Climax Catalog

A vault-level catalog of climax / wind-down boundaries identified by the strict mission test. Each row is the current best read; replace rather than append when a film is re-analyzed.

The strict mission test: the climax is the specific moment, usually no longer than 30 seconds, where the audience becomes certain — for better or worse — that the protagonist's mission has resolved. The wind-down is everything after, watching the new reality fall into place. Diagnostic for two-clause missions: a clause being tested stays inside the climax envelope; a clause being executed by proxy goes to wind-down.

Resolution types:

Validation — back half builds a new approach; climax tests an already-formed understanding and it holds.
Repudiation — protagonist runs the post-midpoint approach into the climax, it fails, the protagonist does not realize in time.
Reversal — protagonist runs the post-midpoint approach into the climax; at the last moment of the climax (often after a triggering recognition just before or inside it) the protagonist rejects their own post-midpoint approach.

Film	Year	Protagonist	Climax beat(s)	Climax minute	% into film	Wind-down beats	Wind-down minutes	Mission	Wind-down differs by	Resolution type
12 Angry Men	1957	Juror 8 (Davis)	b37	88	92%	b38–b40	8	Convert the room to reasonable doubt by disaggregating the prosecution's case piece by piece	closes sub-arc	validation
Air Force One	1997	President James Marshall	b34	100	81%	b35–b42	17	Hold the Radek doctrine, save the family, defeat Korshunov in person	new equilibrium	validation
Alien	1979	Ellen Ripley	b35b	110	94%	b36–b37	7	Kill the alien herself, with no system to lean on	new equilibrium	validation
The American President	1995	Andrew Shepherd	b35	104	91%	b36–b40	10	Defend Sydney by name; restate 455; redefine character on camera	new equilibrium	validation
The Apartment	1960	C.C. Baxter	b36–b40	117	94%	(none)	0	Refuse the instrumental promotion AND end with Fran as two human beings	film cuts on Fran's line	validation
Arabesque	1966	David Pollock	b28	103	98%	b29–b30	2	Take Beshraavi and Sloane down with operator's improvisation, not scholarship	new equilibrium	validation
The Bad News Bears	1976	Morris Buttermaker	b32	87	85%	b33–b40	15	Win the championship via win-at-all-costs ringer substitution	new equilibrium	reversal
Before Sunrise	1995	Jesse & Céline	b37	94	93%	b38–b40	5	Drop the protective frames and accept the night on its bounded terms even at the dawn parting	new equilibrium	validation
Blade Runner	1982	Rick Deckard	b35a	105	90%	b35b–b40	11	Retire the Nexus-6 escapees and survive AND stop being the hunter	charged cliffhanger	validation
Blow Out	1981	Jack Terry	b35	100	93%	b36–b40	4	Save Sally and break the cover-up by going public through Donahue	new equilibrium (then credits)	repudiation
Blow-Up	1966	Thomas	b44	110	99%	b45	1	Stop trying to verify reality from outside it and enter the consensual performance	new equilibrium	validation
Body Double	1984	Jake Scully	b36	106	96%	b37–b40	4	Push through the freeze and act under stakes	commentary on world	validation
Body Heat	1981	Ned Racine	b39	103	91%	b40–b43	9	Verify Matty around the edges of the affair without breaking the frame	new equilibrium	repudiation
Carlito's Way	1993	Carlito Brigante	b36	135	94%	b37–b40	9	Run a clean extraction at all costs	commentary on world	repudiation
Carrie	1976	Carrie White	b38–b39	89	91%	b40	4	Claim a self AND survive in the world	charged cliffhanger	repudiation
Cast Away	2000	Chuck Noland	b38b	126	88%	b39–b40	13	Get back to Kelly AND keep breathing without demanding outcomes	new equilibrium	validation
Children of Men	2006	Theo Faron	b39	99	91%	b40	8	Get Kee and the baby to the Human Project's Tomorrow outside all factions	new equilibrium	validation
