# Depressing Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2001, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482 "2001-11-27T11:26:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![arara123](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@arara123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arara123)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/21 "2001-11-27T15:42:46Z")
Anyone remember _Kids_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/22 "2001-11-27T15:58:12Z")
Elvira Madigan (star-crossed lovers) Brief Encounter (star-crossed would-be lovers) A Handful of Dust & The Comfort of Strangers: sickening gothic twists at the end; sadists torturing the naive No Regrets for our Youth (Japanese college students’ lives ruined by WWII) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (yep, the Lazenby James Bond. It’s not that the best men are afraid to commit to a relationship – it’s that – SPOILER ALERT --within minutes of exchanging matrimonial vows, their brides are machine-gunned to death by Ernst Stavro Blofeld’s henchwoman.) The Night of the Living Dead war films: A Bridge Too Far Saving Private Ryan apocalypse films The Day After Threads Twelve Monkeys ---
**Author:** ![Pucette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@Pucette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pucette)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/23 "2001-11-27T16:01:07Z")
The Professional. Crouching Tiger. The Professional. ---
**Author:** ![Mersavets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aca169/32.png) [@Mersavets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mersavets)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/24 "2001-11-27T16:18:47Z")
**Triumph of the Will** with Willem Defoe.Ÿ ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Big\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/25 "2001-11-27T18:48:05Z")
I just saw “Blow” last weekend. I’ll never sell drugs again. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/26 "2001-11-27T19:13:49Z")
\*\*Somewhere In Time \*\* I was depressed for days after I saw it. (I’ll do a spoiler alert even though it is a 20 year old flick) ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; The only way for Christopher Reeves character to find Jane Seymor’s character ( who was back in time) after he goes back to the present was by dying. IIRC, he starves himself to death through grief. It is a bit of a cult movie. And it is one of the few movies to be shot in Michigan (on Mackinaw Island)to get a fair amout of fame. But it is still depressing. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/27 "2001-11-27T20:10:08Z")
I’ll try to limit myself here. “Last Tango in Paris” Beautiful but not exactly an upbeat ending. Any of Woody Allen’s purely “serious” films. “Interiors”, “Shadows and Fog”, etc. It takes a neurotic comedian to make a truly depressing film. I don’t want to see any of them a second time. (Unlike “Tango”, oddly enough.) ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/28 "2001-11-27T20:19:43Z")
_Apocalypse Now The Deer Hunter Romeo & Juliet_ If I’d ever seen a movie production of _Hamlet_ I would probably list that, too. RR ---
**Author:** ![Daowajan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@Daowajan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daowajan)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/29 "2001-11-27T20:32:23Z")
I have Grave of the Fireflies, and cannot force myself to watch it. I know what happens, and I know it’s going to be one of the saddest movies I ever watch. I know I should see it, but I can’t bring myself to do so. I have similar feelings about Before Night Falls, although people keep telling me it’s a “really uplifting movie.” 😕 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/30 "2001-11-27T22:39:59Z")
**Burnt By The Sun** A film about happy people enjoying summer in Stalin’s USSR. You know it can’t last. ---
**Author:** ![Genseric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Genseric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genseric)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/31 "2001-11-27T22:51:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KneadToKnow \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Genseric \* > > American Beauty > > Whoa, whoa, _whoa_! With all due respect, back the truck up! > > SPOILER > > A movie in which a character dies _happy_ is depressing? In that case, I would definitely recommend that you stay away from _The Ice Storm_, the title I came in here to name. If a character’s dying happy is grounds for depression, I’d hate to think how one dying in a completely meaningless accident would affect you. > > _American Beauty_ isn’t about living or dying, it’s about living or _not living_. Like the tag line suggests, **look closer**. \*\* Well, it’s been a while since I’ve seen it, and I just remembered he got shot in the head at the end. I should mention that I really like “depressing” movies. That’s why I said those were some of my favorites. Someone else mentioned **Leaving Las Vegas** , that’s the kind of pathetic meaningless death more movies should have. It reminds me of real life where people die pathetic meaningless deaths every day. Any movie that leaves you feeling like you got punched in the stomach is right up there on the top of my list, I have to say. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@bibliophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophile)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/32 "2001-11-27T23:32:41Z")
a few of my favorites: dying young philadelphia sweethearts urbania dogfight ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/33 "2001-11-28T00:27:37Z")
My vote for most depressing movie is Schindler’s List. It was very well made, pulled at my heartstrings, and showed the progression that Liam Neeson’s character made. But boy, the destruction, degradation and just plain wasted potential of the Third Reich’s victims just seared me through and through. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/34 "2001-11-28T03:15:56Z")
“A Simple Plan” – perfectly ordinary folk (okay, some weirdos too) get greedy and murdeous. ---
**Author:** ![shawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@shawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shawa)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/35 "2001-11-28T03:22:25Z")
Kramer vs. Kramer with Dustin Hoffman and a small Ricky Schroeder-I cried the whole time Ordinary People as well ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/36 "2001-11-28T03:38:34Z")
Local Hero. One of my all time favorite movies. But it breaks my heart everytime to see Peter Riegert’s character back in his Houston apartment, pulling the shells from his pocket, and you can see in his eyes just how lost he feels after leaving all he wanted from life back on the shore of a small Scottish town. ---
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/37 "2001-11-28T03:43:42Z")
Man, there’s a bunch of depressing films out there. Here’s a sampling of the ones I found most disheartening: **Simon Birch**. No, I haven’t read the book, though keep meaning to. The movie itself sent my whole family into a tailspin, however. My oldest son has never cried during a movie in his entire life, and had to go outside to scream before half of it was over. **Philadelphia**. I was at the depth of hell during this movie. Only I had to literally carry my sister bodily out of the movie since she lost her faculties about 1/3 the way into it. I had to play “the strong one” and believe me, it wasn’t easy. We had a friend dying of AIDS during this time, and my sister was seeing the future. So was I. **Schindler’s List**. This movie gives a whole new meaning to the word “depressing”. When he starts crying about the ones he could have saved…well, let’s not talk about it anymore. **Terms of Endearment**. Ok, it’s a chick flick. I don’t care. That movie ripped my tear ducts out. And has every time I’ve seen it. Sure, there are funny parts, but they only delay the inevitable gut-wrenching. There are more, but I’m at a loss as to their titles at them moment. These sprang readily to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/38 "2001-11-28T03:45:40Z")
Adds votes for **Grave of the Fireflies** and **The Sweet Hereafter** Atom Egoyan has another great depressing film that outdoes Sweet Hereafter. In another thread, I called **Exotica** the best movie since 1990. **American History X** fills you with hope about a seemingly hopeless situation, then takes it away. **Go, Go, Second Time Virgin** is a good place for an alternative to **West Side Story** ’s singing teenagers on rooftops. **Funny Games** would make anyone who found **American Beauty** depressing positively suicidal. It has, IMO, the creepiest serial killers in film. **Xiu Xiu, the Sent Down Girl** : the title is the most cheerful thing about it. **In the Company of Men** : Two men are on temporary assignment to a branch office of their corporation. One convinces the other that, for sport, they should both date a lonely, deaf temp and then dump her on the same day. ---
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/39 "2001-11-28T03:45:41Z")
“Them” in the previous post, of course, should have read “the”. That “m” was a figment of your imagination. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482/40 "2001-11-28T04:56:24Z")
The movie that gets me the most is, undoubtedly, **Legends of the Fall**. Christ. I cry like a baby at least three times in that movie. Sorry, but I hated _Kids_. Wasn’t sad to me at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-movies/95482.md?page=3)