Which Star Wars film had the best end sequence

[karelm 2,914]

The final moments of a movie can make or break it.  An enjoyable film with a lousy ending will feel meh.  A mediocre film with an outstanding ending might be elevated to fantastic.  Which Star Wars movie had the best ending sequence - the last few minutes of the movie with the most impact or emotional payoff?  Sometimes the ending makes an otherwise mediocre film elevated to greatness just because of how damn great the ending is.  EDIT: Not talking about the end music suite but the final climactic minutes of the film...BEFORE the end music suite!

[Marian Schedenig 8,207]

A tie (no pun intended) between SW and ESB. If we just count the credits themselves (i.e. the end credits suites, not the film scenes before the credits), I'd add TFA to the mix as well.

[Andy 4,141]

Easiest poll ever.  Star Wars.  They could've ended it there.  Storywise, it's a delight, and I still get a happy lump in my throat.  Musically, same.  People don't play any of the other end sequence music at their weddings.

 

And they lived happily ever after.

[bollemanneke 3,349]

I'm sure TLJ is a controversial decision, but I really liked the magic in that scene, no doubt helped by JW.

[Bellosh 3,419]

I'm a sucker for happy endings.

 

Return of the Jedi.

[Tallguy 3,401]

@bollemanneke that's a good call. If it had really been able to do what it wanted to do in the context of those two films it might have been one of the great highlights of Star Wars.

 

They were never able to sell the "all is lost" idea throughout the film because... WHY is all lost? How did we go from the New Republic to whatever the heck was happening at the end of The Force Awakens or all of The Last Jedi in the space of an evening?

 

But if we take them at their badly pronounced word, it's a great ending. Ending the trilogy with the notion that Our Heroes had passed into Legend is a moving concept. And obviously one that Williams was more than up for.

[bollemanneke 3,349]

Well, the sequel scores for both 8 and 9 are in a way like the first two prequels: four scores that tell a story we should have got.

[saulocf 79]

The ending of TFA was one of the best scenes that I’ve watched in the cinema. Independently of how it turned out later, it promises A LOT. 

[Chen G. 3,950]

I mean, its gotta be The Empire Strikes Back.

 

Star Wars is a fine film, but in terms of an ending that has pathos? Yeah, that's just not the playground the film is in. Some of the others films go for pathos, but their success rates vary.

 

With The Empire Strikes Back, its really that reveal and the very extended denoument that leaves you with a sense of uncertainty that is so unsettling and so impactful. That's when it moved from movie serial to character drama.

[karelm 2,914]

10 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

A tie (no pun intended) between SW and ESB. If we just count the credits themselves (i.e. the end credits suites, not the film scenes before the credits), I'd add TFA to the mix as well.

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough.  I'm not talking about the end music suite but the final minutes of the movie - the epic showdown culminations or characters in deepest peril due to finely crafted storytelling and world/character building.

8 hours ago, Andy said:

Easiest poll ever.  Star Wars.  They could've ended it there.  Storywise, it's a delight, and I still get a happy lump in my throat.  Musically, same.  People don't play any of the other end sequence music at their weddings.

 

And they lived happily ever after.

I think a very important point I'd like make is that at the time, A New Hope had a very satisfying ending when the rebels returned the Princess and plans back to her base.  The film could have ended there and would have been very satisfying because I thought the final battle was the rebel escapes and "Here they come" battle.  This could have been because I was a young kid and had never seen a film like this before, but I remember everyone talking about how exciting the ending was in that "and then the most action pact moment of a film full of action and surprises was that most epic climactic dog fight where everything was on the line!"  I literally remember playground friends just being blown away by that ending on top of an already outstanding film experience.  This became a bit of a staple that now you expect it.  I don't know what this is called, it's not just a false ending but a tour de force ending after an already satisfying end.  Another great example of that era - War Games (1983).  It's not worth summarizing the ending to those who haven't seen the film but putting yourself in the place of young audiences of that time, the concepts were very original and dramatic.  

