# What's the hardest movie for you to watch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 4, 2006, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198 "2006-10-04T03:25:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/21 "2006-10-04T13:51:49Z")
_Schindler’s List_ nearly destroyed me. Saw it once, never again. I loved the movie “Terms Of Endearment” but can’t watch it because of the scene where Teddy is saying goodbye to Emma as she lay dying in the hospital Christ that’s hard to watch. _Chrystal_ is a hard one to watch too. Also, I guess any movie about suicide, drug addiction, or people wasting away from Cancer or AIDS always rip my heart out. ---
**Author:** ![Frelling\_Tralk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecc23a/32.png) [@Frelling\_Tralk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frelling_Tralk)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/22 "2006-10-04T14:10:02Z")
> [@](#): > > I nominate the New Zealand movie “Once were Warriors”. Urgh. Yeah, that one is an excellent movie that I never. want. to. see. again. Any movie that deals with child abuse is difficult for me to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/23 "2006-10-04T14:11:47Z")
Huh. I guess I’m kind of plain, it’s Platoon that I can’t stand to watch. I tried to watch it again a year or two back and couldn’t get through it. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/24 "2006-10-04T14:28:17Z")
**A Simple Plan** by the Coen bros. Once things start spiraling out of control, it all seems so awful and inevitable. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/25 "2006-10-04T14:30:18Z")
An early, little seen Alan Bates movie _A Day in the Death of Joe Egg_ is the first movie I can recall that made me feel ashamed for laughing. The whole thing swings from hilarious to suicidal minute by minute. One of the most agonizing things I have ever seen and then only once late at night on TV. I think in all the times I have mentioned it only one other person has seen it. I don’t think it is available on DVD or even VCR - a 1972 job that fell through the cracks. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/26 "2006-10-04T14:32:40Z")
[QUOTE=unwashed brain] **A Simple Plan** by the Coen bros. Once things start spiraling out of control, it all seems so awful and inevitable. [/QUOTE] That is a Sam Raimi movie from Scott Smith’s novel and screenplay. Do you mean _Fargo_? ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/27 "2006-10-04T14:48:42Z")
[QUOTE=unwashed brain] **A Simple Plan** by the Coen bros. [/QUOTE] Oops! upon further review it was directed by Sam Raimi and written by Scott B. Smith. I’m sure my fellow Dopers who have seen the movie can understand my confusion. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/28 "2006-10-04T14:54:55Z")
I have to go along with Requiem for a Dream. And even though I’m a recovered (or recover_ing_if you prefer)addict I don’t know that the reason it’s so hard to watch has that much to do with relating their experiences to my own. It’s just so damn dark and gritty and there’s that palpable sense of impending doom. So many times I wanted to look away from the screen and I just couldn’t. I think it’s the only film that actually caused a physical reaction in me. Seriously, I felt nauseated and numb at the same time and just . . . heavy. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/29 "2006-10-04T14:56:39Z")
[QUOTE=unwashed brain] Oops! upon further review it was directed by Sam Raimi and written by Scott B. Smith. I’m sure my fellow Dopers who have seen the movie can understand my confusion. 🙂 [/QUOTE] I went to see it with a couple of my friends in the theater. Halfway through, they both walked out, saying they hated it. I thought it was an excellent movie, and was pretty irritated with them, although in retrospect that was silly (the irritation, not my opinion of the movie). Myself, I walked out about twenty minutes into _The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover_. In high school my girlfriend and I spent a lot of time sneaking around her psychotic and abusive parents, and it wasn’t actually as much fun as it might sound like. The theme of lovers sneaking around psychos is too much for me to take. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/30 "2006-10-04T15:02:10Z")
Wow, most of the movies listed here wouldn’t even rate a blip on my “hard to watch” scale. Either you all is a buncha wimps or I just watch too many damn movies! 😃 That said, the only one mentioned that bothered me was _Irreversible_ with its rather gruesome (and extended) head-crushing scene. Ugh. Probably couldn’t sit through _Armageddon_ again (once was enough). Manipulative, pandering garbage. Blockbusters don’t come any worse. ---
