Cinema’s Greatest Final Shots — and What They Actually Mean

Twelve endings burned into the medium’s memory

Endings are the only part of a film an audience cannot reorder. The twelve last shots below have been borrowed, parodied, and pirated for sixty years because each one says something the rest of the film could only hint at. Watch them at the end of a long day; they were designed to last past the credits.

Drama Mystery Twist-in-the-end
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Created: May 25, 2026

The Collection

The 400 Blows

The 400 Blows

1959
1
The 400 Blows
1959
1
The 400 Blows
IMDb 8.0 / 10
Director François Truffaut
Cast Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier
Box Office $509
Why Antoine runs from reform school toward the sea he has never seen, reaches it, looks at us, and the …
2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey

1968
2
2001: A Space Odyssey
1968
2
2001: A Space Odyssey
IMDb 8.3 / 10
Director Stanley Kubrick
Cast Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
Box Office $60,481,243
Why A glowing fetus floats in space, looking at Earth, looking at us. Kubrick refused to explain it for…
The Searchers

The Searchers

1956
3
The Searchers
1956
3
The Searchers
IMDb 7.8 / 10
Director John Ford
Cast John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles
Why Ethan stands in the doorway, framed by the desert outside and the home he has just returned someone…
Persona

Persona

1966
4
Persona
1966
4
Persona
IMDb 0.0 / 10
Director Ingmar Bergman
Cast Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook
Why The two women’s faces have already merged. The projector burns through the film. Bergman ends his m…
The Long Goodbye

The Long Goodbye

1973
5
The Long Goodbye
1973
5
The Long Goodbye
IMDb 7.5 / 10
Director Robert Altman
Cast Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden
Why Philip Marlowe walks down a Mexican country road playing a harmonica, having executed a betrayal Ch…
The Wages of Fear

The Wages of Fear

1953
6
The Wages of Fear
1953
6
The Wages of Fear
IMDb 8.1 / 10
Director Henri-Georges Clouzot
Cast Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck
Box Office $21,228
Why Mario survives the impossible truck run only to dance ecstatically off a mountain road on the way h…
Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now

1979
7
Apocalypse Now
1979
7
Apocalypse Now
IMDb 8.4 / 10
Director Francis Ford Coppola
Cast Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall
Box Office $96,042,913
Why Willard walks out of Kurtz’s temple, drops the machete, turns off the radio, and Kurtz’s face disso…
Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane

1941
8
Citizen Kane
1941
8
Citizen Kane
IMDb 8.3 / 10
Director Orson Welles
Cast Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore
Box Office $1,627,530
Why A childhood sled, the only thing Kane ever loved without buying, burns in the furnace as the camera…
The Third Man

The Third Man

1949
9
The Third Man
1949
9
The Third Man
IMDb 8.1 / 10
Director Carol Reed
Cast Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli
Box Office $1,067,364
Why Anna walks the long tree-lined cemetery road. Holly waits. She passes him without a glance. Greene …
Bicycle Thieves

Bicycle Thieves

1948
10
Bicycle Thieves
1948
10
Bicycle Thieves
IMDb 0.0 / 10
Director Vittorio De Sica
Cast Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell
Box Office $371,111
Why Antonio walks away from the camera holding his son Bruno’s hand, weeping. The crowd swallows them. …
There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood

2007
11
There Will Be Blood
2007
11
There Will Be Blood
IMDb 0.0 / 10
Director Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciarán Hinds
Box Office $40,222,514
Why Plainview, drunk in a private bowling alley, beats the preacher to death with a bowling pin and dec…
The Conversation

The Conversation

1974
12
The Conversation
1974
12
The Conversation
IMDb 7.7 / 10
Director Francis Ford Coppola
Cast Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield
Box Office $4,852,199
Why Harry Caul, a surveillance expert who has just been surveilled, sits in his ruined apartment playin…
The Graduate

The Graduate

1967
13
The Graduate
1967
13
The Graduate
IMDb 8.0 / 10
Director Mike Nichols
Cast Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross
Box Office $104,945,305
Why Benjamin and Elaine, having just escaped Elaine’s wedding, sit at the back of a city bus. Their rel…
Cinema Paradiso

Cinema Paradiso

1988
14
Cinema Paradiso
1988
14
Cinema Paradiso
IMDb 8.5 / 10
Director Giuseppe Tornatore
Cast Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Antonella Attili
Box Office $12,397,210
Why Salvatore opens the reel his late mentor Alfredo left him in his will: every kissing scene the vill…

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