MovieChat Forums > The Hill (1965) Discussion > the hill. - don't read this if you haven...

the hill. - don't read this if you haven't seen the whole movie.


i really, really, really hated the ending of this movie. that's right, i was really upset when this movie ended.
incase someone read this without seeing the end, even though i said in the topic you werent supose to read, i'll keep it brief and not reveal too much.
I'm just saying this - i hated the ending. why do they make movies with such a let-down-end?
i mean, does anyone actally like bad endings?


I've been starving after drifting around for 7 days,
but there is only a few minutes left, to rosemarys place,
where the doorstep always says welcome,
where the kitchen table is ready and well done,
i'm heading to that sweet little place,
where rosemary takes care of any man, who's been frozed by the cold or burned by the blaze,
way out on the windy prairy,
under the stars, lives the sweet little rosemary,
there's been some lonesome campfires in the mountains, and sounds of hungry howling calls,
some tricky rivers to cross, and nasty water falls,
i haven't brought any gold, so i'll just leave her this song,
untill next time, i settle in rosemarys home,
tonight i rest in her barn, in the warm hay,
untill i'm ready to drift on, the coming day.

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"Does anyone actually like bad endings?"

It depends on what you mean by "bad".

Are you describing The Hill's ending as "bad" because it was abrupt and didn't show the final outcome of the film's conflict? This didn't bother me because the film had proceeded with a certain sense of inevitibility and it was quite simple for me to conclude what will occur after "the end".

If you're questioning whether people enjoy films that have un-happy endings, then I'm at a bit of a loss. I've heard it said that "Hollywood needlessly tacks on inappropriately happy endings to please mainstream audiences" but I've never before encountered someone who preferred this approach over a more fitting ending that aligns with the film's overall trajectory. I guess the simple answer that many people do enjoy film's that end on a bad note because it can be more poignant and believable than having everything resolved tidiliy.

I felt The Hill had a perfect ending.

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I hated the ending also. The "trajectory" seemed to be that our hero would "win", and the men would be vindicted, so to speak, and right would prevail over wrong. But no. It was mucked up. A sad, unpleasant ending isn't necessarily a bad thing (Shakespearian tragedies come to mind), but here it was merely a major dissapointment and not "poignant", to me. Why lose the victory gained by the men? The doctor rose to the occasion, the truth was to come out, the system would be changed for the better, etc. etc. Except now we are given the reverse. Pointless. A fine film all along, except for that.

"Did you make coffee...? Make it!"--Cheyenne.

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Maybe ... Though having been in the army myself, I must say that the ending actually reflects what would probably happen in real life (high ranking officers being protected of any blame, low ranking soldiers being ultimately blamed and punished). In this case, they did come close to shaking up the system a bit, but come on : a few convicts against THE SYSTEM ?? Didn't stand a chance !

(PLUS no matter how disappointing the ending might be, I still got a major kick out of seeing that little piece of *beep* Williams get the beating he fully deserved (watch him yell like a little girl when he realizes what's coming to him !!;) from the hands of the two big dudes (Ossie Davies and McGrett).

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