Left to one's own interpretation...

[Chairman Kaga]

Good one Ribbons. I only heard about that one recently. I had always assumed he was ok.....naive me.

[RockyDennis]

The suitcases in Pulp Fiction and Ronin are my favorite examples of this. Its so much better not knowing, although the theory that Marcellus Wallace's soul is really cool

[Seppuku]

The ex-girlfriend making sweet love with the dead guy in the toilet of the convenience store in Clerks.

You know, I think somewhere in that pretty head of hers, she knew what was going on. First of all, it'd been a few hours and rigor mortis must have set in by then, the old guy would'a been colder than an Alaskan's freezer...you don't think she'd notice that? And secondly, wouldn't we all like to engage in a spot of necrophilia every now and then, it's just that the opportunity doesn't arise too often...she just saw her doorway and she walked through it.

[MadCapsule]

The end of The Graduate. Neither one of them looks like they're too sure that they made the right decision.

[TonyWilson]

The end of The Graduate. Neither one of them looks like they're too sure that they made the right decision.

Good one. Didn't the director say that in the end they were going to grow up to be just like their parents anyway?

[Seppuku]

The end of The Graduate. Neither one of them looks like they're too sure that they made the right decision.

Good one. Didn't the director say that in the end they were going to grow up to be just like their parents anyway?

Dustin Hoffman said something along those lines. He proposed a sequel in which he'd still be together with Katherine Ross's character, but he'd meet a young woman on the side who he would break into the sexual world, thus effectively becoming a male Mrs. Robertson.

[Gheorghe Zamfir]

Dustin Hoffman said something along those lines. He proposed a sequel in which he'd still be together with Katherine Ross's character, but he'd meet a young woman on the side who he would break into the sexual world, thus effectively becoming a male Mrs. Robertson.

Must be good to be famous, hit your 50s and you can propose ideas that involve doing stuff like this with a teenager and the words "statutory rape" will never even come up.

And the ultimate ambiguous ending is Being There, I've tried to bullshit ideas about Constant being a metaphor for humanity's need to create a Jesus/savior-figure, even where one doesn't exist, being that Constant is nothing like a savior, but being the ultimate blank slate people write him into that role, and the ending plays into that power by simulating one of Jesus's miracles (and the idea alone creates interesting allusions and consequences to current religious ideas/stories), but mostly I'm always left with a "what the fuck" (though I've always liked Ebert's idea that, like Road Runner, its just cause the guy never looks down).

[Ribbons]

Dustin Hoffman said something along those lines. He proposed a sequel in which he'd still be together with Katherine Ross's character, but he'd meet a young woman on the side who he would break into the sexual world, thus effectively becoming a male Mrs. Robertson.

And that sequel was called Rumor Has It...

I keed, I keed.

[Tubbs Tattsyrup]

From the RESERVOIR DOGS screenplay:

Mr. Pink is standing motionless. Finally he grabs the satchel of diamonds and RUNS out the door.

We hear outside a CAR START. Then the SOUND of a BULLHORN yells out:

POLICE FORCE (OS) - Freeze! Get out of the car and lie face down on the ground!

MR. PINK (OS) - Don't shoot!

We now hear SIRENS, the SOUNDS of more CARS DRIVING UP, MEN RUNNING to the warehouse.

Don't know if that clears up any ambiguity there or not, but there you go. Sometimes there's a man.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

Peter Sellers walking on water in Being There.

Woody Allen and Mariel Hemingway at the end of Manhattan.

Did David die and leave poor old Teddy alone at the end of AI?

PALPATINE DID FAKE HIS LIGHTSABRE DEFEAT TO MACE WINDU YOU gentlemen!!!!!!!!

The fate of the Sioux at the end of Dances With Wolves.

Did Tarka The Otter really die at the end of Tarka The Otter?

Harvey? It looked like he was real at the end.

The French Connection. BANG!! Then what?

Will The New York Times really publish Robert Redford's story at the end of 3 Days Of The Condor?

Will Thomas Gaffney really blow up the Shelly Long Blow Up Doll I sent him, therefore triggering the explosive device?

[Ribbons]

The Thing!

[Seppuku]

No way was Childs one of...them!

[DennisMM]

As for Bladerunner, the Director's Cut got rid of the voiceover (thereby de-humanising Deckard a little bit), and added the unicorn dream sequence. So, when he picks up the little paper unicorn at the end, we're supposed to think that all of his memories and dreams have been implanted, ie he's a replicant.

His name, Deckard, is also supposed to evoke Descartes: I think, therefore I am.

Once again, a smart guy like me failed to pick up on any of this before I was told. I thought losing the VO was a good idea, because Ford sounded not just tired but bored.

