The End

1978 "Are there laughs before death?"
6.1| 1h40m| R| en| More Info
Released: 10 May 1978 Released
Producted By: United Artists
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Wendell Lawson has only six months to live. Not wanting to endure his last few months of life waiting for the end, he decides to take matters into his own hands and enlists the help of a delusional mental patient to help him commit suicide.

Genre

Comedy

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The End (1978) is now streaming with subscription on Max

Director

Burt Reynolds

Production Companies

United Artists

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The End Audience Reviews

GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.
Jacomedi A Surprisingly Unforgettable Movie!
Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies
Hitchcoc Burt Reynolds has a death sentence. He decides that since he's terminal, he may as well get it over with. He tries in numerous ways to kill himself, but it seems that either he isn't ready to die or someone leaps in to save him. I just could not get into this film. It isn't the subject matter. It isn't my own feelings about death. It isn't some kind of pact with myself and the people who are adamant that hell is ready for these sinners. I just didn't buy Burt Reynolds. I thought the thing was dull. Then again, I've never been a big fan of Dom Deluise. He was much too manic for me. Reynolds never seems address his situation with seriousness. Too many one-liners and jokes about the inevitable. I know some will say something about suicide being a cruel act. But this film diminishes the feeling.
jbartelone With the talents of Burt Reynolds and Dom Deluise, most people would expect The End to be hysterically funny, as it has often been referred to as an under-rated "Black Comedy." The problem is "The End" is only funny in spots. Other times it tries to be a serious drama. The plot basically has Burt Reynolds, a real-estate executive, diagnosed with a terminal blood disease. He is told that he has less than a year to live, that the range could be as short as three months. Desperate, Burt decides to contemplate ways to commit suicide. After a failed attempt, he lands in a psycho-ward, where a patient (Dom Deluise) tries to help him achieve his death wish. At the film's conclusion, Burt decides that life is worth living after all, but his deranged inmate and friend is still trying to kill him in a memorable ocean-side scene as the credits roll.Another issue is that Burt's character, Sonny, never fully develops into someone really likable or funny, which is a shame, because Reynolds really tries to make the character work. While there are some chuckles from one-liners, a lot of the times, Sonny's moods are very "bipolar", often in the same scene. One minute he says something funny, and thirty seconds later he's moping around feeling sorry for himself.Dom Deluise also tries very hard to be comical, but again, he is only funny in spurts. The best scene in the movie is with Burt and he on the "tower" trying to carry out Burt's death wish! I think that is the funniest part of the movie. However, most of the time, both protagonists seem forced in their dialog. Burt's fake "crying" is so obvious when he is depressed in this movie, that "Sonny" often becomes more annoying than comical.I agree with another user who said that "The End" tries to be more than it is. However, the premise of the movie is uncertain where it wants to take the viewer. The first half is more serious than funny, and the second half is more funny than serious, but the movie just doesn't "come together" very well. I put the film just slightly above average at a six for the great "Tower Scene" and the song, "Another Fine Mess", which is good. However, this movie is not as good as it could have been.
lambiepie-2 I was young when I saw this film..and haven't seen it since so I can tell you at the time I saw it..this was the funniest film ever made to me. It was silly.You have to be a three stooges-type comedy fan to have affection toward this film. Being young helps too. This is a non-calorie, non-filling type of film...fun for fun sake. And silly. But it was the 70's and Burt Reynodls-Dom Deluise-Sally Field trio had a few films dealing with silly 70's comedy. Silly, not good.This is what I remember...A very handsome (and self-centered, at least to me) man finds out he has a short time to live. Instead of letting nature take its course, he tried to speed up the process. Now of course this doesn't sound funny. And if something like this was made today, I can imagine the protests (although it sounds ripe for Ben Stiller or the Farley Brothers!)...but it was done as silly as possible to soften the idea. And once again I say, this was silly.The one part that had me in stitches is when Sonny wakes up to the wonderful, calming, sweet and serene chirping of birds after one of his attempts. yes, it's silly, but if you're in the right frame of mindless silliness, this will have you laugh heartily as well.If you like slapstick-silly of the 70's, then this film will be for you.
noyb cutshall Burt Reynolds stars as a man who is terminally ill. He doesn't want to go through the pain of dying so he decides to takes his own life, problem is, he is afraid to.Reynolds' made the most out of a weak story plot and script. His performance was of high quality and was backed by a good well talented supporting cast. Reynolds' usual pal, Dom plays a crazy lunatic that truly wants to help his buddy with his goal of doing himself in, but as the movie moves along Reynolds has second thoughts.Many good talented actors in this movie, with a better script this may have been Reynolds best outing since, Smokey and the Bandit.