Rewrite the Ending to a Film

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meltzerboy

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Are there any movies, old or new, for which you would have preferred a different ending? Maybe you were disappointed with the way the film ended. Maybe a happy ending instead of a sad one, or the reverse, would have been more satisfying to you. Or maybe a surprise twist instead of a predictable ending. How would you rewrite the ending to perhaps an otherwise favorite film?

For example, Casablanca or Gone With the Wind with a happier ending: would this have worked even better, in your view? True, some films are based on books, but you are permitted to disregard this.

Any thoughts?
 
HI. While I’m unable to come up with any specific titles at the moment, I DO know that the typical genre of romantic comedy or teen romantic comedy where the nerdy loser type of guy who constantly pursues the pretty girl (who of course is dating the wealthy, good-looking, bullying jock type of guy) often has that formulaic ending where at some point, the pretty girl eventually ends up with the nerdy loser because of his charm and wit and personality. Why don’t I like such endings? Because speaking as a happily married man of 52 who had experienced rough dating experiences in my younger days, I know for a fact that such scenarios rarely play out in real life.

SPOILER ALERT:

One example of a good movie with a good and much more (but not totally) realistic ending is the 1980s classic “Adventures In Babysitting” starring Elisabeth Shue. I was, for the most part, pleased by that ending, and you could actually feel the young fellow’s sadness. Great scene just before the closing credits.

As much as I enjoyed the movie “Magnolia” I have to admit that I hated the BOTH the beginning AND the ending because neither the beginning nor the ending made a lick of sense to me, since the movie had NOTHING to do with either of those things. In fact, I have to wonder if the ending was put in there because the writer/director had no clue as to how to wrap it all up.

Perhaps I should add “Pleasantville” to this list as well, although the big problem I had with it was that it couldn’t decide on whether or not it wanted to be a funny satire of 1950s TV sitcoms OR a biting social statement about outdated mores that were so prevalent during the era, so after all was said and done, it failed on both levels.

You bring up an interesting topic, but I’m going to add to it with the idea that some movies have ambiguous endings, and in some cases I think the ambiguous ending works and in others I think it appears that the authors themselves had no clue as to how to resolve it and so they through that ambiguous ending in, hoping to come off as “cutting edge.”

Movies where I think the ambiguous ending works:

“Doubt”
“Blade Runner”
“Rashomon”
“Dead & Buried”
“The Thomas Crown Affair”
“The Usual Suspects”
“Murder By Death”
“Body Heat”
and of course, one of my favorite tearjerkers: “The Days Of Wine & Roses”

Movies where I think the ambiguous ending fails:

“No Country For Old Men”
“Inception”
“Magnolia”
“Twin Peaks” (in all fairness, a TV show that got cancelled so it was never resolved)
“Chan Is Missing”
“Against All Odds” (this movie was convoluted & confusing that once the solution was given at the end, I didn’t even care!)
“Cache”

Mixed emotions on the ambiguous ending:

“The White Ribbon” On the one hand, it appears that the director really didn’t know how to end this, so he opted for the ambiguous ending, hoping to be deep. On the other hand, had the mystery actually been solved as to exactly why all the mysterious and malevolent events had been occurring, then I think the ending would have been a disappointment because the climax would never be able to match the build-up.
 
meltzerboy said:
Are there any movies, old or new, for which you would have preferred a different ending? Maybe you were disappointed with the way the film ended. Maybe a happy ending instead of a sad one, or the reverse, would have been more satisfying to you. Or maybe a surprise twist instead of a predictable ending. How would you rewrite the ending to perhaps an otherwise favorite film?

For example, Casablanca or Gone With the Wind with a happier ending: would this have worked even better, in your view? True, some films are based on books, but you are permitted to disregard this.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Where’s George Lucas when you really need him to participate in a thread…😃
 
meltzerboy said:
Are there any movies, old or new, for which you would have preferred a different ending? Maybe you were disappointed with the way the film ended. Maybe a happy ending instead of a sad one, or the reverse, would have been more satisfying to you. Or maybe a surprise twist instead of a predictable ending. How would you rewrite the ending to perhaps an otherwise favorite film?

For example, Casablanca or Gone With the Wind with a happier ending: would this have worked even better, in your view? True, some films are based on books, but you are permitted to disregard this.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
I don’t know about Casablanca, but the ending to Gone With the Wind seemed to work for me. (Attn: SPOILER ALERT! :eek: ) True, it was kind of sad that Rhett and Scarlett split up; but the fact that Scarlett couldn’t let go of a man she couldn’t have and failed to appreciate a man that really bent over backwards to please her—aside from that famous (!) “staircase scene”—made that ending pretty much inevitable. Still, when Scarlett decides she’s going back home to Tara and declares: “After all, tomorrow IS another day” does add a note of hope. 👍
 
Disney’s The Little Mermaid:

