Raise the Red Lantern.
Actually, this one is both supremely depressing and incredibly disturbing.
Try Lorenzo’s Oil . Just ignore Nick Nolte’s very bad accent.
Cast Away.
Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl.
30-47% of all anime.
Gallipoli [or so I’ve heard]
All Quiet on the Western Front
In the Bedroom
The Mother
Night, Mother
Bonhoeffer
Stalingrad
AI
Brief Encounter
I was coming in to offer the following which have already been said, so consider this a seconding of:
Leaving Las Vegas
Requiem for a Dream
Boys Don’t Cry
And one I haven’t seen mentioned yet:
High Art
Good call on In the Bedroom, I’d forgotten all about that one.
Remember the Titans had a pretty depressing ending.
The Last Picture Show
Midnight Cowboy
I’m gonna print this thread cos I love depressing movies and haven’t seen all the ones mentioned here… so thanks, everybody.
I add:
Kids
Remains of the Day
Manchurian Candidate (the original, natch)
Crossing Guard
You Can Count on Me
Indian Summer
Days of Wine and Roses
Kids is not for the faint-hearted. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to see it again.
I’m completely lost on what the title of this movie was, I only saw it once. It starred James Woods as a guy who goes to LA to make his fortune, only to get addicted to drugs. He ends up living in a dump, and at the end of the film, he’s going on about how his big break is just around the corner, as he chops up a mountain of cocaine. Does it sound familiar to anyone? Now that was a depressing movie.
Um, no - but it reminds me of another depressing James Woods movie, Videodrome.
Also, reference in my previous post to Indian Summer should’ve been Indian Runner. :smack:
The half of Dogville is quite depressing, not to mention rather sadistic. The last ten minutes, however, is morbidly happy in comparison.
I’m starting to get the feeling I’m the only one here that saw that movie…or at least, the only one who wants to admit to it.
Does Of Mice and Men count?
Brian’s Song.
For more suggestions, you may want to look at this older thread and this one too. However, if you click these links, beware of spoilers.
Some that haven’t been mentioned yet…
Pelle the Conqueror
Breaking the Waves
Jean de Florette
1984
Monster
Jude
Iris
The Accused
All pure hopelessness and despair, especially “Pelle the Conqueror”.
[QUOTE=Martha]
It was NZ, wasn’t it?
It was from NZ - starred Maori actor Temuera Morrison, last seen playing Jango Fett in AotC, and directed by Lee Tamahori, last seen directing the awful last Bond movie, Die Another Day. Bleak, violent stuff, and I don’t think anyone in NZ quite bought Tem Morrison as an intergalactic bounty-hunter after seeing him as Jake The Muss, violently abusive family man. Can’t watch him in AotC without picturing him saying “Trouble with you Jedi is you’re too damn lippy.”
Of course, AotC was depressing for its own reasons.
Nope, I saw it too. And yeah, I have to admit that my description of it to a friend was “well, it had a happy ending, in my opinion.”
A second for “Grave of the Fireflies”
My own nomination is “Farewell, My Concubine.” Very beautiful, and very sad. Two friends being ground under a millwheel of history.
Breaker Morant.
But the nominee for all time I would think would be ‘Paths of Glory’. Not only depressing, but infuriating.
:mad:
“Irriversible”
Not only depressing but graphically horrifying
Perhaps you should go for a Bait And Switch movie—i.e., one which is billed as a comedy but is actually really depressing. Muriel’s Wedding springs to mind.