The End

I first saw THE END on the NBC network around 1980, and thought it was a very funny and yet very touching black comedy about dealing with the end of life. It became one of my favorites. But back in those days, movies were still being heavily edited for television, something I wasn't aware of. A couple of years after that, I got to see the original theatrical version on cable, and I was shocked! It seemed like a completely different film; the original film was filled with foul language, crude sexual jokes about orgasms and other functions, and other unnecessary excesses. I was very disappointed. This is the textbook example of just how much difference TV editing can make for a film. It is also an example of how editing can sometimes IMPROVE a movie. Unfortunately, since video, DVD and cable are king now, it is only the unedited theatrical release that is available to viewers. That is a shame, but I still have fond memories of the hilarious and touching comedy I saw on TV so many years ago. On an unrelated trivia note, when Burt Reynolds published his memoirs a few years ago, he contended that veteran character actor Sam Jaffe had a small role. Apparently this scene ended up on the cutting room floor. Too bad.

"The End" is a black comedy that should have been even darker. Had it been I think it would have been regarded as a classic. Burt Reynolds stars as a man who finds out he's dying and decides he's going to kill himself. After a lackluster start where Burt sees his parents, his daughter, etc., he goes into action. And that's when the film buckles down and takes control for the last half. After a failed suicide attempt Burt is placed in a mental hospital where he meets fellow patient Dom DeLuise, who is as nutty as a loon. Dom decides to help Burt fulfill his dream of suicide and the laughs keep coming. Dom is so good in this film that we really miss him every time he's off screen. Burt is good in the film and has a classic moment at the end when delivers an impassioned soliloquy to God. That is worth the price of admission (or video rental), if you see it in its un-cut form.

This is a seriously black comedy which, although it contains a fair bit of slapstick, also features some of the most subtle comedic touches I've seen in a film. Little things which may be missed on a first or casual viewing can delight a dedicated fan of 70s comedy. I've been a fan of this film since I came across it by accident as a teenager and now as I approach forty, it hasn't lost any of its delights for me and I was lucky enough to pick up an old second hand copy of the video so I can sit back and watch it if I'm ever in need of a good laugh. Do yourself a favour and watch this film.

Not very good. Just because a movie deals with death in a supposedly funny manner, does not make it a black comedy. It would have to be a lot bleaker and MUCH MUCH MUCH funnier than THE END. It seems to want to be better than it is with Burt Reynolds trying mightily to be shockingly funny as a dying man with a death wish, but the movie is simply a waste of a lot of talent. People like Joanne Woodward, Sally Field, Robby Benson(!), and others pop up to act appalled at Reynolds predicament and his plan to knock himself off. Dom DeLuise (who has been very funny for Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder in a few films) is the wacky mental patient tasked with helping Reynolds. Someone told him that shrieking a lot and donning wild hair equals funny. It doesn't! Reynolds clearly thought of himself as a capable comic actor and from time to time (THE LONGEST YARD, SEMI-TOUGH), he succeeded, but mostly his comedies were lame-brained train wrecks that managed to make tons of money...where THE END falls is anyone's guess. Also with Pat O'Brien and Myrna Loy!

Up there with Groundhog Day for philoso-comedy. Carl Reiner makes every second count. Dom is desperately lovable. Sally shows she can act. And Burt is at his understated best. Unfortunately for Burt, he was 25 years too early with this now timely reflection on death and dying -- boomers did not want to be worried about death in 1978. Now that we are beginning to realize that we too are mortal, this movie should get the appreciation it deserves. Those of you who are turned off by movies dealing with ethical and personal dilemmas won't like this movie. You would think that with all the attention paid to the ethics of extending life and assisted suicide that this movie would be required viewing for the right AND left. I am convinced the Burt will be remembered because of this movie. Death be not proud.

This was, without a doubt, the most hilariously comic performance that the brilliant Dom DeLuise had on film. When, in the midst of a depressed "woe is me" rant, he looks up and asks "Do you think we'll ever switch to the metric system?", well, it just don't get no funnier than that. His botched suicide attempts, as well as his eagerly wanting to help Burt with HIS suicide, oh heck, just go rent it yourself! You'll love it. Burt was brilliant too. He holds a thin line between wanting to die and wanting to live that is believable. It's a real shame that this movie often gets me blank stares when I tell others about it. More people know about Four Weddings and a Funeral (a movie so horrid that I still refuse to watch another Andie McDowell flick) than this quiet classic. (sigh)

source: The End

The End

This is a seriously black comedy which, although it contains a fair bit of slapstick, also features some of the most subtle comedic touches I've seen in a film. Little things which may be missed on a first or casual viewing can delight a dedicated fan of 70s comedy. I've been a fan of this film since I came across it by accident as a teenager and now as I approach forty, it hasn't lost any of its delights for me and I was lucky enough to pick up an old second hand copy of the video so I can sit back and watch it if I'm ever in need of a good laugh. Do yourself a favour and watch this film.

Up there with Groundhog Day for philoso-comedy. Carl Reiner makes every second count. Dom is desperately lovable. Sally shows she can act. And Burt is at his understated best. Unfortunately for Burt, he was 25 years too early with this now timely reflection on death and dying -- boomers did not want to be worried about death in 1978. Now that we are beginning to realize that we too are mortal, this movie should get the appreciation it deserves. Those of you who are turned off by movies dealing with ethical and personal dilemmas won't like this movie. You would think that with all the attention paid to the ethics of extending life and assisted suicide that this movie would be required viewing for the right AND left. I am convinced the Burt will be remembered because of this movie. Death be not proud.