The 50 Best Final Shots in Movie History

Meg Sheilds and Film School Rejects present The 50 Best Final Shots in Movie History. Using just their choices, here are my top three picks and two that didn’t make the list, but should have.

47. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Shot
Oh good. For a moment there, I thought we were in trouble. Wild West outlaws Butch Cassidy and his bromantic partner Harry “Sundance Kid” Longabaugh find themselves surrounded. In a pinch, musing about a trip to Australia they’ll never take, they charge out, and the shot freezes on our duo, guns blazing, surrounded by the lingering pops of gunfire. And, as the shot leeches into sepia, the plucky pair return to their place in history.

15. Casablanca
The Shot
Redeeming his soul, Rick makes a sacrifice and watches his beloved Ilsa walk off into the fog with her revolutionary husband, Victor. Riding the personal growth kick, Rick and Renault affirm their burgeoning beautiful friendship and trudge off together, in search of a better future. And probably some coffee.

11. Planet of the Apes (1968)
The Shot
A peaceful horse ride on the beach is spoiled when our two human heroes discover the alien world they’ve been trapped on was earth all along. The closing shot sees a curled up Charlton Heston (pooped out from chewing the scenery) doubled over in front of the Statue of Liberty, half-sunk in the sand, corroding in the tide. It’s a great gotcha moment and one that further complicates the line between civilization and savagery.

I know I’m biased but how could the final shot from Rocky not have made the list?