8 hours ago, bollemanneke said:

I'm sure TLJ is a controversial decision, but I really liked the magic in that scene, no doubt helped by JW.

I don't know, the film is such a mess, I feel it wasn't saved by the ending though it was complex...perhaps the most complicated ending emotions in a SW film.  But maybe the film wasn't as big a mess as I recall it was.

1 hour ago, saulocf said:

The ending of TFA was one of the best scenes that I’ve watched in the cinema. Independently of how it turned out later, it promises A LOT. 

Crap, I forgot exactly how it ends.  Just remember the spectacle.  

1 hour ago, Chen G. said:

I mean, its gotta be The Empire Strikes Back.

 

Star Wars is a fine film, but in terms of an ending that has pathos? Yeah, that's just not the playground the film is in. Some of the others films go for pathos, but their success rates vary.

 

With The Empire Strikes Back, its really that reveal and the very extended denoument that leaves you with a sense of uncertainty that is so unsettling and so impactful. That's when it moved from movie serial to character drama.

I actually didn't pick that one.  Remembering the film as a kid during its theatrical premiere, it was a devastating end.  A real bummer.  During ANH, everyone left the theater in jubilation and ecstasy.  For ESB, everyone left speechless and stunned even thinging, it didn't live up to how great ANH was.  Also remembering that Han was by far the favorite character.  I was 9 at the time and had to wait 3 years to find out what happens!!!?!  That's an eternity...a third of my life at that time.  Remember, there wasn't yet VHS nor cable.  We had like 5 TV channels and only had the movie theater for escapism.  Of course, now we have the entire saga and see it as the pinnacle in terms of storytelling, direction, and character building (and to me at least, SW scoring as well).  I thought Rogue One had the best final minutes with Solo being the worst.  But maybe I'm crazy!  Nostalgia aside, a very fine choice.  

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

The Throne Room and Jedi Steps sequences are the most emotional, really perfect way to end the movies

[Tallguy 3,401]

4 hours ago, May the Force be with You said:

The Throne Room and Jedi Steps sequences are the most emotional, really perfect way to end the movies

 

You're half right.

 

The problem with the Jedi Steps is that that emotional response is the entire reason it's there. There was no thought behind it other than "Wow, this will look awesome!" "Yeah, totally! Where does it go?" "No idea. What's for lunch?"

[Marian Schedenig 8,207]

15 hours ago, saulocf said:

The ending of TFA was one of the best scenes that I’ve watched in the cinema. Independently of how it turned out later, it promises A LOT. 

14 hours ago, karelm said:

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough.  I'm not talking about the end music suite but the final minutes of the movie - the epic showdown culminations or characters in deepest peril due to finely crafted storytelling and world/character building.

 

I know, but to me, with the SW films all that is so tied to the music that both things go together.

 

And I can't believe I forgot about TFA's jedi steps ending (I guess the sequel trilogy is disappearing from my memory), but that is of course also a highlight, musically and non-musically (again inseparably tied). So it joins SW and ESB in my (unsorted) top three.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I voted AOTC.

 

Everything from "Begun the Clone War has" to the end rules.

[Datameister 2,044]

I can't even vote on this one. Too hard. ANH, ESB, pre-'04 ROTJ, AOTC, ROTS, and TFA are all contenders for my top spot. And I really like the others, too.

 

I guess I can narrow it down a little further. There literally isn't a thing I'd change with the endings of ANH, pre-Hayden ROTJ, and AOTC. So I'll take the others out of the running: ESB because I would have ended with the beautiful interior shot looking out into space, ROTS because I don't like the transition from the Force theme to the end credits, and TFA because it replicates ROTS's issue while adding a dodgy final shot. But those three are otherwise still masterful.

[karelm 2,914]

27 minutes ago, Datameister said:

I can't even vote on this one. Too hard. ANH, ESB, pre-'04 ROTJ, AOTC, ROTS, and TFA are all contenders for my top spot. And I really like the others, too.

