Best closing scene in a movie.

[rrneck]

Just watched Gangs of New York again. That "growing city" scene with Decaprio's narration just knocks me out.

Unforgiven is no slouch either.

[Release The Hounds]

1. As soon as I read the title

I thought 'Unforgiven'.

[rrneck]

23. I usually have to

read the text aloud as it scrolls.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

2. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Nothing else comes close.

[WCGreen]

3. Bogart and Raines walking away into the night....

in Casablanca.

[Faygo Kid]

48. Yeah, it's still got to be "Casablanca"

The start of a beautiful friendship.

[PassingFair]

4. The final scene in Brazil...with all the billboards...

[oneshooter]

5. There are several closing scenes in "Second hand Lions" all are good. n/t

[kentauros]

6. Koyaanisqatsi

The ending starts around 3:00 in the following video, though it's worth watching the opening, too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz_R2y1oAzw

If you haven't seen the movie, then the ending may not make any sense to you ;)

[progressoid]

37. I still remember the first time I saw that.

It was a kind of a grainy VHS version back in the mid 80's. About half of the people watching, HATED it. I was awestruck. Of course, I was also into a pretty serious Phillip Glass/Steve Reich phase at the time so it was an easy fit.

[hifiguy]

41. I saw that film three or four times in the 1980s and

was just fascinated by the sheer visual beauty of it. One of Philip Glass' better efforts, too.

[EastTennesseeDem]

7. Either The Godfather, Inception or Let the Right One In

It's a toss up.

I actually wrote a paper on the art of film endings as a freshman. Talked at length about them. Oh, degree requirements.

[Kat45]

15. You're right. Inception did have a good closing scene.

The Godfather was such a great movie that it probably did too, but with my lousy memory I can't remember how it ended. Sucks. Sometimes I can't even remember if I saw a particular movie or not. :shrug:

[NewJeffCT]

20. The end of the Godfather

Connie bursts into Michael's office accusing him of killing her husband. Michael denies killing Carlo to Kay. As Kay leaves the office, the door is closed behind her and it's apparent that Michael has now officially taken over as the new Godfather.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF4kCgi9fDM&feature=colike

[Beer Snob-50]

30. the alternate ending to the godfather is better in my opinion

it is kay in church lighting a candle for the soul of her husband...it was just as her mother in law did daily for her husband

[jobycom]

33. Yeah, that was a great ending. nt

[Aristus]

8. "Grandpa? Maybe you could come over and read it to me again tomorrow..."

"As you wish..."

[jobycom]

34. And you stole my choice, so I'll just say alrighty then, nt

[mucifer]

9. Being There . With Chance the gardener walking on water

and about to become president.

[MiddleFingerMom]

10. Agreed, "Being There"-- UNDOUBTEDLY!!!Took me three watchings to make sure I was seeing it right.

.
.
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfMCeidJ8bg
.
.
.
I also think "Gangs of New York" is an incredble and LUSH movie that
doesn't get NEAR the credit it deserves.
.
.
.

[rrneck]

21. I remember that movie but never saw it.

It's on the queue. Thanks.

[rrneck]

22. Its now on the queue. (I read threads from the bottom up a lot) nt

[Flaxbee]

31. that scene is wonderful. Also, I like Red walking toward Andy in

Shawshank.

Speaking of Being There -- the credits are hilarious, with Sellers trying to get through the line w/o laughing: "You tell that honky Raphael..."

[Gold Metal Flake]

11. Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry

LOL,I kid. That ending sucked.

[Kat45]

14. I liked the ending of that one.

I thought it was appropriate. :shrug:

[Gold Metal Flake]

19. Weeeee hahahahahah BOOM!

So silly! :silly:

There for a while in the early 70s you had to do that to make a movie "cool". Stll, fun movie.

"My top-end is unlimited!" (boom)

[Throd]

26. That ending really shocked me when I was a kid.

[Kat45]

53. Backe then in movies they wouldn't let any characters get away with a crime

Rather than having them get arrested, they did that.

[kayakjohnny]

49. Yes it did.

I'm like, "Whoa, that was uncalled for."

[ohiosmith]

12. The Karate Kid

[nolabear]

13. Strangelove.

:nuke:

[kentauros]

24. "We'll Meet Again"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4VlruVG81w

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We'll_Meet_Again

:hi:

[HopeHoops]

16. It's subtle, but I like the ending of "Risky Business" (director's cut).

[Graybeard]

17. "Burn it. Burn it all!" - Citizen Kane

And then the smoke rising from the chimney of Xanadu.

