The scene ends, the music kicks in, the credits roll -- PERFECTION

The other day, Filmbrain and a friend were discussing film endings that are punctuated with a piece of music, and the powerful effect that it has when done well. Not just simply great endings (of which there are many) but ones that use music to knock the wind out of us, so to speak, with its unexpected entrance. The timing has to be just right, as does the selection of music -- but the end result can send shivers down the spine and raise goose bumps. Filmbrain initially thought of Lost in Translation, but then realized that the Jesus and Mary Chain's Just Like Honey was playing for several minutes before the end. There's no special punctuation when the credits roll, and therefore doesn't count. The following is a list of films that Filmbrain (and friend) came up with.

Goodfellas -- Henry is standing in front of his suburban nightmare home, staring desperately into the camera, while the voiceover declares, "I'm an average nobody. I get to live the rest of my life as a schnook." The first strains of Sid Vicious' rendition of My Way can be heard. Cut to Tommy firing straight into the camera, then back to Henry as he turns and walks into the house. ("Regrets, I've 'ad a few. . .") Cue credits. Cue goose bumps. All About Lily Chou Chou -- The tormented student playing a Debussy piece on the piano. Cut to black. The word RELOAD appears on the screen as the haunting final song Gliding begins. Trainspotting -- Renton, growing more and more out of focus as he walks towards the camera, while we hear the voiceover of his final "choose life" speech ("...the car, the compact disc and electrical tin opener, good health, low cholesterol, dental insurance. . .) The scene fades to black, and that beautiful keyboard riff from Underworld's Born Slippy rises from out of the background as the speech continues and the word Trainspotting falls into view. Betty Blue -- Zorg is sitting at the kitchen table, writing. The piano theme that he and Betty played earlier is heard. Freeze frame, the screen turns blue, and the pianos are replaced by an electric guitar. Absolutely perfect. Boogie Nights -- Dirk standing in front of a mirror, his "talent" exposed. "I'm a big bright shining star." As he zippers up, performs a karate kick, and leaves the dressing room, the opening violin of ELO's Living Thing begins. Cut to black just as the guitars strike their first chords. Spine-tingling stuff -- one of the best examples of this. Eyes Wide Shut -- Alice and Bill in a very crowded FAO Schwarz. Alice is delivering her final lines to Bill -- "And you know, there is something very important we need to do as soon as possible. Fuck." Cut to black, cue Shostakovich waltz. Filmbrain would love to hear about some others. Which films cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand on end? Please feel free to share your favorites in the comments section, below.

Comments

[Matt]

A Clockwork Orange. I don't think we even hear "Singin' in the Rain" fade in; it's suddenly there, in all it's troubling glory.

[Aaron H.]

Love it or hate it, Bowie's "Young Americans" at the end of Dogville was memorably provocative, even if von Trier's intentions were prankish at best.

Coincidentally, that isn't Sid Vicious singing at the end of GoodFellas... that's actually Gary Oldman himself AS Sid Vicious CHANNELLING Sinatra. Brilliant.

[FIlmbrain]

Are you kidding? Scorsese chose to use Oldman over the original Sid recording? That, sir, is a remarkable bit of trivia!

(Are you positive about that?)

[Trixie Belden]

I love the way Tarantino uses music in any part of his films, but Bobbie Womack singing "Across 110th Street" at the end of Jackie Brown is, it has to be said, perfection. Just as in Pulp Fiction, one character is heading off to a new life and the other to a death (even though Max Cherry's is only figurative), and the fatalism of their choices is captured in the haunting music. The lyrics about the pressures of ghetto life also underscore the way that Jackie's desperate situation helped her to become who she is by the film's end, for better or for worse.

[Will Pfeifer]

Another one from Kubrick: The end of "Full Metal Jacket," with the Marines marching along, singing the Mickey Mouse Club theme, then, as the movie ends, the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" immediately kicks in. The song worked so well it was ripped off for the Vietnam-era show "Tour of Duty" a couple of years later.

[Aaron]

My choice is actually a different P.T. Anderson film -- Magnolia. I always remember the sequence at the very end. Aimee Mann's "Save Me" starts in the car with John C. Reilly, but then we quickly cut to Melora Walters looking sad on her bed. The camera doesn't leave her face for the rest of the scene, and she doesn't say anything, but before long, we know that Reilly has returned to her because we can hear his voice ... barely. The song is louder than him, however. The camera slowly gets closer to Walters, but her eyes are looking off-screen at Reilly. Then he approaches and sits on the edge of her bed, but we don't see anything more than his back because the shot is still completely focused on her. He continues his speech telling her how wonderful a person she is and then says, "You want to be with me? Then be with me." At which point she looks down. He says "You see?" She sort of nods slightly. At this moment, the song goes into its bridge with a slightly more aggressive guitar riff, she looks up, straight into the camera and at the audience, smiles, and the screen cuts to black as Mann's vocals start again. Obviously, she's been "saved," and the lonliness and randomness of everything in this movie suddenly all seems alright.

