5. Joker in Full Metal Jacket
Evidence of this is rare. In not only the book The Short-Timers, but also in the movie the main character, Joker, lives. While the book and the film do have several major differences, Joker does live in both to become a battle hardened Marine and the unfortunate Private Pyle does snap killing his drill sergeant and then himself. However in his book, Full Metal Jacket Diary, Matthew Modine states that it was Joker, not Pyle, who was supposed to die. He also goes on to say that he suggested to Kubrick that the character should survive to be changed by the end of the film by the horrors of war. Guess it's possible Kubrick had planned to kill him off, but seems unlikely since he is the main character. Weird.