Independence Day is perfect as is, no need to change it.
+1 on wishing for a sad ending to Hannah Montana, death to her and her father, "Jackson Triumphant" or similar.
A poignant ending to Toy Story 2, the camera slowly zooming out on Woody beating uselessly on the museum glass case he's stuck in, the lights dimming, the kids going home…
the original Tarantino scripted ending to "True Romance" had Christian Slater's character killed in the final shoot out.
Tony Scott changed it to a "look, he's not dead really" ending
Aliens has a fairly happy ending (in that Ripley, the little girl and the bloke from terminator all survive) – but then she wakes up at the start of Alien 3 and the girl and her boyfriend are both dead, and she has an Alien in her stomach. Kind of takes the shine off!
Any fillum with the face pulling boy, what's his name? A h yes, Leonardo de Caprio would be vastly improved by seeing him torn limb from limb during the closing credits.
And Mutiny on the Buses would have been brilliant if Blakey had sacked Stan and Jack and run off with Olive.
But Mary Poppins (which is a madly anarchistic story, as you will realise when you've had to hear it as often as I did when my kids were young) does have a sad ending. She destroys the banking system, and the family's life then buggers off.
The Wild Bunch has a poignant ending, a gang of mates who had run out of time in both senses. Typical Pekinpah stuff but brilliant, Dutch shouting "Pike Pike" as he dies.
The ending of Two Lane Black Top always leaves me a bit morose.
Dirty Mary Crazy Larry was a suprise and pretty grim.
I quite like downbeat endings. It gives the storytelling a kind of grounded credibility, since we all know, deep down, that life rarely ends well.
One of the better ones is in Little Big Man, which not only gives a downbeat, though wry, conclusion with old Lodgeskins 'failing' to die, as he'd hoped, but has that bitter double ending with Jack Crabb, being left alone with his memories in the darkened retirement home.
Watched the first ten minutes of "Happy Go Lucky" last night and JUST KNEW that if I watched it any more I'd start harbouring feelings of extreme violence…
Did any one ever see the TMWRNG (Lee and Herring) alternative film endings, such as the alternative ending to Brave Heart…. 'This film is at best historically inaccurate and at worst morally and socially irresponsible'. Had an alternate end to Saving Private Ryan which was equally good involving the old lady at the end confessing to an afair. Brill.
I have never watched Titanic and I've always wondered what happens at the end?
Did the ship make it to New York?
No the ship sinks and everyone is drowning, then just in the nick of time it pops back up again, everyone is saved and to celebrate they captain diverts to the caribbean where everyone is seen to relax on the beach drinking cocktails to indicate that everything is going to be alright for ever and ever and ever. But in the closing few frames the icebergs peeps into view on the horizon to let us know that theres going to be a sequel. In fact the iceberg later gets its own spin-off tv series.
yeah but it's beautiful in a greek tragedy kind of way
sad endings are much more cathartic imo, especially compared to saccharine hollywood dross, although non-vomit inducing clever happy endings are great too, like Birdy, think there's a thread there…
Now that SHOULD have had a sad ending. In the book all his friends, family and girlfriends are dead and there's no "Woop Woop Yearh!" victory.. Just an indeterminable future as a career soldier in an endless war.
