All language subtitles for The Power of Film (Part 2)

Hello and welcome to TCM. I'm
Dave Karger. On the first six

Dave Karger. On the first six
Thursday nights of this new

Thursday nights of this new
year, we're going to be

year, we're going to be
presenting a new episode of the

presenting a new episode of the
brand new limited documentary

brand new limited documentary
series The Power of Film, and

series The Power of Film, and
I'm happy to welcome back to TCM

I'm happy to welcome back to TCM
, the two exec producers of this

, the two exec producers of this
doc series, Laura Gabbert and

doc series, Laura Gabbert and
Doug Pray. Hello to you both.

Doug Pray. Hello to you both.
Hello. Hi Tonight's episode

Hello. Hi Tonight's episode
number two is called trapped.

number two is called trapped.
And what you're talking about

And what you're talking about
here is the concept of a

here is the concept of a
character being trapped between

character being trapped between
his or her fate and his or her

his or her fate and his or her
destiny. And for so many of us,

destiny. And for so many of us,
those are the words that we use

those are the words that we use
interchangeably. Fate and

interchangeably. Fate and
destiny. But as we're about to

destiny. But as we're about to
learn in this episode, they're

learn in this episode, they're
not exactly the same. I know

not exactly the same. I know
Howard Suber, you're a former

Howard Suber, you're a former
professor who was kind of the

professor who was kind of the
host of this series, is going to

host of this series, is going to
walk us through it, but just to

walk us through it, but just to
tee it up in this episode, how

tee it up in this episode, how
would you distinguish between

would you distinguish between
someone's fate and someone's

someone's fate and someone's
destiny, particularly when it

destiny, particularly when it
relates to a film character as

relates to a film character as
he defines it? Fate is what

he defines it? Fate is what
you're given at birth. It's

you're given at birth. It's
stuff you can't necessarily

stuff you can't necessarily
change, and destiny is. What you

change, and destiny is. What you
can become or what you can seize

can become or what you can seize
in your life in very, very

in your life in very, very
simple terms. He explains it

simple terms. He explains it
much more eloquently. But what

much more eloquently. But what
he what's so powerful about

he what's so powerful about
Howard's teachings is he starts

Howard's teachings is he starts
to show you how the greatest

to show you how the greatest
stories of all time, even in

stories of all time, even in
Shakespeare, and even going back

Shakespeare, and even going back
to the days of the Greeks and.

to the days of the Greeks and.
But but certainly in popular,

But but certainly in popular,
memorable movies, he shows you

memorable movies, he shows you
how in almost every case,

how in almost every case,
there's a moment when the

there's a moment when the
character that you're following,

character that you're following,
the hero of the story, as it

the hero of the story, as it
were, sees as control of their

were, sees as control of their
destiny. And it's sort of like,

destiny. And it's sort of like,
I can't take it anymore. I'm

I can't take it anymore. I'm
sick of this fate. I'm going to

sick of this fate. I'm going to
break out. So one of the most

break out. So one of the most
profound concept that Howard

profound concept that Howard
spins for us is this idea that

spins for us is this idea that
we are all trapped, no matter

we are all trapped, no matter
who you are, we're trapped in

who you are, we're trapped in
some way. And we feel that. And

some way. And we feel that. And
he spins that into this idea

he spins that into this idea
that the reason we go to movies

that the reason we go to movies
at all in a really big way is to

at all in a really big way is to
see people get out of their

see people get out of their
traps. Well Doug, you even said

traps. Well Doug, you even said
there's a moment where a film

there's a moment where a film
character says, I can't take it

character says, I can't take it
anymore. Well, network factors

anymore. Well, network factors
very heavily into this episode

very heavily into this episode
that people are going to see.

