When most actors take on a big blockbuster type film they usually have to change their appearance because they are either too skinny or too big, Total Film have come up with a list of stars who have buffed up for their roles in these movies.
Chris Evans
The Role: Steve Rogers/Captain America in Captain America
The Technique: Chris Evans did gym sessions a-plenty and ate lots of protein-rich foods. He said to MTV, “It’s the workouts that, you know, make you want to vomit. It’s horrible.”
Did They Keep It Up?:: In a word, no, again, to MTV, he said, “Oh my god, when shooting was done I just stopped going to the gym completely for about three months.”
Christian Bale
The Role: Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Begins
The Technique: Bale went straight from The Machinist where he was 130 pounds, and got to 230 pounds, 40 pounds more than what Christopher Nolan wanted. He said to IGN, “I couldn’t do one push up the first day. All of the muscles were gone, so that was a real tough time of rebuilding all of that.”
Did They Keep It Up?:: None of his weight-changes have been as drastic as this. However, he has since slimmed down for The Fighter, in the role of heroin addict Dickie Ecklund.
Hugh Jackman
The Role: Logan/Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine
The Technique: According to Mike Ryan, Jackman’s personal trainer, they would train in the morning, so for a 6am filming start, they would be in the gym at 4am, to do an hour and a half of training.
Did They Keep It Up?:: Jackman has to get even bigger for The Wolverine, he told the LA Times: “[Darren Aronofsky] said that Wolverine, in the comics, is powerful, stocky – you know, he’s short and thick. So he said, ‘I want you to go there, get bigger’.”
Sylvester Stallone
The Role: Rocky in Rocky
The Technique: For Rocky III, Stallone would do a two mile jog, 18 rounds of sparring, two hours of weightlifting and skipping. Then he would take a nap, go for a run and go for a swim.
Did They Keep It Up?:: After Rocky, Stallone’s body became instantly recognisable and he’s done another five Rocky films and four Rambo films since then. Plus a whole host of other action films.
Demi Moore
The Role: Jordan O’Neill in G.I. Jane
The Technique: Moore told Harper’s Bazaar, “I just wanted to be believable.” And believable she was, after her two hours a day pumping iron and breaking it up with a six-mile run.
Did They Keep It Up?:: Well, after 1997, Demi Moore took a break for three years. She said that preparing for the role nearly killed her, but her body isn’t looking too bad at all these days.
Christopher Reeve
The Role: Clark Kent/Superman in Superman: The Movie
The Technique: High-protein, weights and 90 minutes on a trampoline. Reeve said to a magazine in 1981, “I put on thirty pounds, all muscle, in fact, I found muscles I never knew I had.”
Did They Keep It Up?:: He continued the role for another three films, so had to keep in ship-shape for those.
Mark Wahlberg
The Role: Micky Ward in The Fighter
The Technique: In 2008, he said, “‘I get up everyday at 5am to train for a movie that might not even happen. It’s depressing.” Training for a film that isn’t even definite, there’s dedication.
Did They Keep It Up?:: Wahlberg didn’t keep up quite as intense a workout, but with a Fighter 2 likely to happen, he’ll have to get back into shape.
Robert De Niro
The Role: Jake La Motta in Raging Bull
The Technique: De Niro became La Motta. He trained with him, followed his regime and even fought in three organised boxing fights, winning two of them.
Did They Keep It Up?:: De Niro has been gaining and losing weight for his roles long before Christian Bale became renowned for it. His rolls have come and gone with his roles.
Gerard Butler
The Role: King Leonidas in 300
The Technique: The whole film has Butler in nothing more than a cape and some pants, so he needed to be flawless. Mountain climber and conditioning coach Mark Twight bulked the stars up. The workout involved pull-ups, deadlifts, pushups and flipping tyres. Once Butler was done with his co-stars, he’d then do another training session on his own. We need a sit down after hearing all that.
Did They Keep It Up?:: He’s not a real Spartan, you’d be mad to keep a training regime like that up.
Ed Norton
The Role: Derek Vinyard in American History X
The Technique: High protein and strength building exercises were the order of the day to get Ed from being a weak looking skinny fella to a neo-Nazi prison worn warrior.
