WORST ENDING EVER: AND HERE'S WHY (spoilers)
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Earthquake
SampanMassacre — 15 years ago(September 08, 2010 01:22 PM)
And not just because the star dies. That can work in a film. Especially a disaster picture. But that he chooses to save his stupid old lush wife as opposed to having a wonderful future with a young gorgeous woman and her son. And to top it off, his wife, who he gives his life for, dies too! Now I can understand if he saves her life, and then at the end the wife and the girlfriend are together: both because of Heston. But the fact both Heston and wife drown is just plain stupid and a completely wasted climax.
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Avenger69 — 15 years ago(September 08, 2010 11:16 PM)
The ending was entirely Heston's idea.
The original ending - as scripted in a late-1973 draft - had Gardner's character dying in the flood, Kennedy's character being crushed to death in the tunnel, and Bujold's character surviving along with Heston. Heston thought the ending to be too predictable (and morally questionable) and insisted it be changed. He had final script approval concerning his character, so he forced his hand.
Robson, the director, didn't want the ending, but had no choice. In fact, he attempted to pull a fast one on Heston by trying to film the shot of Heston crawling out of the manhole (leaving his wife to drown), but Heston wasn't having it.
For its time, it was a shocking ending, since rarely did the lead of a film die.
"It's people" -
tepista — 15 years ago(September 27, 2010 09:39 AM)
It's woulda been so easy to let his wife die, so he wouldn't have any awkward situations in the future.
But Gardner was as hot as anyone 15 years earlier. He could have stayed with Bujold til she got old too. -
hairybro2000 — 14 years ago(April 11, 2011 03:24 AM)
I totally disagree. I saw the film first run the first week it was released and the ending was a complete shock. If Heston had let his wife die that would have been predicatable. I am so pleased that he stuck to his guns.
What's intereting is that Heston would head another all star cast in the second Sensurround film, Midway. He character dies in that too. -
prbronx5 — 14 years ago(April 29, 2011 12:26 PM)
I disagree. It was actually a pretty sad and shocking ending. It showed that no matter what had happened in the past, he still had feelings for his wife. I actually felt sorry for Remy throughout the movie. I'm sure there were events that caused her to be the way she was. Two scenes that really made her tragic were when Stuart drops her off at the evacuation site in the middle of the devastation and drives off to find Denise. Second when he drills into the parking garage and Denise runs to him and jumps on him, the look on Remy's says "I'm done with him". Remember when they are climbing out of the garage, Remy pulls away from him when he offers to help her. Of course he had already lifted his mistress and her son out to safety.
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Stevicus-2 — 14 years ago(May 19, 2011 08:09 PM)
Heston was in a bunch of films in the '70s where his character dies.
Omega Man - dead
Soylent Green - dead (or at least his death is alluded to)
Earthquake - dead
Midway - dead
Are there any others?
Beneath the Planet of the Apes -
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namaGemo — 13 years ago(November 12, 2012 08:04 AM)
Wow, do you sound like an angry bitter woman. His wife was a faker and a pill popper just trying to get attention, and Heston had not cheated on her till that very day. He felt guilt over Bujold's husband dying, he felt guilt over Remy, and he basically died because of the guilt others placed on him.
So, he's supposed to stay with this bitter old pill popper so she can ruin his life? As he stated in the film, their whole marriage was a bribe. -
chas77 — 14 years ago(October 21, 2011 03:00 PM)
Heston was in a bunch of films in the '70s where his character dies.
Omega Man - dead
Soylent Green - dead (or at least his death is alluded to)
Earthquake - dead
Midway - dead
Are there any others?
The question isn't how many films when he dies - it's more like how many does he actually live in the end? Since he was such a dramatic, larger-than-life persona he more often than not had to die or be wounded in the end.
To add to your list:
Dies:
Call of the Wild
Antony and Cleopatra
Crossed Swords
Wounded badly:
Skyjacked
The Last Hard Men (if this film had been a hit do you think there would have been a porno version with the same title)
Two Minute Warning (I think or maybe I'm thinking of John Cassavetes' character) -
novastar_6 — 14 years ago(November 02, 2011 06:15 AM)
I saw this again a while back and was surprised by the ending scene because I remembered it as just his wife fell in and died, I didn't remember him going after her. I liked that ending, it's the way it should've been.
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jgroub — 13 years ago(May 06, 2012 03:44 PM)
"I actually felt sorry for Remy throughout the movie."
You were the only one. She was an ugly hag with a dried up old cooch. No one liked her.
I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well. -
rockmail — 13 years ago(January 02, 2013 01:58 PM)
You need to look closer under that crappy housecoat Ava was wearing. She had a hell of a rack under there and the rest was shapely too. Give he some non-witch makeup and a better hairstyle and she'd look quite hot.