that people are going to see.
Laura, why is that film and

Laura, why is that film and
particularly the character of

particularly the character of
Howard Beale, such a perfect

Howard Beale, such a perfect
example for this concept? I

example for this concept? I
mean, think the other piece of

mean, think the other piece of
this sort of tension between

this sort of tension between
fate and destiny is that there

fate and destiny is that there
needs to be defiance. Also

needs to be defiance. Also
oftentimes, and the scene that

oftentimes, and the scene that
we show in the series of Howard

we show in the series of Howard
Beale saying, I'm as mad as hell

Beale saying, I'm as mad as hell
and I'm not going to take this

and I'm not going to take this
anymore, it is such a stark,

anymore, it is such a stark,
striking example of someone just

striking example of someone just
saying no more. And then the

saying no more. And then the
fact that everyone runs out and

fact that everyone runs out and
starts yelling this into the

starts yelling this into the
streets, it resonates with

streets, it resonates with
everyone because everyone feels

everyone because everyone feels
trapped between the

trapped between the
circumstances which they were

circumstances which they were
born into and what we're trying

born into and what we're trying
to get. And then there are all

to get. And then there are all
these obstacles in the way in

these obstacles in the way in
life. And so it's kind of it's

life. And so it's kind of it's
overcoming those obstacles to

overcoming those obstacles to
actually sees what you want.

actually sees what you want.
Laura, another concept that

Laura, another concept that
comes up in this episode is this

comes up in this episode is this
idea of the reluctant hero. And

idea of the reluctant hero. And
it's interesting that was a

it's interesting that was a
fascinating idea. Was that eye

fascinating idea. Was that eye
opening to you to hear Howard

opening to you to hear Howard
Suber talk about how so many

Suber talk about how so many
heroes that we love and Revere,

heroes that we love and Revere,
when you think about it, they

when you think about it, they
are reluctant heroes. Yeah. And

are reluctant heroes. Yeah. And
he really delves into what

he really delves into what
constitutes. A hero and why a

constitutes. A hero and why a
hero might be reluctant.

hero might be reluctant.
Basically heroes don't really

Basically heroes don't really
get material satisfaction. In

get material satisfaction. In
the end, there's usually a

the end, there's usually a
sacrifice involved. And I think

sacrifice involved. And I think
a lot of heroes know that going

a lot of heroes know that going
into it. There's a great segment

into it. There's a great segment
in this upcoming episode where

in this upcoming episode where
he talks about how so many

he talks about how so many
people are talked into a job

people are talked into a job
that they didn't want to do, and

that they didn't want to do, and
then they end up caught into it.

then they end up caught into it.
And that's the beauty of the

And that's the beauty of the
story, is we start going, oh my

story, is we start going, oh my
God, he has to do this. He has

God, he has to do this. He has
to do this because he wants this

to do this because he wants this
and he's stuck. It just makes

and he's stuck. It just makes
for good storytelling. And

for good storytelling. And
Howard, he he breaks it down

Howard, he he breaks it down
beautifully. Well, we learned

beautifully. Well, we learned
that it's the character's

that it's the character's
destiny, is it not? UH Laura and

Suber: There are
certain films

that people keep going
back to over and over again...

I'm gonna make him an offer
he can't refuse.

...films that were not
only popular in their day,

but that continue
to be popular.

You're talking to me?

And my question is, why?

It's not about
what I want.

It's about
what's fair!

They call me
Mister Tibbs.

I'm in love
with you.

Snap out of it!

Rosebud.

I'm Howard Suber.

For over five decades,

I've taught thousands
of aspiring directors,

producers, screenwriters,
and scholars

the patterns
and principles I've found

in America's most
memorable popular films.

Join me as we discover
the power of film.

♪♪

One of the great mysteries
of human behavior,

of living in a society,
is motivation.

A word that comes
from the same root as "motor".

What drives people?
What's the source of power?

[ Shouts ]
[ Grunts ]

Think of when people started
talking about your motivation.

This may be one
of your earliest memories.

Somebody,
often your father,

your mother
or some pivotal figure

said, "Why did you do that?"

Or, "Why did you do that?"
"Why did you do that?"

Kevin, get upstairs
right now.

Why?

It can be inflected
any way you want,

but you learned
at a very young age

that a question
about your motivation

is not a search
for information.

It's an accusation.

Why did you
do that?!

Why did you
do that?!

Why did you
do this?

But you don't have to ask
about motivation

if you approve
of what somebody is doing.

But we go
through our lives,

we read about
serial killers,

saying, "Why did that
person do that?"

