Top 12 Alternative Endings: Exploring the Unseen Conclusions of Iconic Films

Once upon a time there was cinema, but after a story well-told from start to finish, you have to find an ending. But finishing a film is not always easy. That’s why some directors have made several. That way, there’s no jealousy.

Titanic

Yes, the movie is very sad, and if you’ve always dreamed that James Cameron would shoot an alternate ending to spare your sensitive little heart, know that Jack always dies. But, there is a second ending in which Rose throws her necklace overboard (millions of euros in the fleet anyway) this time in front of her little girl and the rest of the crew.

Terminator

After the final battle between Kyle and the Terminator, a group of scientists recover the remains of his endoskeleton in order to analyze it. The last shot of the film reveals that they belong to Cyberdyne Systems, the company behind Skynet, the network of supercomputers that will gradually free itself from human control in an attempt to eliminate humanity (it is also on this ending that the sequel “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”). Time paradox you said?

Top 12 Alternative Endings
Top 12 Alternative Endings

Remember last summer

Some time after Ray’s confrontation with the killer, during which the murderer goes overboard and is left for dead again, Julie receives an email that is not very encouraging. Indeed, it reads ” I still know“, a message suggesting that Ben Willis is still running and that he is far from having finished with his fearsome hook. This scene was also used in the trailer for the film.

Dodgeball

Point d’happy end not for this cult comedy either. Yes, Peter LaFleur (Vince Vaughn) was supposed to lose to White Goodman (Ben Stiller), so: goodbye to the sum of money that would allow him to become the majority shareholder of Globo Gym and hello to depression. But during the test screening, the spectators insisted that the film end happier, against the wishes of the director. The latter also took a little revenge by asking his main actor to look at the camera in order to ask the audience the following question: « Are you happy now ?“It’s wrong to make fun of your audience.

Blade Runner

There are already at least five versions of this film, which is a lot. In the 1982 version, the film ends with Harrison Ford speaking in voiceover to give it a happy ending. This was wanted by the studios who felt that the audience would not understand anything about the film. In 1992, Ridley Scott took back control of his film. This is why, today, it ends with the doors of an elevator closing while Deckard and Rachel run away together.

The Thing

John Carpenter actually shot three endings for this movie. The first had McReady waiting for a blood test at the station. The second had Childs walking out into the snow, leaving his friend McReady alone. The third is the one we know. Note that in the 80s, when the movie was shown on television, a different ending was shown due to censorship reasons. You can find this TV version on YouTube.

Dr. Strangelove

The movie originally ended with a big cream pie fight in the middle of the Pentagon. It even showed the president of the United States in full regression building sandcastles with pies. Pie castles, then… It ended up being cut. Kubrick felt it was a little too cheesy to end the movie. Nothing remains of this sequence except for a few photos.

Apocalypse Now

In 1979, when the film was released, it ended with the bombing of the Kurtz camp. But this ending then disappeared. In 2001, Francis Ford Coppola added in a new version called Apocalypse Now Redux49 minutes of film. It features, among other things, a less violent and brutal Captain Willard as well as a bunch of added scenes.

Hannibal

In the first ending ofHannibalour dear serial killer greedily kisses Clarice Starling before fleeing peacefully into the street and getting into a van. We then found Hannibal on a plane giving a piece of brain to a kid in a scene rather close to the end that we know. But that’s not all, a third, which this time was never filmed, was to show Clarice and Hannibal, handcuffed to each other, diving into the lake next to the house. Clarice manages to escape while Hannibal disappears without a trace.

The Claws of the Night

The end of the Claws of the Night is known for its obvious lack of meaning. No, really, if anyone understood it, let us know because we’re still looking here. Initially, Wes Craven wanted to make the heroine wake up and realize that all the murders were just a nightmare. A slightly disappointing ending that nevertheless had the merit of being understandable (but did not allow the studios to consider sequels…). That’s why, even if it was not filmed, we’re showing it to you anyway.

Brazil

In this cult film by Terry Gilliam, we were treated to two official endings, one for Europeans who are more susceptible to depression and pessimism, and a shorter and less depressing version for Americans who are very fragile. In the end, it is the European version that will remain.

The Butterfly Effect

The hero of this film has a pretty cool power: he can go back in time in abundance. The problem is, when his wife dies, he can go back in time in all directions, she dies every time. The balls. The end of the film SPOILER ALERT that remained is that we see the two protagonists crossing paths from afar without ever speaking to each other, too sad. But the director proposed an even stiffer ending in which Evan goes back in time to the moment when he was in his mother’s womb to strangle himself with the umbilical cord just to put an end to this bullshit.

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