So I finally saw The Fugitive last night.
Yeah, I know… you’ve just lost any lingering trace of respect you may have had for me. But hear me out, friends — it’s been a conscious choice on my part to avoid the film until now.
Why, you ask? Because even though I’d never seen the movie, I felt like it had become overly familiar to me, thanks to all the parodies I’d seen over the years (The Simpsons, etc.). I just didn’t want to watch a movie that I felt would contain no surprises for me. And sure enough, while I found The Fugitive to be a solidly crafted thriller, I knew all the best bits in advance. It kinda ruined my enjoyment of it, I have to confess.
Along the same lines, a friend of mine recently watched Casablanca for the first time, a film he’d actively avoided for years because of cultural overexposure. He had the same reaction to it as I had to The Fugitive: it would have been a pretty decent film, if he hadn’t known the whole story in advance.
My question to you is: are there movies you’ve put off watching because other people have ruined them for you? I can think of a few more:
1) The Crying Game. I know the big gender revelation, so why watch the movie?
2) The Usual Suspects. I’ve owned the DVD for years, but because numerous people have revealed Keyser Soze’s identity to me, I can’t bring myself to actually sit down and look at the thing.
3) Jacob’s Ladder. I know all about the ending, and it sounds cheap and manipulative. No thanks.
I saw (and loved) The Truman Show during its original theatrical run… but I can’t help wondering how much better it would have been if all the trailers hadn’t given away the big twist ahead of time. Likewise, the ads for Cast Away told us in advance that Tom Hanks gets off the island, which killed the suspense. And a special curse upon the head of every person who gave away the big secret of The Sixth Sense. Jerks.
What films were ruined for you by other people, and what movies have you never bothered to see as a result?
-CSJ
Cinemaslave 
An interesting question, I can’t say there’s a movie ( that I can recall ) that I’ve made a point of not seeing because someone has spoiled it for me, there have been movies I’ve avoided because they’ve been over-hyped to insane levels but not because of spoilers
I saw THE GODFATHER for the first time in a film study class in college (1990). It knocked me out.
The next day in class as Michael Corleone’s character was being discussed, some douche in class spouted out, “And at the end of Part II, he has Fredo killed!”
I still loved watching Part II, but hated that I couldn’t discover the end by myself like that guy could.
I always wondered what it would be like living in a world where it wasn’t a part of our culture that Darth Vader was Luke’s father. I am 20 years old, and a big Star Wars fan, but I don’t think there was a point in my life where I was fully aware of the Star Wars movies (the original), and not fully aware of the fact that Vader was Luke’s father.
It is pretty much impossible now to recreate what the shock must have been like in 1980 when it was revealed to the audience at the climax of The Empire Strikes Back.
He kills Fredo?? Thanks for ruining that for me.
Nice article. A friend of mine saw the Sixth Sense having been told the ending and found it pretty dull. Makes me wonder if the point of that story was the twist.
The Truman Show had a twist?
Anyways, I hadn’t seen Casablanca until, I dunno, at least a year ago, maybe two, and I still found it solidly entertaining, because, you know, it’s fantastic.
I think good movies will stay good, regardless of how many parodies you see of it or if you know the twist ahead of time. I mean, I knew the plot twists of both Chinatown and Fight Club before I saw them and I still thought they were fantastic.
Now, movies like The Usual Suspects, which is soul-crushingly boring, do not work like this.
Also, I wouldn’t consider Michael killing Fredo a plot twist since you find out Fredo betrayed him early on and then Michael pretty much decides on killing him with, like, forty-five minutes to go.
P.S. Finny dies.
Watch “The Crying Game.” Seriously. The gender twist happens early and is not the purpose of the movie.
I would proably say know A beautiful Mind was based on a real person.When I say it,I thought it was good,but someone I know,didnt know it was based on a real person,so the movie was better for them,becasue they didn’t know what was real or not.
Citizen Kane comes to mind. I put off seeing it for years and years, partly because it was perched at the top of every top 10 list I’d ever seen and I couldn’t imagine anything living up to that hype, but mostly due to the fact that The Simpsons had not only spoiled the ending but walked me through the plot by weaving sizable portions of it into Mr. Burn’s backstory over the years.
I was blown away when I finally saw it in an early film class. Much of the plot was instantly familiar, but not as much as I’d suspected, and the narrative structure itself was striking enough to make up for the ruined ending.
Empire Strikes Back. When just one kid in school saw it opening night it spread like wild fire that Darth Vader was Luke’s father. Idiot!
Thanks Brian. The Godfather movies are the ones I’ve avoided seeing all these years and now you’ve ruined them for me.
