What the single-most depressing movie you've seen? - Page 2 - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

onodrim · 01-10-2006, 04:35 PM

Irreversible, the first movie to make me actually feel ill and days to recover from watching.

troit · 01-11-2006, 12:16 AM

Very suprised to see that noone said "Million Dollar Baby". After seeing Clint as a tough guy all these years it just pulled the right strings for me - a bit depressing to say the least.

biznatch · 01-11-2006, 12:36 AM

Yes, Requiem for a dream had me staring motionless at the Black screen for 2 minutes after I turned he movie off.
I really want to say Catwoman, because it makes me extremely sad.(but that's just my comic book geek side)
A Streetcar named Desire creatses discomfort.
25th Hour. Jesus, I was crying like a baby at the end. Such a beautiful but sad ending..it'll get any new yorker like myself to cry.
American History X...you feel like everything's gonna be fine, and god damn! it never stops.
The same feeling of perpetuated violence, that sense of helplessness is also in City Of God.

SecretMethod70 · 01-11-2006, 03:00 AM

Requiem for a Dream
Irréversible

Overall, I have a strong preference for depressing films - so much so that I've seen Requiem 4 times and Irréversible twice all in the past 2 years - so it's difficult to have any stand out to me as particularly depressing most of the time. These two films, though, do stand out above (or is it below?

) the rest.

This is a great thread btw...now I know what other depressing movies to get that I might like

Sultana · 01-11-2006, 04:25 PM

The House of Sand and Fog. OMFG, I was such a wreck after watching that. Cried for days.
Also The Green Mile, and Saving Private Ryan.

Grasshopper Green · 01-11-2006, 04:40 PM

I have to second Hotel Rwanda. Watching the horrible things that people can do to each other, while millions of other people just kind of stand by and watch, was horrible. I was sick at the end of the movie.

jujueye · 01-11-2006, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bacchanal

Leaving Las Vegas.

Quite depressing. You can see the guy might have a chance, but he blows it.

Carno · 01-12-2006, 06:36 AM

I went out and watched Requiem for a Dream, and damn, yall were right. That movie is depressing.

leftyderek · 01-12-2006, 07:44 AM

In a very personal sense Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind makes me feel very depressed. Yes some might say the ending is not that depressing but I just connect one of my recent huge problems with it all the time... and I know such an ending would never happen to me/us, maybe not never, I don't know. Sometimes the idea of hope makes one depressed.

Otherwise a lot of movies make me feel depressed... I nearly never watch movies that make me smile/laugh.

^carn: Nice signature. Come catch me.

snowy · 01-12-2006, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troit

Very suprised to see that noone said "Million Dollar Baby". After seeing Clint as a tough guy all these years it just pulled the right strings for me - a bit depressing to say the least.

Yes...seeing Clint Eastwood cry hurt. I seem to recall that my friends and I all got drunk after seeing that movie in an attempt to blunt the depression.

hunnychile · 01-12-2006, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toaster126

Schindlers list and A.I. both had me near tears for like the entire movie.

It's depressing but I love "Schindlers List" though...it's worth it to stick it out to the end, which is so beautiful and maudlin. I re-watch it every year at Passover time. The sound track is totally outstanding if you like Itzak Perlman.

Also I thought "Blue Velvet" was incredibly depressing in a psycho sort of way...sad waste of talent with everyone involved in that pic.

Carno · 01-12-2006, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onesnowyowl

Yes...seeing Clint Eastwood cry hurt. I seem to recall that my friends and I all got drunk after seeing that movie in an attempt to blunt the depression.

You've just guaranteed that I will never see that movie

I don't enjoy seeing any man cry, much less one of my heroes. Thanks for warning me before I watched the movie not knowing what was in store

Kostya · 01-12-2006, 07:06 PM

Is it just me or am I the coldest son of a bitch to walk into a movie theatre?

Here's a list of films that most certainly did not depress me:

Requiem for a Dream - Disturbing, not depressing. Firstly is pushed way too hard towards the end and concluded on a note that rang false to me. It was manipulative, but ultimately I could brush it aside due to the 'worst ever possible scenario, ever, failing that involving a bear with rocket launcher hands' ending.

