1. The Empire Strikes Back
"Chewie, I'll be waiting for your signal. Take care, you two. May the force be with you."
Star Wars' ending was a happy affair. Like Return Of The Jedi and The Phantom Menace after it, the heroes were left celebrating their victory. As cheesy as that throne room scene actually is, it was a great ending to George Lucas' original sci-fi blockbuster. The sequel was a rather different affair. Dramatic, bleak and without any of the hope of the last film, The Empire Strikes Back delivered the most amazing cliffhanger in cinematic history. The rebels had been driven from their base. Han Solo had been captured, frozen in carbonite and taken by the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Worse still, Luke had lost his hand
and everything he believed in; Darth Vader was his father. At this stage it wasn't clear what was worse - that startling revelation or that fact that Ben Kenobi lied to him. Either way, his whole world had been destroyed. The Star Wars sequel defied expectations of a happy ending. Leia, Chewie and Lando didn't rescue Han. Luke lost the battle with Vader. There was no climatic battle against the Empire. The bad guys won. Those three years before Return Of The Jedi must have been excruciating. Nowadays people often talk about movie cliffhangers doing an 'Empire Strikes Back' style of ending; from The Matrix Reloaded, to The Dark Knight, many on this list owe at lot to this film. What a perfect endorsement.
Do you agree with the choices? Are there others you think we have overlooked? How much does the pay off to that cliffhanger mean? If the sequel falls flat, does that make the cliffhanger worthless too? Please let us know in the comments below.And if you enjoyed these, take a look at our 20 greatest season cliffhangers in TV history too!