[sarge43]

18. Godfather II

Closeup on Michael's face. His eyes sightless black holes, all his humanity gone.

[fishwax]

50. yep -- especially after the flashback to the dinner table with Sonny and Tom

After he told them he was going into the army. Tom says "Michael, he's got plans for you." Michael says: "Well, I've got my own plans for my future." Then Sonny and Tom leave to go sing Happy Birthday to Pop, and Michael stays behind by himself. Then a brief flash of young Michael with his father on the train, and then the closeup on Michael's face in the empty present. Great stuff.

[chemenger]

25. Field of Dreams

n/t

[edbermac]

27. Some Like It Hot.

An absolutely 'perfect' ending

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fvMmtgX9Xf0/SybFazwLR2I/AAAAAAAAG00/4Q1motlYKng/s400/Quanto+Mais+Quente+Melhor+-+Joe+E.+Brown+e+Jack+Lemmon+2.jpg

[nolabear]

40. !!!

[cemaphonic]

28. The ending to "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" has got to be up there

Klaus Kinski adrift on a sinking raft, explaining his plans for world domination to a pack of monkeys.

[bif]

43. Beautiful opening shot as well.

But the closing scene is quite powerful. One of my favorite movies of all time.

[charlie and algernon]

29. Shawshank Redemption

Andy and Red reuniting on the Pacific Coast.

"I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope."

[MiddleFingerMom]

38. That movie is in my Top Three favorite. (SPOILER)

.
.
.
It may be the most faithful-to-the-book movie EVER -- and it was certainly
Stephen King's finest hour.
.
.
.
But that ending disappointed me SO MUCH. The line you quote was narrated by
Morgan Freeman and in the book the ending was PERFECT. It ended with him on
the bus, having stopped by the rock wall in the field and gotten what was
left for him -- and he was still ON HIS WAY to Mexico.
.
As per the quote, the journey's conclusion WAS uncertain, but staying faithful
to the theme of the entire book/movie, there was "hope" snd "hope" and "hope"
and he ended up with the pure distillation of that in his, "I hope" (and Freeman's
dramatic pauses in his narration WERE perfect).
.
.
.
As NEAR-perfect as that movie was, fucking Hollywood couldn't LEAVE it at
"hope" and let YOU decide, let YOU use your imagination -- they had to wrap
it all up in a tidy package and SHOW you the "ending" on the beach.
.
.
.
It certainly didn't RUIN that incredibly-made movie -- but it was definitely
a jarring point in an otherwise seamless perfection for me.
.
.
.

[monmouth]

60. I don't care what time of day or night that film is on, I'll set the alarm

if I have to. A wonderful film,

[BrendaBrick]

63. I hope.

Final last words. One of my favorite movies.

I hope...

[KT2000]

65. Agree

that was like fireworks for the soul.

[marmar]

32. The Blues Brothers

The absurd epic car chase through the Chicagoland.

[rrneck]

35. With the elevator scene... nt

[gratuitous]

36. Lord of the Rings, when the eagles fly in

No wait, when the Hobbits all gather at Rivendell. No, the scene where Frodo finishes the book. No, when Frodo and Bilbo get on the ship to go to the Grey Havens. No, when Sam returns to Hobbiton.

Aw fuck it; they left out the Scouring of the Shire.

Let's see, how about the ending of "The Front," when Woody Allen tells the Committee they can go fuck themselves, leading into the closing montage with "Young at Heart" playing.

Others: Chinatown, My Favorite Year and The Year of Living Dangerously.

[MorningGlow]

39. The Usual Suspects

When Verbal limps-->walks down the street interspersed with the bulletin board shots. If you haven't figured it out by that point, it's "day-um!" cathartic.

[BrendaBrick]

42. It's A Wonderful Life

[Bunny]

52. Yep. It's so uplifting, in the corniest possible way.

Makes me blubber like a baby, every time.

[BrendaBrick]

62. I know what you mean Bunny :-)

I'm not normally the gushy, warm and sentimental type myself AT ALL...but this movie is an exception!

Always a wonderful reminder at the end of each year about everyday heroes...You know: Me, You, Everyone - and how each and every one of us in our own special and unique way, never really know what a positive impact we have on one another...and it could be something as simple as a split-second moment of casting a smile on someone, some stranger we come across in our everyday lives that can make all the difference in the world...yet - we'll never really know.

I like how this movie celebrates this year after year.

