In Memoriam / Live-Action Films

• Bethany is dedicated to the memory of Henriette Bressack (1923-2012).
• Black Hawk Down; the first end card lists the soldiers who were killed during the battle depicted in the film, plus the name of a soldier who was killed a few days later in a mortar attack. The film is also dedicated to Ridley Scott's mother, Elizabeth Jean Scott.
• The movie version of The Great Escape is dedicated to "the fifty" — the 50 Real Life fugitives shot by the Gestapo.
• The last three films that legendary stunt man Dar Robinson worked on before his death (Cyclone, Lethal Weapon and Million Dollar Mystery) were all dedicated to his memory.
• Alive (1993), a dramatization of the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, was dedicated to "the 29 who died on the mountain and the 16 who survived".
• Muppets/Jim Henson films:
  • The Muppet Movie is dedicated to Edgar Bergen, one of Henson's biggest influences, who made a cameo in the film.
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze is dedicated to the memory of Henson, being the last film he worked on. Henson's children criticized the dedication, claiming that Jim found (and would still find in the present day were he still alive) the action and violence of the overall TMNT franchise to be "excessive, pointless and not his style" and thus that he only did the first film's suits for the art.
  • The Muppet Christmas Carol, the first Muppet film to come out after Henson's death, was also dedicated to him, as well as to Muppet performer Richard Hunt, who died during pre-production.
  • Muppets Most Wanted is dedicated to Jerry Nelson (one of the original Muppet performers) and Jane Henson (Jim's wife).
• Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid was dedicated to legendary costume designer Edith Head, who worked on the film and died before it was released. The entire film itself is also something of a tribute to her, as it includes many clips from 1940s and '50s films, several of which feature her work.
• When the 1980 film The Ninth Configuration was remastered in 2016, a dedication was seen after the closing credits to Peter Vincent Galahad Blatty, (the late son of William Peter Blatty), with the first Lorimar theme playing over it.
• Eight Below is dedicated to Koreyoshi Kurahara, who died before the film's release.
• Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988) is dedicated to Robert Redding, a close friend and collaborator of Cassandra Peterson, who died of AIDS.
• Paul Thomas Anderson did this a lot in his films:
  • Boogie Nights was dedicated to actor Robert Ridgely (who played The Colonel James) and his father, television presenter Ernie Anderson, who both died before the film's release.
  • Magnolia had "for fa and ea" listed at the end of the credits. FA stands for Fiona Apple, singer-songwriter and Anderson's girlfriend at the time, while EA stands for Ernie Anderson. Though Apple didn't die, Anderson did and his death served as an inspiration for the film.
  • He dedicated There Will Be Blood to the memory of film director (and one of Anderson's biggest influences) Robert Altman, who passed a year before the film's release.
  • Phantom Thread was dedicated to the memory of film director Jonathan Demme, who died during production. Like Altman, Demme is one of Anderson's biggest influences.
• Small Soldiers features a dedication to Phil Hartman after the closing credits, including an outtake along with the dedication.
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) featured a dedication reading simply "For Douglas."
• Contact features the dedication "For Carl" (who wrote the original novel and the screenplay) at the end of the film.
• UHF is dedicated to Trinidad Silva, who died in an auto accident before filming all his scenes as Raul.
• The Dark Knight: "In memory of our friends Heath Ledger & Conway Wickliffe" — Wickliffe was a special effects technician who was killed during filming. When Ledger died, Warner Bros. also dedicated their entire Dark Knight website to him with a splash page that featured a eulogy about his life.
  • The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was also dedicated to Ledger, as well as William Vince, who served as co-producer on the film.
• Superman Returns was dedicated to Christopher and Dana Reeve.
  • The first Superman film was dedicated to cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth.
• Terminator Salvation was dedicated to Stan Winston.
• Stan Winston also shared an 'In Memoriam' with Michael Crichton (both died in 2008) after the last part of the 'Return to Jurassic Park' featurette series covering the making of all three (at the time) films, created for the Jurassic Park Trilogy boxed set.
• The American remake Godzilla has one for Tomoyuki Tanaka, the creator of Gojira.
  • Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), meanwhile, was dedicated to both Yoshimitsu Banno (director of Godzilla vs. Hedorah and producer of both Legendary Godzilla films) and Haruo Nakajima (the original Godzilla actor). The latter of whom was presented with a behind the scenes still from Ebirah, Horror of the Deep while Godzilla’s classic theme and roar are heard.
