The main difference I saw was the missing V.O. in the final shots. I guess they decided they needed the "flashback dialogue" to remind us where everything came from and to tie it all together a bit more clearly. My question is, is this a great movie even without the great ending? It's solid and competent, but I'm not sure it's a home run without the payoff at the end. Same thing with movies like Planet of the Apes and others that rely on huge reversal endings.

It's still a great whodunnit that leaves you on the edge of your seat, even without that final twist... but how awesome is that final twist!? I did like the VO in the final shots. It's like Agent Kujan was replaying the lies in his head over and over in disbelief. As for any 'magic' that's on the screen, it has to be Spacey's perfect performance throughout. He played meek, terrified, thinking he was in control until the end when we all realized he really was in control. And that last line of VO "And like that, he's gone." Perfect. I love this movie...

Jack, I agree with you. I love the Usual Suspects but I think without the ending it wouldn't rank nearly as high on most people's list. It would still be a pretty good movie, with great characters and a interesting structure but not one of the greats. I think it is interesting that the twist is liked so much even though it wasn't really telegraphed to the keen observer throughout the movie. I have heard complaints about other movies / scripts when the twist appears out of nowhere but I don't think I have ever heard anyone complain about that in this movie. Even though it is usually subtle, movies like The Sixth Sense and Fight Club dropped little clues throughout the movie so that when you look back on it you say to yourself, "Man, it was right there all along. I should have guessed that". I don't think that you would say that to yourself about the twist in The Usual Suspects. There is a fine balance to be struck in subtly telegraphing the twist without giving it away too easy. That feeling of being duped despite the clues is what makes for the best twists, IMHO.