Cinematic Endings

The other day I was thinking about some of my favourite endings in classic films, so I thought I'd compile a little list. I think one of the things that makes these particular endings my favourites is because they stay with me long after I have watched the film, they tend to be sad but beautiful.
And a warning-there are spoilers ahead!


1. Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

Everything about this scene is perfect, and it makes me cry every time (especially when she finds cat)! I think Breakfast at Tiffany's must be one of the only films to have a perfect opening and ending.


2. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966)

This video clip includes the entire final duel, which in itself is fantastic, but the part I'm talking about begins at about 13.06- Blondie (Clint Eastwood) riding across the plains as the iconic theme starts to play. I just think it's epic, and so encapsulates all that is good about a western.


3. The Ghost and Mrs Muir (1947)

Unfortunately I couldn't find a clip for this ending, but it's when Lucy Muir dies and Captain Gregg comes back for her, when he says, "And now you'll never be tired again", I just think it's beautiful how they walk out of the house together and how they are reunited.


4. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

I was unable to find a clip of this one either! It's when Yevgraf (Alec Guinness) learns that Tanya (Rita Tushingham) can play the balalaika, he tells her 'it is a gift', and it is then he knows for certain that she is Zhivago's daughter. It's a very poignant scene, particularly as 'Lara's Theme' begins to play as he watches them walk away.


5. The Sound of Music (1965)

I remember when I used to watch this film as a child I was always so sad when I reached this scene because I didn't want the film to be over! I still feel the same way today. As with every scene in this film it's beautifully shot, for the audience there is the relief and hope that the family will be safe, but there is also a tinge of sadness because we do not know what lies ahead of them.


6. Shane (1953)

This will probably be the most controversial scene on my list, since I know Joey (Brandon DeWilde) annoys many people! But I think this scene is lovely. It's such an iconic scene because the audience is as sad as Joey that Shane's leaving, and there are so many ambiguities-is Shane really alright? Joey is losing his hero but Shane too has lost the ability to have a normal life without violence. Cleverly it both strengthens and collapses the mythos of the west.


7. Splendor in the Grass (1961)

This scene is so sad, but so wonderfully acted, I think it's impossible to watch this film and not ask- 'Where was Natalie Wood's Oscar?' In this scene in particular there is so much left unspoken, but it is conveyed through the way Deanie looks at Bud and her silence in the car. Elia Kazan the director once said this was his favourite part of the film.

What could have been with Terence Stamp

Do you ever watch a film and think 'I wish so-and-so had been in this'? Or maybe you're favourite actor/actress was originally cast in a film and was then re-cast? Ah, what could have been!
I find myself thinking about this a lot in relation to Terence Stamp-rightly or wrongly I seem to want him in everything!
But here are three films he was almost in, and I really wish he had been!

1. Blow-Up (1966)

Stamp was originally cast in this famous sixties film, but for reasons unknown, Antonioni re-cast his role with David Hemmings instead. Hemmings does a good job in the film but the entire time I was watching it I couldn't help but think what Stamp would have brought to the role. To make matters worse Hemmings is a kind of not-so-good-looking version of Terence Stamp! (ha!)

2. Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

Whilst watching this film for the first time I kept thinking over and over that I wished Terence Stamp had played Montag, but I tried to remind myself that I want him in everything, so that was ridiculous. But then I watched the bonus features on my DVD and discovered that Stamp had originally been cast as Montag! Allegedly he put forward Julie Christie for a part and then dropped out because she ended up playing a dual role and he felt he'd be overshadowed! I felt that Montag's gradual change of heart would have been better portrayed by Stamp, since he really is the master of emotions with no dialogue (see Blue, Far From the Madding Crowd and The Mind of Mr Soames).

3. James Bond

Did you know Stamp was asked to play the famous spy when Sean Connery announced his retirement from the role? He met with directors and said he was willing to do the role, but suggested in order for the audience to get used to him not being Connery, he should wear a disguise for at least half of the film. Apparently this idea was not met with approval and he was never called back. Instead they chose Roger Moore. It's generally agreed upon that when Moore took over the Bond role the films took a turn for the worst (or at least a turn for the silly!) So imagine a young Terence Stamp instead! He probably would have made the films more believable and gritty but instead I'll just have to content myself by watching him in my favourite spy flick Modesty Blaise!!

 Do you have any actors/actresses you wish had been cast in certain films? Let me know in the comments!
And I mean really who wouldn't want this face in everything?