We don't know why,

but motivation
is at the center of power

when it comes
to human being,

and yet who knows
what motivates human beings?

All I want to do
is go the distance.

Just once I want
to do something right!

I want to live.

Willard:
I wanted a mission,

and for my sins,
they gave me one.

What do you want?

Motivation
reveals something

that I think
is really crucial

both to film
and characterization,

but also to each of our lives
as we live it.

The constant tension
between fate and destiny.

If you look
in a dictionary,

they will define fate
and use the word "destiny".

And if you look
under destiny,

you'll find they
define it as fate.

So it's no help at all.

We have to look to how people
actually live their lives

and how they use
the language.

Fate is how
tall you are,

the color of your eyes,
the color of your skin,

the gender you
identify with or are.

You may not even be aware of it,
but you didn't choose it.

In "No Country
for Old Men,"

we see Javier Bardem's character
driving through a neighborhood

unaware of what will happen
at the next intersection.

If he died...

we'd say he was
in a fatal accident.

"Fatal."

Well, must be
connected to fate.

In American history,

one of the
ideological things

that caught hold
of American politicians

and the American public

was something called
"manifest destiny".

"Manifest" simply means
"self-evident".

It isn't "manifest fate".
It's "manifest destiny".

Destiny is a choice.

Destiny is a goal,

and you have
to reach out and seize it.

First, you've got
to get mad!

You've got to say, "I'm a human
being, God damn it."

"My life has value."

What we want
is demonstrated

by the scene
in the middle of "Network."

I want you
to get up now.

I want all of you
to get up out of your chairs.

I want you to get up right now
and go to the window,

open it and stick your head out
and yell, "I'm as mad as hell,

"and I'm not going
to take this anymore!"

That's destiny.

That's seizing control
of your destiny.

That's refusing to continue
to be victimized.

Just get up from
your chairs right now.

Go to the window.
Woman: Where
are you going?

I want to see
if anybody's yelling.

I'm mad as hell, and I'm not
gonna take it anymore!

I'm mad as hell!
I'm not gonna take it anymore!

I'm mad as hell,
and I'm not...

Suber: Boy, does that resonate
with all of us.

We're mad as hell,

and we wished
we could say,

"I'm not going
to take it anymore."

[ People shouting indistinctly ]

[ Thunder cracking ]

But that's the kind of thing
we go to movies to see --

somebody reaching out

and changing the world
they live in.

Where the hell
have you been?

I'm talking
about all of us

who face what fate
has given us.

To the bathroom, sir.

The bathroom?

But who refused to
passively accept their fate.

For 40 minutes
a day?

What are you
doing there?

Destiny is something
that requires you to act...

There's no bathroom
for me here.

...often in ways that are
unpleasant for other people.

What do you mean there's no
bathroom for you here?

There is no bathroom.

There are no colored bathrooms
in this building

or any building outside
the west campus,

which is half
a mile away.

Did you know that?

I have to walk to Timbuktu
just to relieve myself.

Skirt below my knees, my heels,
and a simple string of pearls.

Well, I don't
own pearls.

Lord knows you don't
pay coloreds enough

to afford pearls.

And I work like a dog
day and night,

living off of coffee from a pot
none of you want to touch!

I'm not suggesting

you can only be a hero
if you change the world

in some way where
an entire society changes.

When I talk about
changing the world,

I really mean changing
your relationship to the world.

There are films,
what I call costume dramas

with comic book
characters,

and they do
change the world.

Hell, Superman
can move planet Earth

to revolve
in the other direction.

He's really
changing the world.

I'm not talking about
that kind of character.

I'm talking about people
who reach out

and change their relationship
to the world.

I want to do something big
and something important.

George Bailey in
"It's a Wonderful Life."

I don't want one
for one night.

I want something
for 1,001 nights,

with plenty of room here for
labels from Italy and Baghdad,

Samarkand...

It begins
with George saying,

"I want to get out
of this burg.

"I want to be somebody.

I want to be an architect
or an engineer.

I want to build things,
I want to fly,

et cetera, et cetera.