Did They Keep It Up?:: Not really, Norton had to split his personality into himself and Brad Pitt to start fighting anyone in Fight Club. He still threw his own punches around though.
You have to admire their dedication, it certainly wouldn’t be me.
Someone with a half million dollars to throw away spent the dough on securing the rights to a porn flick that Sylvester Stallone did while he was in his prime.
The movie is from 1970, is titled, “The Party At Kitty And Stud’s”, but was later renamed to “Italian Stallion”. I wonder where they got that from?!?? (Ha!) After he reached mainstream success, the producers of the movie renamed it to go along with his career as Rocky Balboa. He said that he needed the money, basically because he was starving at the time.
The company put the movie up for auction on eBay on November 10th and sold it for a cool $412,100. Reportedly, Sly was paid $200 for two days of work for the movie.
The buyer gets the original 35mm negatives as well as worldwide rights to the film. “Italian Stallion” has gained cult status over the years as hardcore material has been added. Stallone told “Playboy” in a 1978 interview that he was paid $200 for two days of work, and that after “Rocky” came out, the people behind “Kitty and Stud’s” tried to sell the erotic film to him for $100,000. “Italian Stallion” was released theatrically in 1976, then again in 2007.
“The negatives were actually lost for a while,” says Edward Parry, president of Bryanston. Perry says MGM tried to buy the film in 2009, but the deal fell through, and he sees this as a prime time to sell the rights: “Who would’ve thought that at 64 he (Stallone) would be at the top of his game?” Parry says.
You can view the auction here. Would you have ponied up the cash for the rights to the movie?
Happy Friday the 13th! For this Friday’s best celebrity quotes, we’ve got Mark Wahlberg saying he’ll make a return to rap, but only for Justin Bieber, Snooki calling Obama a liar and Zac Efron being a total douche. Enjoy!
“No, not a chance. Actually, I’ll take that back. If Justin Bieber asked me, I’d do that for my daughter.”
– Mark Wahlberg (formerly known as Marky Mark), on the only way he’d pick up the mic again, to Time magazine
“I just take comfort that if I’m this old, Richard Gere is a whole lot older than me.”
- Julia Roberts, on being 42 compared to her Pretty Woman costar, who’s 60, on Live! With Regis and Kelly
“I know he knows who I am… He has to stop lying.”
– Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, calling out President Barack Obama on his claim that he doesn’t know who the pint-size reality star is, to E!online
“It all worked out for the best since I don’t look good in spandex holding a Ray gun.”
– Expendables star Sylvester Stallone, on his failed audition for Star Wars, to aintitcool.com
“Believe me, I rack my brain thinking, ‘Why am I not out there playing the field?’”
– Zac Efron, on staying in a long-term relationship with High School Musical sweetheart Vanessa Hudgens for four years, to Details magazine
“When we were growing up, our mother taught us never to have your belly button exposed.”
– Fashion designer Mary-Kate Olsen, explaining the foundation of her and sister Ashley’s design sensibility, to Harper’s Bazaar
“He’s a snapper. He just sways back and forth and snaps his finger.”
– Kellie Pickler, on why she and fiancé Kyle Jacobs are skipping the traditional first dance at their wedding, to People Country
“If only she had a bump on her nose.”
– Barbra Streisand, remarking on Jennifer Aniston’s homage to her in a Harper’s Bazaar photo spread, on her Web site
“The other day I realized as long as I’m in this business, I’m going to be hungry.”
- True Blood’sKristin Bauer Van Straten, acknowledging the sacrifices actresses have to make in Hollywood, to Popeater
“I’m not pregnant right now. But that can change tomorrow or the next day or next week. That is out of my hands.”
- Michelle Duggar, who’s open to the prospect of having a 20th child, to People
What was your favorite quote this week? I have to say that Zac Efron really came off as a total douchebucket with that “playing the field” comment. If I were Vanessa Hudgens, I’d tell him to go play the field then…but he’s probably in the closet anyways, so it doesn’t matter. She’s only using him to further her career, so it’s a win-win.
Check out this short clip from the upcoming celebration of testosterone known as The Expendables. In it, Jason Statham has decided to beat the crap out of several dudes on a basketball court because Charisma Carpenter is watching him, and chicks get all kinds of horny when they witness the ruthless beating of several men.
