10 Film Directors Who Used The Same Ending Twice
Directors who repeated their movie endings! Tarantino, Aronofsky & more!
Director Jim Jarmusch once famously said, "Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination."
He was speaking generally of filmmakers who recycle concepts they've seen in other people's movies, but what about when directors decide to lift from their own prior work?
These 10 directors all came up with an ending that was apparently so compelling and inspirational that they decided to more-or-less reuse it on a future film.
Whether taking a base concept from their earlier work and reusing it in a similar fashion or, more egregiously, flat-out ending two films with the very same plot point, these directors seemingly had no qualms about going back to a well which, in fairness, worked out incredibly well for them the first time.
You won't find many people complaining about the self-pilfering in these cases, because ultimately all of these movies are so much more than their concluding moments - even if their concluding moments certainly got everyone talking.
With great actors in front of the camera and an inspired enough story, filmmakers can usually get away with using an ending more than once...
10. The Athlete (Probably) Dies Mid-Performance - Darren Aronofsky
The Original
Darren Aronofsky's superb 2008 drama The Wrestler concludes with Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) ignoring the advice of doctors and loved ones by stepping back into the ring.
During the match, it's clear that his heart problems are flaring up once again, and despite his opponent's attempts to end the bout early, Randy climbs the top rope to perform his finishing move, the Ram Jam.
As he leaps off the turnbuckle, tears in his eyes, the film ends, the outcome left unknown.
The Repeat
Just two years later Aronofsky did for ballet what he did for wrestling - albeit with a gonzo horror twist - in Black Swan. The film revolves around obsessive ballet dancer Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), who at film's end discovers she has, in her mania, stabbed herself mid-performance.
Rather than seek medical attention, though, Nina returns to the stage and completes her performance, after which the crew realise she's bleeding profusely and rush to get her help.
Nina, seemingly on the verge of death, is clearly more concerned with how "perfect" her performance was, and then the film ends.
Like The Wrestler, it's a devastatingly ambiguous ending which leaves the protagonist's fate in limbo while passing ultimate commentary on professional obsession.