 

I guess I can narrow it down a little further. There literally isn't a thing I'd change with the endings of ANH, pre-Hayden ROTJ, and AOTC. So I'll take the others out of the running: ESB because I would have ended with the beautiful interior shot looking out into space, ROTS because I don't like the transition from the Force theme to the end credits, and TFA because it replicates ROTS's issue while adding a dodgy final shot. But those three are otherwise still masterful.

Why not Rogue One?  Does it feel like a light weight compared to the gravitas of the others or is it because it's not JW?

[Tallguy 3,401]

1 hour ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

I know, but to me, with the SW films all that is so tied to the music that both things go together.

 

And I can't believe I forgot about TFA's jedi steps ending (I guess the sequel trilogy is disappearing from my memory), but that is of course also a highlight, musically and non-musically (again inseparably tied). So it joins SW and ESB in my (unsorted) top three.

 

It IS one of the only pieces of music from AotC that I listen to.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

2 hours ago, Tallguy said:

 

You're half right.

 

The problem with the Jedi Steps is that that emotional response is the entire reason it's there. There was no thought behind it other than "Wow, this will look awesome!" "Yeah, totally! Where does it go?" "No idea. What's for lunch?"

It's a brilliant ending that has no real importance afterward but it's still a brillant ending no matter what the thoughts behind were

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Star Wars hands down. 

R2 survived hooray and John's finale was legendary.

[Datameister 2,044]

2 hours ago, karelm said:

Why not Rogue One?  Does it feel like a light weight compared to the gravitas of the others or is it because it's not JW?

 

Dang, I totally forgot about both Star Wars Stories. Oops. I like both endings, but just how much I like them depends on how far back in the film you go. I think R1 has one of the strongest third acts of any Star Wars film, even if the end itself can feel slightly sudden (and marred a bit by digi-Leia). For Solo, some of my most positive feelings about the whole film come just from the finale on the Falcon. Still, if we're just comparing final scenes, I don't think either of those is a contender for first place for me. I still say that ANH, pre-DVD ROTJ, and AOTC are the most perfect.

 

(If we were talking about the music and not the films, it becomes a neck-and-neck race between ANH, ESB, and AOTC, with ANH ultimately taking first.)

[Tallguy 3,401]

1 hour ago, Datameister said:

 

Dang, I totally forgot about both Star Wars Stories. Oops. I like both endings, but just how much I like them depends on how far back in the film you go. I think R1 has one of the strongest third acts of any Star Wars film, even if the end itself can feel slightly sudden (and marred a bit by digi-Leia). For Solo, some of my most positive feelings about the whole film come just from the finale on the Falcon. Still, if we're just comparing final scenes, I don't think either of those is a contender for first place for me. I still say that ANH, pre-DVD ROTJ, and AOTC are the most perfect.

 

(If we were talking about the music and not the films, it becomes a neck-and-neck race between ANH, ESB, and AOTC, with ANH ultimately taking first.)

 

It's funny, I fell the opposite about Rogue One and Solo. (I loved Solo.)

 

I thought the end of Rogue One had a very naturally paced ending with the main characters, an exciting epilogue with Vader, and then a nice button on the blockade runner.

 

With Solo I thought the end of the film culminated beautifully with Beckett, it had an OK followup ending with the space pirates / rebels. Then there was the Maul cameo in there somewhere, But then the card game felt rushed (but more Lando was a great thing) and then BAM! we're on the Falcon for a few seconds and SEE YOU NEXT TIME!

 

Rogue One felt far more fluid.

[Datameister 2,044]

When I say the "end itself" is a little sudden in R1, I'm literally just referring to the final moments aboard the Tantive IV, after the last shot of Vader. I feel like a bit more breathing room before the credits could have been nice—maybe something that paid slightly stronger tribute to the sacrifices that have just happened. Hard to squeeze in without losing momentum, I suppose.