Schindler's List - Not deeply depressing to me at all. The ending is upbeat. Spielberg's message is one of hope, of the humane and ethical triumphing in the most horrible of scenarios. I've seen the actual footage of soldiers cleaning up the death camps, that was depressing.

Saving Private Ryan - Are people kidding me? The film started off with a scene that could have led to a great movie, instead of guys talking about 'Mom's apple pies' and 'earn it' and so forth. For me, Saving Private Ryan is once more about redemption and humanity in bad situations.

Hotel Rwanda - Pretty much the same as Schindler's List, finding hope and redemption in a genocide and so forth. Frankly, in many ways to me Hotel Rwanda commits the very crime it tries to indict, that is brushing off the Rwandan genocide and focusing on the one single good thing they could find. No doubt that it was a great act and he saved lives, but that's putting rose coloured lens on the camera for the sake of people's delicacy and distaste for being confronted with what really happened, which might I add, the film never even comes close to even suggesting.

The Shawshank Redemption - Um, he escapes right? I felt a twinge of depression at the laboured fairy tale ending where Red meets up with Andy on the beach of their dreams and they can set about fixing up their boat and so forth. Apart from that I was fine.

The Green Mile - Just didn't effect me. Ambivalence is the word.

A.I. - The film itself, not any good. Watching Kubrick's vision gurgling and choking to death in the background of Spilberg's hubris? That was depressing.

The Machinist - I was amused and pissed off in equal measure after it became blatantly clear about half an hour in the Ivan was Tyler. No tears here.

I'll get back to you on movies that DID depress me later. Obviously I'm a man of stone, or you're all marshmallows or something.

onodrim · 01-12-2006, 07:59 PM

Kostya, you make some really great points about the distinction between disturbing and depressing. And I do agree with you on a lot of those movies that may be hard to watch at points throughout the film, but ultimately have a hopeful message. And if you were able to figure out The Machinist that quickly then I'm really impressed! (or really slow

)

albania · 01-12-2006, 08:04 PM

12 monkeys was depressing and so was the dirty dozen, and the first final destination movie.

leftyderek · 01-12-2006, 08:24 PM

Kostya, i might be another cold-blooded bastard who goes to the pictures...

there are movies that depress me, but surely not really any among the ones mentioned by the majority here...

Oh I have to add 'dancer in the dark' is by björk, yes. (I remember someone was not sure in one of the earlier posts)

Then again, I don't think movies that gives you a weird/empty/speechless feeling go into the depressing category... so I can't think of too many really depressing movies. If you want movies that gives a true weird feeling, feel free to ask me though (my recommendations might be crap for whoever wants to know, but why not giving it a try?)

p.s. I know my signature makes me look like someone who hates film and cinema... no I don't.

rlbond86 · 01-12-2006, 09:49 PM

Grave of the Fireflies. It's the saddest cartoon you'll ever see.

SecretMethod70 · 01-13-2006, 02:09 PM

You know what, you're right: "disturbing" is a far more accurate word to describe my reaction to Irreversible and Requiem for a Dream than "depressing." And, no, the end of Requiem isn't particularly believable, but neither is Hamlet, and I don't see people holding that against it.

MiSo · 01-14-2006, 03:11 AM

when i saw the title to this thread, i immediately thought "requiem for a dream"
it is a seriously messed up movie.
kinda hit home a little bit too because i used to do drugs when i was younger. never shot anything into my arms or snorted, but did tons of ecstasy.

sailor · 01-14-2006, 01:12 PM

Movies that deal with downfall due to drugs always depress me for some reason: Requiem, Blow, Scarface, etc... Don't know why, I've never even known anyone to do that kind of drugs, but just seeing it coming and their being so caught up that they can't seem to do anything...

matthew330 · 01-15-2006, 12:11 PM

Dead Man Walking was pretty depressing. What Dreams May Come had me crying all the way through, but when all was said and done, I loved that movie and could watch it a million times.