Nah, I already knew about Fredo. I don’t know how, but I did. I never saw them almost out of fear. They seem so important, yet I’d never seen them, so some how it feels like I’m going to screw it up. But I bought all three on DVD so I’ll get to it eventually.
Actually, there are pretty much no older movies that I’ve seen that I didn’t know the twist or reveal ahead of time. Citizen Kane and Rosebud being the sled. Psycho and Bates being his mother. Star Wars and Vader being Luke’s father. I’ve never seen the Crying Game but I knew about the gender bender twist even as a kid when it came out (I was actually confused the first time I saw Silence of the Lambs, cause I had mixed them up).
My brother spoils often movies for me in order to piss me off the top three are:
3. keizer sose is the crippeled (i didnt belive it till end of the movie)
2. Norton is schizofrenic and guess what, pitt is his alterego.
1. the kid sees dead people, what the hell bruce willis doin there, huh?
how about this :
1) steve buscemi ends up in a wood chipper
2) darth vadar is still luke’s father
(just kidding- i borrowed those from the ‘you don’t know jack’ video games)
i actually go to spoiler sites before i see the movie. if i like the ending, i’m gonna love how we get there. anyone else? or am i just a freak?
I wanted to KILL the guy who ruined the 6th Harry Potter book for me. I was devistated especially since I was halfway through it at the time. I was lucky enough not to have the 6th Sense, the Usual Suspects, Fight Club, Memento, and most other really good twist movies for me and truthfully I doubt I would have enjoyed them as much if I knew what was coming. I want to be surprised by twists. I personally have been avoiding the Island, even though some friends have told me it’s not half bad, because I feel the commercials ruined the entire movie for me. Friggin commercials for movies show waaaaay too much of the plot nowdays. I think the Island could have made more money if the commercials didn’t tell you flat out “They’re clones!” and kept it as kind of a surprise.
Fredo is Kaiser Soze???
IT’S HIS SLED!!!!
Definitely the one that was ruined for me was Scream…sounds kinda strange, right? Well, the first time I saw it, it was on TV near Hallowe’en and I only tuned in about 30 minutes from the end…and thoroughly enjoyed it from that point onwards without missing out on an major plot points…gotta love mid-90s ‘horror’ movies that can do that…ironically once I saw the whole thing, my favourite part is still from the post-coital attack sequence to the ending
Your article raises a good point: why are some individuals so unhappy with themselves that they can only validate their existances by spoiling the enjoyment of others?
As an English teacher, I try very hard to select texts my students haven’t read yet, but every year some smartass watches the movie adaptation instead of reading the first chapter[spoiler alert for OF MICE AND MEN], and comes in to school declaring something along the lines of “Oh my God, George Shoots Lennie!”
Who the hell wants to read it, or watch Sinese’s excellent adaptation, if they already know what’s going to happen?
As several respondants have already indicated, commercials also ruin the possibility of fully enjoying a movie because we already know several of the key sequences. The best commercial for a movie which I can recall from my youth was the Jurassic Park trailer because it showed ABSOLUTLY NOTHING from the movie other than the park logo accompanied by the ominous-sounding T-rex footfalls. Brilliant! This minimalist approach whetted just about everyone’s appetite for the movie without spoiling it, and the script diverged enough from the book to provide surprises for those of us who thought we might know what we were going to see.
Wish you hand’t spoiled “Fight Club” for me though, as it was next on my To Read Then Watch list….
I’m one of those people that the term “curiousity killed the cat” applies to. If I know there’s a spoiler out there…I can’t resist. So I ruin films for myself. In my defense, I usually watch movies with my boyfriend and he’s always trying to guess what’s going to happen and sometimes he’s rights and that would piss me off to no end if I didn’t already know the real plot twist. Example: Saw II…I won’t spoil it for those reading now but I had read about it ahead of time and knew about the one person that had a “secret agenda” so just to piss my bf off (and make myself feel witty & clever), I acted like I had just “figured it out” right before the big reveal. My bf thought I was very clever. HEE HEE! But if anyone ruins the 7th Harry Potter book for me, I may murder.
Here’s a twist for you – just when you think Michael Bay has something right with Transformers, it turns into utter crud. Can’t help thinking the metamorphosis is some kind of irony. Then again, he’s not that bright.
Boredom meets the eyes.
I avoided the universally praised “There’s Something About Mary” forever because I was sick of the hype about how funny it was. When I finally saw it on video, I didn’t think it was that funny, and the “hair gel” bit might’ve been funny a) in a crowded theater and b) if it was a surprise.
Some friends spent a whole summer raving about “Napoleon Dynamite”, to the point where I had to remind them weekly that I hadn’t seen it and please stop quoting the movie. Nothing like your friends repeating “I caught you a delicious bass” all summer to turn you off. I finally saw it on video and it was only OK.
