10 Movies Improved By Changing The Ending
The most important part of any movie is the last half hour. At the end of a movie, the audience’s feelings can make or break that movie. An ending that has already been written or drawn can be edited to improve the viewing experience to avoid a divisive outcome.
with movies like Get out, a little third-act editing could be the difference between going home with an Oscar or going home empty-handed. Critical reception, box office results, and justice to character arcs are perfect standards by which to judge changes to final cuts.
“Army of Darkness” (1992)
A hardware store employee is transported to the Middle Ages and must fight an army of the dead to get home. Ash’s character arc almost missed the mark when the original ending mistakenly required the main character to be transported to a post-apocalyptic future instead of home.
According to The Invisible Force: The Films of Sam Raimi, Universal Pictures demanded reshoots for the bittersweet ending, fearing that the depressing tone would put off moviegoers. An alternate version was shot for the theatrical cut, which saw Ash safely return to the present day.
Scott Pilgrim Against the World (2010)
Scott Pilgrim has seen love at first sight and has had to fight a league of seven evil exes to date. Based on the graphic novel Scott Pilgrimthe Scott Pilgrim vs. the World The script’s original ending predates the book’s release and involves Scott Pilgrim choosing his girlfriend, Knives, while saying goodbye to his girlfriend, Ramona.
After defeating Romana’s League of Evil Legends, Scott, Romana, and the Blades learn valuable lessons. Romana learns commitment issues, Scott learns to fight for his passion, and Knives learns to let go. The characters lacked these lessons in the original cut. After the book was released, director A. Edgar WrightHe drew an alternate ending with Scott choosing Ramona instead of Knives, which fits the book’s story, and Edgar Wright publicly stated that the second ending was his “favorite ending”.
“Fatal Attraction” (1987)
A woman stalks and torments a man and his family after a one-night stand. Glenn Close playing the role of a sadistic stalker Deadly attraction and disagrees with remakes of the climax of the 1987 psychological thriller.
In the original finale, Alex Forrest killed himself to frame Dan Gallagher as a revenge tactic after their affair. After negative drug tests, a new conclusion was drawn: Dan’s wife shot him. Although Klose was incredibly upset by the new ending, he later admitted:[she didn’t] if they hadn’t changed the ending, he thinks it would have become the phenomenon it has become.
“Get Out” (2017)
In Get outan interracial couple visits their white girlfriend’s family and learns that a black boy’s family intends to steal her body to sell to the highest bidder as an avatar. Jordan Pele had to change Get out An initial decision to avoid controversy following the police shootings of unarmed black men ahead of the film’s release.
In the original ending Get out, the main character is arrested after the cops arrive at the estate and discover the bodies of a rogue family. Peele wanted the film to reflect the harsh realities of the unjust incarceration of innocent blacks. However, current events cause the director to turn around, and the main character, Chris, is instead sent away from the family estate by his best friend. The final script won Jordan Peele an Oscar for the screenplay.
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
A carnivorous alien plant befriends a nervous florist and manipulates him into feeding on his blood in exchange for fame and fortune. Little Shop of Horrors is an adaptation of the 1982 off-Broadway musical featuring a dark ending where evil plants take over the world.
One Weekly entertainment article, Frank Oz stated that his goal was to keep the film close to the roots of the play, and that the film’s initial dark ending caused a negative reaction from audiences during test screenings. Seymour’s suicide attempt and the deaths of two main characters were replaced by a softer finale involving Audrey II and the deaths of Seymour and Audrey living happily ever after.
Titanic (1997)
Titanic It follows a fictional love story set during the sinking of the ocean liner Titanic in 1911. James cameron changed the ending of the film during production, the film became one of the highest-grossing films of all time.
Bill Paxton revealed details of the original script in a 2017 interview with Yahoo, and the script called for treasure hunters to interrupt Rose before tossing the diamond necklace into an abyss. Rose informs the group to value life for the treasures they are constantly searching for, and the team allows her to throw the Heart of the Ocean necklace overboard. James Cameron scrapped the idea in the editing department, feeling that audiences would not be interested in the resolution of secondary characters after the tense scenes of the sinking ship. Instead, the sermon ending was replaced with one that saw Rose drop the jewels without the team’s knowledge.
“Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991)
In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, two cyborgs are sent back in time, one to protect humanity’s last savior, the other to destroy him. after by Arnold Schwarzenegger A T-800 model is covered in hot steel, the theatrical cut ends with Sarah Conner’s voiceover explaining that the Terminator’s change of heart gives hope to humanity.
The theatrical cut is the resolution most fans know and love. Thirty years after the main events of the film, a special edition was released that contained an alternate ending. Sarah watches her son play with her granddaughter on a park bench. Most fans agree that the footage looks out of place. Also, the visuals have not aged well, so the 2020 version of the film looks laughable today.
I Am Legend (2007)
I’m a legend stars Will Smith Robert Neville as a military scientist seeking a cure during the zombie apocalypse. The film’s original ending drew criticism for deviating from the book’s finale. Alternate ending for I’m a legend added to the special edition DVD.
In the first closing of the film, Neville blows up a group of Darkseekers and himself with a grenade to allow his two allies to escape treatment. The alternate ending had Darkseeker reason with Neville to get the lab theme. Neville realized that his research findings about Darkseekers showing signs of intelligence were wrong. The ending mirrored the book and resulted in a failed Neville showing mercy to the mutated Darkseekers.
“The Clue” (1985)
1985 index The film adapts a mysterious board game in which guests of the mansion gather to determine which one committed the murder at the scene. Different endings were sent to different theaters, allowing audiences to experience one of three versions of the film.
Met with mixed reviews, index was a box office failure and many viewers felt that the multiple ending was a terrible gimmick. Over time, fans of the game embraced the film and recognized the numerous stops that stayed true to the board game that inspired the film. The speculative nature of the game is “How could this happen”, “What about this?” It is performed with three endings that demonstrate their expressions. and “What Really Happened.”
“Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” (1983)
Luke Skywalker leads the rebels to destroy Darth Vader’s Death Star. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Luke saves his father from the clutches of the dark side before his death. The reworked ending includes Luke seeing Force visions of his father and mentors during the celebration at the end of the saga.
The original idea was for Yoda, Obi-Wan and Anakin to use the Force to come back to life and embrace the Rebels during the celebration. The June 12, 1981 script was scrapped, resulting in the finale fans are familiar with.
