Film editor Jacob T. Swinney put together this interesting edit showing 55 movies side-by-side, putting each film’s first scene right next to the final scene. Sometimes you get a story that comes completely full circle, sometimes you get a finished story with coherent imaging and other times you get something else.
What can we learn by examining only the first and final shot of a film? This video plays the opening and closing shots of 55 films side-by-side. Some of the opening shots are strikingly similar to the final shots, while others are vastly different — both serving a purpose in communicating various themes. Some show progress, some show decline, and some are simply impactful images used to begin and end a film.