Ah, good reminder – nuclear films are usually a gold mine for the suicidal.
Try Threads (1983), possibly the nastiest nuclear war film ever. It’s about several families in Sheffield caught up in a nuclear war and covers the build-up, the holocaust and the following ice age in horrific detail.
When The Wind Blows is (of all things) an animated film by the cartoonist Raymond Briggs (responsible for The Snowman among other things). It’s about an elderly couple in a nuclear war, who cannot understand what nuclear warfare really means as they slowly succumb to radiation poisoning.
The movie My Life with Michael Keaton and Nicole Kidman is the most depressing movie I have ever seen. I have watched it a couple of times because it is a good movie and I like both the main actors but it never fails by the end of the movie I’m sobbing hysterically.
Huh. I’m surprised a couple that have depressed the shit outta me have been overlooked.
Natural Born Killers- So, so, movie, but I did walk out of that one feeling kind of different. Couldn’t put my finger on it, but the gal I saw it with felt the same way.
Apocalypse Now- Again, too bizarre for me. I was completely lost watching Marlon Brando lose his mind in the end. What the Hell have I been watching here.
Platoon- At the time, this seemed to me to be the best portrayal of what a war is like. I was a kid then, but could really understand what people who had been there were referring to when talking about how much it screwed them up.
Weekend at Bernie’s- What do you mean these tickets are non-refundable! I want my money back!
Ghosts of the Civil Dead - without a doubt a brilliant movie, but at the same time unwatchable. It’s set in a futuristic prison, and there is no light in this story at all. It’s one of those films I’m glad I saw, but I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
Hate to burst your bubble, there, but another Doper and I have been exchanging e-mail dissecting Paul Verhoeven’s American films. And I have to say, on a repeated viewing, I now think Showgirls is actually a satirical masterpiece that went over the heads of just about everybody. (Big thanks to lissener, for getting me going on this.) I’m even considering writing up an evaluation for my website, sort of a “second look” at a widely trashed flick.
“Scream 3.” The first one was spectacular. The second was just as good while being different. Then along comes a threequel to shit on the whole series. Damn you Ehren Krueger! Stick to writing movies aboot terrorists!
Oh, and “8MM.” Seeing the mother’s reaction to the discovery of her daughter’s death makes you think that no matter how many of the villains are dead, nothing is solved at all. Of course this is written by the same guy who wrote “SE7EN” so i guess he just has a knack for being depressing.
The Little Mermaid. I used to love it but I watched it a few weeks ago when I was babysitting and it made me cry! That one scene where they almost get sucked into the whirlpool is really scary and it’s so sad how she is so mean to her daddy and he even turns into one of those little shrively things for her but she doesn’t care, all she wants is to be a human and run off with Prince Eric. It made me miss my daddy
Also a movie that made me cry a lot (but left me feeling left depressed than the Little Mermaid) was First Knight. I just can’t handle it when Sean Connery dies…and his funeral makes me cry hysterically because Julia Ormond is too busy screwing Richard Gere to care…I tear up just thinking about it.
I agree with Shimmery. The Little Mermaid is very sad.
The Neverending Story, when the horse drowns in the Swamp of Sadness, always brings me to tears.
My Best Friend’s Wedding depressed me terribly. (Warning: spoiler) You’d think he’d end up with his best friend but noooo, he marries the ditzy girl! Gaaaah! I felt so terrible for her!
Edward Scissorhandsnever fails to make me sob uncontrolably. I always think I can watch the entire movie with a dry eye, but in that last scene when the girl finally hugs the poor guy, and then has to leave him forever and tell the villagers that he’s dead, oh man, that drives me nuts. And when his creator dies. The whole movie makes me cry.
Neutron, if it’s any consolation to you, Frank McCourt, the author of Angela’s Ashes, turned out to have quite an entertaining life. He was my HS English Teacher for two years, and those were the best classes I ever sat through. I agree, his childhood was pretty depressing, but his exploits in his later life were a riot. That guy knew how to tell a story. I suppose the brogue helped.
Hey, that’s pretty cool, Dire Wolf! The movie left me wondering how his life would turn out. Have you read his books? I think I’m going to buy them (and that’s saying a lot considering my financial status :)).
Oh you’re not bursting my bubble at all. You see, that was MHO, and hence that you and another doper are dissecting his films bares no relevence on MHO.
My finding this movie depressing was two-fold. I find the movie, over-all, to be a depressing story. Sorry, that’s just me. I really like Leaving Las Vegas but I find it depressing.
The second part is that I just didn’t like the movie. Sorry, but you can say Berkley’s acting was just what Verhoeven wanted all you like, but it didn’t gel with everyone elses. Verhoeven, in many of his American movies, generally has his actors do a kind of soap-opera type acting to add to the satire. They are meant to be satire of American culture/ideals. But when one actor, specifically Berkley, is doing it so much more so than all of the other actors, it tears the movie apart. Thus, because of this and numerous other elements, the satire became lost and it became a farce. The satire in all of his other movies was much more subtle, and I enjoyed it. Just MHO, please don’t take offence to it.
I have Angela’s Ashes, but only read the first few chapter so far, having gotten a “preview” 18 years ago. Mr. McCourt (sorry, left over from HS - guess he’ll always be Mr. McCourt to me) writes in the style that you would speak in.
From what I’ve read, the book is very entertaining. Even though it is from 50 years ago, he recalls events with such vivid detail that it’s as if you were experiencing them firsthand. If you liked the movie, you will no doubt enjoy the book. (Isn’t that always the way?)
He taught in several schools in NYC, with his longest stint being an English (more like Writing) teacher at Stuyvesant HS, where I had the great pleasure of being his student. (The only class I never cut ) I learned a great deal about writing style in that class. He was also in an off-Broadway play with his brother Malachy, A Couple Of Blaguards. Malachy was active in the IRA, and was the source of some of Mr. McCourt’s more fascinating tales.
Two years ago, Angela’s Ashes was $17.50 at Barnes & Noble (hardcover)…
I know that I must live in some sort of a bubble… but I had NO IDEA that they were going to die. I was sad and depressed after I watched it… it made me cry too!
) I learned a great deal about writing style in that class. He was also in an off-Broadway play with his brother Malachy, A Couple Of Blaguards. Malachy was active in the IRA, and was the source of some of Mr. McCourt’s more fascinating tales.