But he stays in this little burg
that he wanted to get out of.

George! George!

[ Group exclaiming ]

And it ends with perhaps
one of the most moving examples

of the power
of community.

Here you are, George.
Merry Christmas.

But it's a small
community,

and George has done
small things.

He hasn't saved
the world,

but he has saved the poor people
of his little town.

And it's a major feat.

So the scale of the change
is important to understand.

W-A-T-E-R, water.

It has a name.

W-A-T...

[ Glass breaks ]

For example, Helen Keller
in "The Miracle Worker"

is blind and deaf.

[ Straining ]
W-Wa...

The most powerful moment
in the film

is when Anne Bancroft,

whose character
is Anne Sullivan,

traces on her palm
the word "water".

Yes.

[ Breathing heavily ]

♪♪

That's one of
the biggest triumphs

that I remember
from all the films I've seen.

It's a little thing,

and it doesn't go
outside of Helen Keller

and her relationship
to Anne Sullivan,

but it's truly lasting
and memorable.

"Lawrence of Arabia"
is one of the few films

in which the tension
between fate and destiny

is out there
on the surface.

It's referred to constantly
throughout the film.

I
You are mad.

To come to Aqaba
by land,

we should have to cross
the Nefud Desert.

That's right.

The Nefud
cannot be crossed.

I'll cross it
if you will.

Lawrence is accused
of blasphemy

because it is written
no man can go across the Nefud.

The Nefud is the worst place
God created.

I can't answer
for the place,

only for myself.

But he does it.

And on the way,

they notice that
Gasim is missing.

We must go back.

What for?
To die with Gasim?

And he's told
it was written

that Gasim would perish
out there in the desert.

Gasim's time has come,
Lawrence.

It is written.

Lawrence:
Nothing is written.

Go back, then!

What did you
bring us here for,

with your
blasphemous conceit?!

Hey, English
blasphemer?

Again, he is accused
of blasphemy because it's clear

that the Arab culture
being depicted in the film

is heavily
on the side of fate.

But you will not
be at Aqaba!

I shall be at Aqaba.

That is written...

in here.

Where is it written?

Somebody else
in a memorable popular film

says that about an hour
into "The Godfather,"

Michael Corleone is in a meeting
with his brother Sonny.

Sonny, being the hothead,
wants to go after the tribe,

and Michael
makes a proposal.

You're going to search me
when I first meet them, right?

He...

Well, I can't have
a weapon on me, then.

...should kill Sollozzo

and McCluskey,
the crooked cop.

But if Clemenza
can figure a way

to have a weapon
planted there for me...

then I'll kill 'em both.

And Sonny pinches his cheek
and says, "College boy,

"you think you're so big,
a big shot.

"You cannot kill a cop."

And Michael's
sitting there and says...

Where does it say
that you can't kill a cop?

..."where is it written?"

Come on, Mikey.
Tom, wait a minute.

I'm talking about a cop
that's mixed up in drugs.

I'm talking about
a -- a dishonest cop,

a crooked cop who got
mixed up in the rackets

and got what
was coming to him.

That's a
terrific story.

The ro has
certain reirements.

The first one,
of course, is courage.

They might like
a story like that.

They might,
they just might.

Michael has exhibited the
second requirement of the hero,

which is defiance.

Because anybody who says that
is being defiant of the rules,

the laws, what people think
people have to do,

and those people
who challenge

what people tell them
they have to do...

Madeleine:
Have you left?

...are well on their way
to becoming heroes.

No, um, I'm not
going to make it.

We see this clearly
when Daniel Craig's character

at the end of the 25th
James Bond film

"No Time to Die,"

tells Léa Seydoux's
character, Madeleine,

who is the mother
of his child,

that he will not
leave the island

that is about
to be bombed.

I've often wondered
why, in real life,

people don't imitate movie
heroes more often than they do.

And I think it's because
the hero is a scapegoat.

The hero exists and becomes
a hero on behalf of society.

But that's generally
paradoxical.

Think of the ending
of "High Noon."

Gary Cooper, Will Kane,
has tried to get the support

of a community
that betrays him.