Kostya · 01-16-2006, 12:35 AM

Ok for the record and all the people who think my heart is encrusted with icicles here is:

The Official List of Films that Made Kostya Depressed

Grave of the Fireflies - Isao Takahata. Props out to rlblonde86 for submitting this one. This is one that is both shattering and affirming, shattering because of its tender, subdued depiction of the everyday joys of human relations and the ultimate tragedy written into those same relations, affirming because it is not a 'war film' that falls for cheap sermonising, political agendas or moral terrorism. It could just as easily have been an earthquake, flood or famine that precipitated the events of 'Grave of the Fireflies', the only thing that makes war a more poignant backdrop is that it is of human making. I can't begin to say how great, and sad this film is, and I'm not ashamed to say it makes me cry every time I watch it, which is a lot.

Once Were Warriors - Lee Tamahori. A New Zealand production which follows the life and times of a Maori family headed by the sociopathic, violent misogynist Jake played with frightening intensity by Temura Morrison (last seen miscast as Jango Fett.) Though it has a ghost of a happy ending, at its heart, 'Once Were Warriors' is about a man for whom there is to be no redemption, and those around him condemned to suffer and die for it. A testament to the people who live and die in the horrors of domestic abuse, poverty and hopelessness who inhabit the peripheral vision of Western societies.

Threads - The British version of the outcome of a nuclear apocalypse. It stays true to its premise, and presents us with a shameless and naked scenario of immense suffering devoid of hope. In viewing it I was deeply disturbed by the images it presented, but in the days that followed, the desolation and honesty of the ending haunted me much more.

Tokyo Story - Yasujiro Ozu. I can't quite explain the gentle sense of sadness with which Ozu observes the mundane routine of life.

Ran - Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa gives us a story about human beings that is unafraid to suggest that what dominates our lives is chaos (Ran is Japanese for chaos) destruction, violence and horror. This is a story where the kind and gentle people are abused and helpless, where the ruthless, deceitful and violent are rewarded. What is depressing is that Kurosawa makes me believe it.

onodrim · 01-16-2006, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kostya

Ran - Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa gives us a story about human beings that is unafraid to suggest that what dominates our lives is chaos (Ran is Japanese for chaos) destruction, violence and horror. This is a story where the kind and gentle people are abused and helpless, where the ruthless, deceitful and violent are rewarded. What is depressing is that Kurosawa makes me believe it.

Just some FYI in case you didn't know, Ran is a modern adaptation of King Lear, and yes, Tradegy is still the best way to describe it.

Kostya · 01-16-2006, 01:37 AM

Yeah I was down with the King Lear factor. Kurosawa also did an interpretation of Macbeth called Throne of Blood. Not quite so wrenching, but brilliant film making.

MahlerIsGod · 01-16-2006, 03:14 AM

I think we can all agree that Requiem For A Dream is the undisputed champion in this category. Hell, that movie made me look at vitamins and aspirin differently. Here are a few not mentioned contenders:
1)A Midnight Clear - The best, most and truthful war movie ever made.
2)The Mission - De Niro and Irons. Enough said
3)A River Runs Through It. I realize Brad Pitts undoing was entirely of his own making but when the father asks/finds out about his hands at the end does it to me everytime.
4)Legends Of The Fall - Speaking of Brad Pitt. Back when he choose to act.....

Just a few that came to mind

nico · 01-16-2006, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troit

Very suprised to see that noone said "Million Dollar Baby". After seeing Clint as a tough guy all these years it just pulled the right strings for me - a bit depressing to say the least.

Yeah I was suprised it took 3 pages before anyone mentioned this one too. I've seen most of the movies in this thread, and none of them came close to making me feel as down as Million Dollar Baby did.

Sultana · 01-16-2006, 12:32 PM

Oh yeah, there's also "A Simple Plan". The characters compromise so much of themselves, more and more, and ultimately, for less than nothing...god.
$hit. Now I'm depressed just thinking about it again, heh.

Catdaddy33 · 01-17-2006, 04:27 AM

Leaving Las Vegas really threw me for a loop when I watched it..

wolf · 01-17-2006, 07:58 AM

Donnie Darko was depressing, good flick though. Pay it Forward, read the book which killed me too. A Lion in Winter was depressing. GodFather III, cause just about everyone dies. Dark Water - no I'm not saying that just because it sucked, it really was depressing.