It’s science.
The Expendables also stars Mickey Rourke, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Steve Austin, Randy Couture, and Bruce Willis. The movie will be smacking to in the face with several hundred years worth of combined badassery on August 13.
source: Watch Jason Statham Teach Charisma Carpenter To Play Basketball The Expendables Way [Cinema Blend]
The Monocular Group has put out a remixed trailer for the upcoming movie The Expendables, starring pretty much every action hero ever.
This trailer is a call to arms for all of us men out there. No longer will we allow our blood and guts action flicks to be buried under a landslide of twinkly-ass pedophile vampires and feel good chick flicks. We must take a stand.
August 13, we must take back what is ours. Say “no” to Julia Roberts! Say “nay” to Eat, Pray, Love!
We are letting teenage girls dictate what movies Hollywood makes. This crap has got to stop. Take your manly ass to the theater on August 13. Shell out a few bucks to support some good old fashioned violence.
Hollywood gossip is something that has become so pervasive in our culture that we tend to take it all for granted. Whether we tend to listen to it all or shun it like the plague, we end up hearing more than our fair share, and stowing it away in memory without even realizing it.
Sometimes, the really good gossip slips through the mainstream and get slowly forgotten by the few people that ever knew about it to begin with. These are some of those bits of information; these are ten of Hollywood’s worst kept secrets.
1. Tim Allen served time
In 1978, Tim “the Toolman” Taylor was caught at an airport trying to smuggle 1.4 pounds of cocaine in his luggage. He was busted after plea bargaining his way out of the life sentence to a few years. He gave up the dealers and got out on parole.
2. Sylvester Stallone starred in a porn flick
The trailer for “Italian Stallion” was made in 1970, which was a full six years before Sly Stallone would be more well known as Rocky Balboa. The movie was originally titled as “The Party at Kitty and Stud’s”, but was renamed after he became a huge box office success as the famed boxer. As for why he did it? He was starving and needed the money.
3. Jack Nicholson’s sister was really his mother
Jack Nicholson was born in 1936 to a showgirl, but his mother wasn’t known to him as that for the longest time. His grandmother raised him as her own and his real mother was allowed to continue her work. A journalist from “Time” magazine broke the news in an interview in 1974, but by that time, they had both passed away.
4. Eric Stoltz was the original Marty McFly
Eric Stoltz had some pretty decent movie hits in the eighties, but the part he landed would surprise all of us. Apparently the actor filmed part of the “Back To The Future” movies as the character we’ve all come to know and love – Marty McFly. The part went to Michael J. Fox after Stoltz got the axe from the movie.
5. Don King killed two men, did time
Don King gets a lot of press for being, well, Don King. He’s got the support of some heavy-hitters (pun intended), but he’s also come to be known as something of a bastard by those who know him best. One of the little stories that tends to get forgotten involves two incidents in King’s past: he shot one guy in the back as he was trying to rob one of his gambling houses back in 1953, and then stomped another guy to death because he owed him $600. Nice guy, eh?
6. Winona Ryder is a natural blond
You gotta love Winona. She’s the bad girl who’s not the bad girl; she’s cute, bubbly, dark, light, shoplifts with the best (and worst) of ‘em and rolls with the punches. She played roles in some of the best movies of our time, including Edward Scissorhands and BeatleJuice. What most of us never stop to think about, given the fact that she’s nearly always appeared as a brunette (and a good one at that), is that Winona is actually a blonde. For those who never had an inkling, watching Edward Scissorhands again with this knowledge is like flipping the world upside-down.
7. Nicole Richie’s real dad was a member of Lionel’s band
Nicole Ritchie being Lionel Ritchie’s kid was always one of those things you just tend to forget about. The names match up, but little else does, and we sort of just make it work in our heads. Most people never stop to question it, and when they do, they find ways to justify it in their heads that they’re father/daughter instead of checking to be sure. Fact is, Nicole is Lionel’s adopted daughter; her mother was a bit of a deadbeat who worked wardrobe for Prince, and her biological father was actually a former percussionist in Lionel’s own band.