How the world...with all of its problems and suffering set aside just momentarily - how our seemingly small, insignificant gestures carries with it - an incredible and timeless rippling effect for the good.

Sure, there are countless examples of everything that is so wrong and unjustified in this world and that should never take away from anything...but by the same taken, there is also beauty. Incredible, enormous beauty as well that each of can spread in our own, unique way.

And oh, how so incredible to see this multiply! :-)

[Mad_Dem_X]

44. The Usual Suspects

"And, like that...he's gone."

[Mendocino]

45. Planet of the Apes.

The wreckage of Liberty with no sound but the ocean swell.

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid- The freeze shot is drained of color. The pair are now but a sepia photograph of the past.

Local Hero- the phone booth on the jetty ringing and ringing.

[Demoiselle]

46. Close Encounters of the Third Kind....

The last part of the movie sticks in my head as one seamless piece...from the spaceship landing to the musical conversation to the people boarding ...
For me It's kind of primal...the most beautiful Christmas lights ever and then spiritual transport.
I'm very sappy, I know, and I'm an agnostic (no, really, I am, I'm not just using the term because I'm afraid of admitting I'm an atheist) yet it really moves me.
The other closing scene I think of immediately is the stream of headlights in Field of Dreams.
And, of course, Raines and Bogart cementing their "beautiful friendship" at the end of Casablanca. Who was the genius who decided they should be walking through sparkling rain puddles?
Obviously I'm a movie magpie who collects shiny things...

[Enrique]

47. "Dadetown"

people in the audience gasped, including myself.

[kayakjohnny]

51. I liked the last moments of The African Queen....

All appears lost when Charlie and Rose "lose the channel" and the boat becomes mired in the mud amid dense reeds near the mouth of the river. First, they try to tow the boat through the muck, only to have Charlie come out of the water covered with leeches. All their efforts to free the African Queen fail. With no supplies left and short of potable water, Rose and a feverish Charlie turn in, convinced they have no hope of survival. Before going to sleep Rose prays that she and Charlie be admitted into Heaven. As they sleep, exhausted and beaten, heavy rains raise the river's level and float the Queen off of the mud and into the lake which, it turns out, is just a short distance from their location. Once on the lake, they narrowly avoid being spotted by the Louisa.

That night, they set about converting some oxygen cylinders into torpedoes using gelatin explosives and improvised detonators that use nails as the firing pins for rifle cartridges. They then attach the torpedoes through the bow of the Queen. At the height of a storm, they push the Queen out onto the lake, intending to set it on a collision course with the Louisa. Unfortunately, the holes in the bow in which the torpedoes were pushed through are not sealed, allowing water to pour into the boat, causing it to sink lower and eventually the Queen tips over.

Charlie is captured and taken aboard the Louisa, where he is questioned by the captain. Believing Rose to have drowned, he makes no attempt to defend himself against accusations of spying and is sentenced to death by hanging. However, Rose is captured too and Charlie hollers her name, then pretends not to know her. The captain questions her, and Rose confesses the whole plot proudly, deciding they have nothing to lose anyway. The captain sentences her too to be executed as a spy. Charlie asks the German captain to marry them before executing them. After a brief marriage ceremony, the Germans prepare to hang them, when there is a sudden explosion and the Louisa starts to sink. The Louisa has struck the overturned hull of the African Queen and detonated the torpedoes. Rose's plan has worked, if a little belatedly, and the newly-married couple swim to safety in Belgian Congo.

[mia]

54. rosebud

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyJAytr1ebc

[tblue]

55. The Sixth Sense, Little Miss Sunshine, Private Benjamin

but most of the ones mentioned give me chills. The Godfather, It's a Wonderful Life. The Usual Suspects, Casablanca. You've got me wanting to watch them all again. :)

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

56. Smoke Signals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB0RgMcB8zc&feature=related

so beautiful...

[fizzgig]

57. great movie

[ellisonz]

58. There Will Be Blood

Warning Graphic Content: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TurhfVYvG0

"I Drink Your Milkshake"

[Orrex]

59. Raiders of the Lost Ark

Iconic, even in spite of Lucas' passionate attempt to destroy it retroactively in Crystal Skull.

[WinkyDink]

61. Nobody's perfect!"--- Some Like It Hot. "Let's go get'em."--- "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."

[mockmonkey]

64. Cinema Paradiso

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EvM4EQiQco&feature=related

While I haven't seen the movie in years I always remember the ending.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

66. German film "The Lives of Others" and...

"Billy Elliott."