Blow-Up (1966)

Blow-Up tells the story of Thomas (David Hemmings) a busy photographer in swinging London. Despite being surrounded by beautiful women Thomas seems to be bored with his life until he unknowingly witnesses a murder and captures it on film.

Director Michelangelo Antonioni had originally intended to use Terence Stamp in the title role before settling on David Hemmings. The film was noted for it's numerous cameos including The Yardbirds, Jane Birkin, Veruschka and an uncredited Peggy Moffitt. It also featured performances from popular actresses Vanessa Redgrave and Sarah Miles and featured a score by jazz musician Herbie Hancock. The film was such a success, despite what was considered sexually explicit scenes by the standard of the day, that it contributed to the eventual collapse of the production code.

Today Blow-Up is best known for it's sexual nature, particularly the infamous scene with Jane Birkin (although by today's standards it's relatively harmless). The film however is also a fascinating look at Swinging London, and blurs the lines between surrealism and understated naturalism. There are two worlds in Blow-Up, the glamorous world of models and clothes seen through Thomas' camera, and the seedy underbelly that Thomas both lives and works in. It's interesting that despite his lucrative job as a fashion photographer Thomas is most excited about a book he is working on that displays the lives of everyday Londoners.

The start and end of the film are bookended by the appearance of a group of mime artists. They seem to reflect the quality of illusion in Thomas' own life as well as the false world of the models, how they appear before the camera isn't necessarily how they are in real life. The eerie quality of the film is heightened when the mime artists are playing an imaginary game of tennis, but when the camera focuses on Thomas, we can hear a real ball being hit. Is it an amusing touch? Or does it force us, as an audience, to question Thomas's memories of the murder. Did it happen at all? Is the world we see throughout the film the real world?

The cinematography is stunning, using light and darkness to highlight the characters emotions. Characters are frequently seen with their backs towards the camera, their expressions and emotions obscured from view. Thomas' camera is an intrusion into lives, and yet it also cannot reveal enough. The world in Blow-Up is torn between an intense openness and a secretive privacy, two oppositions displayed by both Thomas and Vanessa Redgrave's character, Jane. 

The final shot highlights Thomas' alienation, his inability to make a meaningful connection with anyone and his confusion with the world he lives in. 

4/5 

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Julie Christie in Billy Liar

I recently watched Billy Liar, and whilst I loved the whole film, I was most taken with Julie Christie and the character she played, Liz.

Billy Liar was the film that made Christie and star, and despite her short amount of screen time, she is both captivating and important to the overall plot.

Liz is the first of the 1960s free spirits. Billy loves her but he also wants to be like her. The audience feels much the same, Liz is similar to Billy, but she is able to break away from her home something that Billy ultimately fails to do.

The scene in which Liz first appears is a breath of fresh air. The music becomes more upbeat as we watch her stroll through the streets, enjoying what she sees, her emotions perfectly expressed on her face.

Importantly Liz is completely different from Billy’s other girlfriends. Superficially her hair-do is more natural, more playful. She truly loves Billy because she understands him, she understands the need to escape, she accepts his dream world and she knows he is a liar. But she is able to bring the truth out of him, she is the only person Billy is able to be himself with. Even at the end when he doesn’t get on the train, Liz’s expression tells us that she knew-she expected that outcome, even if she is disappointed (perhaps because it has happened before-earlier we learn that Liz wanted Billy to go to France with her).

Free spirited Liz was one of the first of her kind in British cinema. She paved the way for young woman, showing them that they didn’t have to be miniature versions of their mothers. They could be young, girlish, and adventurous. Liz wants to marry Billy but she isn’t overly concerned if they don’t, she simply wants to live life, unlike Billy’s other girls, Barbara and Rita.

Here is Liz's first appearance in the film. I love Christies naturalness, especially the part when she's crossing the road.  

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/1330955/Billy-Liar-Movie-Clip-She-s-Been-All-Over.html

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

There is so much to say about the epic, Lawrence of Arabia, but I really wanted to talk about the stunning cinematography. Shot by famed cinematographer, Freddie Young (who also shot Dr Zhivago), it comes as no surprise that he won the academy award for his work on Lawrence. 

The film is a beautiful, yet harsh look at the desert. Watching it is exhausting, as if the heat has entered your living room, the piercing sun, the endless sea of sand and the harsh brilliance of the sky shimmer before you on the screen. Young's shots are sweeping, they encompass the enormity of the landscape and make the people below minuscule beneath the desert's might. In many way's the film is about Lawrence's battle with the desert, his desire to be a conquerer of an unconquerable landscape. The horizon plays an important part in this vision, it is endless, and Young makes ample use of light and darkness. Shadows are important as Young frequently silhouettes the characters against the sun, giving them a supernatural glow, most fitting for Lawrence who comes to see himself as a god. It is a thought provoking, visually beautiful film.

