Alright, this was painstaking indeed. After The Times of London saw fit to rock out a list of the 20 best movie endings of all time last week, I thought I’d try my own hand at such a collective.
There are some omissions that might surprise some folks (“Bonnie and Clyde,” “The Graduate,” “Carrie”). At the same time, there are films that, on any other day, would easily slip into the list (“A Clockwork Orange,” “Once Upon a Time in the West,” “Reservoir Dogs”).
Rest assured they were taken into account, but they didn’t speak to me on whatever levels must have been necessary to push into the top 20. But I can say these are the denouements that most affected me, be it viscerally or emotionally.
Send in your picks for the top five movie endings of all time and I’ll publish a collective readers’ list in a few weeks. Email me or post your list below in the comments section.
Here’s what I came up with:
20. “The Iron Giant” (Brad Bird, 1999)
“You stay. I go. No following.”
Animation genius Brad Bird made his feature directorial debut with this effort, packing an emotional punch by film’s end with shades of “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial” — and an energizing final shot to boot.
19.”Jacob’s Ladder” (Adrian Lyne, 1990)
“He looks kind of peaceful, the guy.”
Capping off one of the most bizarre cinematic visions ever captured (and, ultimately, quite underrated as well), this closing scene is a twist that has been lifted in various other forms ever since. (see next)
18. “The Sixth Sense” (M. Night Shyamalan, 1999)
“I think I’m okay, really. I think it just went in and out.”
Hot prospect M. Night Shyamalan tainted the original power of the twist ending by attempting to make a career of it, but in the final moments of this early effort, his buried talent poked through the surface.
17. “The Shawshank Redemption” (Frank Darabont, 1994)
“Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’. That’s God damn right.”
Less a closing scene than a closing sequence, the entire third act of Frank Darabont’s Stephen King adaptation manhandles the heartstrings and lifts the spirit.
16. “Se7en” (David Fincher, 1995)
“John Doe has the upper hand.”
Andrew Kevin Walker crafted a near masterpiece that culminates as perfectly as it could have, death and despair, ambition and art, plus a Hemingway rebuttal for the ages.
15. “The Conversation” (Francis Ford Coppola, 1973)
“We’ll be listening to you.”
The calmly paranoid conclusion to a mind-bender from a mid-“Godfather” Francis Coppola, this finale put Gene Hackman in a position to give perhaps the greatest performance of his career.
The full list after the jump!