A movie’s final shot is arguably just as important as its opening shot, if not more so. The final shot can make or break a great movie. It’s what audiences are left to ponder — the last note that the filmmakers leave on. Movies can be truly excellent for the majority of their runtime, but if they don’t stick the landing, it can be hard for viewers to leave feeling anything other than disappointed.
That’s why these ten final shots are truly some of the most groundbreaking and influential moments in film history. They have left audiences stunned, emotionally impacted, excited for what comes next, or wholly satisfied with what they’ve just witnessed, and they stand out as the all-time greatest final shots in movie history.
Inception’s Spinning Top Is A Beautifully Ambiguous Ending
Christopher Nolan is one of the most influential directors working in Hollywood today, and he is certainly no stranger to bizarre, open-ended narratives. His movies are some of the most complex and thought-provoking blockbusters of the modern age, and one of his finest cinematic achievements ever has got to be 2010’s Inception. While the entire film is great, the final shot is what truly cements it as an all-timer.
After Leonardo DiCaprio’s Cobb has finally achieved his goal of reuniting with his family, he uses his “totem”, an item that allows him to determine whether he is dreaming or not, one last time. He spins his totemic top on the table of his family’s home, and without even looking to see whether his reality is a dream or not, he approaches his children, free of care or doubt.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three Has An Unforgettable Final Scowl
A violent, foul-mouthed New York City crime masterpiece, 1974’s The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is one of the most underrated crime thrillers of the 1970s. Following a group of armed hijackers as they attempt to hold an entire subway car for ransom, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three expertly balances multiple characters, tones, and storylines. In the film’s finale, in the wake of the thwarting of the subway plot, its main police detective follows up on loose ends.
Lt. Garber, played by the legendary Walter Matthau, the cop who had previously been communicating with the hijackers, goes to the apartment of a man he suspects to have been involved in the plot. When the criminal effectively avoids suspicion, audiences believe that he’s going to actually get away with his crime. However, just as he closes his apartment door, he lets out a loud sneeze — the exact same sneeze that Garber had heard over the radio numerous times during the hostage situation. Matthau’s face re-enters the apartment slowly, and he delivers one of the most unforgettable glares in movie history, cementing The Taking of Pelham One Two Three‘s final shot as a truly perfect one.
There Will Be Blood’s Final Shot Is One of Violence and Resignation
Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood is one of the single greatest dramas of the 21st century, and it has remained a supremely influential movie in the years since its 2007 release. While the entire film is full of beautifully composed images full of meaning and depth, There Will Be Blood‘s final scene might just be its most poignant.
When Daniel Plainview, the nefarious lead of the film, is met at his palatial estate by his longtime enemy, Eli Sunday, the two verbally spar one last time, before Daniel horrifically beats Eli to death with a bowling pin. In the aftermath, Daniel slumps to the ground, breathing heavily on the floor of his personal bowling alley. His servant comes down the stairs inquiring about the noise, and Plainview resigns himself to his fate of meaningless existence and pointless violence, there on the floor inside his empty home.
Fight Club’s Shocking Final Shot Is Utterly Iconic
David Fincher’s Fight Club is chock-full of iconic visuals, lines of dialogue, and musical stings, but none hit quite as hard as the film’s very last moment. In the wake of The Narrator’s realization that he and Tyler Durden are one and the same, he and Helena Bonham Carter stand together and watch in horror as Tyler’s plans for Project Mayhem come to fruition.
From the top floor of a skyscraper, they watch out the windows as dozens of towering buildings around them crumble from planted explosives. It’s a harrowing, shocking moment, and one that punctuates the ideas and themes of Fight Club expertly. Paired perfectly with the Pixies song, “Where is My Mind?”, the final shot of Fight Club stays with the audience long after the credits have finished rolling.