• Marvel Cinematic Universe:
  • Iron Man 2 was dedicated to DJ AM, who had a cameo in the film As Himself.
  • Thor: The Dark World was dedicated to Don Payne, who was a co-writer on the film and its predecessor.
  • After Chadwick Boseman's death from colon cancer, TBS and ABC showed his starring role in Black Panther the following weekend. The TBS broadcast opened with a message saying, "Chadwick Boseman Rest In Power", while the ABC broadcast closed with a 40-minute special of MCU actors and producers talking about Boseman and finished with words from Boseman himself speaking about the film's legacy.
    • Starting on Boseman's 44th birthday (November 29, 2020) the Disney+ streaming service presentation of the film changed the Marvel Studios montage logo to various artwork and clips of Boseman's T'Challa/Black Panther.
    • Wakanda Forever uses the same logo and is also dedicated to him.
    • The end credits to Wakanda Forever also include dedications for Dorothy Steel (who played the Merchant Tribe Elder), two members of the crew, and Winston Duke's mother who all passed away during production of the movie.
  • Captain Marvel, released after the death of Stan Lee, opens with the usual montage of Marvel characters replaced with the various creator cameos he had in Marvel films before thanking him for his hard work. The end credits paid tribute to Maj. Stephen Del Bagno, who worked on the film as a consultant and appeared under his real-life call sign of "Cajun" prior to his death in April 2018 in an accidental plane crash.
  • Avengers: Endgame included a dedication to Lee as part of its re-release's post-credits scenes.
  • Spider-Man: Far From Home was dedicated to Lee and Steve Ditko, Spider-Man's creators.
• Taxi Driver is dedicated to Bernard Herrmann.
  • Obsession (his next-to-last score) and God Told Me To (which was to have been his next project) were also dedicated to him.
• In The Shawshank Redemption, right before the credits: "In memory of Allen Greene," the first agent that director Frank Darabont ever worked for. Greene sadly died of AIDS before production began on the film.
• Mandy (2018): At the end of the credits there is a dedication to the late Jóhann Jóhannsson, who composed the score for this film.
• Blue Thunder is dedicated to Warren Oates, who passed away a month after filming.
• Post-theatrical release versions of Road to Perdition include a dedication to cinematographer Conrad L. Hall, who died after the film opened.
• Cliffhanger is dedicated to Sylvester Stallone's mountain climbing double Wolfgang Güllich (who passed away in a road accident unconnected to the film) and Carolco head Mario Kassar's mother.
• Adaptation. is dedicated to Donald Kaufman, fictional character and a credited co-writer, who dies in the film.
• A.I.: Artificial Intelligence is dedicated to Stanley Kubrick, who began the project decades before Steven Spielberg completed it.
• Schindler's List ends with the film being dedicated to the more than six million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany in the Holocaust.
  • Additionally, the film was dedicated to Steve Ross, the philanthropist and CEO of Time Warner who died a year before the film's release and was the person who helped inspire Steven Spielberg to develop the film.
• The Crow (1994) simply has "For Brandon and Eliza".
  • Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story was also dedicated to Brandon Lee, who died a few months prior to this film's release. Brandon had originally been offered the opportunity to play his father.
• City of Angels ends with "For Dawn", a reference to producer Dawn Steel (who originally optioned Wings of Desire for the United States).
• Street Fighter has a tribute for Raúl Juliá at the film's credits that said "For Raúl. Vaya con Dios" (translated to "Go with God" in Spanish).
• Gettysburg was dedicated to Richard Jordan, who played General Armistead, and died suddenly after filming, and to Mike Shaara, who wrote the novel the screenplay of the movie was based off of.
• Top Gun was dedicated to stunt pilot Art Scholl, who crashed and died while performing a flat spin near the end of the film.
  • The sequel Top Gun: Maverick was dedicated to the first movie's director, Tony Scott, who committed suicide in 2012 and was initially slated to direct the follow-up.
• My Dog Skip was dedicated to Willie Morris, the author of the book it was based on. He died before it was released, but did live to see the finished product.
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was dedicated to director Ron Howard's mother Jean Speegle Howard, "who loved Christmas the most".
• Almost Heroes is dedicated to Chris Farley.
• Brainstorm is dedicated to Natalie Wood.