SecretMethod70 · 01-17-2006, 09:57 AM

The Mission is a great and underrated film. I don't know if I'd say it was unusually saddening for me, but it's definitely not one to make you feel good!

snowy · 01-18-2006, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SecretMethod70

The Mission is a great and underrated film. I don't know if I'd say it was unusually saddening for me, but it's definitely not one to make you feel good!

Oh, wow, yes. I saw that movie senior year of hs and had to write an essay on it. Very, very powerful film.

johnnymysto · 01-20-2006, 12:18 PM

I have to echo MrKlixx and say "Awakenings." To see a man gain such happiness and then have it slowly taken from him....terrible. What a complete downer of a movie!!!

Knucklehead · 01-23-2006, 10:07 PM

The War Zone by Tim Roth. I was horrified and speechless after seeing this film.

Master_Shake · 01-26-2006, 12:29 PM

Elephant Man was pretty depressing, as was Paris, TX.
I'll also second the Bicycle Thief,

And the last images of Ran were just the greatest, most tragic ending of all time.

docbungle · 01-26-2006, 07:42 PM

Dirty Pretty Things was a bit depressing, but I loved it.

h.n. cheerios · 01-26-2006, 08:24 PM

i think 'cast away' was kinda depressing. good movie, but sad.

The_Jazz · 01-27-2006, 06:31 AM

How about "On the Beach"? It's got to be the single most depressing movie ever made since everybody dies. And I mean everybody. I think that Gregory Peck was in it, but I could be wrong. Fantastic book, too.

And why hasn't anyone listed "Ole Yeller"? If there's a movie more sure to bring me to inconsolable tears, I don't know what it is.

TexanAvenger · 01-27-2006, 12:55 PM

How about Raise the Red Lantern?

I thought it was an absolutely beautiful movie, but came out of it needing an IV of sunshine and rainbows. I have no problem recommending the movie to people for its gorgeous shots and symbolism, but please take it in while holding a newborn puppy or something.

01-10-2006, 04:35 PM	#41 (permalink)
onodrim Cosmically Curious Location: Chicago, IL	Irreversible, the first movie to make me actually feel ill and days to recover from watching. __________________ "The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides" -Carl Sagan

01-11-2006, 12:16 AM	#42 (permalink)
troit Transfer Agent Location: NYC	Very suprised to see that noone said "Million Dollar Baby". After seeing Clint as a tough guy all these years it just pulled the right strings for me - a bit depressing to say the least. __________________ I've yet to dephile myself...

01-11-2006, 03:00 AM	#44 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	Requiem for a Dream Irréversible Overall, I have a strong preference for depressing films - so much so that I've seen Requiem 4 times and Irréversible twice all in the past 2 years - so it's difficult to have any stand out to me as particularly depressing most of the time. These two films, though, do stand out above (or is it below? ) the rest. This is a great thread btw...now I know what other depressing movies to get that I might like __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

01-11-2006, 04:25 PM	#45 (permalink)
Sultana Falling Angel Location: L.A. L.A. land	The House of Sand and Fog. OMFG, I was such a wreck after watching that. Cried for days. Also The Green Mile, and Saving Private Ryan. __________________ "Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come." - Matt Groening My goal? To fulfill my potential.

01-11-2006, 04:40 PM	#46 (permalink)
Grasshopper Green ...is a comical chap Location: Where morons reign supreme	I have to second Hotel Rwanda. Watching the horrible things that people can do to each other, while millions of other people just kind of stand by and watch, was horrible. I was sick at the end of the movie. __________________ "They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings; steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king" Formerly Medusa

01-11-2006, 12:36 AM	#43 (permalink)
biznatch Junkie Location: France	Yes, Requiem for a dream had me staring motionless at the Black screen for 2 minutes after I turned he movie off. I really want to say Catwoman, because it makes me extremely sad.(but that's just my comic book geek side) A Streetcar named Desire creatses discomfort. 25th Hour. Jesus, I was crying like a baby at the end. Such a beautiful but sad ending..it'll get any new yorker like myself to cry. American History X...you feel like everything's gonna be fine, and god damn! it never stops. The same feeling of perpetuated violence, that sense of helplessness is also in City Of God.