8. Janet Jackson was secretly married for eight years
People elope all the time; it’s much more common than most of us realize. When an individual as famous as Janet Jackson does it, and manages to keep it a secret for eight years; well that’s an accomplishment. Apparently she had to keep her marriage a complete secret because she wanted to keep it from her father, who we all know is not the greatest guy on earth. She and her husband, Rene Elizondo, had to act like “close friends†the entire time. It was his hands in the photo shoot above. In 2000, Rene had officially had enough of the secret life, and since Janet wouldn’t budge, he filed for divorce. It got pretty ugly after that point, and since he was suing her for millions, we’re pretty sure her father found out anyway.
9. Charlize Theron watched her mother kill her father
Charlize Theron is South African by birth, and lived there her entire young life. She led a somewhat normal life into her pre-teens, but then things changed a bit. Her father was an abusive alcoholic, and her mother was the chief punching bag around the house. When Charlize was 15, her father came home especially drunk one night. A scuffle broke out and she witnessed her mother pull a gun and shoot her dad dead. At least this makes it a bit easier to understand how she can play such messed up roles so well — and if the picture of her from Monster scared you a bit, here’s a nicer one to reset the memory.
10. Mark Wahlberg is living on borrowed time
It’s pretty common knowledge that Mark Wahlberg is either blessed or just among the luckiest guys on earth by natural circumstances. Either way you cut it, the guy has made out pretty well time after time, despite beginning his public life as Marky Mark (an unforgivable sin). What most people don’t know is that the morning of September 11, 2001, Wahlberg was a ticket-holding passenger on one of the planes that struck the World Trade Center. He, on the other hand, was miles away attending a film festival in Toronto. He was invited at the very last minute by some friends who happened to be there, and he missed his flight. Lucky is an understatement for this guy.
These are all surprising to me except for the one about Eric Stoltz, I thought that one was common knowledge.
Way back before Sylvester Stallone ever was Rocky Balboa or John Rambo, he was a starving artist, if you will. In 1970, Stallone filmed his first flick, but it wasn’t the sort that would make it to the silver screen.
In the movie, “The Party At Kitty And Stud’s“, which was renamed to “Italian Stallion“, he starred as “Stud.” Stud apparently “serviced” a bunch of Kitty’s friends one after another.
Stallone said that he did this movie because he was desperate and had no food to eat.
Have a look at the trailer (which is in no way NSFW):
Here’s also a creepy looking scene from the movie (also not NSFW):
Here’s a second trailer for the movie:
They seem to really be pimping out that Playboy quote where he says that he was starving and needed food. I guess back then it was a good selling point to get your X-rated flick a mention in the magazine.
Stallone is currently working on the post-production of the movie, “Kambakkht Ishq“, which is slated for a 2009 release. This movie is rumored to have Arnold Schwarzenegger as a part of the cast.
In addition, he’s working on the pre-production of “The Expendables“. 50 Cent is rumored to be a part of the cast for this movie and is said to be playing an agent.
Despite being paid only $200 for the role of Stud, he rakes in the millions now. How’s that for food money?
Spoiler alert… here’s the Top 50 Movie Endings of All Time.
