“I Think This is the Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship…”

The other night I watched a movie in its entirety that I had seen several times before. Even though I knew what was going to happen and there were no surprises in store for me at that point, I was still moved by the ending of the film. It wasn’t a scary ending like “The Ring” or a mind-twisting ending like “The Sixth Sense”, but an ending that made you smile and pull at your heart strings just a little bit. The movie is “The Shawshank Redemption” and for those of you who have seen it, you know what I’m talking about. For those of you who have not gotten around to watching it (my brother), go out and rent it. After so many years and so many viewings, the ending of this terrific movie still had an impact on me. So it got me thinking: what are some of the greatest movie endings of all time? And how could I write about this without giving the ending away? So I complied a list of what I think are the twenty best movie endings in film history. There are some I left off, like the obvious (see post title above) and there may be some movies that you haven’t seen or maybe never heard of. So if you haven’t seen them, it’s just one more reason to go out and rent it and see what all the fuss is about…


In no particular order…

Se7en…“What’s in the box?” Come on Brad, you know you want to open it.
Silence of the Lambs…“I’m having an old friend for dinner” In my opinion, the scariest damn movie of all time.
Basic A pretty uneventful movie, but the last five minutes have you going “Huh?”
The Sting…Newman and Redford. Redford and Newman. Will someone please put these two in another movie together?
Wild Things…Ok, it’s campy. And we all know how you guys LOVE the Denise Richards/Neve Campbell make-out session. But all I have to say is I’m glad I stayed for the credits…which explained A LOT.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off…speaking of great credits…
The Game…a pretty twisted birthday gift
Identity…what’s…wrong…with…John…Cusack???
The Graduate…The look on their faces pretty much says it all.
The Others… “I think we better cover the gravestones”. Yeah, that would be a good idea.
Braveheart…I can’t talk about it. It’s going to make me cry…
Say Anything… Ding!
Gone With the Wind… Yes, cliché...but tomorrow is another day
The Shawshank Redemption… “My friend…”
The Usual Suspects… Who is Keyser Sose?
Sixteen Candles… This one is for the girls. Car moves. Porsche. Jake Ryan. (Sigh…)
Primal Fear…Edward Norton is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs
The Way We Were… OK, I may be off track a little bit here but it is the best romantic movie ending. New York, The Plaza, Robert Redford…
The Godfather…When the door shuts on Kay Corleone’s face, you really feel sorry for her.
Boogie Nights… “Everyone is given one special thing, right?” Mmm hmm…

What do you think? Post your comments and tell us what you think is the best movie ending of all time...