Great topic!
[quote=”FrostGeezer”]I hate to jump the track of this thread, but I have to ask a fellow “Brazil” nut if he’s seen the “happy ending” version of the film. My wife got me the deluxe DVD edition with the director’s version, the meddled-with version and the behind-the-scenes stuff, and it’s a dark delight. The studio’s “happy ending” version is a real tragedy, though. It’s like using White-Out on a great painting. In a way, that counts as a dramatic death.[/quote]
Frost, I’d love to own the Criterion Brazil DVDs. Brazil is one of the best black comedies I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen the “Love Conquers All” version, and a couple of other versions of Brazil on DVD and video. Agreed, that studio version is quite the travesty, but interesting to see. Kinda reminds me of the pre-director’s cut Blade Runner when Deckard and Rachel are driving through the pristine countryside (now getting way off-off topic, I actually liked the neo-noir feel of the hardboiled voice overs from Deckard in that version). By the way, if you haven’t read it already, The Battle For Brazil is well worth picking up. Incidentally, counting it as a”dramatic death”, nicely said, and brilliantly on-topic. *thumbs up* 😀
The last DVD version of Brazil I saw I really didn’t like (so many variations out there), some of the best jokes were missing, I was just waiting for them to happen (having seen my video of it many times), and was so frustrated when the punchline never came.
Here’s my new dramatic death… Roy Batty (hope I got that right) in Blade Runner when his time runs out. “Like tears in the rain.” Another good one, when Francis 7 dies in Logan’s Run (I just had to mention Logan’s Run ;)). Even better, the first runner who is killed by the sandmen. Though the Carousel deaths are what really got to me… It looked like so much fun at first.
BTW LExxLurker and NurseWhen, Sol Roth’s death in Soylent Green was powerful, and I agree that Ripley’s herioc death in Alien Cubed was powerful (I have watched it several times — do enjoy the film — so sorry if I came across as dismissive). My favourite Heston death is probably from Beneath The Planet of the Apes when dying, he launches “Lord Bomb.”