50. The Blair Witch Project (1999) – The movie isn’t particularly scary… at least until the last two minutes, which take the tension level from 10 to 100 at an exponential pace. The final seconds — wherein a member of the cast is spotted, back turned and facing a corner, as an unseen spirit does away with the remaining member of the crew, who’s been filming all of this in a panic-stricken run through an abandoned house — rank as some of the most terrifying moments ever put to film. It gives me chills just to write about it. -CN
49. A History of Violence (2005) – David Cronenberg’s sly, brilliant merger of a revenge fantasy and an essay on the American Dream has an appropriately messy, provocative ending. Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) has exposed a terrible truth about himself that’s left his wife, Edie (Maria Bello), in despair. They gaze at each other in silence across the dinner table, and the looks in their eyes lets you know it’s impossible, yet painfully necessary, to pretend nothing has changed. -MA
48. Batman Begins (2005) – As the title suggests, the Dark Knight’s mission to cleanse Gotham has just begin. Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) hands Batman (Christian Bale) a playing card left at the scene of a recent crime. He flips it over, and fanboy hearts race in unison as we contemplate director Christopher Nolan’s next move. -SO
7. All That Jazz (1979) – A film especially priceless in its rendering of death in big, Broadway musical number style. Extremely well collaged as the self-defeating choreographer ties up all his loose ends in fantastical choreographic zeal, Roy Scheider’s Joe Gideon simply walks into a flirtatious angel’s embrace. -RG
46. Dead Again (1991) – The second film Kenneth Branagh directed before his ego became too inflated from his Shakespeare renown, is also still the best helming he has managed to date. Beautifully combining intelligent romanticism with reincarnation between he and his then wife/co-star Emma Thompson, the film gracefully culminates with a death scene, love re-established, and the past resolving itself, without losing an emotional beat. Even those who don’t believe in filmic romance melt as the modern day Branagh holds his partner and exhaustedly says “The door is closed.†-RG
45. Pulp Fiction (1994) – It’s hard to pick this over Reservoir Dogs, since Quentin Tarantino plagiarized himself here, but Pulp is more refined and more funny in its treatment of a Mexican standoff, this time with a “happy” ending to it. Of course, we know the buffoonish Vincent Vega’s going to get shot coming out of the toilet on another job, but he and his Bible-spewing pal get to walk away this time, even if they do look like idiots. -CN
44. Fargo (1996) – Cinema, especially recent cinema, isn’t known for its portrayals of happy marriages — especially not in crime movies. But the last scene in this Coen brothers masterpiece doesn’t involve any blood, bullets, or double-crosses. It just shows the Gundersons, Marge (Frances McDormand) and Norm (John Carroll Lynch), sitting in bed. He tells her that his painting is going to put on a three-cent stamp, she tells him how great that is, and the emotional core that has been developing throughout the film is suddenly sitting right in front of us. No wood chipper needed. -JH
Had enough… or are you thirsty for more? After the jump!
43. Shane (1953) – When the kid yells, “Shane, come back!” at the departing hero, it’s one of the rare tear-jerker scenes that just feels right. -DB
42. The Terminator (1984) – One of the first major science fiction trilogies to be a true inspiration to an entire new generation of filmmaking, the initial installment is brutal, bright, and brilliantly executed. From Ah-nold’s one-liners to Sarah Connor learning to want to be great female hero, it was also one of the first films to create a spellbinding circle in its narrative, to have the end reflect where it all began. He’ll be back. -RG
41. Say Anything… (1989) – Lots of romantic comedies end with the boy getting the girl; Say Anything makes him, her, and us all earn it. We leave Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) and Diane Court (Ione Skye) not in passionate embrace, but sitting on an airplane, holding hands, looking upward, waiting for the “ding” that will tell them everything is okay. This final shot is everything that’s great about Say Anything: sweet, a little bit funny, and completely believable. -JH
40. The Thing (1982) – Easily the most chilling ending in horror, Carpenter purposefully never lets the audience in on exactly how the contagion is spread and allows us to stew in absolute terror as to which man will split apart and become the alien host. The last thumps of the moody score are enough to make anyone shiver with fear. -CC
39. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) – Find me a better last line uttered by any villain than “I’m having an old friend for dinner.” With wit, charm, and unyielding bravado, Hopkins caps off his career performance with an exit (forgetting Ridley Scott’s forgivable Hannibal) that oozes menace and wild provocation. Fava beans, anyone? -CC