King Kong (1933)

An over ambitious film maker, Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong), takes a crew of sailors and a young woman, Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) to a dangerous uncharted island in order to make a movie. Whilst there they encounter a legendary prehistoric gorilla-Kong.

King Kong holds an important place in the history of film-making. It spawned a genre of 'monster movies', used spectacular visual effects and earned actress Fay Wray a place in cinema immortality. It was the brain child of director, Merian C. Cooper, who had a life long fascination with gorillas. His initial ideas for the film centred around King Kong battling a giant lizard (an idea later reused in the dinosaur sequence).
Fay Wray had largely starred in bit parts until her casting in the 1928 film The Wedding March. When cast in King Kong she wore a blonde wig so her hair would contrast against the gorilla's dark fur.
The films visual effects were ground breaking for the time. They involved stop animation, matte paintings, miniatures and rear projection. Aside from Kong there were several dinosaurs used in the film. During the scene in which Kong fights the T-Rex Wray was forced to sit in a tree reacting to the stop motion images played before her over a twenty-two hour period.

During post-production some scenes of the film were cut including the infamous 'Spider Pit' sequence. The scene involved some of the sailors falling into a giant pit where they were eaten by various insects. Cooper stated the scene was cut as it slowed the pace of the film, but it has been suggested that the scene terrified viewers during preview screenings to the point that they ran out of the cinema!
King Kong was also the first American 'talkie' to have its own film score, rather than reused background music. Consequently films that followed began developing their own thematic music.
Advertised as a 'Beauty and the Beast' story Kong also highlighted racial tensions prevalent during the thirties. Some suggested that Kong's 'otherness' hinted at inter-racial romance. At its heart though is man's fear of the animal unknown, recent events today show how frightened people remain of jungle animals, gorilla's in particular.

Despite the actors occasional wooden acting, and incessant screaming, King Kong still holds up to this day. The black and white cinematography adds a foreboding tension and creepiness to many of the scenes and Kong remains a terrifying monster, his jerky movements and glinting smile, add a terror that is lost in movie monsters of today. It is the fact that technology was so new and untested at the time  that creates a terror that is still felt upon watching the film to this day.

King Kong's success was huge, it spawned several sequels, remakes and direct ripoffs,  yet it is the grainy black and white image of Kong fighting planes on top of The Empire State Building that remains the indelible image of King Kong.

4/5

Up the Junction (1968)

Polly (Suzy Kendall) is a young upperclass woman who moves from Chelsea to the working class  suburb of Battersea. She takes a job at a factory and befriends two of the girls there, sisters, Sylvie (Maureen Lipman) and Rube (Adrienne Posta). She also falls in love with Peter (Dennis Waterman). However whilst Polly disdains her wealthy heritage, Peter dreams of being rich.

Up the Junction was based on a collection of short stories by Nell Dunn and in 1965 was made into a 'Wednesday Play' by Ken Loach. Loach's television version caused great controversy at the time for its frank portrayal of abortions, sex and the lives of the working class. It was filmed in a documentary style and was episodic in nature.
Directed by Peter Collinson (The Italian Job) and with a soundtrack by Manfred Mann, the 1968 film followed a similar story line but failed to make such an impact as it predecessor. Still the film dealt with abortion and the often violent, gritty nature of the people who lived in Battersea. The films main subject however is class. Polly and Peter ultimately fail to understand each other because they both want what the other has. Polly's almost naive desire to live a 'normal' life is impossible for Peter to grasp. He has grown up with nothing and envies her wealth. Polly looks upon life in Battersea through rose tinted glasses, even after witnessing violence against her friends, abortion, death and the eventually imprisonment of Peter.

Despite it's gritty subject matter, Up the Junction, has some surprisingly tender moments, particularly between Polly and Peter. Even today Polly's desire for freedom away from the constrains of money is understandable. Kendall and Waterman give great performances. Kendall reminiscent of Julie Christie, she presents Polly as a gentle, caring, dreamer, whilst Waterman is frustrated and desperate to escape his Battersea life. It's fascinating to watch how their respective dreams and desires remain opposite to each other despite their love. Lipman and Posta also give good performances as the brassy sisters, Sylvie more sensitive than Rube, but both out to have a good time whatever the cost.
The film is a time capsule of an era about to end and it is a bittersweet portrayal of how not everyone was able to achieve their dreams despite promises of a better future.

4/5