10 Movies That Almost Had Much Better Endings

7. The Shawshank Redemption

The Actual Ending

Frank Darabont's legendary 1994 prison drama concludes in undeniably heartwarming fashion, as convict Red (Morgan Freeman) is finally paroled after spending 40 years in Shawshank.

Red then violates his parole in order to meet up with his escaped pal Andy (Tim Robbins), crossing the border into Mexico and finally being reunited with him on a Zihuatanejo beach in the film's tear-jerking final scene.

The One We Almost Got

Originally, writer-director Frank Darabont actually ended the movie with Red taking the bus across the Mexican border, leaving the outcome of his attempted reunion with Andy entirely unknown.

However, producer Liz Glotzer insisted that Darabont shoot a reunion scene despite his protest that it was "commercial, sappy."

As a compromise, the studio assured Darabont that he'd have the final decision on whether the extended epilogue was used, and after seeing how strongly a test audience reacted to it, the director ultimately changed his mind.

Why It Would've Been Better

Hollywood frequently underestimates the value of subtlety, and it doesn't need to be reiterated how little test audiences reflect the tastes of intelligent, discerning viewers.

Though the ending we got is in no way bad, it does feel like one sentimental indulgence too far, because leaving the audience to consider whether Red and Andy really found each other again would've been so much more provocative and interesting.