38. 8 1/2 (1963) – As the crazy director finally embraces the joy and absurdity of life, a group of freaks, friends, loonies and journalists begin to dance in a huge circle, with the great circus behind it; it’s so good that Woody Allen would outright copy it in Stardust Memories. Has any ending, or any film for that matter, better encapsulated what it’s like to understand life as the great, crazy joke it is? -CC
37. Rocky (1976) – As Bill Conte’s score soars in the background, a bloodied Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) and a hatless Adrian (Talia Shire) finally proclaim their love for one another. And in the distant background, a ring announcer tells a frenzied crowd that our hero has actually lost the fight that held us captive for an entire final act. In one dramatic move, two shy nobodies find their hearts and nothing else matters. -NS
36. Jacob’s Ladder (1990) – It was all a dream, freak-out style. This time at least it’s with good reason: We find out that Jacob (Tim Robbins) was on his deathbed, having been shot during the Vietnam War, and everything that has preceded has been a sort of cruel flash-back-forward because Jacob hasn’t been willing to let go. Suddenly it all makes sense. -CN
35. Back to the Future (1985) – The most brazen call for a sequel imaginable. What if the movie had flopped? Not a chance. All seems right with Marty’s world, until Doc Brown returns from the future to alert him of a troubling family issue. The stage is set for an eventual trilogy that continues to entertain to this day. -SO
34. King of New York (1990) – After facing the last (and oldest) cop of the four that stalked him, crime lord Christopher Walken sits in a cab, letting the bullet in his gut take its final resting place. Abel Ferrara’s crime sonata ends the idea of the great overblown gangster ending, seeing Scarface as an aging villain who can’t say anything else, feeling the only thing left for him to do is silently drift off to death amongst the dazzle of the city he loves. -CC
33. A Clockwork Orange (1971) – Stanley Kubrick excised the last chapter of the book in order to give Clockwork a nihilistic ending that has Alex (Malcolm McDowell in the role of a lifetime) learning absolutely nothing from the last two hours of screen time, dreaming of a pseudo-orgy while trapped in a hospital bed. It’s a controversial choice that has had cineastes debating for decades, but it still packs a wallop. The book’s ending, suffice it to say, would have hardly been cinematic. -CN
32. Being There (1979) – Peter Sellers’ crowning achievement ends with a little bit of mysticism, which is at once completely out of character for this very grounded movie while also being totally apropos. You have to smile when you see it. -CN
31. Magnolia (1999) – Everyone remembers a certain cataclysmic plot turn in the final act, and while I love P.T. Anderson’s audacious willingness to simply let frogs fall from the sky, the real ending to Magnolia is much simpler. In an extended close-up, we see troubled Claudia (Melora Walters) listen to sweet cop Jim (John C. Reilly) talk. His words are barely audible; instead, we focus on Claudia’s face, which finally breaks into a slight smile, a split second before the movie cuts to black. Desperation turns to hope in an instant, and Aimee Mann’s “Save Me” ices the cake perfectly. -JH
30. Pickpocket (1959) – Copied and re-rendered by hundreds of films (most recently: L’Enfant and Art School Confidential), French master Robert Bresson ends his tale of spiritual bartering with the pickpocket and the girl who loves him, pressing against each other in a prison visitor room. Emotionally penetrating and gorgeously shot, the ending brings up all the yearning and transcendental themes into complete concentration, using Bresson’s patented flat acting style. -CC
29. Wait Until Dark (1967) – In this suspenseful period thriller, Audrey Hepburn plays a blind woman targeted by a hit man (Alan Arkin). At the end of the film, she is trapped in her flat and he’s stalking her. She knocks out all the lights so that they will be equal… but she forgets one light! This one is exciting right up to the last minute. During its first run, theaters turned out all the lights for the last few minutes to enhance the effect. -DB
28. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986): For sheer pleasure, you can’t beat the sweetness of watching reformed drug addict/punk-rock chick Dianne Weist and comedy writer/religiously-confused Woody Allen cuddle in a dim hallway as she breaks the good news to him. Call it artful sentimentalism. -CC
27. The Searchers (1956) – John Wayne, a symbol of the male ego, dominance, and everything right with the Wild West, stands alone in a doorway, isolated by feelings and ideologies that simply won’t be accepted anymore. Deconstruction of the cowboy myth began here and John Ford, haunted by his own racist past, gives the shot a haunting, sobering feel of loneliness and change. -CC