Cool Hand Luke	1967	Lucas "Luke" Jackson	b35b	121	95%	b36–b40	6	Address the old man honestly upward AND answer the system honestly downward	commentary on world	repudiation
Dante's Peak	1997	Harry Dalton	b38	97	90%	b39–b40	10	Get the Wando family out of the eruption alive	new equilibrium	validation
Daylight	1996	Kit Latura	b39–b40a	100	87%	b40b–b41	12	Get the survivors out through the river bottom AND learn to be stayed-for	closes sub-arc	validation
Do the Right Thing	1989	Mookie	b34	101	84%	b35–b38	19	Act on the racial-structural reading; refuse the slot, choose the block	commentary on world	validation
Doc Hollywood	1991	Ben Stone	b39	99	96%	b40	4	Be in the world not on it — choose Lou and Grady over the LA partnership	new equilibrium	validation
Dressed to Kill	1980	Liz Blake	b32	87	84%	b33–b40	17	Bypass institutions; use herself as bait inside the trap	charged cliffhanger	validation
Dunkirk	2017	British evacuation (Bolton/Tommy anchors)	b32	74	70%	b33–b40	32	Get the army home — improvise civilian rescue when the institutional rescue fails	new equilibrium	validation
Erin Brockovich	2000	Erin Brockovich	b39	118	90%	b40	13	Work with the institution; produce what only the configuration can	new equilibrium	validation
The Eyes of Laura Mars	1978	Laura Mars	b35b	97	93%	b36	7	Act inside the love; exercise her own judgment when the moment comes	commentary on world	repudiation
F1	2025	Sonny Hayes	b36	136	88%	b37–b40	19	Race as a unit — set the kid up, take the contact yourself	new equilibrium	validation
The Fifth Element	1997	Korben Dallas (with Leeloo)	b34b	117	93%	b35–b40	9	Assemble the stones AND fire the fifth element by partnering with Leeloo	new equilibrium	validation
Footloose	1984	Ren McCormack	b35	85	79%	b36–b40	22	Convert Reverend Shaw on his own moral ground so the dance can happen	new equilibrium	validation
Foul Play	1978	Gloria Mundy	b33	112	97%	b34	3	Read the conspiracy correctly, get to the opera house, stop the Pope assassination	new equilibrium	validation
Four Weddings and a Funeral	1994	Charles	b35	108	92%	b36–b40	9	Marry Henrietta with the funeral revelation suppressed	new equilibrium	reversal
The Frighteners	1996	Frank Bannister	b37b	100	91%	b38–b40	10	Stop Bartlett and Patricia across the threshold while Lucy keeps the body alive	new equilibrium	validation
Ghostbusters	1984	Peter Venkman (with team)	b41	94	90%	b42–b43	11	Cross the streams; deliberately violate the cardinal rule	new equilibrium	validation
Gladiator	2000	Maximus	b35	157	96%	b36–b39	6	Kill Commodus AND let his death restore the Republic	executes clause by proxy	validation
Gran Torino	2008	Walt Kowalski	b55b	105	91%	b56–b58	11	Engineer one ending the gang cannot survive; protect Thao; clean prosecution and inheritance	new equilibrium	validation
High Noon	1952	Will Kane	b40	83	98%	b41	1	Stand against Frank Miller and his three men and live through it	commentary on world	validation
Hoosiers	1986	Norman Dale	b48	107	94%	b49	7	Win state with the boys he was given by trusting people inside the system	new equilibrium	validation
Hunt for Red October	1990	Jack Ryan	b37	121	90%	b38–b40	14	Verify Ramius's defection; secure Red October	new equilibrium	validation
In the Line of Fire	1993	Frank Horrigan	b34b	111	87%	b35–b40	14	Take the bullet for the President as present-tense duty, not Dallas redemption	new equilibrium	validation
Invasion of the Body Snatchers	1978	Matthew Bennell	b38	113	98%	b39–b40	2	Blend in; find others; get out; warn from outside	absent wind-down	repudiation
Jurassic Park	1993	Alan Grant	b37b	114	90%	b38–b40	13	Read what is alive; get the children out	new equilibrium	validation
A Knight's Tale	2001	William Thatcher	b38	123	93%	b39–b40	9	Compete as William Thatcher with the bond acknowledged	new equilibrium	validation