Ariel needed to be turned into sea foam, as in the original tale! With the sappy happy Disney ending, little girls are being told to give up their true identities :mad:…
to chase after a man they’ve never met :rolleyes:
– because he’s hot. :eek:
Yeah, great job, Disney. :bigyikes: :mad:

Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life:**

My favorite alternate ending was created by Saturday Night Live in the 90s. Uncle Billy suddenly remembers giving the newspaper with the money in it to Mr. Potter. And the whole town becomes a lynch mob and goes after Mr. Potter. :rotfl: OK, the original ending was good… but SNL’s ending was so satisfying! 😃

Gertie
 
SPOILERS! Mine might sound silly, but I never liked that Harry Beaton in Brigadoon ended up dead. It doesn’t fit the overall tone of the film which was light and fluffy romance. I would have had Harry only wounded so that at the end when Tommy Albright comes back to the village he’d have been allowed to trade places with Tommy. Then Harry could have been tutored by Albright’s friend, Jeff Douglas, which would have given Jeff’s life purpose, as well. Now, isn’t my ending kinder and gentler? I think so. 😉
 
Castaway.
Horrible ending.
His wife could have cared less that he was found.
So much fro true love. :mad:
 
I’ve always thought Romeo and Juliet should have survived the faux suicide and become a bickering old, resentful, couple with dozens of kids who make them feel boring. Same with Tony and Maria in West Side Story, only their kids should be fighting in different gangs, giving their parents head and heart aches.

Cat Ballou should have run off with her father’s ranch hand who was Native American. He loved her more than Michael Callan’s character.

Anna Karenina should have checked into a clinic, cleaned up and bought a railroad instead of thrown her body under a train. She could have opened a home for fallen women who lost custody of their children…hired lawyers, educated them…

Ma and Pa Kettle should have become President and First Man.

Mansfield Park’s heroine should have taught Catholic History in an English boys boarding school.

Shawshank Redemption needs a sequel. How do these rich guys survive in Zihuatenejo?
 
I would have had them take 'Ol Yeller to the vet for a rabies shot; meet a nice poodle from New Orleans live happily ever after.
 
Catholic1954 said:
I would have had them take 'Ol Yeller to the vet for a rabies shot; meet a nice poodle from New Orleans live happily ever after.
Click to expand...
There was an Old Yeller junior at the of the film. Kind of a happy ending.

I don’t think TheJoker’s fate should have been open ended in The Dark Knight.
 
I wish for a GOOD film that NEVER ends,
because, as a youngster, I felt SAD when
the ending credits are rolling across the screen!
But real life eternal is JUST that!!! It gets
better as the years go by and NEVER ENDS.
 
Catholic1954 said:
I would have had them take 'Ol Yeller to the vet for a rabies shot; meet a nice poodle from New Orleans live happily ever after.
Click to expand...
Yes - any movies with sad endings for animals (Biscuit Eater is another one). I think I saw a racehorse movie where the horse died at the end.

The movie with Bette Davis where she dies from the brain tumor.

And, I apologize, but after everything Scarlett and Rhett went through and losing their little girl and the miscarriage, I would like to have seen forgiveness and a more mature relationship develop and the two remain together and have returned to Tara to live happily ever after.
 
I’ve mentioned this movie on other message boards, and I may have mentioned it here on CAF. I hate, HATE, HATE the ending to “The Caine Mutiny”.

After the trial Lt. Greenwald finds the officers of the Caine celebrating Lt. Maryk;s acquittal. Greenwald lambasts them for not being more supportive of Capt. Queeg and that by doing so they could’ve prevented the incident during the typhoon from occurring.

First off, there was a single moment where Queeg opened up to his officers, and that was essentially a brief moment of clarity where he laid it all out for staff. No one spoke up likely because it seemed more like a turning point than a brief respite. Second, Greenwald knows the dangers in suggest to a Captain or someone above him that he may not be fit to serve. Third, Greenwald seems to be overlooking just how close Queeg was to costing the lives of his whole crew.

But I’m fine with a character getting angry with other characters. What I would change is that neither Keith nor Maryk stood up for themselves. They took the blame for not interceding in preventing Queeg’s breakdown when that simply wasn’t a reasonable option. The best ending would have been the three men not agreeing and letting the audience pick out who was right.
 
Cynical_Realist said:
HI. While I’m unable to come up with any specific titles at the moment, I DO know that the typical genre of romantic comedy or teen romantic comedy where the nerdy loser type of guy who constantly pursues the pretty girl (who of course is dating the wealthy, good-looking, bullying jock type of guy) often has that formulaic ending where at some point, the pretty girl eventually ends up with the nerdy loser because of his charm and wit and personality. Why don’t I like such endings? Because speaking as a happily married man of 52 who had experienced rough dating experiences in my younger days, I know for a fact that such scenarios rarely play out in real life.

SPOILER ALERT:

One example of a good movie with a good and much more (but not totally) realistic ending is the 1980s classic “Adventures In Babysitting” starring Elisabeth Shue. I was, for the most part, pleased by that ending, and you could actually feel the young fellow’s sadness. Great scene just before the closing credits.