It's probably one of the most vivid recollections of any movie ending I've ever had. The guitar riff and that smile and then cut to black ... it still makes me smile and cry and tingle no matter how many times I watch it. Absolutely brilliant.

[Aaron]

Just a brief addendum: even though the music is already playing for a couple minutes, the song does have a specific punctuation, to use your term, at that moment when the screen goes black that's every bit as powerful, in my eyes (and ears), as the kind of situation you're describing.

[Trixie Belden]

At the end of Manhattan, when Tracy says, "You have to have a little faith in people," Woody Allen (no longer the same person he was before) looks up, down, away, then smiles. And just as at the beginning, Rhapsody in Blue starts up again, a little before the credits roll.

[Aaron H.]

re: GoodFellas
After a little research, I stand corrected. Originally, Marty chose the Gary Oldman-sung version from Sid and Nancy, but a legal issue made it too difficult to use that one, so he settled for Sid's proper. I had been positive it was Oldman for years, now! D'oh.

[FIlmbrain]

These are all great examples -- thanks so much. I even pulled out my copies of all the above films to look at them.

Aaron, you are so right about Magnolia. I would also add the bit in the opening works the same way -- right after that prologue about coincidence, the screen goes black and Aimee's version of One begins. Perfect.

Someone on Listology added Fight Club -- another great example.

As for the version of My Way in Goodfellas -- the end credits claim it's Sid Vicious. Does anybody have any more info on this?

[Aaron H.]

Right above you there, clown.
Now go get your shinebox.

(It's been a few years, I may have to watch that again soon.)

Did you get my E-mail?

[dave]

I love the way Erasure's "We'll Be Together Again" come up at the end of Rules of Attraction. Speeding down a dark road from Sean's POV (evocative Lost Highway's credits - going nowhere), the movie ends mid sentence ("the only thing I could remember about her was - "). Lyrically, the song sums up several of the movies themes, while retaining the sheen of pop perfection in the face of some serious darkness.

[rotcivnil]

I've not seen this film in more than a decade, so I can't be sure if the ending fits the criteria of the subject at hand. But the last freeze frame shot of "Gallipoli" (I won't disclose what it is for those who may not have seen it) with the slow build of "Adagio" has got to be one of the most profound and chilling movie moment I ever experienced. Again, it's been a while, so it may very well be completely different than I remembered. The ending for Shunji Iwai's "love letter" is runner up.

[globalvillager]

Moulin Rouge.. I like the Bolero song with variable bpms at the end

[wayne]

My vote for the absolute worst ending is the one for Dogville. I thought Von Trier's ham-handed misanthropy was particularly grating with Nicole Kidman (at least generated interesting performances with Bjork and Emily Watson), but when he showed all of those gritty Depression-era pictures to the tune of David Bowie's "Young Americans," I felt like someone spit in my face. If I had seen that movie in the theatre, I would have thrown something at the screen during the credits.

[rtg]

what a great topic of discussion. there is certainly a difference between slamming the door shut like scorsese does with goodfellas or kubrick with full metal jacket compared to slowly lowering the curtain the way Woody ends Manhattan or the final moments of Hawks Rio Bravo. Dean Martin and Walter Brennan walking away from the camera as credits roll and Dean sings. Or Jesus Son. Crudup walks away as Billy Bragg and Wilco perform Guthrie's Airline to Heaven.

more is involved than just a director's ability to cap a movie on the right note. No amount of style will compensate for a lack of emotion. I believe this is where Alison Maclean succeeds and pt anderson (boogie nights or magnolia) falls a little short.

My top choice is Cassavetes Faces. Lynn Carlin sits down on the steps as the music begins...

[jayson]

The Faces playing as Max Fischer gets a slow dance with ms. Cross at the end of Rushmore makes me want to start chasing old crayon drawn dreams again.

[Paul Doherty]

The Kronos Quartet wrote a piece of music that perfectly marries the ending of "Requiem For A Dream". It gets me when I listen to it in the car.

"2001" is the only other film that comes to mind.

[James Cobo]

The Flying Pickets, "Only You", from the end of Fallen Angels. I've actually called that the best use of a pop song in any movie in the past - maaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe "Layla" in Goodfellas, but that kinda feels like cheating to me since until the recent DVD release, I'd only seen GF on laserdisc, and the "Layla" scene opens the last side. So it works just a little better than usual :)

Also, I really really really like the way There's Something About Mary ends - Jonathan Richman singing that song while Ted & Mary kiss, then - uh - the ending happens. Quick cut to a black title card and dead silence, then the "Build Me Up Buttercup" sequence kicks in. I actually stood up and cheered my TV when I bought the movie.

[Vince Keenan]

Another Danny Boyle film -- Shallow Grave. I have a soft spot for Andy Williams' song "Happy Heart" and always thought it would be perfect to use in a movie. When I heard those opening notes, which make a sly counterpoint to the orgy of greed we've just witnessed, I began laughing uncontrollably and couldn't stop. The ushers were ready to call the paramedics.