• 12 Great Parting Shots

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      Some films leave you feeling elated; others give you a heavy heart. The mood we take with us from a movie is often directly attributable to the all-important last shot. We’ve left this selection of some of the closing images we’ve been least able to shake context-free, so as not to spoil anything. But we think they’re beautiful in their own right, and if you’ve seen the films they come from, the emotions that attend them will likely flood back for you. What are some of your favorite parting shots?

      Above: The 400 Blows

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      The Thin Red Line

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      Down by Law

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      Hamlet

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      The Red Shoes

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      M. Hulot’s Holiday

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      Sweetie

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      L’avventura

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      Modern Times

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      Repulsion

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      Tokyo Drifter

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      Nights of Cabiria

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    Some films leave you feeling elated; others give you a heavy heart. The mood we take with us from a movie is often directly attributable to the all-important last shot. We’ve left this selection of some of the closing images we’ve been least able to shake context-free, so as not to spoil anything. But we think they’re beautiful in their own right, and if you’ve seen the films they come from, the emotions that attend them will likely flood back for you. What are some of your favorite parting shots?

    Above: The 400 Blows

     
     
     

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76 comments

  • By Dmitry B.
    July 31, 2012
    06:28 PM

    Oh and speaking of closing doors: "The Godfather."
    Reply

  • By Hance Huston
    July 31, 2012
    06:31 PM

    "Being There" - Chance walks on water... and the last line is "Life is a state of mind."
    Reply

  • By Colby
    July 31, 2012
    06:32 PM

    http://lastframe.tumblr.com/
    Reply

  • By Chris
    July 31, 2012
    06:38 PM

    The final shot of Irreversible.
    Reply

  • By Ivan
    August 01, 2012
    01:51 AM

    The ending of the "Third Man" is indeed one of the most memorable scenes in film that has ever been produced. I also remember 2 other endings which have left me with memories which have stayed with me for decades now: "The Blue Angel" and "Wild Strawberries". I wonder if others also would consider these endings as exceptional?
    Reply

  • By John www.facebook.com/fliXposed
    August 01, 2012
    02:29 AM

    The final shot of Greta Garbo at the end of 'Queen Christina'
    Reply

  • By Dmitry B.
    August 01, 2012
    09:47 AM

    "Dangerous Liaisons."
    Reply

  • By Rob M
    August 01, 2012
    01:55 PM

    What about the end of The Searchers? C'mon! And the closing shot from The Third Man?
    Reply

  • By Michael K.
    August 01, 2012
    02:34 PM

    City Lights; Late Spring; Yearning; The Lady with the Dog; Port of Shadows; Au Hasard Balthazar; Psycho; Vertigo; 2001:A Space Odyssey; Jeanne Dielman 23, quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles; There Will Be Blood
    Reply

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    • By furkan98
      August 01, 2012
      10:03 PM

      I don't agree with you for Late Spring.Last part of the film effective;but not as 'parting shot'.

  • By Vada Russell
    August 01, 2012
    09:25 PM

    Russian film. "Slave of Love" and the runaway trolley carrying the heroine as she watches her pursuers on horseback close in.
    Reply

  • By michellegabrielle
    August 02, 2012
    08:24 PM

    The last six minutes of QUEEN CHRISTINA, because Mamoulian had Garbo in his glass -- wishing to give her audience the thrill of seeing her silently, again -- just watching, looking at, and pondering sheer Garbo.
    Reply

  • By Sam
    August 03, 2012
    02:37 AM

    Dancer in the Dark's last shot haunted me bad for a while, it's so graphic and he holds it there for what feels like forever, no music, just this awful image. Actually, now that I think about it, a lot of von Trier's movies have memorable parting shots. Breaking the Waves, Antichrist, and Melancholia come to mind.
    Reply

  • By Ictus75
    August 03, 2012
    03:49 AM

    The end of 'Certified Copy' where William Shimell is looking out of the hotel room window, and then mirroring an earlier shot of Juliet Binoche, he looks into the mirror, but lacks the emotion that Binoche showed. While she's tried to rekindle their relationship for the whole second half of the film, you now realize that that he doesn't have the same experience, the same feelings.
    Reply

  • By Stephen Hill
    August 03, 2012
    04:23 AM

    Tarkovski's "Solaris" - the fantastic ending of the scientist dreaming about returning to his father's cabin - gets to me every time
    Reply

  • By Kristian Toimil
    August 08, 2012
    03:06 AM

    Few parting shots have affected me more than "Philadelphia". By simply using home movies, Demme adds tons of humanity to the character Andrew Beckett. In those closing shots, and with that haunting, heart-tugging music, we think of Andrew not as a homosexual, or an AIDS victim, but possibly our son, or our brother. He becomes more important than any uncomfortable, societal label. He becomes family.
    Reply

  • By vickirob
    August 13, 2012
    01:57 PM

    Don't Look Now!! I can't believe it hasn't been mentioned....it brings together the entire plot in one haunting image. Wow, I have never been able to get t out of my head...of course I won't reveal it here, because it would be a spoiler, for sure.
    Reply

  • By furkan98
    August 19, 2012
    05:23 PM

    In addition to,Hitchcock's The Birds.
    Reply

  • By lola young
    February 26, 2013
    06:43 PM

    Three Colours Blue
    Reply

  • By Sidney
    May 06, 2013
    11:38 AM

    The endings to both "The Searchers" & "Gimme Shelter". In 'Searchers', John Wayne stands outside, looking in, and that's all you need, and it is just haunting. Gimme Shelter's end, where Mick Jagger's look into the camera, with just a look of gulit, after the murder during the concert, is just devastating.
    Reply

  • By PATIENCESHEHULK
    May 06, 2013
    07:07 PM

    I've always thought Summertime has one of the most moving, saddest endings of any film. It's a movie that all leads up to one incredibly touching moment.
    Reply

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