This Is the END

[Mr. Arkadin]

And thanks for stopping by as well, Mr. Arkadin.. I must confess.. you have me creeped out just READING about the death scenes in the film you mention. ha. (I am almost too afraid to watch the clip.. especially if the one is as graphic as you say) Though I have to say I really enjoyed reading your description of it all.. especially the use of music. And you bring up a good point about how it did not matter that the woman in the story you mention was even proven to be innocent. There were still plenty (or at least enough) people who merely believed she deserved to be punished.. and that was all it took.

And funny you should mention The Ox-bow Incident, because I actually had that one on my mind earlier today, and was trying to figure out how that all fit into the topics we have already discussed. And I just can't. So ha.. we may have "unlucky" category #13.. Wrongful Prosecution and/or Mob Violence.

I don't deny they are graphic, but I think Fulci uses violence here as a device to humanize his characters rather than scare, or shock viewers. I always try put a warning for folks, because I know that some just cannot stomach any kind of violent scene and I try to be respectful of those people.

Lots of great death scenes in film, but if I had to pick just one--this would probably be it:

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[ChiO]

I see dead people.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Best opening death:

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[CineMaven]

“A Kiss Before Dying” - ha you nailed it Ro. It wasn't pretty smart of Joanne Woodward to go up to the roof with that smooth slickster. Those movie characters NEVER listen to reason, do they? Wagner was a rotten boyfriend...a rotten son...just plain rotten! What a lovely tableaux you featured with: “Glory.” It's a tough watch but I loved it. As for Sebastian, I know he’s a bad guy, but I do feel sorry for him when he “please” to go into the car. And the way he walks up those steps. I do feel bad for him. After all, HE married for love. ( His mother's another story. ) That ‘Terminator’ ( Robert Patrick ) blew my mind with his shape shifting. And then there was that female terminator...never send a man to do a woman’s job.

Lucky - you picked two heart-wrenching scenes where the futility of war is very evident.

Mr. A - get in Giallo wherever you can. The deaths are gloriously gory, but not gratuitous. I don’t know why that opening scene of “Citizen Kane” reminds me of something out of “Star Wars.”

ChiO - Brilliant example. Practically everybody’s dead in “The Sixth Sense.” Last clever movie Shamalayan did. Might put his career on the dead thread.

JackaAay - I hope you get to see “T-Men.” It’s a beautiful looking film, good story and I don’t even mind that blonde, bland, big-headed Dennis O’Keefe. He was actually pretty good in this. Do find the film.

I have a heartbreaking submission to this thread:

WAR CASUALTIES:

“SCHINDLER’S LIST”



In a movie made in black and white, this litte girl in the red coat made a striking image. Imagine, a child in the midst of this horror. She does not survive. And we know it. There’s just her coat....

* * * * * * * * * * *

TOO ROTTEN TO LIVE:



ANN SAVAGE in “DETOUR”

Whew! She’s toxic. There’s not one redeeming bone in her body.

BETTE DAVIS in “IN THIS OUR LIFE”

She’s a tornado. A selfish little vixen who lies, blames others, steals husbands propositions her uncle and is otherwise rotten to the core.

* * * * * * * * * * *

And I thought of another sort of category - the one where two people know they will never see one another again, usually because of war, or some campaign or rescue mission of some sort. The best movie I can use as an example is:

This would be my choice:

[JackFavell]

Oh man, everyone has such great picks!

Ha! I agree, Masha, this idea has been plaguing me (sorry for the pun) all day and all night, with fleeting thoughts of movies that then disappear as I sit down to write. I'll mention one film right now, and I hope the other ideas I had will come back to me so I can post them.

I just watched The Burmese Harp a couple of weeks ago, and it really stayed with me. Ro, I think you in particular would like this movie - it is everything you like about films. If you don't have time, I understand. Here's a link to the trailer:

http://www.criterion.com/films/817-the-burmese-harp

and here is the full movie:
[youtube][/youtube]

[movieman1957]

I've always thought one of the most interesting and creepy death scenes is Herbert Marshall's climb up the stairs. The camera fixates on Bette Davis and her anxiousness and glee at the thought of what is going on behind her. She will not look but we see him behind and very much out of focus but well enough to know he won't make it.

