. They run to it andhug it as if it was their father. This symbolic scene is probably the most beautifulthing Angelopoulos had ever put on the screen. The great Serbian director DusanMakavejev said that “this last scene of Landscape in the Mist was a revelation for me.”

21. Requiem for a Dream



Probably the most devastating endings in modern film history. Darren Aronofsky’sending is far from a happy ending: it’s so disturbing that you don’t want to see itagain. In the final scene, all the four characters are in the fetal position whichemphasizes their helplessness. Like a fantasy trip after taking drugs, it blurs theboundary between reality and dream, making it very hard to watch even for the firsttime.

20. 2001: A Space Odyssey



How to end a film full of puzzles? With more puzzles. This is Kubrick’s answer withhis enigmatic sci-fi classic. The ending, just like the whole film, is gorgeously shot andoffers open interpretations.

19. Some Like It Hot

“Nobody is perfect!” Simply the greatest closing line in film history. The whole movieis worth it just for this line. Billy Wilder loved it so much, he had it written on histombstone.

18. Psycho



After the big plot twist at the end, Norman Bates is kept in a jail. It is his deadmother’s voice narrating in the background, the camera slowly moves towards him,and the last shot superimposes the skeleton of his mother on his weirdly smiled face.This is definitely one of the scariest image in horror film history and one hell of a wayto end a film about split personality.

17. The Searchers



At the end of John Ford’s Western classic, Ethan departs the household he helpedrestore with a wistful gesture. Ford’s precise framing perfectly captures the duality ofEthan’s character: a hero that is kept out of the land he helps create. This is a simpleshot, but its emotional resonance is profound.

16. An Autumn Afternoon

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This is how Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu ended his last film. The widowed fatherfinally married off her daughter, he is left all alone in the house. Ozu quietly observesthe loneliness of the old man by a half-blocked shot, showing the inevitable futurethat awaits for all of us. This scene has the same sad feelings as the famous ending inhis earlier classic Late Spring, but since this is the director’s swan song, and the filmis a more or less advanced remake of that film, we finally decided to go with this one.

15. Underground

We drop the famous ending of Fellini’s 8½ to leave a spot for this one. First, wealready have two Fellini endings on this list. Second, this ending is clearly inspired bythe 8½ ending, but it’s also great in its own right. The story of the film is nothing like8½, but like the 8½ ending, all the characters, dead or alive, is back in this scene of awedding party. What’s great about this ending is its surreal touch of the last scene, thepeople all stand on a mini peninsula that is floating away from the homeland.

14. Cache



The last shot of Michael Haneke’s classic requires close attention. It’s a more-than-four-minute long take of kids stepping out of their school. At first glance, carelessaudience would assume nothing happens in this shot, but really?

There is no close-up shot or even medium shot, the director didn’t tell us where tolook, thus we have to look closer. There is someone talking to the sullen teenage boy.Instead of revealing who sends those tapes, it adds more possibilities to the cause ofthe whole story: something is hidden.

13. Casablanca

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As the most famous ending in Hollywood history, this scene needs no introduction.What’s interesting is what happened behind the scenes. They had several endings, butnone of them seemed to work.

Director Michael Curtis had to shoot the ending without a screenplay. Bergmanadmitted that her performance in the last scene was completely driven by theuncertainty of which man she would follow. Rick’s famous last line “Louis, I think it’sthe beginning of a beautiful friendship” was totally improvised too. That’s the legendof this unforgettable ending.

12. La Dolce Vita



In the finale of Federico Fellini’s masterpiece, a group of high-class people come tothe sea shore. After the appearance of a sea monster that symbolizes the evil, Marcellomeets the girl again. The girl is trying to tell him something, but Marcello doesn’t hearor understand what she’s saying. The girl’s enigmatic smile in the final shot offersopen interpretations.

11. The Passenger

Antonioni is the master of creating great endings. At the end of his less-known classic,



Locke lies down on the bed, then the camera moves slowly towards the barredwindow, crosses it and goes out. We see a police car coming to the yard, thepolicemen go into the hotel.