26. Rushmore (1998) – The Salinger of the screen ends his best film in his lovable faux-theatrical and pastel style without a hint of irony. Max and the woman of his obsession stand prepared to dance as The Faces’ “Ooh la-la” plays, easily ranking in the top 10 best ending songs of all time, as the other characters dance around them. It sure beats the hell out of a gate closing on a headstone. -CC
25. Real Genius (1985) – The entire film builds and builds to this exquisite ending, where Chris Knight (Val Kilmer) and his brainiac pals finally revel in their revenge plot against the evil Jerry Hathaway (William Atherton). How they pulled off the stunt to make an entire house look like it was filled with popcorn I still can’t figure out. The effect is, ahem, genius. Growing up, my little sister called this film “the popcorn movie.” -CN
23. House of Games (1987) – David Mamet’s finest movie and a personal favorite: After demure psychiatrist Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse) murders the ringleader of the gang of con men that cost her thousands of dollars, she takes a vacation. After a little misdirection, she steals a gold lighter from a woman dining one table over. She’s got the con game bug, now. So satisfying, but so creepy. -CN
22. Brazil (1985) – Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro) swoops in to save the day, but it’s not to be: Our hero Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) is revealed to be wallowing in a torture chamber and, alas, “He’s gone.” The ending was so controversial that the studio basically stole the film from director Terry Gilliam and edited together a happy ending, known as the “Love Conquers All” ending. Comparing the two versions is a film geek’s wet dream. -CN
21. The Usual Suspects (1995) – For two hours, Kevin Spacey’s spineless Verbal plays helpless lamb being lured to Chazz Palminteri’s slaughter. But with the drop of a coffee cup, and the shaking off of a limp, the true identity of a criminal mastermind is revealed. -SO
20. Before Sunset (2004) – Cooler than pre-Scientology Isaac Hayes in Antarctica eating popsicles and drinking iced coffee, Julie Delpy dances and sings Nina Simone in front of Ethan Hawke and croons, sexy as they come, “Baby, you’re gonna miss that plane.” Delpy has never been given enough time on screen to fully capture audience appeal, but in this moment, she has it over any hip chick this side of Santa Monica. -CC
19. Memento (2001) – Our sympathetic hero commits an abrupt, cold-blooded, and vengeful murder, entirely to serve his own purposes. He’s not the Leonard Shelby we thought we knew. And major bonus points for it coming at both the very beginning and the end of the movie, which are actually the ending and the beginning. Got that? -AG
18. The Wizard of Oz (1939) – The first “it was all a dream” ending ever? I’m not sure, but it’s certainly one of the most memorable. The revelation that nearly all the characters we’ve seen in Dorothy’s fantasy world were drawn from her friends (and enemies) is magical. -CN
17. Planet of the Apes (1968) – Charlton Heston (as a lost astronaut) spends most of this modern classic convincing a dominant ape race that man can indeed communicate and reason. And while there’s plenty of irony and social commentary there, co-writer Rod Serling’s trademark storytelling really surfaces in the final scene. As a cowboy of sorts, a half-naked Heston grabs his woman and rides his horse into unknown territory… but quickly finds that many have been there before him. In an ending worthy of the greatest Twilight Zone zingers, Lady Liberty’s head and torch emerge from the sand. And Heston drops to his knees and damns us all to hell. We got it coming. -NS
16. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) – Lethal fight scenes, great dialogue (“I love you.” “I know.”), a traitorous Billy Dee Williams, and the biggest paternal twist in sci-fi history. And then the final shocker: Han Solo is still frozen, and he’s not getting out ’til the next movie! What!? Empire turned George Lucas’ universe on its ear, raising his franchise’s bar to a height no Star Wars sequel or prequel managed to touch. -SO
15. The Godfather (1972) – Derelicts will argue the second one is better, but the ending of the Godfather is everything it should be, foreshadowing all the dark, murky secrets that would be dragged from the depths in Part 2. Kay finally asks about Michael’s business and he lies, outright, as the door closes on a good kid who turned into the ultimate family man, and a brooding, calculating monster. -CC
14. The Tenant (1976) – You simply can’t comprehend it: after plummeting through glass once, the titular tenant drags himself up the stairs again to finish the job, only to end up the crazed lunatic that kicked off Polanski’s most concentrated study of paranoia. It doesn’t have the acute horror of Rosemary’s Baby, but The Tenant sits in your stomach with sick discomfort, like remembering the most private, embarrassing ordeal you’ve ever been through. -CC
