What Are The Most Depressing Movies You Have Seen?

[kentauros]

I don't mean sad, either. I mean where all hope has been literally destroyed by the end of the movie.

At the moment, that would be from my recent viewing of "On the Beach". I'd seen it before, many many years ago, but this time I think I understood it better and it really depressed me. Even with other end-of-the-world type movies like, say, Dr. Strangelove, it doesn't depress thanks to that upbeat ending-credits-song that's played, "We'll Meet Again" :)

So, what are y'all's picks?

[HEyHEY]

1. Nanjing, Nanjing

Don't watch that, it's too horrible.

[kentauros]

2. I'm not familiar with it.

I'm guessing it's Chinese and subtitled?

[HEyHEY]

3. Yeah, about the Japanese massacre there

Really graphic, really depressing.

[mcctatas]

4. that Rob Zombie movie, the first one...

I was depressed because, a) I wasted the $12 on a ticket and b) the ending was just horrid, I hate it when the bad guys win.

Life is Beautiful bummed me out too :(

[EOTE]

91. House of 1000 Corpses?

I'm a sucker for a good horror flick. Yeah, it was rather morbid, but watching a midnight showing in an empty theater was one of the creepiest experiences of my life. IMO, the sequel (The Devil's Rejects) was even more morbid and depressing, although the ending was a tad more 'just'.

[csziggy]

5. Fail Safe, The Day After, Barton Fink

And there was one made for TV that I think only ever ran once about a terrorist attack with a nuclear bomb in Charles harbor. It was all done as if it were a TV news broadcast. It think it was made in the late 70s early 80s. The title escapes me.

Fail Safe was the first of the movies of its type I saw, long before I saw Dr. Strangelove. I had read lots of books based on the idea that nuclear war was inevitable, and growing up with the Cuban missile crisis as a pivotal event I pretty much assumed that was to be the future. But Fail Safe made it more real than the books.

The Day After was the first big effort to show the aftermath - and pretty much the futility of trying to survive. The grinding day to day attempts to recover and get back a way of life make this movie so very hard to watch.

[CBGLuthier]

9. You are thinking of Special Bulletin

Cheery thing. You should see the UK effort Threads from around the same time as The Day After. It makes The Day After look like a picnic as the entire British Isle descends into chaos and civilization falls apart.

[csziggy]

51. Thank you! I knew it was some name for a network update type thing

Threads has been recommended before. Someday I have to join Netflicks so I can simply add stuff to my list instead of trying to remember them.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

126. The War Game is an early 1960s British film about nuclear war

It manages to be harrowing and depressing in black&white with only minimal special effects.

[av8rdave]

83. In the same vein as The Day After was a movie called "Threads"

Can't remember who was in the cast, but it looked at life in a small, remote town that was untouched by the bombs and missiles, but could not survive the surrounding collapse of civilization. Very sad.

[Forkboy]

86. Sounds like the animated tale When The Wind Blows.

When the Wind Blows depicts a nuclear attack on the UK by the Soviet Union from the viewpoint of a retired couple, Jim and Hilda Bloggs. The Bloggs live in rural Sussex and are confused regarding the nature and seriousness of their situation. This confusion is sometimes used to generate gentle comedy as well as darker elements. As the film progresses, things become steadily more hopeless as the couple suffer from the effects of radiation sickness. The film ends on an extremely bleak note, with them praying in their fallout shelter.





Very sad movie.

[Rhiannon12866]

6. Cries and Whispers

The film society showed it when I was in college. Not exactly upbeat. I didn't feel right for a week... :hide:

[Mike 03]

94. An extraordinary film, and a shocking and depressing one as well.

Nice to see somebody else has suffered through it.

[Rhiannon12866]

110. Thanks...

I ended up seeing most of his films during my college days, but this was the only one that had that effect. These days, I gravitate towards documentaries or humor... ;)

[proteus_lives]

7. The Road, Memento, Of Mice and Men,

The 1993 German film Stalingrad, a few others I'll probably remember later.

[flying rabbit]

8. Idiocracy

funny at first, but the more you think about it...

[Aristus]

16. I agree.

It was supposed to be a comedy, but it left me depressed for days afterward...

