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Adam, great to know you saw Sherlock Jr. The billiards scene, motorcycle, falling off from the poll and into the car, the film is flat out astonishing. Combined with the humorous and witty use of the film medium itself--who can ever forget the closing moments?--Sherlock Jr. is still my favorite Keaton.
Whether we have a favorable view on the ending or not, I do think it is a distinct break with most of the film. The bulk of the movie is a modernist construction, and the end is definitly not.
I share the favorable opinions on Rashomon's ending. Part of the consideration is that Kurosawa was not widely known to the international audience before Rashomon, so it's impossible to say that Kurosawa was pandering to western audiences. I have read In The Grove and Rashomon (both avaliable in the Criterion DVD, which is very highly recommended), and though the premise Kurosawa uses is similar to the texts, the texts themselves are not satisfying in cinematic terms.
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