The Last Samurai	2003	Nathan Algren	b41a	133	86%	b41b–b43	21	Stand with the samurai; convert the witnesses by gesture rather than victory	executes clause by proxy	validation
The Last Starfighter	1984	Alex Rogan	b36	82	81%	b37–b40	17	Accept the starfighter role and trust the trick weapon to stop the armada	executes clause by proxy	validation
Lethal Weapon	1987	Martin Riggs	b35b	108	92%	b36–b40	9	Use his lethality to protect Murtaugh's family rather than audition for his own death	closes sub-arc	validation
Lethal Weapon 2	1989	Martin Riggs (with Murtaugh)	b36b	106	93%	b37–b40	7	Take down the diplomatically-shielded operation with the institutional partner endorsing the lethal closure	closes sub-arc	validation
Logan's Run	1976	Logan 5	b30	110	92%	b31–b35	9	Tell the truth the assignment was designed to suppress	new equilibrium	validation
Lost in Translation	2003	Charlotte (with Bob)	b37b	94	92%	b38–b40	8	Receive a bounded meeting on its own terms	new equilibrium	validation
Magnolia	1999	Officer Jim Kurring (ensemble anchor)	b38	176	94%	b39–b41	12	Drop privately-managed-damage; offer help when a stranger shows up damaged	new equilibrium	validation
Margot at the Wedding	2007	Margot	b42	86	95%	b43	4	Drop apart-mother stance; be on the bus with Claude	new equilibrium	reversal
Meet the Parents	2000	Greg Focker	b37	96	89%	b38	12	Win Jack's permission to propose to Pam	new equilibrium	validation
Miami Vice	2006	Sonny Crockett	b36	116	88%	b37–b40	16	Act for a third position outside both frames; preserve Isabella while completing the op	commentary on world	repudiation
The Mummy	1999	Rick O'Connell (and Evelyn)	b37	111	90%	b38–b40	13	Stop Imhotep; counter-curse; kill him mortal	new equilibrium	validation
My Cousin Vinny	1992	Vinny Gambini	b39	107	89%	b40	11	Get Bill and Stan acquitted via procedure plus the right forensic expert	closes sub-arc	validation
Outland	1981	Marshal William O'Niel	b39	103	94%	b40	6	Refuse the assignment-as-verdict; finish it alone	new equilibrium	validation
The Out-of-Towners	1970	George Kellerman	b35b	94	97%	b36–b38	3	Get to the NY interview and decide on its terms whether to take the VP	new equilibrium	validation
Overboard	1987	Joanna Stayton	b43	107	96%	b44–b45	5	Be the practiced self regardless of station	new equilibrium	validation
Panic Room	2002	Meg Altman	b41	103	92%	b42–b43	9	Engage actively from outside; exploit the trio's asymmetry	new equilibrium	validation
The Prestige	2006	Robert Angier	b38	119	92%	b39–b40	7	Beat Borden by paying a price he cannot pay — duplicate nightly, drown the original	new equilibrium	repudiation
The Princess Bride	1987	Westley	b38	85	87%	b39–b40	8	Recover Buttercup from arranged wedding by team and bluff, with body that cannot fight	new equilibrium	validation
Prisoners	2013	Detective Loki	b37b	137	95%	b38–b40	7	Find the truth and bring Anna home alive	charged cliffhanger	validation
Rashomon	1950	The Woodcutter	b39	85	97%	b40	3	Act morally despite being one of the liars — take the baby; decouple compassion from truth	new equilibrium	validation
Rental Family	2025	Phillip Vanderploeg	b40b	100	97%	b41	3	Step outside the contract; be present as himself; locate worth internally	new equilibrium	validation
Rocky	1976	Rocky Balboa	b39	116	97%	b40	3	Go the distance — still standing at the final bell	new equilibrium	validation
Romancing the Stone	1984	Joan Wilder	b40	88	83%	b41–b44	18	Be heroine AND partner — rescue Elaine, take the stone, become the woman her novels write about	new equilibrium	validation
Sabrina	1954	Linus Larrabee	b38b	110	97%	b39–b40	3	Choose Sabrina over the merger — leave the room where managing happens	new equilibrium	validation
Saving Private Ryan	1998	Captain John Miller	b41–b42	161	95%	b43–b44	8	Refuse the calculus AND bequeath the meaning	new equilibrium	validation