And so at exactly
high noon,

he is forced to confront
Frank Miller and his gang

all alone.

Couldn't be a better example of
individualism in American film.

This single individual
against these four bad dudes.

But the conversation throughout
the film is about community.

And what kind of community
is this going to be?

And so Will Cain,
our sheriff, saves the town

by plugging
these four guys dead.

And then
what does he do?

It's one of the most famous
endings in American film.

The townspeople,
having been saved by Will Kane,

now come out from
their hiding places --

because they were
watching the gunfight,

they just weren't
participating --

and Will Kane takes
his badge off his chest

and throws it
in the dirt

and drives off
with his Quaker wife.

Man: [ Singing ] ♪ Do not
forsake me, oh, my darling ♪

[ Thunder rumbles ]

Suber: "Apocalypse Now."

Willard, our main character,
played by Martin Sheen,

fulfills his mission,

which is to terminate --
with extreme prejudice --

to kill Marlon Brando's
character, Kurtz.

♪♪

♪♪

[ Whispering ]
The horror.

The horror.

Suber: After Willard
kills Kurtz,

he comes out of the compound
in the jungle

with the native people
gathered around,

and he's got the machete
he's used to kill Kurtz

in his hand.

And it's clear by the way
the people bow down to him

that this is a familiar
dramatic situation

that Shakespeare used

of "the king is dead,
long live the king."

And it's a wonderfully subtle
gesture which some people miss.

Willard has that bloody
machete in his hand,

and he drops it.

[ Machete clinks ]

And then Willard
goes through the crowd.

The crowd parts to show
how powerful Willard is.

And then we hear the metallic
clatter of the natives

dropping their weapons,

following his example.

He came
in the name of war,

and now he has
renounced the war.

And he gets back on his boat
and he says...

Willard: They were going
to make me a major for this,

and I wasn't even in their
fucking army anymore.

One more example --
"Dirty Harry."

Harry Callahan is a cop
in San Francisco

who insists on pursuing
the Scorpio serial killer,

even though the mayor,

and therefore, the police chief
have ordered him not to.

When are you people
going to stop messing around

with this guy?

He's got to be
stopped now.

He's got
a busload of kids,

and I can't take
that chance.

I gave my word of honor on it,
and he will not be molested.

And that's a direct order,
Callahan!

Well, you can just get
yourself another delivery boy.

Once again, heroic behavior
requires defiance.

He corners the killer...

kills him, of course...

[ Chuckles ]

...and once again,

he takes his badge
and throws it into the water.

And it's the same ending
as "High Noon."

When Harry Callahan,
Captain Willard,

and Will Kane
leave the community,

it's because what happens
is what usually happens

in heroic tales --

you get to be a hero
by being a killer.

Once you have gotten rid
of the person

the community wants you
to get rid of,

maybe you'll kill
other people,

and therefore, the story ends
with the exile of the hero.

It served
society's needs

to have you be the killer
and the scapegoat.

But it also serves society's
needs that you leave.

So I asked
the question,

what does the hero get
for all this sacrifice

and suffering
and angst and action?

We will remember him
forever.

[ Sighs happily ]

In "E.T.", a story about
a boy and his pet alien,

it's a love story...

Ouch.

...between this cute little
alien and this cute little boy,

Elliot.

Ouch.

♪♪

And so they're coming
to take him home.

And you have this scene
with this alien

who's learned to speak
perfect English really fast.

It's one of a million
separation scenes

that marks memorable
storytelling.

And E.T. extends
his long finger

and says...

I'll be right here.

What's here?

Memory.

To live in the memory
of your community

is one of the greatest powers
a human being can have.

And if the community
within the film

is not likely to remember
the central characters,

then the audience is not likely
to remember the film.

The reason we don't
emulate heroes

is because they don't
get anything that we see.

[ Sobs quietly ]
Go...

You're a hero
if you don't get something.

Take your friends
and run.

You're a hero if you sacrifice
for other people.

Listen, you don't have
to fight anymore.

The word "sacrifice" comes
from the same root as "sacred."

Sacrifice is often what
causes people to remember you.

That is a destiny worthy
of being remembered.

♪♪

[ Shouting ]
Who are you?!