13. Citizen Kane (1941) – Well, we kind of have to put this one on the list, don’t we? One of the earliest examples of don’t-spill-the-secret endings and also I’ve-been-robbed anti-climax, that little wooden sled explains everything and explains nothing about Charles Foster Kane, but it’s the elusive piece of the jigsaw that drives one of the greatest movies ever made. -AG
12. The Birds (1963) – Our heroine and her strapping man might be making a stealthy escape from Bodega Bay, but the camera pulls further back and there are birds, birds, menacing birds as far as the eye can see. How safe are they really, in that soft-top convertible, with those lovebirds? -AG
11. The Graduate (1967) – Dustin Hoffman crashes Katherine Ross’ wedding, whish has just ended, and he steals her away on a bus. Her mother tells her “It’s too late” and she yells, “Not for us!” It’s unbelievable, it’s corny, but also (as the guy says in Barcelona) it’s real. It symbolizes the moment when the disenchanted ’60s generation started their lives. This isn’t how romances were supposed to end. -DB
10. Some Like It Hot (1959) – Jack Lemmon finally drops his drag and reveals his true gender to his horny suitor (the perfect Joe E. Brown), who couldn’t care less. “Nobody’s perfect!” he says, the final cherry on top of a whipped-cream and chocolate-covered sundae of a comedy. -DW
9. Don’t Look Now (1973) – Donald Sutherland chases the little child in the raincoat he’s seen for the whole film and then Roeg’s nightmare springs one last terror on you. That face under the red raincoat is no child, and it will stay in your nightmares for months… or else you’ll put it as your computer’s desktop picture like my roommate. -CC
8. Big Night (1996) – The old term “silence is golden” has never seemed so appropriate. After a grand night of arguments, fantastic food, and a no-show crooner, the two idealistic opposites (art vs. commerce) sit down to a simple omelet with their waiter, knowing their lives will go separate ways (and bankruptcy is a near certainty) but not needing to talk about it. Soulful, delicate, and bypassing tearjerk-o-rama, directors Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott create a sincere goodbye to their lovely, little film. -CC
7. Night of the Living Dead (1968) – Without a hint of being self-conscious, Romero’s horror masterpiece raised the middle finger to all modern narrative constructions. The family dies, the young white couple dies and the black protagonist, surviving the gruesome night, is shot by the cops. It’s complete film rebellion, and you can’t help but savor it. -CC
6. Boogie Nights (1997) – One of the most unexpected endings in cinema history. Mark Wahlberg’s faded porn star stand in the mirror and yanks his penis out, saying with complete conviction, “You’re a fucking star.” The soul of the inept, underage star still resides in the aged, coke-snorting loser. Its pathetic grandeur (both the ending and the unit on display) is unmatched. -CC
5. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) – The constantly underrated Arthur Penn brings his great, gritty tale of the criminal lovebirds to an end with a scene of unyielding violence and shock. Think of it as the alternate ending for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which ends exactly the same way but stops the film about 20 seconds earlier. -CC
3. Chinatown (1974) – “Forget it, Jake, its Chinatown.” Chinatown has nothing to do with Chinatown, but it also has everything to do with Chinatown. Explaining its intricacies could fill a book, but it’s the very end that punches you in the gut: The bad guy gets away and Nicholson’s Jake Gittes, after solving the case, is told to forget the whole affair. Ow. -CN
2. Fight Club (1999) – No matter what you think of David Fincher’s translation of Chuck Palahniuk’s pre-iPod, post-post-punk nightmare, you have to admire an ending that foresaw things that are still being talked about today. The film predicts the emo-boy nation that we swim in these days, but the ending, with the Pixies’ raucous “Where is My Mind?” wailing in the background, sees self-terrorism and numb romance as the new, essential way of life. -CC
1. Dr. Strangelove (1964) – You may remember otherwise, but the climactic scene where Slim Pickens rides the bomb down is not actually the ending of Strangelove (though even if it were, it would still be #1 on our list). Rather, there is a strange scene afterwards in which the leaders of the free world wait for the end of the world while having a demented argument about how to survive the impending nuclear winter (“We must not have a mine shaft gap!”). Then, signaling apocalypse, Peter Sellers’ titular mad scientist, wheelchair-bound for the entire movie, stands up and begins to walk, before the War Room (and the rest of the world) explodes to the tune of “We’ll Meet Again.” It’s all weird but absurdly logical, like everything about Kubrick’s masterpiece. -DB
