Movie endings?
 

Hi

Many people have different opinions on this topic, just interested in yours. Do you think movies with happy endings/good defeats evil without loss are at a disadvantage to endings where it is not all happy ever after?

Do you think one type is better than the other, or do you believe it all just depends on the film and does not matter wether the ending is happy or dark?

Thanks.

Re: Movie endings?
 

Depends really how much audience-character connection there was.


The Mist and Se7en were all the more potent because of the ending.
Both films have had their share of haters simply because of the ending but having a great connection between the audience and characters it makes the movies more memorable.


I'm a fan of both really as long as the film during the running time was decent.

Re: Movie endings?
 

Personally, I just like when movies stop after the last interesting thing happens, instead of having falling action or resolution or whatever. Also, if a movie has a great, thematically keen song during the last scene/credits it will almost instantaneously win me over.

Re: Movie endings?
 

True masterpieces don't have neither happy nor sad endings and the ending cannot be spoiled as well.

Look at Werckmeister Harmonies. At the end there's an old man who finally goes to see a whale and he sees it and then turns back, walks and has the last look at him and continues walking. The end. No spoilers yet best ending eva.

I love sudden, shocking, and unhappy endings. These types of endings can turn a mediocre film into a movie you will never forget. The two movies Rodent mentioned are perfect examples of these types of endings. Off the top of my head, other movies that have endings like this include Kill List, Killer Joe, Mikey and Nicky, Joe(1970), Looking for Mr. Goodbar, A Serbian Film, Summer of Sam, Boys Don't Cry, and Chinatown.

Re: Movie endings?
 

I personally prefer unhappy endings because they seem more realistic to me. Life isn't always happy and you can't expect that all things in life will have a perfect happy ending. A happy ending can be good, if it is realistic. One example of a happy ending that I don't like is the movie Non-Stop with Liam Neeson. Everything wraps up perfectly (and impossibly at that) and it just doesn't seem realistic. An example of a realistic happy ending would be something like American Hustle or Nebraska. Those I can handle.

Anyway, some of my favorite movie endings are:
1.American Beauty
2.Fight Club
3.The Godfather Part 1.
4.Inside Llewyn Davis
5.Zodiac
6.Full Metal Jacket
7.There Will Be Blood

Re: Movie endings?
 

I like both kinds of endings. Perhaps darker and more ambiguous endings do have a little more resonance sometimes, but that's definitely not always the case.
I LOVE Chinatown's ending for instance, but I also find myself crying from happiness during It's a Wonderful Life's final scene. It all depends on what feels right in the context of the film.

I wouldn't know what my favorite ending of all time is, though. The final scene is probably the most important scene of a movie, so naturally my favorite endings are also kind of in line with my favorite movies overall. Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Chinatown, Once Upon a Time in America, Brazil, Dr. Strangelove, The Graduate, Crimes and Misdemeanors, etc. Those films all have fantastic endings and they're all favorites.

This may be my favorite ending of all time, though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI4R3wZ8obg

The Third Man

Re: Movie endings?
 

I like surprise endings, like the second Thor film.

I think it depends on the movie.

If I'm watching a Disney movie, I want it to have a happy ending because it's supposed to be a fairy tale.

But if I'm watching a drama, sometimes it's better if it has a sad or shocking ending because it's more realistic.

Re: Movie endings?
 

I think I like dark endings a little more, but my favorite is just not knowing and then being surprised. Happy endings can be very good, but sometimes they aren't very realistic. Like the hero surviving impossible odds and never being in any real danger. That can be pretty boring. Dark endings make me think a little deeper about life. Unless it's some lame slasher where it's just violent and everyone dies for your amusement. But when there is real tragedy and real sadness it makes me think about life and feel real raw emotions.

Re: Movie endings?
 

It really does just depend on the movie itself. I agree with Zotis above me, though, if I know that everyone is going to survive everything that happens and there's going to be no real price or cost, it's a bit boring, because there's no suspense. You just know that everyone's going to be fine. One ending that kind of subverted that for me, but was still a happy ending, was How to Train Your Dragon. It was happy, it was, but it also got across that they'd faced real odds and that it wasn't all roses and unicorns.

Re: Movie endings?
 

I hate happy endings, I mean the type of ending that is made to satisfy the audience in every way, the type that directors make just to get the appreciation of the audience, you know when endings become ridiculously happy and everything goes the way that we want them to go. example White House Down.

the type of endings I described is usually the ending of most big budget commercial movies.


I think martyrofevil has a very good point, that a movie has to end after the last interesting thing that happens.
to me preferably a twist, of course not always.

you know, a good ending can compensate for a bad movie, while a good intro can't do that and most importantly a happy ending can't do that too

I'm okay with most type ending so long as the movie has been good. Resolution is okay, but I don't mind having to use my imagination. Only one thing bothers me, and even though it is said to go back to the time of Homer (for whatever that's worth) deus ex machina is a let down and usually leaves me saying, I don't believe I watched the whole movie only to have this happen.

Re: Movie endings?
 

The real question is, what endings are suitable for a 14 year old.

Re: Movie endings?
 

My favorite movie ending are :
1- Donnie Darko (the soundtrack is a very good factor)
2- American Beauty
3- The Raid 2
4- Trainspotting
5- Buried

you got it right my friend

this is what is important today for movie studios

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU7Ga7qTLDU
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gOXNCd6L6c
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRBl0GPBm4o
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxXHHBefM1o
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH_CfkNUC_g
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVof0qj7SOw
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9NG1xYMcA0
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3Dz6FOE_Gk
9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXS8P0HksQo
10.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eeijbtbnjQ

Re: Movie endings?
 

I have never considered whether or not an ending is happy or sad is really the issue, as long as the ending fits with the rest of the film I have just watched. I wouldn't call the end of Gone with the Wind happy but it works.

Re: Movie endings?
 

Why is that the real question?

Re: Movie endings?
 

I think both types of endings can work very well, provided that they are justified within the story and don't feel arbitrary and out of place.
An example of what feels like an arbitrary happy ending to me is the 1957 version of 3:10 to Yuma. I had enjoyed the movie well enough up until the end, but those last few minutes completely ruined it for me.

I tend to prefer endings that are little bit of both while still providing some sort of closure. Both my #1 and #2 favorite films have this kind of ending, where things don't work out for the protagonist but the ultimate result is still positive in some way.