The camera turns a half circle and reveals the room it has just left. Locke is still on thebed but he seems to be dead now. This is an amazing long take, but what stays with usis not the technique but the sense of uplift it creates and the tranquil fashion the filmends.

10. The Godfather 2

A perfect ending to a perfect film. The ending of The God Father 2 is a flashback sceneof a get-together during Vito’s birthday. We can get a general sense of the character ofevery Corleone member, Coppola puts this at the end not only to give the film analmost Shakespearean tragic feel, but also to emphasize Michael’s alienation from hisbrothers. He is always alone.

9. Nostalgia



Andrei Tarkovsky’s first film shot outside his home country, Nostalgia is a poetic filmabout nostalgia and faith. At the end of the film, the Russian writer Andrei comes tothe pool to fulfill his promise. He enters the pool and lights the candle, he needs tocome from one end to the other without letting the candle extinguish. After severalattempts, as he finally makes it, he dies. Tarkovsky shot this scene in a long take,which amplifies the power of faith and the exhaustion of keeping it to the maximum.

8. L’Eclisse



There is nothing like the ending of Antonioni’s masterpiece. Piero and Vittoria agreeto meet again somewhere in Rome. But for the last five and a half minutes of the film,they do not show up on the screen. What we see instead is a montage of a series oflocations they have been together. It’s beautiful, haunting, bold and imaginative. Aprofound meditation on love and time.

7. Au hasard Bathazar



A profoundly moving ending. The old Bathazar, after being maltreated by evil humanbeings, comes to a hill. Director Bresson keeps the camera static so that we will watchthe poor donkey slowly dying in front of our eyes. As human, we can’t help butsympathize with the creature and look deep into our own soul.

6. Bicycle Thieves



Near the end of this Neo-Realism classic, a father and his son cannot find their lostbicycle. In an unexpected turn, the father steals one and gets caught in front of hisson’s eyes. The man who gets stolen becomes the man who steals, it’s more a socialissue than a moral issue. At last, the two walk in the street with no future ahead ofthem, bitter ending.

5. The 400 Blows



At the end of Francois Truffaut’s semi-autobiographical New Wave masterpiece, theboy Antoine escapes from his school again. The camera tracks his long distance run tothe sea, then he comes back and a freeze frame captures his puzzled look. Everyonewho ever grew up would understand the meaning of it.

4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Like the opening of his Once Upon a Time in the West, this ending is also epic. Leoneshot this duel scene like no one before, he rapidly cuts among the three protagonists,



takes big close-up shots of their body parts, guns and eyes, tension is built in a highlyeffective way. Morricone’s uplifting score gives this scene a sense of opera. This deathballet remains one of the greatest movie scenes ever.

3. La Strada

In one of the most emotionally draining endings in cinema history, Zampanò learnsabout the death of Gelsomina, he gets drunk, comes to the beach and breaks intotears. For the first time in the whole film, the beast feels the loneliness, regret andloss. It’s a moment of awakening, but it comes too late.

2. City Lights

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This is the most beautiful, romantic and heart-warming moments in all Chaplin’stramp films, and also one of the most moving scenes in film history. You can’t watchit without shedding tears. The blind girl recognized the tramp by a subtle touch to hishands, “yes, I can see now” is not only a perfect line to end the film but also astatement made by the director that “seeing is more important than hearing incinema”.

1. The Third Man



In one of the most iconic and daring endings in film history, after the real funeral ofHarry Lime, Holly Martins waits for Anna at the side of a long alley. It’s asymmetrical long take, the leaves are falling and the Zither music is always there.Anna walks very slowly towards us, she passes Holly and then the camera. There isalways only Harry Lime in her heart.

This last shot is beautiful, tense and sad at the same time. It’s an audacious anti-happy-ending at the time. You just can’t end a film better than this.

the 40 greatest movie endings in film history « taste of cinema

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