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was "the usual suspects" the first story to use a twist ending?

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was "the usual suspects" the first story to use a twist ending?

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Old 09-08-05, 11:03 PM
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was "the usual suspects" the first story to use a twist ending?

was there a movie (or anything else like tv or book) that used a twist ending before "the usual suspects"?

only other story i think of is 6th sense but that came out after
Old 09-08-05, 11:06 PM
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no, while its not a movie, you have seen or at least heard of the show dallas right?
Old 09-08-05, 11:11 PM
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"Twist endings" have been around forever. Psycho is the first film that comes to mind but i'm sure you could find a ton more older than that.
Old 09-08-05, 11:12 PM
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I'm going to go with "no"

It depends on your definition of a twist ending, but I can think of a handful just off the top of my head that predate The Usual Suspects (including the original Planet of the Apes and Psycho).
Old 09-08-05, 11:13 PM
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Certainly not. One that comes to mind immediately is Sleepaway Camp. Psycho has been mentioned...and there were others that preceeded it. I do like the question, though. Does anybody know what the first film with a "twist ending" was?

-JP
Old 09-08-05, 11:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Rypro 525
no, while its not a movie, you have seen or at least heard of the show dallas right?
i have only heard of the title but no know nothing else.

could you give quick summary of what twist they did?
Old 09-08-05, 11:18 PM
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A friend told me that The Empire Strikes Back had a twist ending. Can anyone here confirm that?
Old 09-08-05, 11:20 PM
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The first one I remember with a twist ending was No Way Out.
I doubt that one was the first either.
Old 09-08-05, 11:25 PM
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When did the average age of DVDTalk posters become 10?
Old 09-08-05, 11:35 PM
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I'd say Oedipus Rex was the first story to involve a twist or at the very least dramatic irony.
Old 09-08-05, 11:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Brain Stew
I'd say Oedipus Rex was the first story to involve a twist or at the very least dramatic irony.
So, when did that come out? Ancient times, I bet. 1988 or something?
Old 09-08-05, 11:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Brain Stew
I'd say Oedipus Rex was the first story to involve a twist or at the very least dramatic irony.
Yeah, Whoopie Goldberg was great in that movie.
Old 09-08-05, 11:57 PM
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could citizen kane count as a twist?
Old 09-09-05, 12:12 AM
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Every episode of the Twilight Zone.
Old 09-09-05, 12:33 AM
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Surely there are some twists in the Bible.

"Oh snap!!!! Judas just turned on his ass!"
Old 09-09-05, 12:59 AM
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Originally Posted by Groucho


When did the average age of DVDTalk posters become 10?

Maybe we're all 89 and our memories are... what were we talking about?!
Old 09-09-05, 01:27 AM
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I'd say Oedipus Rex was the first story to involve a twist or at the very least dramatic irony
Is that the one where Denise Richards dates a dinosaur?
Old 09-09-05, 01:31 AM
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If you're just looking for a film where it turns out in the end that everything you just watched didn't really happen, how about
Spoiler:
The Wizard of Oz
Old 09-09-05, 03:30 AM
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In over 100 years of cinema, I doubt a picture released in 1995 would be the first to have a twist.
Old 09-09-05, 04:45 AM
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Henri-Georges Clouzot's Les diaboliques (1955) went as far as put a warning at the end asking viewers not to reveal the twist to their friends who hand't seen the movie yet.

The Usual Suspects was novel, not in having a twist, but in its magnitude, namely that
Spoiler:
virtually all we've seen onscreen was a lie
.
Old 09-09-05, 07:46 AM
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Originally Posted by Count Dooku
If you're just looking for a film where it turns out in the end that everything you just watched didn't really happen, how about
Spoiler:
The Wizard of Oz

I'm just hoping it turns out that everything I just read hadn't happened.
Old 09-09-05, 07:48 AM
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Originally Posted by her34
was there a movie (or anything else like tv or book) that used a twist ending before "the usual suspects"?






The answer: YES
The entire premise of the mystery genre is built on it - books and film. And well before 1995, too.

Yep, you will find more twists and turns than you can shake your very young stick at.

I suggest you read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. A classic short story first published in June of 1948.

Last edited by Pointyskull; 09-09-05 at 07:58 AM.
Old 09-09-05, 08:03 AM
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Originally Posted by her34
was there a movie (or anything else like tv or book) that used a twist ending before "the usual suspects"?
No, there wasn't. It was also the first movie to be shot in color and have sound.
Old 09-09-05, 08:13 AM
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The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920), is the earliest film I can think of with a twist ending.
Old 09-09-05, 09:48 AM
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no, while its not a movie, you have seen or at least heard of the show dallas right?

i have only heard of the title but no know nothing else.

could you give quick summary of what twist they did?
Bob Newhart wakes up at the end and it is revealed the entire show was just a dream.


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