Before I saw the Sixth Sense someone spoiled the movie for me. What kills me is that she didn’t think she did. (“I didn’t tell you who was dead!”) I watched with my wife and the whole time I was watching I could see all the clues and so on and it was great to watch the look on her face when the ending was revealed, I wish I could have had that amazement.
Arlington Road–Yes, I know it didn’t do well in it’s theatrical release, but that’s because the trailer gave away EVERYTHING, and even the poster had a clue to the final reveal in the film.
I think that there should be a rule that no trailer can use any footage from the second half of a film…
A friend of mine did spoil the 6th Sense for me… She just dropped it in the conversation without notice. I felt really cheated. “Why on earth did you just say that!!!!???” I think she regretted it instantly. Bah, I didn’t even like that movie anyway.. *sigh*
I used to love trailers, but now I try to avoid them at all cost, they just show the entire movie… I don’t get it.
There has been many instances when movie ending were spoiled for me but even then I watched it because here in India we have ‘naughty’ people sending SMSs to everyone making up spoilers (false endings) for highly anticipated movies. These SMSs are sent even before the movies are released and hence are known to be wrong.
Other than this yes there has been times when someone has spoiled movie endings for me but even then I did watch it because a movie is not just about its ending, its about a lot opf other things as well.
I had heard Napoleon Dynamite quoted from beginning to end about a dozen times by the time I finally saw it. As a result, I was ready to despise it. Surprisingly, I still thought it was alright.
I must say that if I’m reading a book I always read the ending first. I do not like to get emotionally invested in characters who are going to end up dead, so I have not had a movie and/or book ruined by having someone tell me the end. I actually enjoy them more.
I avoided watching any of the Rocky Films until I accidentally saw Rocky Balboa. Maybe if I hadn’t known they where Stallone films I would have seen one earlier!
*** Spoiler*** We were at the beach one night, and there was nothing else on so I started to watch “Pay it Forward” after I had already seen the 6th Sense. Right in the middle of the movie, my friend Lauren walks into the room and goes “Oh my God. This movie is so sad. I can’t believe the little boy dies at the end.” I wanted to strangle her, but just turned the movie off instead.
More seriously, the trailer for the American remake of Ring gave away the shock ending. However it did also confirm my suspicion that the subtelty of the original would have been replaced with a ‘look at me’ in your face approach.
I held off on Citizen Kane for a while, but it wasn’t the Simpsons’s parody that ruined it for me, it was Animaniacs. I don’t know if anybody remembers, but in the opening credits song they have one part where they say “animani-, totally insaney, …” and then make up a different third line for every episode. Well, one day it was “Citizen Kane-y”, and one of them was holding up a sled. I didn’t get the joke, so I asked my parents about it later. I forget if it was my mom or dad, but whichever it was looked at me, paused, and said, “Well, you probably won’t remember, so…” Low and behold, many many years later, I remembered.
Cinderella – The shoe fits.
I am only 23 years old, so by the time I saw Hitchcock’s “Psycho” (yes, the original, not the Vince Vaughn remake), I knew every twist along the way. Whereas 60’s audiences were shocked that Vivien Leigh, the supposed star of the film, would get slashed up, I was just waiting for it to happen (though I did not know it occurred so early). And the ending with Norman and his mother was known to me, as well. While still a well-crafted film, watching it now was just plain boring.
Oops, I meant Janet Leigh in “Psycho.”
Funny, I’ve never had a movie ruined for me. Sometimes, some of the spoilers actually enhance the film. For example, instead of “yeah, I knew she was going to die in the shower,” it became, “ooo, here’s the famous shower scene I’ve heard so much about. I wonder how it’ll be done and if it’ll live up to the hype.”
I recently saw Ben-Hur for the first time, and though I’ve seen clips of the chariot race, and have had it head about ad naseum, it didn’t hurt the scene when I saw it. It was more of a, “wow, everyone was right” type of response.
That being said, I didn’t have anything like The Sixth Sense or The Usual Suspects ruined, except that I knew a twist would be coming, which ruins it in a way because you don’t know what you see coming, but you expect to see something. For those films, though, even if they had had a twist, or if it had been spoiled for me, I’d still like them. Knowing the endings now, I still re-watch them. Spoiled or no, a good movie is a good movie.
I went to my local multiplex to see “The Sixth Sense” the day that it came out. As I was entering the lobby from the outside, my sister was leaving the theater after having just seen “The Sixth Sense” and she yells out to me, “He was dead the whole time!”
Of course, I didn’t know who “he” was, so the whole time I was watching the movie I was wondering, in my mind, if it was Bruce Willis or Haley Joel Osmet who was, in fact, dead the whole time. It made the movie a little more interesting for me. Not better, mind you, but more interesting.
i’m with Lou,
what was the twist in the truman show?
Both Fight Club and Sixth Sense were ruined for me before I got around to seeing them, but the spoiled ending did not diminish the pleasure of my viewing experience. I thoroughly enjoyed this movies even though I knew what was coming. So I agree with a poster above- if a movie is truly fantastic and well done, then a spoiled ending shouldn’t have that much of an affect when you do watch it! It should always stay enjoyable regardless.
Sidenote about The Usual Suspects: I saw this movie without knowing the ending, but I was not surprised or impressed, I think I was more confused by what did or did not happen to fully get that “whoa” reaction that everyone else seems to get when they see this movie. And then when I re-watched it, it seemed pretty ordinary to me (same with Casablanca too). So I guess what I’m getting at is some movies, whether you get the twist spoiled or not, just elicit different reactions from different people!
For 2 years I’ve owned Usual Suspects but not watched thanks to someone spoiling it for me. I know your pain!
i have to say the movie that was ruined for me was old boy stupid bravo during it’s 100 scariest moments ruined the end. It’s still an amazing movie but I wish I could have experienced it in the film rather then with some stupid tv special
When I was a kid, a Peanuts comic had Lucy giving away the surprise of Citizen Kane on the same day that the movie was on TV. My brother was really looking forward to seeing the movie until he read the comics.
I had no idea what the Matrix was before I saw the movie, and I loved it. I just wish someone would have told me how awful the sequels were…
Well when I saw The Empire Strikes Back, i’m pretty sure I alwready knew that Darth Vader was luke’s father, because it was just…something everyone knew, and still knows.
Didn’t know about Psycho though (thank god) or any of the others, so good thing I’ve seen them alwready ! I still have to see The Sixth Sense though, so everyone please shut up. thanks.
Hi all,
A few people have asked what I meant by “the big twist” in The Truman Show. Allow me to clarify: the movie doesn’t reveal that Truman is on television until the halfway point; however, the trailers and TV ads gave the premise away in advance. I regret that I wasn’t allowed to discover the secret when the *movie* (and not the *marketers*) chose to reveal it to me.
I love reading all these great responses; thanks, everyone!
-CSJ
The ‘quotes’ section in IMDB gives away the end twist of Saw 2 which I was so annoyed about (I loved the first).
I avoided virtually all articles about Saw 3 and will do for 4.
I think The Woodsman would have been much better if y0u hadn’t known he was a pedophile before the movie. That being said, it was still a great movie and excellent acting by Kevin Bacon.
What about the title?
Million Dollar Baby. An actual movie reviewer killed that one for me.
Fight Club, which I wound up being grateful for when I saw like 20 minutes. Speaking of Fincher, I “spoiled” the movie The Game for myself when I thought too hard during the credits and wondered if the punchline would be as lame as the whole thing really WAS a game.
The worst spoiler for me was when I was walking into the new diehard movie and my buddy told me as he was walking out that McClain got killed. I still enjoyed the film, but I wish I hadn’t known that.
When I saw The Departed for the first time, (if you haven’t seen the departed yet don’t read this comment!!) I saw it with a friend of mine who had already seen it. She really wanted me to see it because “I’m not going to tell you what happens, but, it’s the kind of ending you like where everyone dies.”
Thanks a lot, bitch.
But also, I think that there are tons of movies that rely on the plot twist too much (M. Night Shamylan’s movies for example). After you see the movie once and you know the twist, the movie is no longer fun to watch. Then, I’ll just watch one of those movies because a friend hasn’t seen it, and I’ll watch their face to see how they react.
And then there are movie like “the Village” where they give you this huge twist that just makes it completely suck ass.
I saw TITANIC on video a few years ago…I can’t believe the boat sinks!
No seriously: You people that are refusing to watch movies because of spoilers given to you need to calm down and watch them for what they are: Great Art. The Usual Suspects, The Truman Show, Fight Club, etc. Get thee to a DVD player (or even a summer film series or retrospective if there’s one in your town!)
We were sitting in the theater when my wife nailed Sixth Sense from the trailer… “Wow.. maybe Bruce is dead then too, huh?”
Happened to me with Denzel Washington’s “Fallen”, when my cousin was so excited about it he just had to tell me the ending. The movie would have been so much better not knowing.
Similarly, when a friend gave away the ending to “Signs” (technically not a twist ending, but still) just because she hated the damn movie and ranted about it to the whole classroom.
I also had a similar experience with “Napoleon Dynamite,” tons of people quoted the movie, and told me how great it was. I just wish that before I saw it, someone would have told me how incredibly terrible it was. That would have been a welcome spoiler and i can have that hour and twenty-two minutes of my life back.
Interestingly, it occurs to me that if you look @ some DVD’s, the menu or even the box will give something away. On the inside cover of MAGNOLIA (one of my all-time favorite films), there’s a picture of a nice blue sky with a tear in it and frogs falling out (mimicking slightly the end of the film!)…
Anyone else notice this trend in home entertainment?
I was actually driving to the theatre to see The Sixth Sense when the DJ on the radio station I was listening to decided to tell EVERYBODY the twist ending. Jerk.
Oh the other really bad spoiler is that I am friends with one of the editors for the Harry Potter series, so he got to read an advanced copy, and he told me how Ron kills Harry. So I mean I’ll still enjoy reading the book, but I wish I didn’t no that.
Just recently I was struck by how stupid it is that they show that there is a flood in the trailer for Evan Almighty. I didn’t really want to see that movie anyway, but what’s the point?
To the person who had MILLION DOLLAR BABY ruined for them, you can thank Michael Medved for the spoilers. Assclown.
I didn’t see “the Godfather” until a few years ago and so put up with 30 years of bad “Vito Corleone” impressions. When I finally saw it a few years ago, I couldn’t help but see Brando’s performance as anything but yet another bad “Vito Corleone” impression.
Those two postings were jokes, by the way.
My roomate in college completely spoiled the Kevin Coster thriller “No Way Out.” Ironically, he was telling me about how he heard this group of ditzy girls loudly talking about it in a cafeteria. “I saw No Way Out last night” “Is that the one where Kevin Costner’s a _______?” Completely spoiling the ending to it. I was all “Hey! I haven’t even seen that yet.”
I was so glad I didnt have any of those movies except for Psycho ruined for me – especially Oldboy. Thats probably my favourite movie this century mainly because I had no clue about the movie other than he was locked up for 15 years and set free(not a spoiler).
I have learned to stay away from messageboards until I see the movie, or tv show(LOST). I would have been majorly bummed out if I had known the big reveal of the lost season finale.
My Pet Peeve is people who dont give a spolier warning in their comments , or who write their comment title like this…
I can’t believe john doe was killed at the end (spoiler)
THE HUNTER SHOOTS BAMBI’s MOM RIGHT IN THE HEAD!!!!!
How cool would have “from dusk till dawn” have been if you didn’t know that there was going to be vampires involved in the second half. That would have came out of nowhere, but the trailers blew that one.
It’s one thing to be upset about knowing the twists and turns of a film, but it’s not enough to avoid seeing the film. As a filmmaker, if I already know the ending before seeing a picture, it’s nearly just as exciting to see how it’s made, how the ending is accomplished. Before seeing Titanic, I knew the ship sank. Yet, the excitement came from seeing how well-crafted the film was. And to this day, epics have not been able to top the production values.
In response to one of the first comments made by a guy named Brian, I just wanted to say that as a former student of cinema (and I guess continuing student of cinema, although not matriculated anywhere anymore) I know all about having certain movies ruined because of discussion or whatever. I always tried to watch myself while commenting, but I would always see a couple of kids grimacing. The problem is that while in a film class, it’s sort of assumed that students have seen the material beforehand. I had a professor who would flat out say, “Well, if you haven’t seen this, too bad” and just continue talking about plot points and endings, etc.
So I guess my warning for anyone taking film history or theory classes is that if you’re registering for the class, try to brush up on some of the material if you’re sensitive to having endings ruined for you.
In response to the above poster about the new Die Hard movie – I don’t know what version you saw, but he didn’t die in the one I saw.
Shortly after The Blair Witch Project was released, I *ahem* obtained a VHS copy of the film and brought my friends over for a viewing. We sat in stunned silence as the film unfolded before our eyes. The less-than-perfect quality of the tape added to the ambience and tension in the same way that their amazing website did. Then, with about ten minutes left in the film, as things started REALLY spiralling out of control, one of my friends breathlessly said, “Thank God this movie is fake…”
I have never been so completely taken out of a movie in my life. I can’t even buy the DVD, as the film has been completely ruined for me.
Anyone who is a so-called movie buff can at least admit that the 6th Sense was sooooo predictable because they continuously tell you in the trailer that the kid sees and talks to dead people. And who does he see and talk to the whole movie… ? bruce duh!
“The Lives of Others”, the German “film of the decade” in all of Europe. EVERYbody had seen it and called the best movie ever – the new Casablanca. I hate hype. So I didn’t go see it. But of course I knew the intire plot from friends, trailers and reviews. When I finally saw it on DVD a week ago, I was so overly critical of every little detail, that I couldn’t enjoy it at all. Because I already knew the storyline I din’t get caught up in it, and instead I focused on alle the little annoying details and mistakes. Either the movie isn’t all it was cranked up to be, or I had a really good cinematic experience ruined for me…
There are many movies that I refrain from watching because of hype or over-exposure. However, I’m usually not opposed to watching them for what they are when I get around to it, I just would rather take my time than feel rushed into watching a movie that I pretty much already know the ending to.
Also, I too like to read the endings of books. I find that more often than not the true details of the ending aren’t really in the last few pages, so once I know the very last details, the journey and the how-did-they-she-he-do-whateter-they-did thing becomes like a juicy mystery (even if they book isn’t very good). I used to do this when I was a kid to books like the Boxcar Children, which by the way, when I read again now that I’m in my twenties, how did I find that entertaining? But Benny, boy he was a crack-up, huh!?
I also agree that movie trailers often give too much away, which is why I don’t pay too much attention to them unless it’s to glean certain information from them as to my own suspicions about the plot details. Rarely am I truly surprised from a film in a mind-bending way that probably can never be experienced again in the same way that audiences felt before the days of information saturation.
Hey that’s my two-bits! I don’t write in English much anymore so pardon the mistakes and happy watching!☆
Man, Live Free or Die Hard only came out a few weeks ago. Thanks for ruining it. These other movies have been out for years. Thanks for ruining the ending for a movie that is still in the theater! Way to go.
Nathan Lane ruined the Sixth Sense for me. He was on Letterman right around the time that the movie was in theaters, and apparently pussy-hurt that Sixth Sense was doing better than whatever he was doing. So he did this whole mockery production (which, to a point just looked like he was mocking the trailer, which I would have been fine with) and ends the parody with “Surprise! He’s a **spoiler spoiler spoiler**!” I will forever have a mad-on against that guy…
Someone praised the trailer for Jurassic Park.
I understand this person’s perspective and agree,
but have a better example.
Does anyone still remember the trailers for Alien?
Egg, crack, green laser light. Nothing Else!
This absolutely helped the film.
Trivial Pursuit ruined the whole “Rosebud” thing for me. That said, Citizen Kane was still a masterpiece.
Is it just me or does merely knowing that there is going to be a twist in a movie ruin the movie?
Coz when you don’t know you kinda get a double twist; the fact that there’s a twist and then the event itself and how it affects the story.
If you know there’s going to be one you’re prepared for it and have probably guessed it.
6th Sense was ruined for me in that way; 3 of us went to see it, one of the guys asked “what do you know about it?” We replied, “the kid sees dead people and there’s a twist.” He replied, “what’re the bets Bruce Willis’ character is dead all along.
Straight from the off it was soooo freakin’ obvious.
Oh, and the goddamn picture on the back cover of season 5 of Six feet under… all but one of the main characters standing around in a cemetery… thanks for that chaps.
thanks alot.
I have never seen Seven, because I could tell from the VOICE on the radio ad that Kevin Spacey was the killer…
This isn’t really about a movie being ruined, but a movie that blessedly was not ruined. When I first saw the Matrix I was blown away because I had no idea what it was going to be. The commercials that intrigue you without actually telling you anything are so much better for the enjoyment of a movie.
Previously Mentioned:
Seven
Pyscho
Godfather
Also, most recently, Children of Men – I read too much about it before hand and saw a huge spoiler clip online before I saw it and it completely took away as suspense from a film that was a suspense/thriller
I’m eternally grateful that the first time I ever saw Planet of the Apes (1968 Charlton Heston version), no one spoiled the end for me. I knew from the music that something dramatic was about to happen, but I had no idea what. It was probably the best ‘twist’ I’ve ever encountered in the movies.
I remember the hype from when “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” came out. When I finally saw it on video, I had the same reaction as I had had to “Something about Mary” and “Napoleon Dynamite.” I didn’t find any of these films particularly funny, and the fact that no one talks about MBFGW anymore is evidence of its longevity (or lack thereof).
Like “Alien,” J.J. Abrams “1-18-08” has a good marketing ploy going on right now — we don’t even have a title! Hopefully they won’t spoil it over the next six months.
Hmmm. I enjoy Usual Suspects every time I watch it (though it has been a few years now), even knowing who the bad guy is. Mind you, I didn’t know the first time I watched it, but knowing didn’t ruin my enjoyment in subsequent viewings.
One movie that really annoyed me was “Out of Time”. I think that’s what it was called. A Denzel Washington film. The trailer for the film reveals something that I always expected would happen in the first few minutes of the film. When I finally rented it, I kept waiting for it to happen. Lo-and-behold, it came about 5 minutes before the ending and was the big twist reveal. I felt really cheated out of my time. Having watched the film, I didn’t feel like I got anything out of it that I didn’t get out of watching a 30 second TV spot.
Whoever is doing trailers these days should be shot. They should whet your appetite for the film, not tell you the whole story.
This may sound silly, but it was a traumatic experience for me . . .
You know how all your friends have seen some cult-ish movie, and are constantly talking about “that scene” or “the ending,” but you haven’t seen it?
For me, it was “Wizards” — an animated movie that I am somewhat embarrassed to reference — but the accidental revelation of the surprise by one of my friends who mistakenly thought I’d seen it was one of the three or four most traumatic moments in my life.
someone told me that Tom Hanks died in Saving Private Ryan. It didn’t ruin the movie – i still loved it, but boy did I want to punch that kid in the face. I didn’t like him anyways.
yeah if you plan to ruin a movie please have the decency to put ***spoiler*** before hand so it’s a consious choice if you continue to read. i beleive their is a special place in hell for people who ruin movies or books. Ruining the experience of watching a movie for the first time is unforgivable to me. Not knowing what’s going on and figuring out as you go along is all the fun of enjoying a story. and you can recreate that experience of seeing a movie w/o knowing anything beforehand
the greatest t-shirt ever and very appropriate for this topic.
http://www.didntyouhear.com/2007/05/24/spoilt-gives-away-the-ending/
PRIMAL FEAR
i was watching Primal Fear, and my mom walks in and says “i was so shocked that he actually created his alter-ego, and was guilty” it was like a fucking joke that she ruined it so blatantly.
[TRANSFORMERS SPOILER]: They’re robots in disguise.
Okay, half of you-all are morons. You complain that someone spoiled a movie for you yet you go and do the same thing for hundreds, if not thousands! Way to go.
I inadvertently ruined The Sixth Sense for someone, when, after The Story of Us came out, I announced, “I wouldn’t see that even if Bruce Willis died in it.” Some people have no sense of irony.
Um, I’m pretty sure you (as a member of the audience) find out that Truman is on television within the first half hour…I can’t cite any examples for sure, since I haven’t seen the movie in a while, but I’m pretty sure you learn WAY earlier than the halfway point.
In any case, the fact that he’s on TV is the whole point of the movie…How would you advertise the movie without mentioning that?
“Hey, come watch Jim Carrey! He’s less manic in the movie than other movies! Watch as he gardens and talks to his wife! Later, he’ll drink some beers on a bridge with his best friend! AWESOME!”
With advertising like that, nobody would want to see the movie.
The Shining. I watched it a a couple of months ago and I knew what was going to happen before it happened. Simply because it has been parodied countless numbers of times and quoting continuously. Still a good film though.
The Sixth Sense was ruined for me by the Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymoore movie 50 First Dates. They gave away the big twist, so I wasn’t shocked at the end.
Damn them!
Back when special features were new on dvds my dad watched the featurettes on The Sixth Sense before watching the movie.
/facepalm
You know from the very beginning of the Truman Show that it’s really a TV show, as the first scene is clips of faux interviews with the cast members of the show.
Also, I accidentally ruined the death at the end of Harry Potter book 6 for one of my friends. Oops.
Hey, I know! Why don’t you just list the movie and not what was spoiled? *sigh* We’re talking about how awful it was when we were spoiled and you all go and do it to someone else.
Gosh, that’s a long list. Fight Club, The Usual Suspects, The Shawshank Redemption, The Others, and Saving Private Ryan are some. Sometimes people tell me, or I’ll be reading some magazine or website and it’ll reveal the ending. Why do they do that!!
Ok, for those of you that missed it, the guy that revealed the “spoiler” for the new Die Hard, said himself that he was kidding, so there’s no reason to get huffy. And what the heck are you doing reading these messages anyway if you don’t like spoilers when that’s the thread of conversation? Hello?? That’s like going into a haunted house and being surprised that there’s ghosts.
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A surprise ending is like dessert: nice, but not necessary. I knew the ending to Citizen Kane long before I saw it, but it in no way spoiled this brilliantly written, directed and acted film.
On the other hand, Pay It Forward was an awful movie, whether you know that Haley Joel Osment bites it in the end or not.
If the whole movie hangs on a twist, then it wasn’t very good to begin with.
I failed to find any enjoyment out of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, since I had already been exposed to all the big secrets, including the famous shower scene and the secret of Norman’s evil mother. I also remember seeing Ridley Scott’s Alien after having already seen Cameron’s sequel, and it was incredibly boring. Over the years I’ve grown to appreciate the latter, but I still haven’t watched Psycho again.
