Movie endings, do you prefer happy to sad/bad endings for the hero?

[acedrake]

I have always been intrigued by what you guys and ladies prefer, a happy satisfying ending where the hero gets the girl, defeats the main bad guy and saves the world, or do you like your endings like the endings for Requiem For A Dream and other movies like it, or just the hero dies at the end or he doesn't get the girl. What do you prefer or even just a different ending just to change things up.

 

[Ultimatehero]

If done right, both.

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

I want a movie about the villain (other than Megamind). Starting just after he defeated the hero and telling the sotry we never get to see.

 

[the last son]

Being a guy who looks at life half empty I usually prefer sad endings.

 

[Quasimod0]

Usually prefer a happy ending.

 

[slumcat]

I prefer sober endings. And I actually admire when the story sticks to its guns and does not compromise the narrative with a happy ending and goes all the way.

An example is The Remains Of The Day. The film is very uncompromising throughout and in the ending sticks to its guns and does not go the easy route. It makes it more impactful I think.

 

[Heretic]

I think that the norm should be happy endings...but I'd love a superhero movie that ends with a major win for the bad guy...basically serving as an origin film for the bad guy to then fight some other hero later. Joss Whedon recently trashed Empire Strikes Back because as he said the movie didn't end and you had to wait years for the ending...but it DID end...it just ended with a victory for the bad guys. That is part of what makes that movie so awesome.

 

[acedrake]

Personally I prefer happy endings, but there are movies that gives you an ending in which the resolution is bad for the main characters just for shock value. If the story calls for a sad ending I am all for it. But not just to change things up, there has to be a reason, and a good one.

 

[dark_b]

the ending must fit the story.

the problem with expensive hollywood movies is that they need to be a franchise. so every ending in summer movies is a compromise. its not the best ending possible.

 

[flower]

I prefer sad endings.

 

[MMMMM...Pancakes]

If done right, both.

This. My 2 favorite movie endings are from Rocky II and John Carpenter's Halloween (not sad, but definitely isn't happy)

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

Depends on the movie. Seven, gotta end on a sad note. The Dark Knight Rises, happy.

 

[Octoberist]

Image a sad ending when the main character is dying in the arms of his lover. Then, he looks up..and farts. Yes the last thing he did in this life - on this very earth - was a fart..then it becomes a funny ending.

Everyone wins.

 

[DarkSovereignty]

Don't give Adam sander ideas

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

Makes me wanna do a fan edit of Click.

 

[Soapy]

What an odd question.

It depends entirely on each individual movie, how well the ending is executed, how appropriate it feels in the context of the rest of the film, etc.

I will say though, that a lot of the time I think happy endings feel forced and unearned. Make of that what you will.

 

[Jochimus]

I prefer endings that are faithful to the overall tone and general intentions of the film itself and where its story goes, whether they're happy endings or sad ones. I could cite at least some examples of this that deviate from 'conventional' happy endings where the heroes win all and come out unscathed - examples: the original POTA, Rocky, ESB, The Thing '82, The Wrath of Khan, TDK, and that's just off the top of my head - as much as there are the usual type of happy endings.

 

[Laderlappen]

It really does depend on the movie. You mentioned Requiem for a Dream. It wouldnt have worked with a happy ending. It goes against the tone of the film and the point they were trying to make.

 

[Still Wynning]

I prefer sober endings. And I actually admire when the story sticks to its guns and does not compromise the narrative with a happy ending and goes all the way.

An example is The Remains Of The Day. The film is very uncompromising throughout and in the ending sticks to its guns and does not go the easy route. It makes it more impactful I think.

This is why I love the Lord of the Rings and the original Star Wars trilogy so much, particularly Empire (Han gets frozen in Carbonite) and Jedi (Vader/Anakin dies). Even though there is sort of a "happy" ending, by the very end, some of the characters have either gone through so much change, to the point where they can't go back to their old life, or another important character was lost or killed along the way and it leaves a very lasting mark on every other character. Not completely sad, but not completely happy, either.

Basically, If I ever write a screenplay for a movie, I want people to make people cry or depressed by the end. t:

 

[Schlosser85]

I generally prefer happy endings. But there are some movies with sad endings that don't bother me because it feels right for the story.

This is why I love the Lord of the Rings and the original Star Wars trilogy so much, particularly Empire (Han gets frozen in Carbonite) and Jedi (Vader/Anakin dies). Even though there is sort of a "happy" ending, by the very end, some of the characters have either gone through so much change, to the point where they can't go back to their old life, or another important character was lost or killed along the way and it leaves a very lasting mark on every other character. Not completely sad, but not completely happy, either.

That's pretty much how the sci-fi series I'm working on will end. "The good guys win", but there's a lot of loss and the main characters lose a lot of loved ones along the way, and there's a few major sympathetic characters that don't get happy endings.

 

[warhorse78]

I prefer happy endings, but I don't mind a few of the sad endings, like in Terminator 2 or Man on Fire.

 

[747]

It's not that black and white that I can just say I prefer one thing over the other per se. It all depends on context and execution. How it works with the rest of the movie; and the feel of it, idea of it etc.

 

[Tequilla]

Earned resolutions , whatever they are.

 

[terry78]

The bittersweet endings are probably what most people enjoy. The hero basically gets their arc resolved, yet something had to be sacrificed down the line to get there still. I know in How to Train Your Dragon at the end when Hiccup ends up the hero but loses his leg in the process, thought that was pretty ballsy for a kid's flick.

 

[Gianakin_]

Depends on the context. I'm all for what's appropriate.