• Canadian Bacon and Wagons East! are dedicated to John Candy.
• Gladiator is dedicated to Oliver Reed.
• Queen of the Damned is dedicated to Aaliyah.
• Twilight Zone: The Movie is dedicated to Vic Morrow, who was killed by a helicopter crash during filming.
• The Smurfs 2 is dedicated to Jonathan Winters, voice actor of the live-action Papa Smurf.
• The Great Race is dedicated to Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy.
• Get Smart: The Film of the Series was dedicated to Ed Platt, who portrayed The Chief in the series.
• Tomorrow Never Dies is dedicated to longtime Bond film producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli.
• Poltergeist III was dedicated to Heather O'Rourke, Carol Anne's actress, who died tragically and unexpectedly 4 months before the film's release.
• Billy Crystal's My Giant was dedicated to André the Giant, Crystal's co-star in The Princess Bride.
• John Carter, directed by Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton, was dedicated to Steve Jobs, co-founder of Pixar.
• Electric Dreams was dedicated to the memory of the Univac I (the first computer designed from the outset with business and administrative purposes). This film was made in 1984, the year that personal home computers really started to take off with the general public.
• Saving Mr. Banks is dedicated to Walt Disney's daughter Diane, who died about a month before its release.
  • The film was also dedicated to the memory of Peter Ronald Owen and Daniel Harris. Harris appeared uncredited as a man in the carnival scene.
• Holy Motors is dedicated to Russian actress Yekaterina Golubeva, the woman of director Carax’s life and the mother of his child. She tragically died in August 2011, right before the film went into production.
• Mulholland Dr. is dedicated to Jennifer Syme, who worked as an assistant to director David Lynch at the time. Syme died in a car crash in April 2001, before the movie was released.
• The Rocky series is dedicated to Jane Oliver, to whom Stallone owes his career.
• The Bourne Identity is dedicated to Robert Ludlum, creator of the Bourne series, and Claire Hammond, a colleague of director Doug Liman.
• Miracle was dedicated to Herb Brooks, the coach of the real 1980 US Olympic hockey team. He was a consultant for the film's production before he died in a car crash six months before the film was released. The film contains a dedication during the ending credits:
  "He never saw it. He lived it."
• Fast and Furious 7 is dedicated to Paul Walker, who died in an auto accident in November 2013, while production was still underway.
• Matilda was dedicated to Mara Wilson's mother Suzie, who died of breast cancer during production.
• Gone Fishin' was dedicated to stuntwoman Janet Peters Wilder, who was killed in a boat stunt gone wrong.
• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 was dedicated to Philip Seymour Hoffman.
• Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later, and Halloween: Resurrection were all dedicated to Donald Pleasence, who played Dr. Loomis and died in 1995.
  • Rob Zombie's remake in 2007 and the 2018 sequel, meanwhile, were dedicated to Moustapha Akkad, the executive producer of the series since the original film, who had been killed in a terrorist attack in 2005.
• The 2003 live-action film adaptation of Holes was dedicated to Scott Plank, who died in 2002 following injuries from a car crash.
• Liar Liar was dedicated to Jason Bernard, who died of a heart attack in October 1996.
• Kamen Rider films:
  • Heisei Rider vs. Showa Rider: Kamen Rider Taisen feat. Super Sentai has one dedicated to Tohru Hirayama (a key creative producer of Rider's Showa era, sticking around from the original series to Kamen Rider ZX) and Takao Nagaishi (a long-standing episode director for the first decade of the Heisei era) at the end of the ending credits.
  • Kamen Rider Zi-O: Over Quartzer is dedicated to Yoshinori Watanabe, Vice-President of the Toei Company and the man responsible for getting Bandai aboard the Kamen Rider franchise to make it toyetic.
• The extended edition of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is dedicated to Andrew Lesnie, Peter Jackson's cinematographer from The Lord of the Rings onward who died of a heart attack in April 27, 2015. The Blu-ray featured a four-minute long tribute to him as well. The film was also dedicated to Christopher Lee, who passed away on June 7, 2015, less than two months after Andrew Lesnie did. In fact a special screening of all of the extended cuts of The Lord of the Rings planned for September 12, 2015, was set to be dedicated to him.
• Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures says "For Jim" at the beginning; that is producer Jim Booth, who died in early 1994 before the film was completed.
