Following on from part one of my Top 10 Movie Deaths, here’s the rest of the countdown, from 5 to 1.
Great Scott!
5. Dr. Emmett Brown in Back to the Future- This is a movie death that serves as a bit of a shock. Why kill off one of the main characters right at the beginning of the film? Well, it certainly adds an air of poignancy in this case, with Marty heading back to 1955 and seeing the doc as a younger man, and trying to tell him about his future demise. It turns out the doc has perhaps misinformed some Libyans of his intentions, using their weapons grade plutonium to build a time machine instead of the bomb they wanted. Back in the 80s, terrorism was a simple affair, and the Libyans rock up at the shopping mall car park in a campervan, with a massive rocket launcher. They dispose of the doc with a short burst of machine gun fire, as Marty looks on, horrified. Luckily, he’s got a time machine handy, and after sorting out some family issues, he writes the doc a letter explaining the circumstances of his death. Without reading it, the doc rips it up, claiming not to want to know anything about his own future, for fear of destroying the universe. Luckily for the sequels, he ignores his own advice, and Marty arrives back in 1985 to find the doc was wearing a bullet proof vest. Sod the universe, eh?
I really like that hat.
4.Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars – Sometimes, death in a movie is a sacrifice for a greater good, and that’s the case here. Our band of plucky heroes are struggling to escape in the Millennium Falcon, Obi Wan having disabled the tractor beam holding them in place. However, they’re running out of time. What’s the best way to buy people a whole load of time? That’s right, a light sabre duel to the death. Obi Wan decides to take on his one time apprentice and now the most evil man in the universe, Darth Vader. It’s a tense fight, both men evenly matched, the old master against the pupil. However, the more experienced man sees that to enable his friends to escape, he must sacrifice himself. Vader strikes, Obi Wan disappears, and his Jedi robes fall to the floor. It’s not all bad news though. Even though he’s not alive any more, his spirit lives on, and talks to Luke, giving him advice. Instead of seeking medical advice for the voice in his head, Luke simply believes all he’s told, even to the end of the film, where Obi Wan’s disembodied voice guides Luke in destroying the Death Star with his eyes shut. That’s just showing off.
This is actually official uniform
3. Setsuko in Grave of the Fireflies – This may not be a film you’ve seen, and if that’s the case, I strongly urge you to seek it out. Set against the backdrop of the end of World War II, it tells the story of a brother and sister struggling to survive after the death of their mother, while their father is away at war. It’s not a spoiler to say that the kids ultimately die, the opening scene of the movie pretty much sets that up. The tale of the children is told in flashback, narrated by Setsuko’s older brother, Seita. After their mother dies following a bombing of their house, they have little option but to move in with an aunt, who is resentful of having to feed them. Shortly after, they move out and find a new home in a dissued bomb shelter. Things go from bad to worse, and pretty soon Setsuko is suffering so badly from malnutrition, it’s fairly clear she’s not going to make it. It’s pretty much at this point that the only natural reaction as a viewer is to pretty much fall about in tears, particularly as you see her brother desperately trying to help. The character is so tenderly portrayed that you genuinely forget you’re watching an animation. An essential film, and one of the most moving you’re likely to see. Go find it, you won’t be disappointed.
Ahhhh, fuck it!
2. Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid- Some movie deaths are tragic, some are defiant, and some are just all guns blazing. This is one of those. Two fundamentally nice men, albeit criminals, dream of a better life. However, that wouldn’t be much of a film, and so poor choices and bad luck conspire against them and things go from bad to worse. So much so that they end up badly wounded, and without ammo, in an empty house, surrounded by the Bolivian army. I hate it when that happens. When you find yourself in that sort of situation, there’s only one thing to do. Inexplicably find a load of bullets and take as many of the bastards out as you can in a suicide run. On the plus side, you will look immeasurably cool.
You're welling up right now, aren't you?
1. Mufasa in The Lion King – If there is any film studio that could be described as the master of making grown men cry, then that studio is Disney. And for me, the weepiest of all is the death of Mufasa in The Lion King. As is often the case, it’s not the actual death itself that is the worst part, it’s the heart wrenching scene that sees Simba try and wake his dad up, only to realise he’s not going to, and so curls up under his motionless paw. This was the first time that a Disney animation had depicted the death of a main character on screen, and it’s still one of the most powerful moments in all of their films. Combining a sense of injustice over Scar’s duplicitous plan with a genuinely distressing sense of Simba’s loss and unfair guilt, it’s a scene that resonates on a number of levels and emotions. If you can watch this without at least getting a lump in your throat, then I’m not sure you’re human.
So there you go, my top ten movie deaths. I’m sure you’ll disagree with some, and hopefully agree with a few too. Got a bit maudlin toward the end there, but then what did you expect? I was talking about death after all.
Hope you’ve enjoyed the first couple of top tens I’ve done, I’ve got a few more lined up. If you’ve any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment or get in touch here.
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