Jetée

this kinda sucks. I need synopses. (sic)

titles don't readily convey why it's an "unhappy" ending, at least to me.



Prison Song is a real depressing end to what could have been a really uplifting story of a young photographer/artist who was able to escape the hardships of his youth, but a tragic fight lands him in prison, and one more fatal mistake leads to his death.

---------- Post added at 10:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:28 PM ----------

actually, it was three things depicted in the film that made him jump from one stage of his life to the next; not sure if it's ironic or not, but being a black youth, and reaching his "third strike" near the closing, it was really just jarring at how the protagonist met his demise after glimmers of light throughout his lifelong struggle.

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As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

SecretMethod70

Jetée: considering this is a thread about endings, if we all included a description the thread would be one giant spoiler tag.

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

telekinetic

Spoiler: Se7en: the antagonist confronts the protagonist with the severed head of his pregnant wife. the protagonist snaps, and kills the antagonist in cold blood, and is arrested for murder.

No Country for Old Men: the protagonist dies (off screen, nonetheless), and the serial killer antagonist gets away with a broken arm

Pan's Labyrinth: The 10-year-old-girl protagonist's mother dies in childbirth bearing her stepfather a son. She tries to run away with the baby, the father follows her, takes the baby from her, and shoots her dead

Spoiler: in an awesome montage, all four main character's lives go to shit due to drugs. One becomes a prostitute, one ends up in jail, one has an arm amputated in a prison infirmary from infected track marks, one loses her mind, gets commited to a mental hospital, and subjected to electroshock.

Spoiler: A neonazi goes to jail for killing a black man, goes on a road to recovery, gets out, tries to help his younger brother get out of that life. Just when he starts to get through to him, the brother gets killed.
Spoiler: 3:10 to Yuma, although not unexpected--the plucky underdog father who fights against the odds to survive a hard journey and earn his family desperately needed money succeeds at his dangerous task, and is unexpectedly gunned down in front of his son afterwards

The Mist--apparently an end of the world disaster movie, the protagonist is traveling with 3 people plus his son. he finds his dead wife, they see no signs of other people surviving the disaster, so they decide to end it. They have one gun, so he kills his son and the other three, but is out of bullets when he tries to kill himself. Immediately afterwards, soldiers appear to fight the disaster, meaning he just killed his young son for no reason.

Spoiler: Seven pounds: the protagonist sets up the whole movie lining up organ doners from himself to commit suicide as an act of penance.

Hard candy: another movie that ends in suicide, although the line between antagonist and protagonist is blurred

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twisted no more

Martian

I'm sort of surprised that Pulp Fiction hasn't come up. Granted, part of it depends on how you class the ending, since the last scene in the film isn't the last part of the story chronologically. However:

Vince Vega gets shot by Butch, who rides off into parts unknown. Butch himself is never able to return to Los Angeles, since that's the deal he made with Wallace. Granted, at least he survived. Jules' fate is undetermined, although he claims he's quitting his work. The only people who can really be said to have made out okay are Honey Bunny and Pumpkin, since they got the money from the diner and presumably managed to get away. Maybe not a sad ending, exactly, but certainly not a happy one either.

A.I.'s ending was a pretty big downer too. After all of his trials, the little robot boy that could only gets one day with 'mom,' and then dies. Huh.

The ending to the film version of Fight Club bugs the hell out of me -- it completely changed the meaning of the story.

I'm not going to bother with spoiler tags. It's inherent in the premise of the thread, I reckon.

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I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

SecretMethod70

Not necessarily. I mean, I like movies with unhappy endings, and so I'd like to be able to open this thread, see the names of movies I haven't seen, and not have them spoiled for me if I don't want.

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

highdro69

Sin City - tear jerkingly sad ending
120 Days of Sodom - disgusted cuz of the injustice it ends on
Funny Games - just kinda feel raped and cheated

an amateur porn I made last week - it's just.... just awful

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"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."

Jetée

Not everybody considers spoilers a bad thing. They might put into perspective of why one should watch this particular film in order to see how the plot's story unravels to eventually culminate in 'said ending'; and besides, the OP states that spoilers may follow below.

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As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

m0rpheus

That ending with the aliens was well... pretty shitty. Not sad, just dumb.

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"it never got weird enough for me." - Hunter S. Thompson

Martian

It's my opinion that you've more or less described the entire film. If we're making a sad ending list, however, I reckon it deserves to be on it.