• A Bronx Tale was dedicated to Robert De Niro's father Robert De Niro, Sr.
• Jersey Girl. Before the end credits, a dedication appears to Kevin Smith's father, Donald E. Smith, who died before the film was released.
• Freeform did this when they broadcast both Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film adaptations:
  • For two separate broadcastings of the 2005 Tim Burton film, they ran a dedication card on February 2012 that reads In memory of David Kelly, who passed away from pneumonia, and another on in 2015 for Christopher Lee.
  • For the broadcasting of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory on September 1, 2016, they paid tribute to Gene Wilder, who died on August 29, 2016, with the message: Thank you for your pure imagination! In loving Memory of Gene Wilder (1933-2016)
• The 2016 live-action adaptation of The BFG is dedicated to Melissa Mathison, the screenwriter and longtime collaborator of director Steven Spielberg. It was her last screenplay before her death in November 2015.
• The sequel to Alice in Wonderland (2010), Alice Through the Looking Glass, is dedicated to Alan Rickman, who voiced the Caterpillar. It was his last film role before his death in January 2016.
  • After his death, the Freeform channel had their next Harry Potter movie marathon with a dedication card of Snape with "Thank you for the magic. In loving memory of Alan Rickman"
• The 2016 remake of The Jungle Book is dedicated to Garry Shandling (who voiced Ikki the porcupine) and stuntman Shawn Robinson.
• Star Trek:
  • Star Trek (2009): has a dedication in its closing credits to Gene Roddenberry (the creator of the franchise, to whom Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is also dedicated) and Majel Barrett, his wife, who provided the voice of the ship's computer (among other things), and had recently recorded a cameo appearance in that role for the film when she died.
  • Star Trek Beyond (2016) is dedicated to Leonard Nimoy, who'd last played Spock in Star Trek Into Darkness before his death in 2015, and Anton Yelchin, in his final appearance as Chekov before his death in June 2016, only a month before the film's release. Nimoy's death is integrated in the movie: his Spock died off-screen between the two movies, and Zachary Quinto's Spock learning this news is what kicks off his character arc for the movie.
• Ghostbusters:
  • The 2016 Ghostbusters reboot is dedicated to Harold Ramis, who co-wrote the first two films and played Egon Spengler in both. A bust of Ramis appears in the film, and his son Daniel makes a brief appearance in one scene.
  • Ghostbusters: Afterlife is also dedicated to Harold, and this is represented in the film by Egon's ghost arriving in the climax to help the original Ghostbusters defeat Gozer once and for all.
  • Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is dedicated to Ivan Reitman, who directed and produced the first two films, co-produced Ghostbusters (2016) and Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and was involved in production for this film before his death in February 2022.
• The Other Sister was dedicated to Harvey Miller, who passed away in January 1999, just one month before the film's release.
• Saw III is dedicated to Gregg Hoffman, producer and one of the people who helped discover it. Dead Silence, made by creators of Saw, would also be dedicated to him.
• Kingsman: The Secret Service is dedicated to director Matthew Vaughn's late mother, "who taught [him] how a Kingsman should be".
• The 2016 romantic comedy The Matchbreaker was dedicated to star Christina Grimmie, who was murdered several months before the film's release, making this both her first and last movie appearance.
• Independence Day: Resurgence features a brief dedication to Robert Loggia (who played General Grey in the original film), who passed away in December 2015 from complications of Alzheimer's disease.
• Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome was dedicated to producer Byron Kennedy, who died in a helicopter accident while location scouting for the film.
• The Last Jedi is dedicated to Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the franchise and who passed about a year before the film's release.
  • Less than a year later, Solo: A Star Wars Story was dedicated to Allison Shearmur, a producer on the film, who died 5 months before it was released.
  • The live-orchestra showing for The Empire Strikes Back held in the Australian city of Adelaide on May 4, 2019, ended with a dedication to Peter Mayhew, the original actor for Chewbacca, who died four days earlier.
• Teen Beach Movie was dedicated to Annette Funicello, one of Disney's original Mouseketeers, whose "beach party" movies were being spoofed in the film.
• Stan & Ollie was dedicated to Lois Laurel Hawes (The daughter of Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy)
• The 1989 version of Steel Magnolias was dedicated to the writer Robert Harling's sister, Susan Harling Robinson, who died of diabetes-related complications and was the model for Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie.
