it's a brilliantly filmed, acted and directed sequence...
a person understanding, for the first time ever, that something "MEANS" something. the first piece of clear communication after years of confusion and being lost in chaos.
one of the most electrifying moments in cinema.
"but ya ARE Blanche! Ya ARE in that chair!!"
There is a scene in which a turkey is chased around a room. Not everyone will care for this.
Agreed; the most moving climax of any movie I've seen. It's very inspirational and elicits tears of joy.
A close second, but in the opposite direction, is the climax of Chinatown. Flat-out existential despair.
"A Lincoln is better than a Cadillac? Forggidaboudit!"
omg yes! just reading about it and thinking about it gives me chills...
i bawl every single time. without fail.
:0)
"...when i go outside naked, people throw garbage at me."
Oh yes!
It is astonishingly beautiful! I have a question about the climax. Do you think it should have ended at the classic scene with the water pump? I believe that the 1979 remake does so where Patty Duke plays Anne Sullivan. After Anne communicates the word "pump" and Helen says "water." she runs toward Anne and Anne says, "I Love Helen." and the characters embrace. I LOVE both films. But I think that Patty Duke's Ms. Sullivan was a bit more emotionally warm. Anne Bancroft, was more firm, although still very nurturing.
Which climax do you like better? The original 1962 film or the 1979 TV remake?
Joe
i've never seen the 1979 remake but i'd wager a guess that if i had, i'd still like the original 1962 film better.
there's just something about patty duke's helen and anne bancroft's sullivan that just works for me.
:0)
"...when i go outside naked, people throw garbage at me."
As I recall it, the '79 remake was excellent televison but did not have the full impact of the classic movie. One need not compare the two. The movie's music score alone is so well integrated with its ending, it is a uniquely breathtaking and overwhelming experience. It stays with me for hours after every viewing.
"A Lincoln is better than a Cadillac? Forggidaboudit!"
"One need not compare the two. The movie's music score alone is so well integrated with its ending, it is a uniquely breathtaking and overwhelming experience. It stays with me for hours after every viewing."
which movie are you referring to? the original '62 verion or the '79 remake?
:0)
"...when i go outside naked, people throw garbage at me."
I'm referring to the '62 movie as the awesome experience. To clarify: The '79 remake for television was very well done, but its ending was not as moving as the '62 movie.
"A Lincoln is better than a Cadillac? Forggidaboudit!"
gotcha. thx for the clarification. the ending of the '62 version also stays with me for hours after i've watched it. that's some powerful stuff...
"...when i go outside naked, people throw garbage at me."
Its one of the few scenes I know of that I cry at that scene all by itself (not watching the whole movie)...I think you need the whole scene (not just the water pump part, because you need the ending showing that Annie has let Helen into her life. My favorite moment though is after the parents come out and they are spelling everything for her and she stops and asks Annie what her
name is and she spells "TEACHER"...Im misting up right now just thinking about it.
It is not our abilities that make us who we are...it is our choices
'The '79 remake for television was very well done, but its ending was not as moving as the '62 movie.'
--------------
Yet, 79's ending was faithful to the play, the 62' version wasn't.
(SPOILERS IN THIS POST, OF COURSE)
Actually, it is the moment at the END of the scene that always gets me most, when Helen, at last recognizing that her perceived enemy is actually her deliverance, retrieves the key from her mother's apron pocket, and asks her mother where "teacher" is...and her mother, barely able to speak through her tears, and recognizing the word, and realizing at once that she has just heard her daughter's new "voice" for the first time--and, as well, that she must now step back and allow another woman to become the most important woman in her daughter's life...her mother repeats, aloud, "[She is asking where her] TEACHER [is]!"...and then directs Helen back to Annie, where Helen gives her the key.
I've never seen this part of the film: I've only seen a blur.
It's all great from Helen's tantrum where she pitches water into Annie's face, to her water pump revelation and climax on the utility of language, to her recognition of what "teacher" means, to being on the porch loving her teacher and her new life. A wonderful ending indeed!
"A Lincoln is better than a Cadillac? Forggidaboudit!"
The moment that gets me is when Annie cries out "She knows!"
It's a teacher thing . . . :-)
to Tahhh
thank you for pointing this additional part out
it is very moving - both the scene and your pointing it out again
the end of this movie turns me into a bowl of jelly
and im a real tough guy otherwise <grin>
[deleted]
You can see REAL TEARS rolling down Patty Duke's face right after she spells TEACHER! It's amazing for an actor the age she was at the time!
shareThe most moving climax of all time? Yes. Its beyond incredible.
shareIn Duke's good autobiography, she details the filming of this final scene very well. She said she was very close to Bancroft having done the Broadway show with her and all. The movie was shot pretty much in sequence and this final scene was the last one to be shot. Duke stated that she realized that this was the last time she'd play the role (she was almost too tall for it) and that she would likely not see Bancroft again (at least regularly). Duke was lonely growing up and this little family of actors touched her so the thought that this was all ending upset her so much that she cries at the end. Duke said it was an amazing fluke that just as the tears began to fall, the sun broke through the clouds and lighted them. That made for an even stronger effect.
And in answer to the original posting, I agree that this is one of THE most moving endings in any film that I have seen.
I agree... it was a great ending.
Bancroft and Duke were fantastic.
even though I know what is coming, I know what will hsppen.. I cry every time.
There is another movie with a great uplifting ending... for me anyway..
the Spanish movie 'The Orphanage'..
though the Miracle worker is based on the amazing Helen Keller..
which makes it extraordinary.
This is the first film climax to move me to tears since the ending of Schindler's List about a decade ago, it usually takes a hell of a lot to get me emotional because I'm a cynical bastard but good lord... this was powerful. Absolutely magnificent performances from both leads (especially Duke, who had to convey almost every emotion and thought without a single word), the story of Helen Keller alone is heartwrenching enough but to see it displayed so wonderfully on screen was a joy to experience. I was surprised at how physically demanding and at times violent their interactions were as well, considering this was 1962, the fact that Sullivan was essentially left very little choice but to use negative reinforcement through physical restraint and punishment in order to "tame" the wild child Keller was fascinating to watch. The movie drags you through a rollercoaster of emotions that's damn near exhausting - the breakfast scene alone had me glued to the TV considering how long it went on for, I kept waiting for one of them to give up.
Superb effort by everyone involved, stories like this don't come along very often and when they do, they're rarely ever done such justice.
Valar morghulis