Beginning with the end

[RKillgore]

What movies have an opening scene that is actually towards the end of the movie? Fight Club, Pulp Fiction and Memento spring to mind, and Go gains mention (its opening scene is about four-fifths into the movie). Or where the end scene is similar to the opening scene?
I'm starting to think of other examples, but I'll leave it open for others.

[Coral]

Although it's very brief, Heavenly Creatures starts with a shot of the ending.

[Goat3001]

Raging Bull

[Kudama]

The Devil’s Backbone alludes to its ending in the narrative and begins with revelations as to what has already happened. Sorry, I just love this movie and this was a tailor made excuse to mention it.

[davejt1]

I'm not exactly sure this counts, but...

Frailty

The son is sitting in the FBI agent's office before driving out to the garden. Most of the film is told as a narrative flashback as the boy recounts growing up with his dad and brother. At the end of his story, the film picks up with the son and the agent in present day.

[SaintMax]

Originally posted by davejt1
I'm not exactly sure this counts, but...

Frailty

The son is sitting in the FBI agent's office before driving out to the garden. Most of the film is told as a narrative flashback as the boy recounts growing up with his dad and brother. At the end of his story, the film picks up with the son and the agent in present day.
Sure it counts... and there's probably a lot more with the same sort of format, although the only one that pops to mind immediately is The Quiet American.

[Grimfarrow]

Peppermint Candy (which did the whole backwards narration thing before Memento even came out)
Irreversible

[marty888]

One of the most famous has to be <b>SUNSET BOULEVARD</b> which has that stunning shot of the corpse in the swimming pool a few seconds into the film, then flashes back for all but the last few minutes of the movie.

[MrN]

Lawrence of Arabia

[sundog]

Rashomon - in a way, since the opening discussion is about the trial and events that happened beforehand

In Praise of Love - granted, the "end" takes up the majority of film time, but there's still a split

One Man's Ceiling - small Chicago independent that opens with one shot, recounts the four weeks prior to that, and then continues on its merry way

Betrayal - reverse chronological film from 1983 starring Jeremy Irons and Ben Kingsley

[neiname]

Goodfellas

[Chrisedge]

Citizen Kane

American Beauty gives away the end at the begining, but isn't showing it....

[El Gray]

Grave of the Fireflies

A Perfect World (I think?)

[Cusm]

Only one of the best movies ever Usual Suspects.

[Mondo Kane]

Raging Bull
Lawrence of Arabia
Gandhi

Yup. A LOT of film biographies open this way.

A couple off the top of my head. I'll think of more later:

CASINO
NO WAY OUT (1987)
12 MONKEYS
A NIGHT IN THE LIFE OF JIMMY REARDON
THE GREEN MILE
SID AND NANCY
¡VAMOS A MATAR, COMPAñEROS! (This one is my most favorite for some reason)

[Tyler_Durden]

Kubrick's Lolita.

[flixtime]

Originally posted by El Gray
A Perfect World (I think?)

You're right.

And I'll add:

Saving Private Ryan
Titanic
Swordfish

And if memory serves me right, Serpico (which was released on DVD this week).

[MrN]

Amadeus
Forrest Gump

[waskydiver]

Vagabond

[LBPound]

Originally posted by neiname
Goodfellas

Doesn't that begin with the middle, if I'm not mistaken?

[Hokeyboy]

Lost Highway. Actually, it ended with me giving the theater screen "the finger"...

[Bechman 2000]

Originally posted by Cusm
Only one of the best movies ever Usual Suspects.

MAN!!!! I just thought of that one, but you beat me to it. I was racking my brain for one and then it finally came to me. Oh well, looks like I'm out of this race... LOL ;)

[JadeTiger]

Not sure if this one counts
Terminator: It starts in the future, then they go back through the time port-hole to try to change the future.

[waskydiver]

Thought of a couple more:

The Hudsucker Proxy
The Jerk

[Rypro 525]

pulp fiction
moulin rouge

[BizRodian]

Citizen Kane...

Mallrats in the cut scenes :P

American Beauty didn't just tell what happens at the end, it had a short scene from near the end at the very begining, to help get you thinking. Very affective. In the cut scenes of the film, it actually had a court case at the begining instead of that one scene, and then a court case at the end.

[waskydiver]

Wasn't the start of Pulp Fiction more towards the middle? I kinda seem to remember more plot that took place after the cafe scene.

[Mittman]

Reindeer Games

[NitroJMS]

It's a terrible movie, but Mr. Wrong also begins at the end.

[Wazootyman]

One Hour Photo

[raKim]

Mission Impossible , shows tiny snippets from the end and all other parts of the movie
Emperor's New Groove starts in the middle
Fallen does, kinda...you make the call
Blow Starts very near the end
The Devil's Advocate is iffy but maybe if you look at it the right way, don't want to give anything away...

[JoeyOhhhh]

Nixon

[Tyler_Durden]

Originally posted by waskydiver
Wasn't the start of Pulp Fiction more towards the middle? Nope.

[LBPound]

A Perfect World

[Drexl]

Originally posted by waskydiver
Wasn't the start of Pulp Fiction more towards the middle? I kinda seem to remember more plot that took place after the cafe scene.

Yes-Even if you count the last scene in the diner as the "end," there is still the robbery and Jules' speech about what he thinks that Bible passage means. In chronological order, after the robbery, Jules and Vincent walk in to the bar (wearing those same clothes Jimmy gave them after having to change out of their blood-covered suits) where Butch is being told to throw the fight by Marcellus. The whole story with Butch escaping in the cab, going to the motel, and returning to retrieve the gold watch before running into Vincent, killing him, interrupting Marcellus' rape by Zed, and riding away in his motorcycle happens afterward.

[Addi88]

Snatch

[waskydiver]

Originally posted by Addi88
Snatch

If this is true, I really didn't understand the beginning and how it related to the rest of the movie.

[SaintMax]

I think The Limey had a shot from the end at the beginning... but then again it had shots from everywhere at just about every point of the movie.

[paradicelost]

Originally posted by Kudama
The Devil’s Backbone alludes to its ending in the narrative and begins with revelations as to what has already happened. Sorry, I just love this movie and this was a tailor made excuse to mention it.

So, Kudama, is that a good blindbuy if you like the rest of his work.
Sorry to get off the subject, but i just saw and interview with Guillermo del Toro and it looked they showed bits of DB and it looked really good. And i loved Cronos.

[starving dvder]

I think The Hole is another movie that starts at the end of the surviving character's ordeal.

[veloce]

Heavenly Creatures

Amores Perros begins with an incident that is chronologically in the middle of the story, and the rest of the movie deals with characters that caused and were affected by it.

The Sweet Hereafter is similarly fractured, beginning well after the accident but before Ian Holm's investigation.