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I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

ShaniFaye

War of the Roses...love this movie...it was on tonite

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

Jetée

The Last of the Mohicans - Now, I'm not sure if many people will consider this having a "bad" or a "good" ending either way—it's a pretty nebulous closing. But, with what occurred in the span of 20-30 minutes prior, up until Chingachgook's speech of the title's namesake, (in that he is the last of his people) it's just heartbreaking. Everyone dies (save for "the lovers"). Valiantly, yes they meet their end, but it progressively gets worse from when Col. Edmund Munro is assassinated at the beginning of the ambush, to when Alice has to make her decision in between a "rock and no space"; and just one by one, the family and its protectors gradually is torn apart by the war.

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As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

ShaniFaye

a few more

Pay it forward
Gone with the Wind
Diary of Anne Frank
Seven
A walk to remember

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

Fremen

What's that movie with Ashley Judd as the mom of a son who befriends a dwarf boy, who then proceeds to accidentally kill her with a pop fly, after developing a crush on her?

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bazkitcase5

I was gonna mention pay it forward - guess I'll have to third it!

I kind of liked the ending to The Usual Suspects, but I suppose it wouldn't be considered "happy"

fill23ca

Artificial Intelligence was the most depressing movie ending I've ever seen. All the little robot wanted was some love from his mother and could never get it. And when he did, she died after a day!!

Martian

We're watching Casablanca right now. I think it qualifies for this thread, beautiful friendship aside.

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I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

ObieX

Star Wars - Episodes 5, 2, 3, (?)
Star Trek 2, 10, (?)

...and i don't consider the ending to Spaceballs to be a happy one because Lonestar had to marry Princess Vespa =X

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We Must Dissent.

captobvious

Here are a few more that haven't been mentioned yet...

Closer
The Green Mile
Life Is Beautiful

LoganSnake

DUH!

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Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

oliver9184

If you take the ending as the literal ending of the film then Irreversible's ending must count as one of the happiest. Everything is serene and perfect. I think if that film was ordered in the way things happen chronologically I would have felt a whole lot worse afterwards.

I didn't know the story of Into the Wild when I saw it, and was totally gutted by that.

Agreed with Closer - I can't remember feeling more galled at the end of a film.

Some others off the top of my head are Bonnie and Clyde, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Heavenly Creatures.

m0rpheus

I wouldn't exactly call it an unhappy ending. Sure Ilsa and Rick don't end up together and but it's hardly unhappy. Besides now they'll always have Paris.

Oh I don't know if it's been mentioned but
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

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"it never got weird enough for me." - Hunter S. Thompson

levite

I can't believe nobody's mentioned "The Godfather!" Man, that last shot of the door closing, and her heart breaking, as she realizes the truth....

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Dull sublunary lovers love,
Whose soul is sense, cannot admit
Absence, because it doth remove
That thing which elemented it.

(From "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne)

remy1492

Bladerunner
"its too bad she won't live...........but then again, WHO does?"


Last of The Mohicans? No, the family was already torn by career and moves, there was no family. She met a guy to whisk her away, it was perfect. The sister had to die, she had no lines in the film anyways.
When I get a blu-ray, its one of the first discs I will buy, the cinematography is awesome.

james t kirk

The Last American Virgin.

Most of you have probably never heard of it. It was out in the mid 80's I think. Teenage Love Movie (been done a million times). Great soundtrack too.

In brief.....

A movie where Nice boy meets girl, girl is dating Nice boy's best friend (Bad Boy).

Bad Boy gets her pregnant, then dumps her - Bad Boy moves onto other girls.

Nice Boy is in love with girl.

Nice Boy helps girl to the end of the world - does everything for girl, including paying for an abortion for her and caring for her afterwards.

Girl leads Nice Boy to believe she is falling for him. Nice Boy starts to gain confidence.

Nice Boy buys girl braclet, goes to party to give it to her, finds girl in kitchen with Bad Boy necking up a storm.

Fade to black.

VERY realistic, and not what I expected when I went to see this movie. Everyone in audience was stunned.

You can actually see the point where his heart snaps at Minute 1:00

ring

Sophie's Choice.

Derwood

The Road

Jetée

Does anyone want to remind me why "The Fountain" had an (un)happy endng or not?
I'm kinda hazy on what the overall result of the film was.

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi