The journey is reaching its end, the Hero is facing down the ultimate enemy, and the world is drawing to a close. Everything goes according to plan, the Hero defeats the evil, the princess is saved, and the space station destroyed. And they all live happily ever after.
Such a common and yet under appreciated aspect of film. The happy ending is one that truly brings about closure, tying up the loose ends, and granting the audience the satisfaction of seeing victory at last. There is no cliffhanger, no sequel hook, just the end of a story, bookends and all.
With franchises becoming so important in hollywood today, we see very few true endings to stories. They always need a hook, and they have to leave a thread dangling for the next film to pick up and weave into the narrative. While ongoing narrative can be a good thing, much of the time it is unnecessary, and simply a means of the movie companies trying to milk you of your money. See: Transformers sequels.
Anyways, with this in mind, what would you say is the best example of a "true" happy ending? No little niggling plot threads left unresolved, just sheer closure.
My choice, Return of the Jedi. Apart from the Ewoks, there was no better way to end the Star Wars saga than on that fantastic high note.
For games: Bioshock Good Ending. The bad ending is somewhat of a "What happens next?" moment, but the good ending is so poignant.
Such a common and yet under appreciated aspect of film. The happy ending is one that truly brings about closure, tying up the loose ends, and granting the audience the satisfaction of seeing victory at last. There is no cliffhanger, no sequel hook, just the end of a story, bookends and all.
With franchises becoming so important in hollywood today, we see very few true endings to stories. They always need a hook, and they have to leave a thread dangling for the next film to pick up and weave into the narrative. While ongoing narrative can be a good thing, much of the time it is unnecessary, and simply a means of the movie companies trying to milk you of your money. See: Transformers sequels.
Anyways, with this in mind, what would you say is the best example of a "true" happy ending? No little niggling plot threads left unresolved, just sheer closure.
My choice, Return of the Jedi. Apart from the Ewoks, there was no better way to end the Star Wars saga than on that fantastic high note.
For games: Bioshock Good Ending. The bad ending is somewhat of a "What happens next?" moment, but the good ending is so poignant.