Scarface	1983	Tony Montana	b34	138	81%	b35–b40	26	Hold the line — no wife, no kids — against Sosa's order	new equilibrium	repudiation
Scarlet Street	1945	Christopher Cross	b25	85	83%	b26–b32	16	Refuse the truth; possess Kitty as wife by act of will	new equilibrium	repudiation
Scoop	2006	Sondra Pransky	b37	86	90%	b38–b40	10	Keep digging past the official close; get the story	closes sub-arc	validation
Shanghai Noon (A)	2000	Chon Wang	b31–b33	85	77%	b34–b38	14	Chosen loyalty over institution — defy captain AND kill corrupt mirror	new equilibrium	validation
Shanghai Noon (B)	2000	Chon Wang	b35b	86	78%	b36–b40	13	Get Pei Pei back on her terms AND beat Lo Fong on Western ground	new equilibrium	validation
The Shawshank Redemption	1994	Andy Dufresne	b36b	119	84%	b37–b39	23	Exit Shawshank through the institution's own infrastructure rather than wait for the legal system	new equilibrium	validation
Shrek the Third	2007	Shrek (with Artie)	b34	75	81%	b35–b40	16	Install Artie as king by refusing the loser-substitute frame	new equilibrium	validation
Slumdog Millionaire	2008	Jamal Malik	b37	107	89%	b38–b40	13	Trust the pattern; stay on the air	new equilibrium	validation
Sneakers	1992	Martin Bishop	b37	112	89%	b38–b40	14	Refuse Cosmo's frame; walk out with chip and team	new equilibrium	validation
Something Wild	1986	Charlie Driggs	b30	99	88%	b31–b34	13	Free Audrey from Ray and bear the stakes in his own body	new equilibrium	validation
Speed	1994	Jack Traven	b33	104	94%	b34–b40	7	Beat Payne specifically and stay with Annie	new equilibrium	validation
The Sting	1973	Johnny Hooker	b33	124	97%	b34–b40	4	Take Lonnegan for the half-million via the wire-store architecture	new equilibrium	validation
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three	1974	Lt. Zachary Garber	b40a	101	97%	b40b	3	Stop the hijackers AND recover the hostages alive — catch the fourth man	new equilibrium	validation
There Will Be Blood	2007	Daniel Plainview	b37b	150	95%	b38	1	Drain everything adjacent, need no one, eliminate remaining relationships	new equilibrium (narrative); credits roll	repudiation
The Thing	1982	R.J. MacReady	b39	97	89%	b40	8	Deny the Thing the world by demolishing the camp with the tester inside	new equilibrium	validation
Three Days of the Condor	1975	Joe Turner	b40a	112	95%	b40b	0	Operate on his own resources; deliver the conspiracy outside the chain of command	absorbed into climax scene	validation
The Town	2010	Doug MacRay	b39a	137	91%	b39b–b40	13	Escape Charlestown alone — sever the inheritance, send the romantic future as a gift	new equilibrium	validation
Total Recall	1990	Douglas Quaid	b37	104	92%	b38–b40	9	Settle identity by action by firing the reactor — the act IS the identity answer	new equilibrium	validation
Trading Places	1983	Winthorpe & Valentine	b41	107	92%	b42–b44	9	Ruin the Dukes by exploiting open-outcry settlement before the real crop report breaks	new equilibrium	validation
Training Day	2001	Jake Hoyt	b30	106	87%	b31–b35	16	Refuse Alonzo's model — survive the day, take the evidence out, not become a wolf	new equilibrium	validation
The Truman Show	1998	Truman Burbank	b39b	93	90%	b40	3	Recognize the performance, refuse Christof's comfort trade, walk out of the dome	commentary on world (then credits)	validation
The Untouchables	1987	Eliot Ness	b33	110	92%	b34–b40	9	Convict Capone by whatever means the city permits	commentary on world	validation
The Warriors	1979	Swan (with the Warriors)	b38	88	96%	b39–b40	4	Get the platoon home to Coney Island alive; fight only what blocks the route, disable not kill	executes clause by proxy	validation
The Wedding Singer	1998	Robbie Hart	b40	92	96%	end credits	4	Choose Julia; sing the real song against the rehearsed life	new equilibrium	validation

