I'm ashamed to say I only just watched this, despite how much of movie buff I am (at 33 years old).
Is it just me, or is the ending a bit fast? Paine goes to hall, fails to commit suicide, comes back onto the Senate floor screaming a confession, all in 40 seconds?
I just watched this for the second time and I have to concur...the ending is very abrupt, no time for denoument or epilogue at all. I understand that there were some additional scenes in the original print, that included Mr. Smith going back to the old hometown to further expose the Taylor Machine, to have Ma meet Saunders, and to forgive Joe Paine. However, apparently test audiences didn't like those scenes (too corny? didn't really add anything?) and they were cut. Love to get my hands on them, just to say I'd seen them.
I kind of feel the same way about "It's a Wonderful Life", which is one of my favorite films (for better or for worse). I wanted to see the villains get their comeuppance and make sure that Jeff and Clarissa got together, just as I wanted to see Lionel Barrymore's Mr. Potter fall out of his wheelchair and down some stairs into the frozen lake, and for the townsfolk to buy George and Mary a nice vacation in Europe.
I have started resigning myself to the idea that even with Capra's reputation for "Capracorn" and showing the little guy winning, he is trying to say that the little guy's fight against evil is never really over, and he has to keep fighting, even if villains never do receive their just desserts.
Funny you mention the ending to "It's a Wonderful Life."
SNL made a skit 20 yrs ago, hosted by William Shatner (Capt. James T. Kirk himself), regarding the "lost ending."
http://www.hulu.com/watch/4267/saturday-night-live-its-a-wonderful-life-lost-ending
You can see it if you're in the US. Quite funny.
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Veni, Vidi, Oh Just Facit!
Oh, I know...I love that. They've included it as part of their "Best Of SNL" holiday show and DVD. That is the kind of comeuppance Mr. Potter deserved, and Dana Carvey does a spot-on Jimmy Stewart. What happened to Carvey's career?!?!?
shareit's okay, I only just watched it too! I also thought that it was abrupt. All of the sudden they are carrying out Jeff's body and guns are going off and I'm like wow thats a lot to take in for those last few minutes haha but it still left me with the same emotion I probably would have felt if the original ending was in. Even so, it may have been nice to see Jeff stand again (I didn't really like my last picture of him being unconscious still), although that may have been the point. Well, I've rambled, but overall I agree, I like my endings. If I could sit through all of the Return of the King endings, I could have done with a bit more epilogue on this wonderful movie!
shareYeah. It was abrupt. The struggle was longer than the comeuppance. They should have atleast shown the bill being passed and Taylor eating crow.
shareWell,
how about the fact that the movie was clocking over 2 hours already? You know, time is something crucial to a movie. depending of its content and direction, it must have the right amount of it. Of course capra could have cut some scene(s) and leave space for lengthier ending tho!
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Just seen the movie for the first time at 47! and absolutely loved it but I agree the ending was shockingly unsatisfying, I was so stunned it was over I just sat there for a minute in a state of disbelief! I know it was 2 hours long but they flew by and another 5 or so minutes wouldn't have mattered. When a film is as good as this then your happy to watch for as long as it takes to tell the story.
shareI agree, the ending is far too abrupt. If it was a question of time constraints, surely they could have cut a few minutes somewhere else to give time for a more satisfying ending. Otherwise, a great movie with wonderful stars but this has to be the most abbreviated finale I've ever seen on film.
shareThe ending is abrupt, but I'm clearly in the minority in feeling that it's OK as is. The good guys have won and we have every reason to believe that the Taylor Machine is exposed and will get theirs.
I think sometimes we find to our disappointment that more is less, and that additional scenes might well have been a letdown. I like the idea of the story ending in such giddy happiness.
But isn't that the brilliance of it. We know exactly what is going to happen at the second the film ends, he is going to go back home as a hero and he get's the girl. We really don't need to see it. Imagining it in your head might be so much better. Imagination!
"We fell in love. I fell in love - she just stood there." / http://twitter.com/Marielind
I agree. I understand that time is an issue, this is a movie that I would have no problem watching for another five or ten minutes.
The Expendables- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6RU5y2fU6s
The original ending in the script actually goes a bit longer, but the movie was running too long. The script can easily be found on IMDB.
Reading over the extended ending, I'm glad they didn't include it. It includes Jeff Smith shamelessly promoting Thomas Paine. I'm fine with forget-and-forgive, but this level of self-abasement would have destroyed the ending for me. Seeing the disaster that could have been, I'm very content with the abrupt ending.