Best death?
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Star Trek TOS, ZardoZ, The Prisoner, and Brazil spoilers ahead! (Watch out for the Star Trek one, it’s a doozie! ;))
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STough, off the top of my head…
I’m inanely tempted to say all those guys in Star Trek wearing the red shirts who we never really knew (one time bit parts) who predictably get killed. 🙄 And then there’s a group, the Eternals from [i]ZardoZ[/i], who are gunned down by the Exterminators in the film, but to specific individuals…
In sci-fi TV from [i]The Prisoner[/i]: Leo McKern’s No. 2 (Once upon a Time).
In the ultimate battle of wills, No. 2 locks himself away with No. 6 to learn why he resigned. Who will survive the ultimate test? There can be only one… and that one is 6. However, a “late No. 2” is resuscitated later… That was a close shave 😆
[img]http://www.members.shaw.ca/funky2funky/The%20Prisoner/No2LeoWithCream.jpg[/img]
And in film I’ll go with Sam Lowry at the end of [i]Brazil[/i] — he’s in a torture chamber, and a “[i]Python[/i]” is putting the “squeeze” on him, but he escapes through his imagination. We see him with a blank smile on his face at the end. A curiously happy ending. Some people say he was dead at the end which is why I include it, I think he’s fully escaped into his imagination — gone insane (another type of death?) Perhaps I could choose Harry Tuttle’s (De Niro) death in Sam Lowry’s dream sequence where he is consumed by paper work (literally).
[quote=”nursewhen”]Ripley in Alien diving into molten metal to save the galaxy.[/quote]
A very dramatic death for a pretty silly film.
Now John Hurt’s character from [i]Alien[/i] — the best of the Aliens by far IMHO, when he “gives birth”, now that was a shocker. Maybe that’ll be my choice in sci-fi horror movies for now.
One of the best in horror was Woodward’s character’s terminal departure in [i]The Wicker Man[/i]. “Burn, baby burn.” Awesome flick!
And in [i]LEXX[/i], Zev’s terminal departue when he was turned into that icky yellow goo was pretty good in a very sad way… :() Course Zev sort of comes back as Xev. Then there’s the LEXX finale…
“I want Zev! Not Xev you moron, Zev!” (790)
Interesting topic, Fluffy Bunny! 😆
Good picks, Logan. I knew I liked your brain. May I borrow it?
Applause for making a Brazil reference; it’s one of my favorite films. I’d count Sam’s “escape” as a death.
One interesting death I can think of is from the original Star Trek. Invaders turn the crew into cakes of that crispy-yet-spongy stuff that florists stick arrangements in. The cakes can be safely reconstituted back into people… unless they’re stepped or sat upon. Just to prove that they the mean business, one of the villains crumbles a crewman cake between his hands, casually erasing him from existence. It’s cheesy, I know, but that’s always stuck with me. It’s such a cold and distant destruction of a life. Oh well, it was probably a Red Shirt–he knew the risks when he got dressed in the morning. 😀
FrostGeezer
😆
Borrow my brain? “Brain and brain, what is brain?” 😕
Brazil is excellent! Very good example from Star Trek, struck me the same way. BTW, I don’t care how many times even seen those old Star Treks, they still withstand the test of time. Very imaginative show. As for the Star Trek movies, it was a little too sacharine sentimental perhaps, but Spock died well in The Wrath of Khan. Course he comes back later in Nimoy’s rather narcissistic directorial film The Search For Spock.
Speaking of “cold destruction, ” I was moved in [i]2001[/i] by the deaths, at the “hand’ of HAL, of the people in the sarcophagi — we never met them, but… And then there was Frank Poole’s death by pod.
Just thought of another good film one… Thinking of pods… the deaths in [i]Invasion of the Body Snatchers[/i] (The remake with Donald Sutherland). Then there’s [i]The Fly[/i]… (also remade).
Logan, you’re absolutely right, John Hurt’s character’s death was spectacular and Alien 3 was pretty cruddy.
I think I thought of Ripley first because it was such a heroic character and a heroic death,
Gotta bring up Dark Star, they all die but you get a warm glow as the captain surfs on the solar rays (I believe he got a warm glow too 😉 )
Nice choice, nursewhen! “Dark Star” has some creative and effective deaths. What am I saying?! 😯 Well, you know what I mean.
Logan, you just had to bring up “Body Snatchers,” didn’t you? When I was a lad the final scene with Donald Sutherland freaked me out and scarred me for life. I guess you could count that as an ultimate death scene, too: his friend wasn’t going to last very long after that.
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.
FrostGeezer
There is only one ultimate death scene of all time possibly the goofest as well. That is the Master Charlton Heston in Soylent Green.
The Thodin scene from Lexx1.1 is great too, possibly the ultimate scene in: “PLEASE SHUT UP WE DONT CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY DURING YOUR DEATH SCENE” genre.
I liked Khans death in Wrath of Khan. Believe it or not I also think Ripleys jump into the lava not only saved that movie, but was one of the great deaths of all time.