• Descendants 3 has two short videos that play before and after the film; both are dedications to Cameron Boyce, who passed away of an epileptic seizure a month before the film was released.
  "Everything you are. Every smile, every laugh, every dance, every hug, every moment, everyone you touched. You mean everything to us "
  • Hubie Halloween was likewise dedicated to him, as he was cast in it prior to his death.
• Dark Phoenix features the message "In memory of Stan Lee" in the end credits. The film was released seven months after he died.
• Darlin' is dedicated to Jack Ketchum.
• Bad Santa had a dedication to the memory of John Ritter, who played the mall manager and passed away before the film was released.
• John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum was dedicated to Michael Nyqvist, who played Viggo Tarasov in the first film. John Wick: Chapter 4 is dedicated to Lance Reddick, who played Charon in every film since the first.
• Henry & Verlin is dedicated to Ken Ledbetter, the father of writer/director Gary Ledbetter and the author of the original short stories, who lived from 1931-1993.
• A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood was dedicated to Jim Emswiller, who died by falling off a balcony while the film was in production.
• Born on the Fourth of July was dedicated to political activist Abbie Hoffman, who died from a drug overdose eight months before the movie's release.
• Mr. Jones (2019) is dedicated to the victims of the Holodomor, a real life tragedy which the movie is focused on.
• Bicentennial Man: The film dedicates itself to the memory of Robin Eickman and Jeffrey Burks.
• ITV did this when they broadcast Diamonds Are Forever on 20th December 2020 with a dedication card to Sean Connery before the film starts.
• Moulin Rouge! is dedicated to director Baz Luhrmann's father, Leonard, who died while the movie was in pre-production.
• A Man Called Nereus has "In loving memory of Sam Willette," who played the driver Che.
• Two films released after ILM visual effects supervisor Stephen L. Price's death, Jumanji and Dragonheart, were both dedicated to his memory. The latter was also dedicated to Irwin Cohen, father of that film's director Rob Cohen.
• Zack Snyder's Justice League is dedicated to director Zack Snyder's daughter Autumn, who had committed suicide during the movie's production and led to Snyder needing to take a leave of absence to properly grieve the tragedy.
• Snatched (2017) has "In Loving Memory of CECILE MELONI," mother of Christopher Meloni, who died the year before the movie came out.
• Speed was dedicated to Marc Yobs, whose promising career in filmmaking was cut short when he perished in the Northridge earthquake the year the film was released.
• The first live-action Alvin and the Chipmunks movie was dedicated to Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., who had died 35 years beforehand, "who was crazy enough to invent these singing chipmunks nearly 50 years ago" (at the time; the Chipmunks celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2008).
• Director Sam Mendes dedicated his film 1917 to his grandfather, Lance Corporal Alfred H. Mendes, who died in 1991, who served in the 1st Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps during World War I, "who told us the stories."
• Metallica: Through the Never has one for Mark Fisher, an architect who designed rock stage sets and died a few months before the film's release.
• The film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was dedicated to casting director Mary Selway, who passed away from cancer before the film began production.
• Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb has "In loving memory of Mickey Rooney... and for Robin Williams. Magic never ends".
• Off The Rails 2021 ends with "For Kelly" just before the ending credits, referring to actress Kelly Preston who played one of the lead characters, prior to her death from cancer a year before the film's release.
• Down in the Delta: "This film is dedicated to the memory of Esther Rolle," who played Scatterbrained Senior Annie, in her last role.
• Meadowland has two examples in the end credits. The first is a message about the death of Sarah Jones and the importance of workplace safety. The second is, "'I remember every little thing as if it happened only yesterday.' This film is dedicated to my dad, Casey Morano."
• The Matrix Resurrections is dedicated to director Lana Wachowski's parents, who both passed away in 2019.
• The Peacemaker was dedicated to director Mimi Leder's father Paul Leder and special effects technician Nick Middleton, who both died one year before the film was released.
• Exit 0: At the end of the movie is a message saying "In Loving Memory Of Nathan George".
• Passion in the Desert was dedicated to writer Evangeline Bell Bruce, who died two years before the film premiered at Telluride.
• Gramps Is in the Resistance opens with a dedication to Louis de Funès, who was supposed to be the main star in it and died before filming began.
• Grease: Live!, which featured Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo, bears a dedication to her father, Greg Hudgens, who died of cancer before the premiere.

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