Unnecessarily happy endings (1 Viewer)

[Abby_B]

Great topic!

Movies that did it well:

Sideways-stayed true to the tone of the rest of the movie

Shakespeare in Love-still ended up an up note, I guess, but the movie didn't change to fit in a traditional happy ending


Movie that took a wrong turn:

Emperor's Club-then again, it didn't take all that many right turns either...

 

[Michael Martin]

Late to the discussion, but I have to disagree that Perfect Storm had some kind of happy ending. Sappy? Oh yeah. Happy? Nope.

War of the Worlds' ending was egregiously "happy." Sucked the power out of a couple of earlier scenes, as well as being patently absurd.

I had forgotten about LA Confidential's ending...

Agreed that given the way the gunfight was shot, Bud should have died. The character living really surprised me, after being shot nearly point-blank in the face.


For me, Cold Mountain's ending was excessively "bad":

Inman's death felt forced and artificial, not an organic part of the story. For me, it felt like they put it in the movie purely to pull at heartstrings, not for any thematic purpose. We spend 2.5 hours wanting them to be together, and then BAM! he's dead.

I don't mind ambiguous or "down" endings, as long as they make sense and hang with the rest of the movie. I dislike overly happy OR sad endings that feel tacked on or forced.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Definately..

The Son Surviving in War of the Worlds. If Spielberg was making JAWS Now Quint would Survive !

 

[Juan C]

Michael, I agree on Cold Mountain, but I have a larger objection with regard to another part, namely the Natalie Portman subplot, the payoff of which was excised from the final cut, probably due to poor preview reaction:


Portman's child finally dies and she takes her own life with the gun Jude Law's character gave to her.

As it stands now, it's setup without payoff, on several levels, and only because there are things some audiences simply reject.

OTOH, the wicked Lars von Trier plays on that same prejudice on Dogville:

All of the humiliations Grace is subjected to during the film makes us root for her. When she finally has her chance to get even, Von Trier is obviously stoking our desires to see some major revenge. But, please, not the kids. He won't be able to kill off the kids, will he? Well, apparently he is. You want revenge, dear viewer? Be careful what you wish for...

 

[AlexCremers]

One very sad ending that feels far from being "forced" is the ending of Lynch's The Elephant Man. Together with Schindler's List it has one of the most moving endings in the history of cinema.

I was also very "happy" with the ending of The Machinist this week.

------------
Alex Cremers

 

[Michael Martin]

Juan, I had no idea that there was more of Portman's subplot. I hadn't read the book, nor watched any extras on the DVD. I saw that entire subplot as simply illustrating the deprivations of war, Inman's innate sense of justice and caring, and as a test of his devotion to the Nicole Kidman character (name escapes me just now).

Reading your post, I am VERY glad that portion was cut from the theatrical release. Way too much of a downer.

 

[TheLongshot]

It sounds like you are talking about the "Love Conquers All" version of the movie, which I don't think was officially released until the Criterion set.

Previous HV releases were edited, but not like that.

Jason

 

[Juan C]

Interesting historical note:

Under the Franco regime in Spain, censorship imposed its own moralistic voice-over codas to some over-cynic endings. A couple of examples:

The Getaway

At the end of the movie, Steve McQueen's character and his girl succeed in getting away to Mexico. The Spanish release featured a voice-over narration over the closing shot, saying that the two bandits were caught by the police a few weeks later and imprisoned.

The Bicycle Thief

The protagonist and his son silently and despondently blend into the crowd. The Spanish version had a voice-over saying that Christian charity will eventually prevail.

It's interesting to see how a single sentence read over the ending can change so much.

 

[JonZ]

My problem with AI isnt the happy ending in itself.Its a fairy tale and I wanted David to have a happy ending. My problem is the way SS chose to film it. To me, it comes arcoss as hokey and corny, and IMHO seriously damages and film that was bordering on brilliant(but this has been discussed to death already).


A few others off the top of my head...

- Last Samurai comes to mind.He should have died with the other Samurai. The scene where he goes to the Emperor and back to the villiage


- The Theatrcial version of Butterfly Effect. That ending sucks IMHO. The Dir Cut is much better.

- Any Given Sunday. The "we realize we were acting like assholes and now are ready to growup" ending.

- Braveheart. The guy is being gutted and disembollowed,shouldnt his chest be covered in blood,would he be spitting blood out of his mouth. He screams freedom and everyone gets all teary.

- A Beautiful Mind. The perfect example of a Hollywood ending.

- Blade Runner. The theatrcial happy ending. I think we all agree of this one

 

[AlexCremers]

But Blade Runner is brilliant with or without the happy ending (but this has been discussed to death already).

 

[todd s]

I understand both sides. But, then their are times were I wish for one, but can deal with the other.
For example....In the Dawn of the Dead remake. Its an unhappy ending. One of the main leads gets bitten, before he can be with the girl. And you think they are safe making it to the island. Only to find it swarming with zombies. So whereas I can accept the unhappy ending. I feel kinda of cheated that you invest some time with these people and hope they make it. And find out it was all for nothing.

 

[Juan C]

at the last minute.

 

[Michael Martin]

Agreed about The Last Samurai's ending, especially the VERY end:

"Hey, I killed your husband, led all the village men to battle, and didn't have the honor to kill myself after losing the battle. Wanna get married?"


Algren should have

died in the climactic battle.

TLS is a movie that looks great, hooks you with some noble archetypes, but really doesn't hold up to any kind of thinking at all.

 

[Holadem]

Last Samurai:

You are thinking with a western mind. Feudal Japan is a dramatically different culture.

As for the movie, I frankly hated it.

--
H

 

[Andy Sheets]

Last Samurai:

 

[Joe Szott]

I'll be in the minority here, but I think Cold Mountain ended just about the only way it could. This is a movie about the American Civil War, how else can it end but tragically?

Thank goodness they left us with the hope of a new life (in a possibly much better country) at the end. That war wounded our nation to the heart, we are still recovering from it IMHO.

 

[Ruz-El]

My favorite happy ending is "Fight Club":

In the movie, he get's the girl while all the buildings fall all around him,. In the book, he get's sent to a mental institution, where a bunch of orderlies congratulate him on his genius Tyler Durden doesn't exist/I'm crazy plan.


The movie ending is just so perfect for the film, damned if I don't get a tear in my eye everytime I see it. It smacks of the studio requesting something to lighten the tone, and it is just so politically wrong, that it works better than the original book ending. I'm biased though, I think "Fight Club" might be the most defining film of the 90's

I'm actually a fan of unhappy endings. Von Treirs is the master, "Dancer In the Dark" is as emotionally devastating as "Dogville" was cold blooded. Unhappy endings tend to stick with you longer, much more effective. I can usually offer an alteranate unhappy ending to most movies that have happy ones, and most people tens to agree with me that they would of been more effective. I'm such a barrel of laughs!

 

[Richard Kim]

Braveheart:

Wiliam Wallace sees his dead wife just before he dies, and we presume he'll have a happy afterlife with her. Wouldn't she be pretty pissed at him for sleeping with that French chick?

 

[Mark Hawley]

The "Love Conquers All" version of Brazil was broadcast on TV (how often it's broadcast in comparison to the original version, I don't know), but never released on Home Video.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Personally I thought both endings showed a depth which you don't often see in Hollywood movies.