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

53. That shit gave both my ex and my sister nightmares. I'm not joking. nt

[Lorien]

103. +1. A little too probable to be comedy. nt

[CBGLuthier]

10. Testament

Watching Jane Alexander bury her children one after another while hoping her husband didn't already die too. No upbeat ending.

[Brickbat]

11. The Killing Fields. The Deer Hunter.

Both devastating.

[barb162]

134. The Killing Fields, forgot about that one. n/t

[deutsey]

12. The Mist

This one's on my mind because I just watched it for the first time this weekend. Even without its bleak, crushing ending, the way the commmunity and various individuals fall apart throughout the movie is depressing.

Pink Floyd The Wall is another depressing movie that comes to mind.

On edit: I think both are worth watching (although The Wall is a bit over the top). No Country For Old Men is similar. I think the movie is great, but both times I've seen it, it leaves me depressed, especially Tommy Lee Jones' soliloquy about his dreams at the end.

[Liberal_in_LA]

60. Yeah, that was a depressing one. Interesting sci fi concept though

[NewJeffCT]

13. Fahrenheit 9/11

how depressing

[Hell Hath No Fury]

14. Sid and Nancy, Glory --

are two films I walked out of very depressed -- they just really, really effected me deeply. "Fat Man and Little Boy" also did that to me, though to a lesser degree.

[peekaloo]

15. Requiem for a Dream.

not a date movie I tells ya.

Also, Capitalism: A Love Story had me moping as I walked out of the theater.

[uncommon]

18. I cried through Capitalism: A Love Story - on both viewings.

[MissMillie]

26. +1 (n/t)

.

[Forkboy]

39. I felt Requiem took things a little too far.

The worst possible outcome happens to every single person. It felt a touch contrived, for me anyways. It didn't help that the director's previous movie, Pi, is one of my favorites. So a letdown was perhaps inevitable for me.

The whole substory with Ellen Burstyn was top notch though.

[mitchum]

73. It does take things a little too far...

Selby once told me that was intentional
because it was written as a drug cautionary tale
and he just wanted to hit as hard as possible.
Selby had endured his own struggles in the past.

[pokerfan]

45. +1

[pokerfan]

46. delete - wrong place

[uncommon]

17. The House of Sand and Fog, hands down.

After that, Requiem for a Dream.

[Forkboy]

40. Excellent flick.

I thought Jennifer Connelly was pretty amazing in it. I think she's a great actress (and a knockout to boot!).

[mitchum]

136. I agree with you on both of those observations about the luscious and talented Ms Connelly

Mmmm...

[catzies]

54. Both of those, definitely. I would also add Breaking The Waves. n/t

[petronius]

57. That was my first thought, although it's been a while since I've seen it (nt)

[grace0418]

19. Dancer in the Dark.

Great movie, but I never want to see it again.

[grace0418]

25. Also Sweet Sixteen and Ladybird Ladybird.

Which I just discovered on IMDB were both directed by Ken Loach. Both very well-made but damn they were hard to watch.

[bif]

29. I thought Bjork did a great job

As much as I love her and her music, I couldn't watch the end of the movie. I knew she was going to get executed, but couldn't stand watching it.

[grace0418]

32. Bjork was amazing. I remember reading (before I saw the movie) that she never

wanted to act again. After I saw the movie, I understood why. She truly was wonderful, but that movie probably just about killed her.

[SCantiGOP]

20. leaving Las Vegas

great acting, but the most depressing movie ever.

[MorningGlow]

23. Oh crap

I forgot that one. Or maybe blocked it. But yeah, that definitely makes my "most depressing" list.

[grace0418]

24. self-delete

wrong place

[Auggie]

48. Comes to my mind first

[MorningGlow]

21. Midnight Cowboy

Actually, all the films that fit into the hardcore '70s "neo-realism" (or whatever that phase was called)--Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore was another one from that era. SOOOOO freaking depressing. I don't care HOW "real" they were. Well, perhaps they were "super-real"--even more hardcore than real life? :shrug: I even found television from that era, influenced by that trend, to be depressing. Granted, I was a just kid at the time, and a sensitive one at that, but I could pick up on the dark undercurrents of even the sitcoms from the early to mid-70s.

Oh yeah--Barfly too. That one made me want to slit my wrists.

Second edit--Breaking the Waves as well. