The End (1978/I)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Burt Reynolds

Writer:

Jerry Belson (writer)

Release Date:

10 May 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Are there laughs before death?

Plot:

Slapstick black comedy about a man (Reynolds) who finds that he hasn't much longer to live and has bungled his attempts at suicide.

Plot Keywords:

Black Comedy | Mental Patient | Priest | Divorce | Directed By Star

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Nov. 12

8:00 AM

MAX

Cast

Burt Reynolds	...	Wendell Sonny Lawson
Dom DeLuise	...	Marlon Borunki
Sally Field	...	Mary Ellen
Strother Martin	...	Dr. Waldo Kling
David Steinberg	...	Marty Lieberman
Joanne Woodward	...	Jessica Lawson
Norman Fell	...	Dr. Samuel Krugman
Myrna Loy	...	Maureen Lawson
Kristy McNichol	...	Julie Lawson
Pat O'Brien	...	Ben Lawson
Robby Benson	...	Father Dave Benson
Carl Reiner	...	Dr. James Maneet
Louise LeTourneau	...	Receptionist
Bill Ewing	...	Hearse Driver
Robert Rothwell	...	Limousine Driver

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Company:

Gordon-Reynolds Productions

Trivia:

Sally Field's one and only feature film appearance with step-father Jock Mahoney

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Wendell Lawson slams on his brakes next to the funeral procession in front of the Church, the shadow of the Church steeple and crucifix appear on his forehead. However in the cutaway to the Church, we clearly see there are no shadows anywhere on the face of the Church, indicating that the sun is in front of the Church and not behind it, thus unable to produce a shadow on Wendell.

Quotes:

Wendell Sonny Lawson: [trying to drown] I want to live. I want to live.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 52nd Annual Academy Awards (1980) (TV)

Dom's Finest Moment, One of Burt's Finest Too

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)