I suppose I can't judge the Director's Cut as a separate piece of work, at least as regards symbolism and theme.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

Ford has sounded bored ever since Working Girl in all his movies. I swear that guy thinks that mumbling and hurrafing his lines will get him an Oscar.

The thing is, what he does best of who he is, he seems to frown upon. Han Solo, The Mosquito Coast, stuff like that.

[ThisIsTheGirl]

From the RESERVOIR DOGS screenplay:

Mr. Pink is standing motionless. Finally he grabs the satchel of diamonds and RUNS out the door.

We hear outside a CAR START. Then the SOUND of a BULLHORN yells out:

POLICE FORCE (OS) - Freeze! Get out of the car and lie face down on the ground!

MR. PINK (OS) - Don't shoot!

We now hear SIRENS, the SOUNDS of more CARS DRIVING UP, MEN RUNNING to the warehouse.

Don't know if that clears up any ambiguity there or not, but there you go. Sometimes there's a man.

I'm not sure it does clear anything up, sadly. This thread is about exactly that question:

Do you think what film makers say outisde of the confines of the film should "count" when discussing these ambiguous bits here or there?

Now, that screenplay is presumably the one sold by Faber & Faber, which isn't actually the shooting script, it has a couple of slight differences here and there. It's up to the individual, but Tarantino could personally email me and say that Pink gets arrested, and I'd still ignore it. I like the guy too much for him to go down.

[Chairman Kaga]

But his name was like Mr. Pussy.

[Hermanator X]

I watched Primer last night, and as far as this thread goes, I dont know where to start. So im not going too!!

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

Will Thomas Gaffney really blow up the Shelly Long Blow Up Doll I sent him, therefore triggering the explosive device?

Hehehe... just a to gotta to give a this a some love, eh? Nice a one, paisan... nice a one...

[AtomicHyperbole]

I'm in two minds about open endings. I love them when they're done right, I hate them when they're all setup and no payoff too - like the idea of a movie anticipating a sequel that never happens, for example.

<SPOILERS FOLLOW>

Good open ending - The end of Sideways. The knock on the door. Just doesn't answer your questions, but you KNOW it's going to end alright even though you don't see what happens. The setup doesn't require the payoff, you know it'll all be alright for Miles.

Bad open ending - Alien Resurrection. OK, it sets up the Earth War premise, but does it in such an awful, contrived and obvious manner. Made worse by the fact that AVP destroyed the timeline by having the Aliens already there. AVP also had a baaaad open ending, kinda like the DUM DUM DAAAH end of Reloaded. Unfortunately the latter film had a sequel.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

12 Monkeys. "i'm an insurance" or "i'm in insurance", big fuckin' difference Gilliam, you rascally bastard.

[havocSchultz]

Lost in Space - maybe the whole open-ended ending wasn't too bad - except for the fact that the whole movie itself was "too bad" - so the fact that they desperately set it up for a sequel (that'll never come) just felt painful...

[AtomicHyperbole]

I was on the set to that movie. They had some real safety issues on the planet set apparently.

[havocSchultz]

I was on the set to that movie. They had some real safety issues on the planet set apparently.

i wouldn't doubt it - anything with "matt leblanc acting" has got to be deemed un-safe and non-injestable...

[magicmonkey]

Ok, back on topic. The ending of Limbo. Ouch. John Sayles knows how to play you good here. Do they live or do they die? You know, a simple thing like that.

Also, I guess you can't have this thread without a mention going to The Italian Job.

[Cabiria]

Ok, back on topic. The ending of Limbo. Ouch. John Sayles knows how to play you good here. Do they live or do they die? You know, a simple thing like that.

I saw this in the theatre, and the audience reaction was hostile, to put it mildly. I've never felt such anger from an audience (outside a Uwe Boll film, that is). I liked the ending though- you don't have to know what happens to them. Their stories are told.

[Carolian]

I think there's been a hell of a backlash against it, but the end of LOST IN TRANSLATION really worked for me as an open-ended finale, what with Bill whispering to Scarlett, and the bastards not revealing what was said... yeah. Almost anything could have happened after the film ended.

And of course, we can't forget RESERVOIR DOGS, and the eternal "did-they-catch-Mr.-Pink" debate.

[unikrunk]

Well, I will throw out the obvious; BladeRunner directors cut. Is Deckard a replicant? Is he going to ride away with Rachel on the back of a majestic unicorn? Will Edward James Olmos’ complexion clear up?

[Peven]

I think there's been a hell of a backlash against it, but the end of LOST IN TRANSLATION really worked for me as an open-ended finale, what with Bill whispering to Scarlett, and the bastards not revealing what was said... yeah. Almost anything could have happened after the film ended.