01-12-2006, 06:36 AM	#48 (permalink)
Carno Junkie	I went out and watched Requiem for a Dream, and damn, yall were right. That movie is depressing. __________________ http://how-to-spell-ridiculous.com/

01-12-2006, 07:44 AM	#49 (permalink)
leftyderek Crazy Location: Currently Canada. I have been in Norway in the last two years, and in Hong Kong before Norway.	In a very personal sense Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind makes me feel very depressed. Yes some might say the ending is not that depressing but I just connect one of my recent huge problems with it all the time... and I know such an ending would never happen to me/us, maybe not never, I don't know. Sometimes the idea of hope makes one depressed. Otherwise a lot of movies make me feel depressed... I nearly never watch movies that make me smile/laugh. ^carn: Nice signature. Come catch me. __________________ -Imagine how beautiful the world would be if we could only do things for the first-and-last time. Imagine this is the last time you would ever be able to imagine. Imagine that. -Die Lust der Zerstörung ist gleichzeitig eine schaffende Lust. -...and god said Lx1,go! and there was light...

01-12-2006, 07:06 PM	#53 (permalink)
Kostya Little known... Location: Brisbane, Australia	Is it just me or am I the coldest son of a bitch to walk into a movie theatre? Here's a list of films that most certainly did not depress me: Requiem for a Dream - Disturbing, not depressing. Firstly is pushed way too hard towards the end and concluded on a note that rang false to me. It was manipulative, but ultimately I could brush it aside due to the 'worst ever possible scenario, ever, failing that involving a bear with rocket launcher hands' ending. Schindler's List - Not deeply depressing to me at all. The ending is upbeat. Spielberg's message is one of hope, of the humane and ethical triumphing in the most horrible of scenarios. I've seen the actual footage of soldiers cleaning up the death camps, that was depressing. Saving Private Ryan - Are people kidding me? The film started off with a scene that could have led to a great movie, instead of guys talking about 'Mom's apple pies' and 'earn it' and so forth. For me, Saving Private Ryan is once more about redemption and humanity in bad situations. Hotel Rwanda - Pretty much the same as Schindler's List, finding hope and redemption in a genocide and so forth. Frankly, in many ways to me Hotel Rwanda commits the very crime it tries to indict, that is brushing off the Rwandan genocide and focusing on the one single good thing they could find. No doubt that it was a great act and he saved lives, but that's putting rose coloured lens on the camera for the sake of people's delicacy and distaste for being confronted with what really happened, which might I add, the film never even comes close to even suggesting. The Shawshank Redemption - Um, he escapes right? I felt a twinge of depression at the laboured fairy tale ending where Red meets up with Andy on the beach of their dreams and they can set about fixing up their boat and so forth. Apart from that I was fine. The Green Mile - Just didn't effect me. Ambivalence is the word. A.I. - The film itself, not any good. Watching Kubrick's vision gurgling and choking to death in the background of Spilberg's hubris? That was depressing. The Machinist - I was amused and pissed off in equal measure after it became blatantly clear about half an hour in the Ivan was Tyler. No tears here. I'll get back to you on movies that DID depress me later. Obviously I'm a man of stone, or you're all marshmallows or something.

01-12-2006, 07:59 PM	#54 (permalink)
onodrim Cosmically Curious Location: Chicago, IL	Kostya, you make some really great points about the distinction between disturbing and depressing. And I do agree with you on a lot of those movies that may be hard to watch at points throughout the film, but ultimately have a hopeful message. And if you were able to figure out The Machinist that quickly then I'm really impressed! (or really slow ) __________________ "The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides" -Carl Sagan

01-12-2006, 08:04 PM	#55 (permalink)
albania Psycho	12 monkeys was depressing and so was the dirty dozen, and the first final destination movie.