Distribution

91 films catalogued. 76 validation, 12 repudiation, 3 reversal. Median climax position 92%. Median wind-down length 8m. The validation rate (~84%) is consistent with the framework's design — most films build a sound new approach and the climax confirms it. The 12 repudiations cluster on tragic-virtue / world-defeats-the-sound-approach films plus pure-fall films (Scarface, Scarlet Street). The 3 reversals — Bad News Bears, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Margot at the Wedding — share the in-climax recognition + pivot signature.

Notes

Two-clause missions

Saving Private Ryan — refuse the calculus AND bequeath the meaning. Both clauses tested at the bridge: stand to the relief column (clause A holds at near-total cost), bequest to Ryan (clause B holds in the dying breath).
The Mummy — three-element envelope (key / counter-curse / mortal kill), all three tested in the ritual chamber.
Gladiator — kill Commodus AND let his death restore the Republic. Personal clause resolved by the kill; institutional clause resolved by the Praetorians' refusal to re-arm Commodus.
Carrie — claim a self AND survive in the world. Clause A holds (Margaret killed); clause B fails (the house collapses).
Cast Away — get back to Kelly AND keep breathing. Asymmetric: clause A fails, clause B holds at the crossroads.
Cool Hand Luke — honestly upward AND honestly downward. Both clauses tested at the church, both fail.
The Apartment — refuse the promotion AND have Fran. Two clauses tested across b36–b40 (most spread-out two-clause envelope in the catalog).
The Fifth Element — assemble the stones AND fire the fifth element by partnering with Leeloo. Two clauses tested across b34a/b34b.
Daylight — get the survivors out AND learn to be stayed-for. Two-clause envelope b39–b40a.
Blade Runner — retire the escapees AND stop being the hunter. Both clauses tested at the rooftop.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three — stop the hijackers AND recover hostages. Both held; the fourth man is the certainty-beat (b40a) catching the loose thread.

Wind-down absorbed or absent

Invasion of the Body Snatchers — 2m absent wind-down (cut to black + credits) as structural argument: the world swallowed the approach.
There Will Be Blood — 1m narrative wind-down ("I'm finished" + Brahms) before 8m credits. The wind-down is the verdict on the approach.
The Truman Show — 3m narrative wind-down (audience eruption + cease-transmission + TV Guide channel-flip) before 7m credits. New world has already moved on.
The Apartment — film cuts on Fran's "Shut up and deal." No narrative wind-down at all.
Three Days of the Condor — wind-down absorbed into the climax conversation. "How do you know they'll print it" doubt-injection + Salvation Army band + freeze frame are wind-down material inside the same on-screen scene as the b40a certainty.
Blow Out — 4m narrative wind-down (Sally in the studio, news anchor, "It's a good scream") before 4m credits.

Two-protagonist or shifted-protagonist films

Panic Room — Meg primary, Burnham co-actor on the asymmetry clause.
Meet the Parents — Greg audience-identification; Jack the actual change-agent.
Ghostbusters — team-anchored on Venkman.
Prisoners — Loki primary (Keller's whistle is the charged-cliffhanger wind-down).
Trading Places — Winthorpe & Valentine on the floor; Coleman/Ophelia off-floor.
Dunkirk — collective protagonist (Bolton/Tommy anchors).
Magnolia — ensemble; Jim Kurring anchors the catalog row; Frank-at-the-bedside runs parallel in wind-down register.
Lost in Translation — dual; Charlotte anchors because her approach builds more legibly than Bob's.
The Warriors — Swan with the Warriors as collective.

Reversal cases

The Bad News Bears — Buttermaker runs win-at-all-costs into the championship; the lineup change at b32 is the in-climax rejection.
Four Weddings and a Funeral — Charles runs marry-Henrietta into the altar; David's interruption is the in-climax rejection.
Margot at the Wedding — Margot runs apart-mother into the back half; the bus chase IS the rejection.

Repudiation cases

Carlito's Way — better tools, insufficient. Trap closes from prior identity-driven choices.
The Eyes of Laura Mars — sound tools defeated; tragic-virtue overtone.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers — purest repudiation; absent wind-down as structural argument.
The Prestige — Angier rides duplication-and-drowning into the basement; tanks light up, cost has bought nothing.
Blow Out — Jack's engagement approach kills the person it was for; tragic-virtue variant.
Carrie — clause B fails by the world's verdict.
There Will Be Blood — Plainview wins; the film's verdict is "I'm finished."
Cool Hand Luke — both clauses tested at the church; both fail.
Body Heat — Ned's frame-keeping approach is precisely what Matty used to construct the trap.
Miami Vice — Crockett's third-position approach cannot survive the operational return; "Who are you?" / no answer.
Scarface — closest fit; the typology strains because there is no built post-midpoint approach to validate or repudiate. Held under repudiation as fall-of-a-man verdict.
Scarlet Street — Chris's refuse-the-truth approach lets him survive the legal verdict but condemns him to the voices.

Borderline / typology-strain

Scarface — typology strains (see above).
Rashomon — resists strict-mission test as a feature; Woodcutter chosen as protagonist for the gate-arc transformative momentum.
Overboard — borderline reversal candidate (see watch list below).

Watch list — candidate fourth resolution type ("collapse")

Pattern: films where two layers run simultaneously across the back half — a public approach (inherited, performed) and a private build (practiced, suppressed authentic self) — and the climax is a single gesture that collapses both layers at once. Diagnostic: are there two layers, and does the climax collapse them?