"Who are you?" is what
a lot of films are about.

"Who are you?"
is based upon this tension

between fate and destiny.

In "Citizen Kane," you have
that long newsreel sequence

that basically recapitulates
the whole plot

we're about to see,
and the editor says...

Man: All we saw
on that screen

was that Charles
Foster Kane is dead.

Who is Charles Foster Kane?
You got to find out who he is.

It isn't enough
to tell us what a man did.

You've got to tell us
who he was.

Man #2:
Needs that angle.

Wait a minute --
what were Kane's last words?

Do you
remember, boys?

Huh? Yes.

What were the last words
he said on Earth?

Maybe he told us all
about himself on his deathbed.

Yeah, and maybe he didn't.
Maybe it was --

All we saw on that screen
was a big American.

Man: One of the biggest.

But how is he any
different from Ford,

or Hearst, for that matter,
or John Doe?

Yeah, sure.

I tell you, Thompson,
a man's dying words --

But where is he?
You don't read
the papers.

Charles Foster Kane died.

He said just one word --
"rosebud."

The search for the meaning
of "rosebud"

is an attempt
to answer the question,

who is Charles
Foster Kane?

Who is this character?

Charles Foster Kane
inherited

one of the greatest
fortunes of all.

That's his fate.

But who was he?

What's the relationship
to their fate

and what they've made
of their life?

Well, that's what
that film is about.

That's what "Lawrence
of Arabia" is about.

What's up, man?

That's what
"Moonlight" is about.

You have one character
who has three names.

Each name reflects a stage
in his development,

so he begins as Little,

and then
he becomes Chiron,

and then he ends up
as Black.

Those changes
in what he calls himself

are manifestations
of the changes of his own power.

Chiron and Kevin have a sexual
encounter on the beach,

but then Chiron
is picked on by bullies,

and they force Kevin
to beat Chiron up.

Yo, Kev.

Hit thatigga.

Hit that nigga, Kev.

Boy: Yeah,
hit his faggot ass.

Fuck you waiting on?

Do it.
Boy #2: Come on.

Let's go.

♪♪

[ Kids exclaiming ]

Suber: Chiron is really in pain,
not because of the beating,

but just because
of the betrayal.

But the next day,
he comes into school,

and there's the bully.

And he's arrested.

He had seized control
of his situation.

He had not turned in his lover
for beating him up,

but he had whacked the guy
who put his lover up to it.

What it got him
was his fate,

which was to be
incarcerated

and to move into the third phase
of his own evolution...

[ Man shouting indistinctly ]
[ Panting ]

Suber: ...where he ends up being
the character called Black.

And his faith is now set
until it's not.

Years later,
he comes to revisit Kevin,

who's a much older person,
has gone on with his life,

but he's never stopped
loving Kevin.

Woman: ♪ It seems like
a mighty long time ♪

The character who's called
Black has seized control

of a part
of his own life --

the person he loves

and the kind of love
that he chooses to express.

But it's been a long, tortuous
passage that he's gone through.

Anyone caught between their fate
and their potential destiny

is trapped.

We're all trapped.

We're trapped by bad jobs.
We're trapped in our schools.

We're trapped, many of us,
in bad relationships.

We're trapped
in our friendships,

which often are accidents
of our lives,

and as they go on,
we say,

"You know, I really can't stand
this person who's my friend."

It's not just the hero
who's trapped.

The villain is trapped.

The Joker in "The Dark Knight"
is as trapped as Batman is.

Norman Bates
in "Psycho" says...

You know
what I think?

I think that...

we're all in our private traps,
clamped in them,

and none of us
can ever get out.

"Trapped" could be the title
of nearly all memorable films.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Dave: Hello, HAL,
do you read me?

Since we all know the feeling
of being trapped...

Hello, HAL,
do you read me?

...it resonates.

HAL: Affirmative, Dave.
I read you.

It can be in a minor
or a major scale,

but it's not fun.

Open the pod
bay doors, HAL.

I'm sorry, Dave.
I'm afraid I can't do that.

What's the problem?

That's why, over and over
and over again,

you could title the memorable
popular films "Trapped".