01-12-2006, 08:24 PM	#56 (permalink)
leftyderek Crazy Location: Currently Canada. I have been in Norway in the last two years, and in Hong Kong before Norway.	Kostya, i might be another cold-blooded bastard who goes to the pictures... there are movies that depress me, but surely not really any among the ones mentioned by the majority here... Oh I have to add 'dancer in the dark' is by björk, yes. (I remember someone was not sure in one of the earlier posts) Then again, I don't think movies that gives you a weird/empty/speechless feeling go into the depressing category... so I can't think of too many really depressing movies. If you want movies that gives a true weird feeling, feel free to ask me though (my recommendations might be crap for whoever wants to know, but why not giving it a try?) p.s. I know my signature makes me look like someone who hates film and cinema... no I don't. __________________ -Imagine how beautiful the world would be if we could only do things for the first-and-last time. Imagine this is the last time you would ever be able to imagine. Imagine that. -Die Lust der Zerstörung ist gleichzeitig eine schaffende Lust. -...and god said Lx1,go! and there was light...

01-12-2006, 09:49 PM	#57 (permalink)
rlbond86 Insane	Grave of the Fireflies. It's the saddest cartoon you'll ever see.

01-13-2006, 02:09 PM	#58 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	You know what, you're right: "disturbing" is a far more accurate word to describe my reaction to Irreversible and Requiem for a Dream than "depressing." And, no, the end of Requiem isn't particularly believable, but neither is Hamlet, and I don't see people holding that against it. __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

01-14-2006, 03:11 AM	#59 (permalink)
MiSo Psycho	when i saw the title to this thread, i immediately thought "requiem for a dream" it is a seriously messed up movie. kinda hit home a little bit too because i used to do drugs when i was younger. never shot anything into my arms or snorted, but did tons of ecstasy.

01-14-2006, 01:12 PM	#60 (permalink)
sailor beauty in the breakdown Location: Chapel Hill, NC	Movies that deal with downfall due to drugs always depress me for some reason: Requiem, Blow, Scarface, etc... Don't know why, I've never even known anyone to do that kind of drugs, but just seeing it coming and their being so caught up that they can't seem to do anything... __________________ "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." --Plato

01-15-2006, 12:11 PM	#61 (permalink)
matthew330 Banned	Dead Man Walking was pretty depressing. What Dreams May Come had me crying all the way through, but when all was said and done, I loved that movie and could watch it a million times.

01-16-2006, 12:35 AM	#62 (permalink)
Kostya Little known... Location: Brisbane, Australia	Ok for the record and all the people who think my heart is encrusted with icicles here is: The Official List of Films that Made Kostya Depressed Grave of the Fireflies - Isao Takahata. Props out to rlblonde86 for submitting this one. This is one that is both shattering and affirming, shattering because of its tender, subdued depiction of the everyday joys of human relations and the ultimate tragedy written into those same relations, affirming because it is not a 'war film' that falls for cheap sermonising, political agendas or moral terrorism. It could just as easily have been an earthquake, flood or famine that precipitated the events of 'Grave of the Fireflies', the only thing that makes war a more poignant backdrop is that it is of human making. I can't begin to say how great, and sad this film is, and I'm not ashamed to say it makes me cry every time I watch it, which is a lot. Once Were Warriors - Lee Tamahori. A New Zealand production which follows the life and times of a Maori family headed by the sociopathic, violent misogynist Jake played with frightening intensity by Temura Morrison (last seen miscast as Jango Fett.) Though it has a ghost of a happy ending, at its heart, 'Once Were Warriors' is about a man for whom there is to be no redemption, and those around him condemned to suffer and die for it. A testament to the people who live and die in the horrors of domestic abuse, poverty and hopelessness who inhabit the peripheral vision of Western societies. Threads - The British version of the outcome of a nuclear apocalypse. It stays true to its premise, and presents us with a shameless and naked scenario of immense suffering devoid of hope. In viewing it I was deeply disturbed by the images it presented, but in the days that followed, the desolation and honesty of the ending haunted me much more. Tokyo Story - Yasujiro Ozu. I can't quite explain the gentle sense of sadness with which Ozu observes the mundane routine of life. Ran - Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa gives us a story about human beings that is unafraid to suggest that what dominates our lives is chaos (Ran is Japanese for chaos) destruction, violence and horror. This is a story where the kind and gentle people are abused and helpless, where the ruthless, deceitful and violent are rewarded. What is depressing is that Kurosawa makes me believe it.

01-16-2006, 01:37 AM	#64 (permalink)
Kostya Little known... Location: Brisbane, Australia	Yeah I was down with the King Lear factor. Kurosawa also did an interpretation of Macbeth called Throne of Blood. Not quite so wrenching, but brilliant film making.