Pretty ruthless also is Bette's opening scene in "The Letter." We don't see the actual death but it is pretty surprising.

[ChiO]

A few more favorites that I don't believe have been mentioned:

Death is...

A beginning (Charles Foster Kane in CITIZEN KANE)

A heartbreaking sign of nobility (Moe in PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET)

A consummation (Bart & Annie Laurie in GUN CRAZY)

A resolute resignation, a sobbing plea, and an inability to fight (Paris, Ferol & Arnaud in PATHS OF GLORY)

A touch from Fate (Sgt. Rock in FIXED BAYONETS!)

A glowing blast (Lily Carver in KISS ME DEADLY)

A less-than-gentle push (Mrs. Rizzo in KISS OF DEATH & The Man in THE LINEUP)

A final release (Jeanne d'Arc in THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC)

[JackFavell]

I wish I'd thought of even half of those!

[MissGoddess]

RO, BRILLIANT, absolutely brilliant topic! I've been alternately laughing and tearing up at reading the posts. Everyone's given stupendous examples...I'll have to think hard to come up with my own.

MASHA: thank you for those two movie links...The Forty-First really haunts me by your description. Will be adding them to my "queue".

CinemAVA: RE: Henry Daniell. HAAAA!! Though I admit to feeling a twinge of pity, I don't know why, when he rolls away in the carriage in The Body Snatcher. And apropos of this masterly Val Lewton production, I will begin my suggestions with a few "UNSEEN DEATHS" that make a HUGE impact on me emotionally. My only criteria is though we may see the dearly departed's "remains", we do not see their demise.

THE UNSEEN (Not in any particular order):

1. (You knew it was coming) Tom Doniphon in THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE.
2. The little blind street singer in THE BODY SNATCHER. A lovely, sad little tune, suddenly silenced.
3. Scarlett's mother, Ellen O'Hara, in GONE WITH THE WIND. Ever since I was a child, I always get a bit overawed at seeing her body lying there. For my money, Vivien's reaction is the moment she won that Oscar.
4. Martha, Aaron, Ben and later, Lucy, in THE SEARCHERS.
5. "Laura" in LAURA. Or was it Laura? I supposed this might make for a whole new category: mistaken for dead.
6. Ann Rutledge in YOUNG MR LINCOLN. It's not so much her death as it is the reverberation of it (especially when Alfred Newman's music underscores it) throughout Abe's life.

[JackFavell]

That is a wonderful idea, MissG,...THE UNSEEN. Those whose deaths affect everyone throughout the entire movie. All of those scenes are so powerful.

[rohanaka]

Wow!! Great input from everyone!! I am really enjoying this chat.. even if the subject is usually one that folks find LESS than enjoyable. ha. I appreciate everyone receiving my original post in the spirit I meant it.. as I was a bit worried folks would find it too "off-putting" a topic to embrace with much discussion. So thanks everyone for getting into the spirit!

Mr. A.. I really enjoyed the Blade Runner clip..(score yet ANOTHER point for SCI-FI in this thread,ha) I need to see that film all the way through sometime. I don't know why, exactly.. but I have never been able to get through it all the way from start to finish, though I have tried on more than one occasion. It is filled with some really amazing images.. and the story and characters are intriguing too. I need to give it a better shot than the hit and miss way I have approached it in the past, I know.

And THANKS for chiming in ChiO! And by the way.. ha.. The Sixth Sense is just about at the absolute TOP of my "scary-movie-o-meter" in terms of what I will let myself watch, HA. But I DID finally let myself start watching it once.. and then I was hooked. And to be honest.. it is NOT as scary as I thought it was.. I just had trouble with some of the images in it.. they were quite frightening! In fact.. the first time I watched it.. I almost DIDN'T. ha. Because I nearly turned it off several times, but I just kept coming back to it because I wanted to see what was going to happen to the little boy. But THEN it ended up not even (really) being about HIM (at least not as much as I thought at first) but more about Bruce Willis. ha. And once I figured how his character and his situation fit into the story, ha. I really found a LOT more to like about It all, by the time it was all over. (The second time I watched it.. I REALLY liked it a lot.. but boy, it just took me a LONG while to get there)

And thanks for the list of "Death Is..." too . Very nicely put. And I especially was glad to see you fit Gun Grazy in there.. I was struggling to figure out how that ending could fit into my different categories.. and it just kept getting "mushed" together with multiple layers (because it isn't all one reason or another that they end up where they do) But I like how you worded it.. just right.

