[huwg]

Whilst having a discussion with some of my friends, I explained the plot to the film 'The vanishing' - I've only seen the US remake, but have heard that the original ends on a real downer. The response was 'trust the US to make a happier ending'.
This begs the question, which US films (inc. US director) have genuinely downbeat endings.

Can't think of many.

Blair Witch?

[Garrett]

Seems a trend with a lot of horrer film that look to have happy endings and then there ia a twist EG Slugs, Species, Night of the Creeps, Nightmare on Elm Streetetc. And a lot of remakes that had originally happy or positive ending like The Blob, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Also some of the Planet of the Apes had downbeat endings.

They even had some good or neutral episodes of the original The Outer Limits yet they remade some and had stupid and I mean really stupid bad endings.

[huwg]

Yeah, the original planet of the apes is one, cheers

Carrie?

with a nightmare on elm street, freddie is almost the goodie, an anti-hero who was wisecracking and likeable.
an example of a real baddie was Scorpio from Dirty Harry - he was cowardly and had nothing likeable about him at all. - as such he made the film IMHO.

I think with 80's and 90's horrors the studios had their eyes on the franchise rather than the one off story.

[TheBigApple]

Se7en has a very downbeat ending.

Electra Glide in Blue has a great downbeat ending as does Easy Rider, in fact so does One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or The Parallax View, loads of movies from the seventies had downbeat endings before the summer blockbuster was born and Hollywood started playing it safe so sequels could be made.

I think the whole Vietnam era and America's discontent with the people in power were partly responsible for so many films being made during that era with downbeat endings.

[johndon]

How about Terminator 3 - not exactly a happy ending there.

John

[Garrett]

Yes The Parallax View was one well sick ending as it was pretty dour all the way though you were expecting the hero to win though at the end.

Race With the Devil had a downbeat ending as did Blow Out, Also Von Ryan’s Express, this ending was altered from the book at his request of Sinatra, because at the time because it was vogue in the films at the time for the hero to get killed at the end as in Madigan. Which reminds me of The Bedford Incident, Fail Safe. And although a lighthearted one Dr Srangelove

Do not forget all those horror anthologies both of the UK and US type they generally have bad endings in the stories and the rap round ones as well

But there was bad endings back in 1948 in Saraband for Dead Lovers PLOT SPOILER the hero is crowdedly stabbed in the back whilst fighting a duel by the villains henchman standing on the sideline and the heroine is locked away.

The Omen were shock endings as in both cases you expected the stories to be tied up (well the first at least)and when it was in the third one, they went and opened it up again in a truly ghastly TV movie.

Some I really hated as well as The Parallax View were Fallen and The Astronauts Wife (Rosemay's Baby,?)as they to had the hero on the back foot all the way through yet they devise a really ingenious way to foil them then the villain gets out by a cheap method.

Stepford Wife’s, Arlington Road and OHMSS.

[huwg]

anyone remember Phase IV - the one with the ants in the desert, that was one crazy film.

Ok, ok there are more than a handful of downbeat endings to US films, but I suppose happy endings are what's usually required even if it goes against the original story.

I personally found the end of '...cuckoos nest' quite uplifting what with the sink through the window and all (agreed, it doesn't end too well for Jack)

[clancol]

momento!

[huwg]

Originally Posted by clancol

momento!

We thought of that one, but isn't Christopher Nolan British?

Requiem for a Dream

Jon

[Kevo]

Rosemary's Baby.

Yet another horror film with a downbeat ending.
Your typical 'they're all in on it' ending like with a lot of satan worshipping horrors!

Probably easier to name horror films with an upbeat ending!

[Kevo]

Silver Dream Racer with David Essex

Saw this at the cinema when it came out

Didn't they change the ending half way through it's release due to a fan backlash?

AWFUL film btw and available on DVD!

[clancol]

the green mile has a down beat ending, but thats is a steven king.

[Gregorski]

Some might say that Gladiator has a downbeat ending.... You'd expect for hollywood to let him live right ?

[alle v]

...Jacob's Ladder?

[Mac Man]

A Perfect World with kevin Costner - the hero dies
Pay it Forward with Haley Joel Osment - the hero dies
The Last Samurai with Tom cruise - the hero dies

I thought the endings in the first two really sucked, especially Pay it Forward. But the Last samurai had a more noble ending to it. You just knew what was going to happen so it was less of a surprise.

CL

But Se7en is far and away the most downbeat ending to any film I've seen. It really is 'Life sucks and then you die' message.

[dynamic turtle]

Last samurai - Cruise does NOT die, if I remember correctly! Which is a real shame, because I'd have loved nothing more than to see him die a really, really agonising death (after forcing us through 2 hours of vain, sentimental, self-edifying claptrap)

[dynamic turtle]

Oh, and my entrys for sad/non-hollywood endings are:

Solaris (massively under-rated film, brilliantly conceived)
The English Patient (I was crying like a girl by the end).

DT

[Mac Man]

Originally Posted by dynamic turtle

Last samurai - Cruise does NOT die, if I remember correctly! Which is a real shame, because I'd have loved nothing more than to see him die a really, really agonising death (after forcing us through 2 hours of vain, sentimental, self-edifying claptrap)

Did I say Tom Cruise died?

I said the hero dies... in this case it's Ken Watanabe as Katsumoto who gets the chop.



CL

[dynamic turtle]

Sorry, I automatically assumed Cruise was the "Hero" (he usually is!). Though personally I wouldn't say Katsumoto was the "Hero", but that's just my interpretation.....

[Marc]

DC of The Butterfly Effect has a downbeat ending

[Marc]

oh.. wes craven presents They has 2 downbeat endings! One on the movie, and one on the deleted scenes! Both pretty good too.

[huwg]

Originally Posted by Gregorski

Some might say that Gladiator has a downbeat ending.... You'd expect for hollywood to let him live right ?

some would say this is a happy ending as he is reunited with his family, which is all he wants (other than revenge) - besides, it was directed by Ridley Scott.

[Gregorski]

Just because its directed by a British director doesn't mean its not a US film...

[huwg]

Originally Posted by Gregorski

Just because its directed by a British director doesn't mean its not a US film...

I know, but I'd like to think that the director would exert his influence over the studio.

Mind you, they didn't do Mr Scott any favours when they first released Blade Runner - didn't they impose a happy ending hacked from off-cuts from 'The Shining' along with a voice over.

[Fe+]

Originally Posted by huwg

anyone remember Phase IV - the one with the ants in the desert, that was one crazy film.

Ok, ok there are more than a handful of downbeat endings to US films, but I suppose happy endings are what's usually required even if it goes against the original story.

I personally found the end of '...cuckoos nest' quite uplifting what with the sink through the window and all (agreed, it doesn't end too well for Jack)

man that was pretty scary too, well when i was a kid

I just got the Japanese edition of Leon and well that has a pretty downbeat ( yet at the same time uplifting ) ending, its also one of my favourite movies of the nineties.

[Sinzer]

American beauty has a sad ending, you know he is going to die, but you so don't want him to.

[Dellboy]

Some films are all the more dramatic because of the downbeat endings
Far From Heaven
The Shootist
Geronimo
The Sand Pebbles
My Little Eye (partly financed by the USA)
The Godfather Part II