I saw Psycho at the Cleveland Film Festival (with Janet Leigh in attendance!) in the mid-90’s. I, too, knew the shower scene and the big reveal so I thought I’d treat the movie experience as “one I should see on the big screen before I die.” The theater was packed. No one blinked during the shower scene…but when ***spoiler alert*** Martin Balsam gets it on the staircase, the entire theater jumped out of their seats. To this day, I still smile when I think of it.
What I do when a movie looks really interesting, and I don’t want anything ruined is: during the preview, as soon as I deem the movie worthy of watching, I close my eyes and stick my fingers in my ears. I look like a retard, but it works. As a result, I got to see Revenge of the Sith, not knowing a single damn thing about it. That was the first time that had happened to me with a Star Wars flick. It was quite an experience.
Worst of all is when a film ruins itself with an opening narration or prologue that gives away the rest of the film. This is quite rare, but case in point: ‘Dark City’ – I IMPLORE YOU skip to the opening credits or something – that film was so near to being brilliant for what it was but the opening sucks the life out of the whole concept. I cry for Alex Proyas.
I read that The Others had a good twist, but got it confused with The Hours (Nicole Kidman in both). I was siting through the entire movie (The Hours) trying to figure out what plot twist there may be. Ruined the movie for me and have yet to re-watch it.
In a way this is yet another thing that writers have to set themselves up against. Fight Club was not ruined by this because to much other social commentary was going on to make that even more than cliche movie ritual for a cool conclusion to exist. This is what I consider raising the bar. You don’t have to really over think to accomplish it, I think scream did it. The entertainment value was so high in the travel to the end of the movie that knowing the conclusion in advance didn’t ruin it. Okay, the second thing I hear in this conversation is a intellectual snobbery, I say this lightly in that we think we are so smart that we can understand an art message before we see it. Like saying we get in depth a painting of Devinchi before seeing an actual portrait/painting. Unfortunatly the only solution is to acutaly view the movie and make a judgement then. I say that having made that mistake (especially with music) of making a quick judgement and finding out there was more to it even though people I didn’t respect found great qualities I would have never expected them too.
The boat sinks an the end of Titanic.
Curse dodgy trailers.
‘Wild Things’ with Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell et al was not spoiled for me, but anyone who saw the trailer before seeing the flick would have missed out on several twisty turns.
Titanic. My so called friend let off that it sinks at the end. Apologies to anyone reading this who hasn’t seen it.
Sometimes just knowing that there’s a twist ruins a movie. Five minutes into The Sixth Sense I said “Oh, he’s dead, isn’t he?” and my movie-watching companion shouted “YES!” The rest of the movie was pretty much a moot point, like most of the rest of M. Night Shyamalan’s work.
Wow… I wonder how many more people are going to make the same lame joke that the boat sinks at the end of Titanic?
-CSJ
Uh Joe, I think you have to be more specific when you ask, “What films were ruined for you by other people, and what movies have you never bothered to see as a result?”
Where you expecting people to just list films or what? ‘Cause so far I’ve seen people detail spoilers about the latest movies and the last Harry Potter BOOK. Isn’t that exactly what you were complaining about to begin with?!
So long as there are other smart-asses who get kicks out of spoiling movies and books for people.
I was SO pissed when someone told me the ending to OHMSS.
Oh, and as for The Usual Suspects? Kujan was an idiot. Seriously, that ex-football player from The Ladykillers was smarter than this guy! Sheesh…
The first time I saw “Gone With The Wind” was on TV when I was in high school. My dad’s fiancee walked in halfway through (through the second half) and said “Oh, did Melanie die yet?” AUGH! She was so contrite when she realized I hadn’t seen it though I couldn’t hold it against her. She grew up in the southeastern US, where I guess just EVERYONE know that!
The boat sinks at the end of Titanic.
and if you watch a movie with Steve Buscemi in it, he will probably die.
Are people kidding when they say the end of “Titanic” was spoiled for them?
And people who get mad that “Psycho” was ruined, well, it’s a 40 year old movie. How long can a secret be held?
“The Crying Game’s” twist was a closely held secret for a very long time, until it went wider release than originally.
The only reason that “Planet of the Apes’s” end wasn’t spoiled was because there was no Internet. Otherwise, it would have, too.
And I still don’t know what the twist in “Jacob’s Ladder” is. I’ve never seen the movie.
Certainly two of the films you mention (Crying Game and The Usual Suspects) aren’t about the twist but about the journey.
There is far more to enjoy in The Crying Game then the reveal of the meat and potatoes. The reveal of just who is Kyser Sozoe is arguably almost incidental to the plot.
The Twin Peaks tv show ending was just ruined by some jerk on the BLUE VELVET imdb board showing off on their knowledge of David Lynch.