I just watched the UK version on DVD and compared it with the US version which had a happy ending. Why the hell do the Americans need a happy ending? Watch the original European version of The Vanishing and it is chilling beyond belief. The American version saturated it beyond hope with the safe ending which is *beep* embarrasing to watch, the same with Silver Dream Racer. Are American audiences that sensitive? If so God help the planet.
shareUS version just removes the (lame) British ending and ends with a still
(icheckmovies: IMDb vote history-compatible movielist host)
I watched it for the first time--or rather, watched parts of it while channel surfing--mainly because I found Cristina Raines very attractive. I'm a Yank and saw it on American television, and the version I saw certainly had a downer ending. Maybe I missed part of the set-up but the crash/explosion/conflagration at the very end seemed unnecessary; maybe they threw it in to please the downer European audience.
I thought it was going to have a happy ending, with the protagonist winning the race as he pulled waaaaayyyy ahead of the other races; but the way the camera held on him long after he crossed the finish gave me the feeling there was going to be one of those last-minute downer endings that were so popular in Seventies movies. And I actually got into it! I started chanting "CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!"--and when he did, so spectacularly, I laughed and whooped and cheered.