CITY LIGHTS is hands-down one of the most poignant endings in cinema. It brings humanity and deep resonance to a film that provides TRAINWRECK level laughs throughout. In the final scene, The Tramp gazes through the window of the flower shop, and the formerly-blind flower girl jokes, “I’ve made a conquest.” But when she steps onto the sidewalk offering a rose--and takes his hand, she now recognizes him. “You can see now?” he asks. "Yes, I can see." The meaning is clear; I see you for who you truly are, and I love you. (Cue the passing of Kleenex.)

Nice one, Ana Maria. Come back on Friday to see who gets the free tickets.

In Federico Fellini's La Strada, where we follow the sweet, naïve Gelsomina and the brutal strongman Zampanò as they travel through poverty-stricken rural Italy with their sideshow act, we reach the end of the road in this final scene of redemption. After abandoning Gelsomina, Zampanò learns of her death and wanders onto a desolate beach. He stares up at the stars, the moon shining a spotlight on his devastated, guilt-stricken face, and breaks down in tears as he realizes he has alienated all those who loved him and that he's all alone in the universe. It's a moment filled with profound sadness and we can't help but feel empathy for this broken man who for the first time shows that there's a human inside that tough facade. Bonus video: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5ncjv_anthony-quinn-la-strada_shortfilms

Ah, beautiful. Have not seen the movie in decades, but I do remember that ending. Thanks!

I'm not in LA so I can't compete for the tickets. Having said that... The ending of Gladiator is just perfect. Maximus defeats Comodos, but the logic of the story dictates that he too must die. All Maximus had wanted from the beginning was to go home and be with his family. Now that they are in the Afterlife, his only conceivable “happy ending” is death. What makes the ending even more heartbreaking is that Lucilla, his love interest in the film, is able to recognise this. “Go to them”, she says. And this ‘soldier of Rome’ (never a politician) is finally able to reunite with the wife and child whose deaths he has avenged.

Beautiful ending, blueblossom. We see this type of denouement in other heroic tragedies as with Braveheart: Death of the hero, their final fleeting moments producing a vision of their loved ones, already dead, beckoning to the hero to join them for eternity. That puts a lyrical and positive spin on the hero's physical demise. Thanks for that!

Little Miss Sunshine- Almost everything that could go wrong on the trip did, but everyone kept going. Whether you actually achieve your goal, real happiness and fulfillment comes in the challenges you overcome on the journey. Everyone sacrifices something to help Olive get to the pageant. The family allowing Olive to go forward with the dance routine, knowing that she won’t win, gives them the opportunity to affirm to each other that even though their lives don’t fit the shape of what they had planned, they’re still winners because they don’t quit.

"Indecent Proposal". In losing everything they find out what is really important, each other. The great thing about this ending is that it's also a Rorshach test. Which man you think she should end up with says more about you than the movie. So it's a film where you end up getting to know more about yourself by watching it.

Rich and rewarding story endings should always answers the Central Dramatic Question and conclude the Main Characters Story arc. Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket does that. Can you take a young man and turn him into an instrument of death? All through the film Joker has struggled with his identity - The Duality of Man, and he fails to fully embrace his new role as a hardcore Marine. "Is that you John Wayne? Is this me?" Now at the end of his journey it's his choice to help or kill a 14 year old girl. Will he help her like he tried to help Pyle? Show compassion and call for a Medic? Will he leave her and let her die refusing to kill her? The young girl softly asks for someone to shoot her. Joker is still conflicted, wants to help her, but his fellow Marines tell him that they'll let her rot before they do anything. We watch Joker as he finally has to come to terms with what he's signed up for. We watch as his eyes grow cold. His humanity drains away. Joker pulls his side arm and kills her in cold blood. "The Congressional Medal of Ugly!" Hardcore. The duality of man is meaningless now. Joker's gone he's now a Marine. An instrument of Death. Full Metal Jacket.