And since I was a computer gaming junkie in my teens, I have to mention the Death of “Spirit” from ‘Wing Commander II’. The thing she says in Japanese as she suicides into the Carrier are pretty dang moving:
“[i]Tengoku de omachishi te imasu[/i]”
I gotta go with Spock’s death in Wrath o’ Khan. That is still one of the most powerful death scenes I’ve seen.
Nursewhen wrote:
[quote]Gotta bring up Dark Star, they all die but you get a warm glow as the captain surfs on the solar rays (I believe he got a warm glow too[/quote]
[dorkmode]ah-ah-ah… there was no captain in Dark Star. You’re thinking of the XO, Lieutenant Dolittle. The ship’s commanding officer, Commander Powell, floated away in a big chunk of ice. In your FACE nursewhen![/dorkmode]
Fabulous movie. Hated it the first time I watched it.
[quote=”LexxLurker”]There is only one ultimate death scene of all time possibly the goofest as well. That is the Master Charlton Heston in Soylent Green.
[/quote]
I thought Heston just got beat up bad. Edward G. Robinson (Sol Roth ) was the one who went to the euthenasia clinic and I have to admit that that I cried when they showed all those beautiful pictures of how earth used to be and it could only be remembered by the very old.Best ever… last episode of Robotech Series 1.
Khyron pilots an extremely shot up Zentraedi battle cruiser into the SDF-1 with his cool sadistic smile. With his face burning up before the explosion he laughs out loud and then !!!BOOM!!! He takes out the humans flagship in one mother of an explosion, killing loads of people.
To top it off, the remaining skull sqaudron Veritech pilots land on the SDF-1 and in mass suicide they fire everything they have at the battle cruiser to try and break it up before it hits their flagship.
So much carnage. So much death. So @!##!$ epic!
Yay!
The [i]previous[/i] last episode of Farscape. It gave a whole new Shakespearean twist to the entire series if you prefer “neutralize” meaning “kill”. Then, it’s not really the end now, so I dunno.
It all comes back to people who liked Das Boot, and people who felt cheated. Would you make the same choices if you knew how your own story ends?
I have kind of a dark side…
Obi Wan’s “death” made a great impression on me as a kid.
(Of course, as a Drake Drooler, I’d be remiss if I didn’t add [url=http://www.petserrano.com/tv/nohotlinks/clips/mg_treasureplanet.asx]Billy Bones from Treasure Planet[/url])
*does little dance* Clips are working! Whoo-Hoo! 😀
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Obi- Wan’s death wasn’t that good IMHO. If you need a death, the Admiral Vader chokes using the force in Empire was good.
Spock’s death in Wrath of Kahn did stike a chord when I was younger. One of the deaths that caught me by surprise was Kyle Reese in terminator- after all the good guys always survive right? (or that’s what I thought at the age I saw the movie)
On the B5 front, Sheridan’s death had everyone holding their breath for a year or so- wasn’t the death itself I guess, but the events unfolding at the same time to the audience.
[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.”
S’ok Logan, you didn’t come over as dismissive.
I’d like to add Squish from Lexx, who dies in sublime squishy ecstacy in the Gigashadow’s brain. 😀
If you’re going to mention Squish (my second fave LEXX character), then I have to mention BugBomb. His sidekick Brad’s (aka Thodin) death was not nearly so dramatic methinks… Why, oh why did Bug have to die? 🙁
Bugbomb, poor Bugbomb, a tragic life, but a valiant end. Buggy’s da bomb!
[i]Bugbomb the booger bomb,
You spent your time up Thodin’s nose,
That really, really, really blows.Bugbomb, poor bugbomb,
You lost your head,
And now you’re dead.[/i]“All things bright and beautiful…, the Lord Bugbomb made them all” (Beneath the Planet of the Bugbombs).
[quote=”Logan”]I’m inanely tempted to say all those guys in Star Trek wearing the red shirts who we never really knew[/quote]
Good old Ensign Expendable. I loved him.
My vote for best death of course…..goes to the guy in Alien who has a alien pop out of his chest and run away. Logan beats me to it, but he is right…..death and birth…..great imagery!
agreed, that was an awesome one.
and on a fluffier note, Paul Reubens death scene in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie) was hilarious.
[quote=”bitters”]agreed, that was an awesome one.
and on a fluffier note, Paul Reubens death scene in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie) was hilarious.[/quote]
Eeeh! Ooooh! Auuuggghh!
😉
Another anime one: Spike coming down the escalator in the last episode of “Cowboy Bebop.”
Surprised no one has yet to mention Crais/Talynn taking out the PK Command Carrier.
good death, how about in ID4 when the crop duster pilot, flew into the core of the enemy ship cause he had no more missiles, thereby saving the human race from those wacky aliens 😛 .
oh and speaking of aliens, another good death was in alien resurection, when that general guy was standing there watching the other solders evacuate, and they get a close up of his face and you see a little blood splatter from behind him, and he reaches to the back of his head and pulls out a little chunk of brain, from the hole the alien made in his skull.
another good death is the terminator going into the molten metal at the end of T-2, giving the thumbs up as he went, first time i saw that i cried,with that heavy music in the backround, although that might not be considered a death
and how about a bad death, like in star trek generations, when kirk dies, very dissapointing, same for when data dies in nemesis
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