As much as I enjoyed the movie “Magnolia” I have to admit that I hated the BOTH the beginning AND the ending because neither the beginning nor the ending made a lick of sense to me, since the movie had NOTHING to do with either of those things. In fact, I have to wonder if the ending was put in there because the writer/director had no clue as to how to wrap it all up.

Perhaps I should add “Pleasantville” to this list as well, although the big problem I had with it was that it couldn’t decide on whether or not it wanted to be a funny satire of 1950s TV sitcoms OR a biting social statement about outdated mores that were so prevalent during the era, so after all was said and done, it failed on both levels.

You bring up an interesting topic, but I’m going to add to it with the idea that some movies have ambiguous endings, and in some cases I think the ambiguous ending works and in others I think it appears that the authors themselves had no clue as to how to resolve it and so they through that ambiguous ending in, hoping to come off as “cutting edge.”

Movies where I think the ambiguous ending works:

“Doubt”
“Blade Runner”
“Rashomon”
“Dead & Buried”
“The Thomas Crown Affair”
“The Usual Suspects”
“Murder By Death”
“Body Heat”
and of course, one of my favorite tearjerkers: “The Days Of Wine & Roses”

Movies where I think the ambiguous ending fails:

“No Country For Old Men”
“Inception”
“Magnolia”
“Twin Peaks” (in all fairness, a TV show that got cancelled so it was never resolved)
“Chan Is Missing”
“Against All Odds” (this movie was convoluted & confusing that once the solution was given at the end, I didn’t even care!)
“Cache”

Mixed emotions on the ambiguous ending:

“The White Ribbon” On the one hand, it appears that the director really didn’t know how to end this, so he opted for the ambiguous ending, hoping to be deep. On the other hand, had the mystery actually been solved as to exactly why all the mysterious and malevolent events had been occurring, then I think the ending would have been a disappointment because the climax would never be able to match the build-up.
Click to expand...
Thanks for bringing up the interesting issue of the ambiguous movie ending and whether or not it works. There are also instances in which the director of a movie had two or more possible endings and then made a decision between them, sometimes not in keeping with that of the actors. One example is the excellent film Payment on Demand, starring Bette Davis, in which the director Curtis Bernhardt changed the ending, unbeknownst to the actors.
 
KevinAK said:
There was an Old Yeller junior at the of the film. Kind of a happy ending.

I don’t think TheJoker’s fate should have been open ended in The Dark Knight.
Click to expand...
Not a happy ending for me in the case of Old Yeller, when I saw it as a kid. I found it very sad at the time, and have never seen the movie again since then.
 
Auntie_A said:
I’ve always thought Romeo and Juliet should have survived the faux suicide and become a bickering old, resentful, couple with dozens of kids who make them feel boring. Same with Tony and Maria in West Side Story, only their kids should be fighting in different gangs, giving their parents head and heart aches.

Cat Ballou should have run off with her father’s ranch hand who was Native American. He loved her more than Michael Callan’s character.

Anna Karenina should have checked into a clinic, cleaned up and bought a railroad instead of thrown her body under a train. She could have opened a home for fallen women who lost custody of their children…hired lawyers, educated them…

Ma and Pa Kettle should have become President and First Man.

Mansfield Park’s heroine should have taught Catholic History in an English boys boarding school.

Shawshank Redemption needs a sequel. How do these rich guys survive in Zihuatenejo?
Click to expand...
LOL I love your revisions!
 
7_Sorrows said:
Yes - any movies with sad endings for animals (Biscuit Eater is another one). I think I saw a racehorse movie where the horse died at the end.

The movie with Bette Davis where she dies from the brain tumor.

And, I apologize, but after everything Scarlett and Rhett went through and losing their little girl and the miscarriage, I would like to have seen forgiveness and a more mature relationship develop and the two remain together and have returned to Tara to live happily ever after.
Click to expand...
The Bette Davis movie you mention is Dark Victory. I’m not sure about that one: after all, it’s supposed to be a tear-jerker. BTW, there was a television remake of it starring the gifted Elizabeth Montgomery, who ironically and tragically died of a brain tumor (I believe) in real life.

With regard to GWTW, either way would have been fine for me. I was just glad the movie was finally over.

I agree with you about all movies starring animals.
 
meltzerboy said:
The Bette Davis movie you mention is Dark Victory. I’m not sure about that one: after all, it’s supposed to be a tear-jerker. BTW, there was a television remake of it starring the gifted Elizabeth Montgomery, who ironically and tragically died of a brain tumor (I believe) in real life.

With regard to GWTW, either way would have been fine for me. I was just glad the movie was finally over.

I agree with you about all movies starring animals.
Click to expand...
Yes Dark Victory is the title. I did not see the remake with Elizabeth Montgomery. I knew she passed away from cancer, but I thought it was a different type.
 
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