But that's not
why people go.

They know how universal
traps are in human existence.

What they want to know is,
"how do I get out of it?"

Ripley: [ Panting ]

If ever there was a character
who clearly was trapped,

it's Ripley in "Alien."

As we close in
on the ending of the film,

it looks like Ripley
has killed the monster.

And so she's able
to go into the pod,

leaving the mothership
to be extiuished.

And surprise, surprise...

[ Screams ]

...the monster reappears.

She gets into
the spacesuit

and she takes a
harpoon-like instrument.

What is she going to do
with the harpoon?

[ Breathing heavily ]

So the monster
gets closer and closer.

Boogie, boogie, boogie.

And she opens
the pod bay door...

[ Screams ]

...takes the harpoon and
blasts it into the monster...

who gets sucked
out of the ship.

Without her seizing
the initiative,

she was just going to be
yet another victim.

Her seizing control
of her destiny

is coming up with a bright idea,
literally standing on her feet,

reacting to the crisis
of the moment.

"The Shawshank Redemption."

And again, we don't come
just to see somebody trapped.

We come to see somebody
find a way out of their trap.

Whereas in real life,
not a lot of people

manage to break
out of prison.

But this is the film

that totally depends
on our protagonist

after 20-some years
getting freed.

Red: Andy crawled to freedom
through 500 yards

of shit-smelling foulness
I can't even imagine.

Andy: [ Retches ]

Or maybe
I just don't want to.

Suber: He crawls to the outside
of the prison grounds...

Red: 500 yards.

Suber: ...and Andy gets out
and it's raining,

and he goes like this.

And takes in
this fresh water

that's going to clean
all the filth out of his life.

He has seized control
of his destiny.

Lots of human beings
don't have that luxury.

They can't
seize anything,

because they are trapped
in their ethnicity,

their economic station,
where they live.

They're trapped by all kinds
of things outside themselves,

but they can't move
beyond that.

They have no opportunity
to seize control,

to even imagine
a destiny,

and that's always
been true.

It's -- it's true today for
millions and millions of people

who live on our planet.

One of the reasons
American movies appeal

to people
around the world

is because we say over
and over and over again,

"You can seize control
of your destiny.

"You can fulfill
your dreams.

"What you have
to do is act."

Let's go home.

Fate, I imagine
as being a force

that pushes you
from behind.

You can't see it,
but you sure can feel it.

And you can't resist it
because it's in back of you.

Destiny is something
that requires you to act.

The ending of the film tells us
whether this has been a story

about the power of fate
or the power of destiny.

♪♪

Let's take "Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid,"

one of the most popular teams
in film history.

But how does it end?

Well, from early
in the film,

after they commit
a bank robbery,

they're being chased
by a posse.

We get to the end.

They've hightailed it
out to Bolivia.

They think
they've escaped.

When we get
outside...

And then they're caught
inside this building,

surrounded by
the Bolivian military,

with guns aimed
in their direction.

[ Both panting ]

So they come out
with their guns blazing...

there's a hail
of gunfire,

and the film turns
to sepia color to distance us,

to say, this is now
a snapshot.

A moment in time.

A memory.

♪♪

We all die.

We all know that.

Death in itself
is a natural part of life.

We all know that,
at least intellectually,

however much we may struggle
to reconcile that.

But people
can transcend death

if their death is,
first of all, a choice.

And secondly
if it is a choice

made on behalf
of something higher.

I'm not going
to hurt you, okay?

I just want to kiss you,
all right?

No, no.
Come on.
Come on.

Throughout
"Thelma & Louise,"

you have all these
despicable males

who somehow Thelma and/or
Louise manage to overpower.

God damn!

I don't think
he's going to apologize.

Nah, I don't think so.

These are strong women.

[ Screams ]

When it comes
to the climactic scene,

and they're surrounded
by all these police cars,

and they all converge
at the edge of the Grand Canyon.

So what do they do?

They grab
each other's hands

and they smile
as they plunge off the cliff.

And you have
this freeze frame...

locking the full
realization

that, of course, they're going
to be squashed way down there.

Are they free?

