The 30 best movie endings of all time, ranked

Paramount

Movie endings can leave you with a sense of satisfaction or make you want to throw your chair at the screen.

Every filmmaker strives for the former, and in some cases they manage to pull off something that will be remembered forever.

Whether it leaves you happy or sad, or has a visual or line of dialogue that just brings everything together, a movie ending can make or break how you feel about the story you just watched.

From "Gone with the Wind" to "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Chinatown," here are 30 of the best movie endings of all time, ranked (spoilers galore, obviously):

30. "The Sixth Sense" (1999)

For better or worse, director M. Night Shyamalan became the king of the surprise ending with the reveal at the end of "The Sixth Sense." It turns out Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) was in fact one of the dead people Cole (Haley Joel Osment) sees.

29. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975)

In one of Jack Nicholson's greatest performances, the fate of R.P. McMurphy is sad but also inspiring. His rebel attitude, sapped from a lobotomy, transfers to the gentle giant Chief, who finally has the strength to escape the ward.

28. "Shane" (1953)

Gunfighter Shane (Alan Ladd) has beaten the bad guy and brought justice to the West, but as he gets on his horse, young Joey (Brandon De Wilde) sees blood dripping from Shane, his arm limp as he rides off. What follows is one of the most quoted closings in movie history, Joey shouting out, "Shane! Come back!"