Currently catalogued with this shape:

Overboard — public restoration of Joanna / private practiced self; dive collapses both.
Body Double — voyeurism keeps running publicly; private claustrophobia conquest is the climax. Doubling staged in wind-down rather than climax.
Meet the Parents — Greg's adoption is passive while Jack runs the apparatus correction; climax collapses Greg's project into Jack's apparatus.
Daylight — public strategy + private growth collapse into one Semtex-trigger gesture.

To test next: Tootsie, Working Girl, Some Like It Hot, Housesitter.

If three or more films cluster cleanly into this shape (Daylight may have pushed the count past the threshold), propose adding a fourth resolution type to the typology: collapse.

Aggregate observations

The audience-certainty principle (≤30 sec). The catalog records the specific moment the audience becomes certain the mission has resolved — not the broader scene. Compare: Rocky's bell sounding while Rocky is standing; Body Snatchers' Sutherland point; The Game's Douglas hitting the safety mat; Truman's step through the EXIT door; Three Days of the Condor's "I told them a story." Multi-beat climax envelopes are reserved for genuine two-clause missions (Carrie, SPR, Mummy, Gladiator, Cast Away, Cool Hand Luke, The Apartment, Fifth Element, Daylight, Blade Runner, Pelham 123, Shanghai Noon A) where two distinct certainty-moments belong inside the envelope.

Climax position range: 70%–99%. The catalog floor is now Dunkirk at 70% with a 32m wind-down — Nolan's deliberate redefinition-of-victory itemization. The ceiling is Blow-Up at 99% (the imagined-ball thock), with Body Snatchers and High Noon at 98%. The dominant cluster lands 86–96%. Climax position and wind-down length are strongly inversely correlated — long wind-downs cluster with early climaxes, where the film has structural work to do after the certainty-beat.

Late-climax + minimal-narrative-wind-down cluster. Films that cut quickly to credits after the certainty: Body Snatchers (2m, repudiation), Truman Show (3m narrative + 7m credits, validation), TWBB (1m narrative + 8m credits, repudiation), Blow Out (4m narrative + 4m credits, repudiation), Apartment (0m, validation — film cuts on the line), Condor (0m absorbed into scene, validation). Six films distributed across resolution types; the shared structural argument is that the protagonist's act in the climax voids the world they were embedded in, so the film terminates rather than rebuilds.

Long wind-downs (≥15m): 12 films. Dunkirk 32m, Scarface 26m, Shawshank 23m, Footloose 22m, Last Samurai 21m, Do the Right Thing 19m, F1 19m, Romancing the Stone 18m, Air Force One 17m, Dressed to Kill 17m, Last Starfighter 17m, Bad News Bears 15m. Mostly validations; the long wind-down is doing structural work (parallel-arc resolution, world-commentary, redefinition-of-victory itemization, or — for Scarface — fall-of-empire spectacle).

Wind-down length is not predictive of resolution type. Repudiations range 1m (TWBB) to 26m (Scarface). Validations range 0m (Apartment, Condor) to 32m (Dunkirk). The wind-down's function is what's predictive — charged cliffhanger / commentary on world / executes clause by proxy / absent signal different resolution types and structural arguments, regardless of length.

Resolution-type distribution. 76 validations (84%), 12 repudiations (13%), 3 reversals (3%). The validation dominance is expected — the framework defines a sound post-midpoint approach as the modal case. Repudiations are concentrated in 70s/80s thrillers and noir (Blow Out, Carlito's, Body Heat, Eyes of Laura Mars, Body Snatchers, Scarlet Street) plus three later films (Prestige, TWBB, Miami Vice). Reversals are a small, specific phenomenon — late in-climax recognition with pivot — and the three catalogued cases (Bad News Bears, Four Weddings, Margot) share a comedy-of-remarriage adjacent shape.

The credits-vs-narrative-runtime ambiguity is a known measurement gap. Several catalogued wind-down minutes are IMDb-runtime arithmetic that includes closing credits. Films explicitly normalized to narrative wind-down: Truman Show, There Will Be Blood, Blow Out. Films where the row likely overstates narrative wind-down (audit candidates): Outland (6m → ~1-2m narrative), Princess Bride, the 9m cluster broadly, Apartment (0m correct), Wedding Singer ("end credits"). A vault-wide audit pass to strip credits from wind-down minutes would tighten the column.