Casablanca’s Final Moment Is Absolutely Legendary
Director Michael Curtiz’s 1942 film, Casablanca, is, without a doubt, one of the single most important movies ever made. An unadulterated masterpiece that still holds up to this day, Casablanca is romantic, stirring, suspenseful, and melancholic all at once. It’s the kind of film that is still a must-watch today, and its final shot is one of the greatest in cinematic history.
After Rick and Ilsa say their bittersweet goodbyes on the airport tarmac so the latter can continue aiding the fight against the Nazis, Rick turns and walks shoulder-to-shoulder with Captain Renault, the formerly corrupt police officer. Finding renewed senses of morality and purpose, the two allies start their “beautiful friendship” as they walk off together into the foggy night.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Final Shot Is Horrifically Satisfying
1974’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the most influential horror movies ever made. It also happens to still be one of the most unsettling, deeply disturbing films in the genre’s entire history, and it features one of the most awe-inspiring final shots ever put to screen. When Sally, the film’s final survivor, narrowly escapes the clutches of Leatherface and his family, she speeds off in the back of a pickup truck.
Frustrated with his prey’s escape, the iconic Leatherface swings his chainsaw wildly as he stumbles, almost dance-like, in the street. As the Texas sun glares orange in the sky behind him, Leatherface’s physicality and horror is on full display in the film’s final shot, and it leaves audiences feeling both relieved at his failure and horrified by his behavior.
The Godfather’s Last Moment Is A Devastating Emotional Blow
Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is one of the greatest movies ever made, and every single scene is worthy of admiration and exploration. However, arguably the most effective visual beat in the entire film is its final shot, which sees Diane Keaton’s Kay finally being pushed out from her husband Michael’s business.
With Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone finally embracing his role as a member of the Corleone crime family, and eventually as its Godfather, Kay is isolated and left out of the inner circle. The film visualizes this perfectly with its final shot, which sees the door to Michael’s office slowly closing, cutting her off from the man she once loved.
Seven Samurai Features A Final Emotional Gut Punch
Arguably one of the greatest action movies ever made, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai must truly be seen to be believed. Despite the fact that it came out in 1954 and clocks in at two-hundred-and-seven minutes, it’s as exciting and emotionally engrossing today as any modern blockbuster. In the film’s final moments, in the wake of its titular Samurai warriors finally achieving victory over a group of invading bandits, the cost of that victory is put on full display.
With only three of the seven Samurai remaining in the film’s final moments, the wizened warriors reflect on their allies’ sacrifices, and pay their respects at their final resting places. Four tidy mounds on a simple hillside, each marked by its dead owner’s weapon of choice, act as the final image of Kurosawa’s seminal masterpiece, and the striking visual is one of the most impactful beats in cinematic history.
The Searchers’ Final Shot Brilliantly Mirrors Its First
John Ford’s The Searchers isn’t just the greatest Western ever made, but it’s one of the single best American movies ever produced. A staggering achievement in action filmmaking, as well as one of the most definitive takes on the myth of the Old West, The Searchers ends on a profoundly emotional note.
Mirroring the film’s opening shot, only now with the added baggage and context of the adventure that has just unfolded, The Searchers‘ final shot sees John Wayne’s Ethan framed in a doorway, hesitating — unable to enter and join the “civilized world” due to his wild ways, but unable to fully fit in with the savage ways of the wild frontier.
2001: A Space Odyssey’s Final Shot Ponders Humanity’s Future
The entirety of Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi opus, 2001: A Space Odyssey, is a sight to behold, but its final moments might just be its most visually magnificent. The science fiction masterpiece sees Dave, a human astronaut, plummeting into the furthest depths of the unknown reaches of outer space.
In the wake of a dangerous showdown with the nefarious H.A.L. 9000, Dave finds himself sent through a stargate, where he comes face-to-face with future versions of himself, and then, finally, the seeming end of humanity’s evolution, a giant, glowing infant. It’s a striking-yet-touching climactic visual for the iconic sci-fi film, and it remains the single greatest final shot in movie history.