And of course, we can't forget RESERVOIR DOGS, and the eternal "did-they-catch-Mr.-Pink" debate.

if you listen closely at the end, you can hear the cops outside yelling at Mr Pink to freeze, hands up, etc., as he gets busted outside the warehouse. man, that dude was funny looking, in a general sort of way.

[Peven]

Carpenter's "The Thing" is a pretty cool example of an open ending where the viewer is left to make their own assumptions about what happens after the screen goes black.

[colonel_lugz]

I think there's been a hell of a backlash against it, but the end of LOST IN TRANSLATION really worked for me as an open-ended finale, what with Bill whispering to Scarlett, and the bastards not revealing what was said... yeah. Almost anything could have happened after the film ended.

And of course, we can't forget RESERVOIR DOGS, and the eternal "did-they-catch-Mr.-Pink" debate.

if you listen closely at the end, you can hear the cops outside yelling at Mr Pink to freeze, hands up, etc., as he gets busted outside the warehouse. may that dude was funny looking, in a general sort of way.

According to Tarantino, Mr. Pink does in fact survive. You can verify this by increasing the volume of the background sounds: When Mr. Pink runs out of the building with the diamonds, police officers can be heard shouting at him to put his hands on the ground. Gunshots can be heard, then Mr. Pink shouts that he has been shot. You can then hear the officers talking to each other as Pink is arrested.

[El Scorcho]

Heh, I read the title of the thread and I immediately thought of Sideways...

[AtomicHyperbole]

Heheheh. Although to be fair there's some great examples here of movies that leave their endings open but well. The Thing ends really, really well.

Shame The Matrix didn't finish at the first movie. When I saw it, I didn't think "sequel". I thought "satisfying".

[DennisMM]

Pulling out one of my favorites (it's in the DVD player right now) that I bet none of you has seen. Night Moves with Gene Hackman.

Harry, the protagonist, has spent much of the film trying to figure out why a character was killed. He learns in the last minute of the movie, but he's stuck in an out-of-control speedboat, with a leg injury that has so far kept him from reaching the controls. Harry is literally going around in circles, which physically expresses the frustration he's felt through the movie. Does he bleed out? Does he make it to the controls? If he does, what happens then?

[Peven]

Heheheh. Although to be fair there's some great examples here of movies that leave their endings open but well. The Thing ends really, really well.

Shame The Matrix didn't finish at the first movie. When I saw it, I didn't think "sequel". I thought "satisfying".

you aren't alone feeling that way about the first "Matrix". there was no need for the next two, except the need to ca$h in.

[DennisMM]

Hehehe h. Although to be fair there's some great examples here of movies that leave their endings open but well. The Thing ends really, really well.

Shame The Matrix didn't finish at the first movie. When I saw it, I didn't think "sequel". I thought "satisfying".

you aren't alone feeling that way about the first "Matrix". there was no need for the next two, except the need to c@sh in.

The Matrix needed no furtherance at all. Seeing Neo fly, knowing he has learned to manipulate the Matrix in ways no other human had, left me smiling hard. We all knew where this was going, at least in a general sense.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

Pulling out one of my favorites (it's in the DVD player right now) that I bet none of you has seen. Night Moves with Gene Hackman.

YOU LOSE!

Good flick, great example of 70's neo-noir/existentialism...yeah, he's a dead man at the end, floundering around the ocean in circles, a powerful metaphor for Hackman's character.

[unikrunk]

I found What Is It? to be open ended.
/also open middled and begun...?

[Gheorghe Zamfir]

I was lukewarm to The Station Agent on first viewing, I've come to love the film quite a bit more on repeated viewings, but I'm still conflicted on the ending. Definitely open-ended, but maybe too much so, the first time I saw the movie I didn't think it was open-ended, I actually thought the reel had cut the movie off prematurely, I just sat there with a big WTF, that's the end? Expecting the ending now I'm not as discontent as I was the first time, though I don't know if I can say I appreciate or am satisfied by the ending like I am with films like Sideways or The Thing.

[cap]

Hehehe h. Although to be fair there's some great examples here of movies that leave their endings open but well. The Thing ends really, really well.

Shame The Matrix didn't finish at the first movie. When I saw it, I didn't think "sequel". I thought "satisfying".

you aren't alone feeling that way about the first "Matrix". there was no need for the next two, except the need to ca$h in.

Agreed, but isn't that what Hollywood is all about now (the last 10years or so as well).

That and showing a total lack of creativity......