**Author:** ![Twinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Twinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twinkie)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/31 "2006-10-04T15:04:46Z")
I can’t watch any kind of war movies. I get really upset while I’m watching them, and then I have nightmares for weeks. It started with \*Platoon \* when I was in college, I walked out on _Casualties of War_, and I never even tried to watch Saving Private Ryan. Historical movies that depict gross injustices get to me, too. For example, I wept my way through _Dances With Wolves_ (and continued for some time after leaving the theater), and haven’t watched it again. That movie made it impossible for me to enjoy Disney’s _Pocahontas_. As a result, I tend to watch a lot of stupid rom-coms. That’s OK with me. At least I can sleep at night. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/32 "2006-10-04T15:07:08Z")
[QUOTE=stegon66] Probably couldn’t sit through _Armageddon_ again (once was enough). [/QUOTE] How does that get in this thread? Do you mean the _Armageddon_ where a bunch of us cheered when Bruce Willis’s character died? ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/33 "2006-10-04T15:15:21Z")
**American History X** is perhaps the best movie I will never watch again. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/34 "2006-10-04T15:16:19Z")
[QUOTE=don’t ask] How does that get in this thread? Do you mean the _Armageddon_ where a bunch of us cheered when Bruce Willis’s character died? [/QUOTE] It hits too close to home…his dad was an astronaut that was killed saving the earth from an asteroid… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/35 "2006-10-04T15:38:29Z")
Oddly enough, two Haley Joel Osment movies. I know many people hate “A.I.,” but I found several scenes almost unwatchably moving and sad. You know the ones. Likewise “The Sixth Sense,” when you sense how truly alone his character is, and consider what kind of awful life he has ahead of him, even with his mother’s love. And “Life is Beautiful.” Roberto Benigni’s charm wore pretty thin around Oscar time, but I found the movie very powerful and moving… and have never been able to bring myself to watch it again. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/36 "2006-10-04T16:21:16Z")
“Schindler’s List.” Superb movie, but I could only take it once. My wife, whose parents were both in the camps, was in tears all the way through it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/37 "2006-10-04T16:35:02Z")
[QUOTE=Eonwe] **American History X** is perhaps the best movie I will never watch again. [/QUOTE] I’m with you. The curb-job scene has been burned into my brain for all eternity. :::shudder::: I guess any movie where people are made to suffer over race, religion, orientation, or what have you, just make me cringe and weep for days. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/38 "2006-10-04T16:35:04Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Without the slightest shadow of a doubt, \*[Hard Candy.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424136/) \* [/QUOTE] I had to walk out of the theater during that scene. ---
**Author:** ![Rebecca\_DiMwitter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a87d85/32.png) [@Rebecca\_DiMwitter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebecca_DiMwitter)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/39 "2006-10-04T17:24:53Z")
**Trainspotting** was the drug abuse movie I could barely take watching. Fine movie, but truly ugly and haunting. On a personal level, there is a scene in **28 Days** (the Sandra Bullock alcoholism movie) which broke my heart when I saw it and still makes me cry to this day, and since it is not really a “spoiler”, I will just mention it. At one point Sandra’s character is having flashbacks about her mother who was drunk all day long and allowed her two little daughters to just fend for themselves while she was passed out in the bedroom…the scene of the two little girls, one blonde and one brunette, running around the overturned coffee table in the messy living room while Mom is passed out cold in the other room was simply too similar to my life at home with my sister and my own alcoholic mother. VERY unnerving. Can’t do that one again at all. –Beck ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198/40 "2006-10-04T17:42:47Z")
I’ve never been able to watch more than 10 minutes of [Grave of the Fireflies](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095327/) without sobbing uncontrollably and having to turn it off. The two kids remind me too much of my own children. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-movie-for-you-to-watch/375198.md?page=3)