I was just watching one of my favorite movies again and got to thinking about just how much the climactic moment tends to influence your ultimate judgement of the film. Now obviously I could probably list over a hundred wonderful endings to movies and will immediately, upon finishing this post, think of more that I'd like to add, but I figured I'd keep it simple at three and see what you guys enjoyed yourselves. I'm hoping for some movie ideas here, essentially. :p
1. Star Wars: A New Hope
This one is here purely for nostalgic reasons, as it was one of the first endings that stuck with me as a kid and I've likely seen it a few dozen times. The attack on the Death Star, with the ominous music constantly reminding you of the impending doom of Yavin 4 as Luke loses a friend and pretty much faces down the empire alone, is pretty much all a six year old kid could ask for lol... Great theatre of which I've never grown tired.
2. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
If you've seen it you know exactly what I'm talking about, and you fall into either the "loved it" or "hated it" camp. I'm a proud card-carrying-member of the former, and that music still gives me chills.
3. The Seven Samurai
This may be my favorite ending of all time. The climactic battle is, to put it bluntly, perfect. It captured exactly what that kind of battle is: violent, inglorious, and horrific. The rain is pouring. There's no romantic music in the background, replaced by the shrill screams of the suffering and struggles of the combatants. Finally, once all is settled, the samurai count their dead whilst listening to the happy singing of the farmers, realizing that while the farmers have achieved a great victory that day, they've only suffered losses. I'm not sure I've ever encountered a film that so effortlessly and perfectly relates both the value of the soldier and the purpose of their existence (protecting the peace) without utilizing any clichés to glorify violence. The point of warring is not to fight, but to end the fighting.
So what about you guys? :D