[Mimekiller]

Edward Norton just laying his head against the window clearly depresed by his dads fantasticl version of what could be was a awesome ending.

[TheBaxter]

I just saw Broken Flowers and the (lack of) ending frustrated me... I want to know who, if anyone, was his son's mother dammit! and you know there won't be a Broken Flowers 2, where the son shows up and says "oh yeah my mom was the animal whisperer chick' and they go on a roadtrip or something, so we'll never know. i know the movie is a character piece and it's not supposed to really matter who was the son, or the mom, or if he even had a son... but the whole film was still about a quest with no resolution.

let's not forget the biggest open-ended movie of all time, The Empire Strikes Back. That film frustrated me as a kid, i couldn't stand it that i had to wait even longer to find out if vader was telling the truth, what happened to han, etc. i still think TESB, as a stand-alone film, is weaker because of that, though it works as part of the trilogy.

[RaulMonkey]

Don't forget about the film that should have been (relatively) open-ended but wasn't: A.I.

[Gheorghe Zamfir]

I just saw Broken Flowers and the (lack of) ending frustrated me... I want to know who, if anyone, was his son's mother dammit! and you know there won't be a Broken Flowers 2, where the son shows up and says "oh yeah my mom was the animal whisperer chick' and they go on a roadtrip or something, so we'll never know. i know the movie is a character piece and it's not supposed to really matter who was the son, or the mom, or if he even had a son... but the whole film was still about a quest with no resolution.

Ugh! Right there with you, that's almost an ending that'll piss you off. I've invested two hours of my time into this guy's slow, neandering, and really not terribly entertaining journey, and my pay-off is that, oh, ok, before he didn't care, now he cares, and that's the point. I don't care if he cares, I CARE, that's why I'm still watching the film! At the least he could have just trotted that lolita to randomly walk out naked again, then I wouldn't have noticed the ending.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

The end of Brazil, or rather the build up to the end of it. What really happened? Did he dream it? Did it happen for real?

Now that damn song is in my head now.

[magicmonkey]

Brazil, wow, I think the guy goes nutsack crazy Kirk. At least I would have by that point!

Gotta add Blood Simple. Does that water drip in his eye or not. Those darn Coens!! *shakes fist*

[Cabiria]

The end of Brazil, or rather the build up to the end of it. What really happened? Did he dream it? Did it happen for real?

Now that damn song is in my head now.

Mine too. Thanks for that.

This is a classic ending, but I think the confusion stems from the multiple versions of the film that exist. After all, there is one ending where they all get away and live in the pretty trailer. I prefer the darker version with Palin in the baby head looking at us all. Much creepier.

Bra-zil! When hearts were entertained in June, we stood beneath an amber moon and softly murmured "someday soon"...

[tapehead]

I just saw Broken Flowers and the (lack of) ending frustrated me... I want to know who, if anyone, was his son's mother dammit! and you know there won't be a Broken Flowers 2, where the son shows up and says "oh yeah my mom was the animal whisperer chick' and they go on a roadtrip or something, so we'll never know. i know the movie is a character piece and it's not supposed to really matter who was the son, or the mom, or if he even had a son... but the whole film was still about a quest with no resolution.

got to disagree with this sumation of Broken Flowers - Spoiler spoiler - go see one of last year's best movies spoiler - though we don't know which chick ha d his child, orwho was his son - we have gone from Bill's character not giving a crap about it at the start of the film, to then ending moment, where clearly the most urgent and important question in the world to him is who and where his son might be - he cares! this ending knocked my socks off

[tapehead]

I just saw Broken Flowers and the (lack of) ending frustrated me... I want to know who, if anyone, was his son's mother dammit! and you know there won't be a Broken Flowers 2, where the son shows up and says "oh yeah my mom was the animal whisperer chick' and they go on a roadtrip or something, so we'll never know. i know the movie is a character piece and it's not supposed to really matter who was the son, or the mom, or if he even had a son... but the whole film was still about a quest with no resolution.

got to disagree with this sumation of Broken Flowers - Spoiler spoiler - go see one of last year's best movies spoiler - though we don't know which chick had his child, or who or where his son was - we have gone from Bill's character not giving a crap about it at the start of the film, to then ending moment, where clearly the most urgent and important question in the world to him is who and where his son might be - he cares! this ending knocked my socks off

[DrillerKiller]

I absolutely loved (not sure if love is the right word, but appreciated - definitely) Funny Games, but leaving the ending open like that just annoyed the piss out of me.

[thx777b]

If you want open endings just go back and revisit Italian Neo-Realism Cinema... Especialy check out filmmaker Ermanno Olmi over at www.imdb.com. He directed IL POSTO if you know about it.