Well, of course
they're free.

They chose
their destiny.

It's the only choice they have
under the circumstances

because they don't want
to go to prison.

They don't want
to continue to be

under the thumb
of these bastards.

And the only way to escape
is to free yourself,

even if you happen
to die.

You might call those endings
bittersweet,

which is to say,
they're not tragic.

"Bittersweet"
is a paradoxical word.

For the films that stick
in your mind...

Hey!

...ask yourself...

is this a happy ending
for the hero,

or is this
a Pyrrhic victory?

Or is this actually a case
of winning a battle

but losing a war?

♪♪

As we will see
as we go along,

one of the powers
of so many memorable films

is their built-in
paradox.

I think I have
to talk to you.

Ah.

I saved my first drink
to have with you.

We're not able to resolve
the paradoxes,

and therefore, the films
just keep churning around

in our mind.

If it's churning around
in our mind,

we're remembering
the film.

I heard
a story once.

As a matter of fact, I've heard
a lot of stories in my time.

And so it's not
a coincidence

that the memorable films
themselves invoke memories,

memories that
are never quite clear.

Richard, Victor thinks
I'm leaving with him.

Haven't you
told him?
No, not yet.

But it's all right,
isn't it?

You were able
to arrange everything.

Everything is quite all right.
We'll tell him at the airport.

The less time to think,
the easier for all of us.

Please trust me.

So you're never
quite sure...

Yes, I will.

...is the ending of "Casablanca"
a happy ending?

It's clear that
the only thing in life

that Rick Blaine
has ever loved is Ilsa Lund.

And this is
a romantic triangle

in which Ilsa is married
to Victor Laszlo,

but we know, and she knows,
that she really loves Rick.

In the end, we think,
and Ilsa thinks,

that Rick and Ilsa
are going to get on that plane

bound for Lisbon
and freedom.

But at the airport,
Rick insists

that the letters of transit
should be written out...

...in the names of
Mr. d Mrs. VictoLaszlo.

And she's surprised
as we are.

Inside of us, we both know
you belong with Victor.

You're part of his work,
the thing that keeps him going.

If that plane leaves the ground
and you're not with him,

you'll regret it.

Maybe not today,
maybe not tomorrow, but soon

and for the rest
of your life.

But what about us?

We'll always
have Paris.

Rick sacrifices the thing
he loves most in life,

and he sends her off
with the other guy.

Here's looking
at you, kid.

And we call that
a great love story.

But if Rick and Ilsa
go off together in the fog,

I don't think it would be
a memorable film.

The fact they don't go off is a
master stroke of screenwriting

because it's not the way
we thought it was going to end,

and yet it makes sense.

Let's take another great
love story, "The Graduate."

Again, it has
a famous ending.

Benjamin Braddock,
Dustin Hoffman,

races frantically
to the church

to rescue Elaine,
his great love.

Don't ask me what
Elaine sees in Benjamin,

but you take that as the premise
of the love story.

[ Shouting ] Elaine!

Elaine!

Elaine!

Man: Who is that guy?
What is he doing?

Elaine!

He pounds on the window
of the church

and repeats Elaine's name,
I don't know, 32 times.

They escape
and they jump on a bus.

Oh, what a happy ending.

Two lovers have reunited and are
going off into the brave future.

But after the excitement
of rescuing Elaine

from a fate worse
than death,

Benjamin and Elaine
sit in the back of the bus

and they look at each other
once and smile.

And then they look
straight ahead.

Simon & Garfunkel: ♪ Hello,
darkness, my old friend ♪

♪ I've come to talk
with you again ♪

Suber: And over the soundtrack,
we hear Simon & Garfunkel

reprising a tune that we heard
at the beginning of the movie.

If this is a great
love story,

why are Simon & Garfunkel
talking about darkness?

Simon & Garfunkel:
♪ ...still remains ♪

Suber: Mike Nichols
was asked an interview

shortly after
the film came out,

what happens
to Ben and Elaine?

He said, "They become
like their parents."

One can look upon this

as that bus taking them
to their destiny

or as a fulfillment
of fate.

The choice is left
to the audience.

♪♪

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