01-16-2006, 03:14 AM	#65 (permalink)
MahlerIsGod At The Globe Showing Will How Its Done Location: London/Elysium	I think we can all agree that Requiem For A Dream is the undisputed champion in this category. Hell, that movie made me look at vitamins and aspirin differently. Here are a few not mentioned contenders: 1)A Midnight Clear - The best, most and truthful war movie ever made. 2)The Mission - De Niro and Irons. Enough said 3)A River Runs Through It. I realize Brad Pitts undoing was entirely of his own making but when the father asks/finds out about his hands at the end does it to me everytime. 4)Legends Of The Fall - Speaking of Brad Pitt. Back when he choose to act..... Just a few that came to mind __________________ "But a work of art is a conscious human effort that has to do with communication. It is that or its nothing. When an accident is applauded as a work of art, when a cult grows up around the deliciousness of inadvertent beauty, we are in the presence of the greatest decadence the West has known in its history."

01-16-2006, 12:32 PM	#67 (permalink)
Sultana Falling Angel Location: L.A. L.A. land	Oh yeah, there's also "A Simple Plan". The characters compromise so much of themselves, more and more, and ultimately, for less than nothing...god. $hit. Now I'm depressed just thinking about it again, heh. __________________ "Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come." - Matt Groening My goal? To fulfill my potential.

01-17-2006, 04:27 AM	#68 (permalink)
Catdaddy33 Psycho Location: TN	Leaving Las Vegas really threw me for a loop when I watched it..

01-17-2006, 07:58 AM	#69 (permalink)
wolf Ravenous Location: Right Behind You	Donnie Darko was depressing, good flick though. Pay it Forward, read the book which killed me too. A Lion in Winter was depressing. GodFather III, cause just about everyone dies. Dark Water - no I'm not saying that just because it sucked, it really was depressing. __________________ Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as Gods. Cats have never forgotten this.

01-17-2006, 09:57 AM	#70 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	The Mission is a great and underrated film. I don't know if I'd say it was unusually saddening for me, but it's definitely not one to make you feel good! __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

01-20-2006, 12:18 PM	#72 (permalink)
johnnymysto Overreactor Location: South Ca'lina	I have to echo MrKlixx and say "Awakenings." To see a man gain such happiness and then have it slowly taken from him....terrible. What a complete downer of a movie!!! __________________ "I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request." - Capt. Barbossa

01-23-2006, 10:07 PM	#73 (permalink)
Knucklehead Upright Location: NePA	The War Zone by Tim Roth. I was horrified and speechless after seeing this film.

01-26-2006, 12:29 PM	#74 (permalink)
Master_Shake Addict Location: Pennsylvania, USA	Elephant Man was pretty depressing, as was Paris, TX. I'll also second the Bicycle Thief, And the last images of Ran were just the greatest, most tragic ending of all time. __________________ ------------- You know something, I don't think the sun even... exists... in this place. 'Cause I've been up for hours, and hours, and hours, and the night never ends here.

01-26-2006, 07:42 PM	#75 (permalink)
docbungle It's all downhill from here Location: Denver	Dirty Pretty Things was a bit depressing, but I loved it. __________________ Bad Luck City

01-26-2006, 08:24 PM	#76 (permalink)
h.n. cheerios Upright Location: california	i think 'cast away' was kinda depressing. good movie, but sad.

01-27-2006, 06:31 AM	#77 (permalink)
The_Jazz Asshole Administrator Location: Chicago	How about "On the Beach"? It's got to be the single most depressing movie ever made since everybody dies. And I mean everybody. I think that Gregory Peck was in it, but I could be wrong. Fantastic book, too. And why hasn't anyone listed "Ole Yeller"? If there's a movie more sure to bring me to inconsolable tears, I don't know what it is.

01-27-2006, 12:55 PM	#78 (permalink)
TexanAvenger Born-Again New Guy Location: Unfound.	How about Raise the Red Lantern? I thought it was an absolutely beautiful movie, but came out of it needing an IV of sunshine and rainbows. I have no problem recommending the movie to people for its gorgeous shots and symbolism, but please take it in while holding a newborn puppy or something.