Movies That Kill Off the Main Character

[Stearmen]

Actually one of my favourite moments in the entire eleven seasons. It certainly rang far truer to me, for whatever reason, than had they done elsewise. That they nodded to Henry about this in the very final episode was also a nice touch

The reason it worked was, the director did not tell the cast that Stevenson's character was being killed off. They just sprang it on them as the cameras were rolling! Really worked, you would think the man really died!

 

[Flicka]

Does Queen Margot count? I love that, but she doesn't die. Her lover does though. I love the ending scene when she's driving away with his head in a sack on her lap.

And... Thelma and Louise. Lady Jane Grey (with Helena Bonham Carter). Watership Down. Elvira Madigan.

The only plus point it has at all is that it ended. I watched it once, under sufferance, for an ex-girlfriend. Costing me two hours of my life in that fashion is not the reason she is an ex - but it should be.

I tried to watch it once when it was on tv, but could only stand about five minutes. Still sure it cost me vital IQ points.

The things we do for love... My ex made me watch every single Rutger Hauer movie in the universe and let me tell you, that man made some seriously awful movies. Good ones too, but some of them... :eeek:

 

[Stearmen]

Jeremiah Johnson and The Great Waldo Pepper. While we never see Redford's character actually die, it is pretty certain they did!

 

[Edward]

Quadrophenia (though that's open to interpretation) - one for any lurking Mods (not moderators...).

That is what makes a show a tragedy.

We had some discussion a while back on whether Gatsby had to die at the end of his story. I suggested an alternate, happy ending that would involve Gatsby and Daisy skipping town and running off for South America before Wilson, or the cops could catch up with them. But I also pointed out that this would change the story from a tragedy to a farce.

I disagree - that would be the truest of tragedies. Had their relationship carried on, Daisy, vile creature that she was, would have destroyed Gatsby more fully and finally than death ever could.

The reason it worked was, the director did not tell the cast that Stevenson's character was being killed off. They just sprang it on them as the cameras were rolling! Really worked, you would think the man really died!

Yes, only Gary Berghoff knew in advance (for obvious reasons). I also gathered that Stevenson was on set as they filmed... The reactions were very real indeed - they did only two takes and (if memory serves) used the second largely because that clang when someone drops an instrument in the background was felt to be so effective.

 

[DesertDan]

Grave Of The Fireflies

 

[W-D Forties]

Hey, lay off Atonement! I find Kiera Knightly as irritating as most of you seem to but there's really nothing better on a rainy evening when you are all alone and feeling a bit sorry for yourself than a lovely 2hr sob fest.

Spartacus has the same effect, I cry for hours every time I watch the bit at the end where he's on the cross and looking at his baby....sniffle... sniffle...

 

[MisterCairo]

Hey, lay off Atonement! I find Kiera Knightly as irritating as most of you seem to but there's really nothing better on a rainy evening when you are all alone and feeling a bit sorry for yourself than a lovely 2hr sob fest.

Spartacus has the same effect, I cry for hours every time I watch the bit at the end where he's on the cross and looking at his baby....sniffle... sniffle...

I feel the same way watching A Bridge Too Far or Bridge on the River Kwai. Most movies about bridges, actually.....

 

[sheeplady]

DWatership Down.

One of my favorites.

 

[m0nk]

Children of Men had a few main characters (including who I imagine was the lead) killed off as the movie progressed. Clive Owen had a very slow, sad death. It kinda shocked me when Julianna Moore was shot in the head, too... their deaths made the movie more emotional though.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

The things we do for love... My ex made me watch every single Rutger Hauer movie in the universe and let me tell you, that man made some seriously awful movies. Good ones too, but some of them... :eeek:

In Fatherland I thought Rutger Hauer looked like Jerry Springer.

 

[MisterCairo]

Rutger Hauer rules.....

 

[JWS34]

All Quiet on the Western Front

 

[Edward]

Children of Men had a few main characters (including who I imagine was the lead) killed off as the movie progressed. Clive Owen had a very slow, sad death. It kinda shocked me when Julianna Moore was shot in the head, too... their deaths made the movie more emotional though.

It was a stroke of cinematic genius what they did with her - it came so out of the blue, and after you' invested in the character. Wonderful.

 

[Touchofevil]

It was a stroke of cinematic genius what they did with her - it came so out of the blue, and after you' invested in the character. Wonderful.

It let you know that no one was safe and added to the tension.

 

[Edward]

It let you know that no one was safe and added to the tension.

Exactly. Not unlike what Hitchcock did with Janet Leigh in Psycho (as nodded to in Scream with Drew Barrymore). I love it when they do that - that and films like 28 Days Later, with a largely unknown cast. Sometimes suspension of disbelief works (we always know Indy is going to escape the Nazis / Thugees / Soviets), but all too often in modern cinema there is just something severely lacking when you know they won't kill off the big star at all (let alone early on), the love interest will be won over in the end, and so on - there's no genuine tension.

 

[scottyrocks]

Mars Attacks!!! Actually, I think they killed off just about everyone.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

It's interesting that the original books for both The Blue Max, and To Live and Die in L.A., both have very different endings, from the films.

 

[Haversack]

Another movie in which the title character is killed at the end is Von Ryan's Express. In fact, Frank Sinatra insisted that his character be seen to die as he did not want to do a sequel.

Haversack

 

[MisterCairo]

SPOILER ALERT:

















Layer Cake.

 

[Bugsy]

I]Julius Ceasar[/I]