Miss Maven.. RE: Schindler's List.. War Casualties indee!! Oh that POOR sweet girl in the red coat. AGH!! She nearly breaks your heart as you see her walking along.. and then later on when you see the coat again. OH dear me. That film still just weighs me down to even think of it. I remember watching it a long time ago.. on VHS. (I am so glad I did not go to the theater to see it) It was just so emotionally disruptive for me to watch it all.. I had to keep turning it off.. and I would get up.. go get a drink of water.. or step outside for some fresh air.. fold the laundry. whatever. and give myself a break.. and then a little while later I would come back and watch some more. I think I must have interrupted myself at LEAST five or six times for those little "emotional break" moments. If I hadn't.. I don't think I EVER would have been able to endure the whole thing all at once. Very devastating.

Masha.. ha.. NO chance on me seeing Heathers, I am pretty sure.. but thanks for the warning all the same. I am intrigued by the "Shakespearean" twist angle that you mentioned in the other film. I looked it up and read a synopsis.. Ha.. it sounds like a play within a play.. within a play!

Mr. Movieman.. thank you for bringing up THE LETTER!! Watching Bette just empty out that gun there under the moonlight. That is a great opening.. (ha.. opening.. Letter.. silly me!)

Jackie.. thanks for the links on The Burmese Harp. I looked at the trailer and you have me hooked. I will hope to get to it soon.. not sure when, but will definitely make a point of it, if I can.

And WELCOME to the chat, Miss G.. very happy to see you here, little darlin'!! What a great addition.. the "UNSEEN" dead. All the titles you listed are PERFECT examples too. (HEY.. we are back to Gone With the Wind.. where this whole chat started, even) And YES.. Tom Doniphin.. woo hoo. That is terrific. He is a great example.. the way it all starts and ends with his death.. but all that happens in between is the REAL story. So yes.. we need to add another category #15 THE UNSEEN DEAD for characters who have "unseen" deaths, but their loss makes a huge impact on the story (or even CREATES the entire story) Very good.

Meanwhile.. I thought of two more: #16 Natural Disaster and/or Acts of God For films like.. A Night To Remember (or the aforementioned Titanic.. I think Lucky brought that one up) and stories like The Hurricane or The Rains Came and San Francisco, too.

And for all you "Rhoda" fans out there (and you know who you are, ha) #17 Divine Retribution. (because sometimes someone is SO rotten.. only GOD can take care of them.)

[rohanaka]

Ok.. for those of you keeping score at home.. we have:

1) Too Good for this World (with the subheading for young innocents)
2) Too Rotten to live /Just Desserts
3)Ultimate Sacrifice
4) Tragic Hero/Heroine
5) Repentant Bad Guy
6) Doomed by Fate or Circumstance
7) Ripe Old Age,
8 ) Crazed Loonies
9) Death as Comedic Relief,
10) Too STUPID to live,
#11 Wrong Place/Wrong Time
12) War Casualties,
13) Wrongful Prosecution/Mob Violence,
14) Gone but not Forgotten (for all the ghosts, zombies, vampires, etc)
15) The Unseen Dead (for those who die off screen, or before the story begins,
16) Natural Disaster/Acts of God
and last but not least..
#17 Divine Retribution.

Wowsa.. 17, already. This is starting to remind me of that awful (and no.. I have never watched it.. but I HAVE seen commercials for it.. so that is why I can call it awful) show on Spike TV.. called 100 Ways To Die. ha.

[JackFavell]

taking off from ChiO's list:

Death is....

A rebirth


(Though I much prefer the beast).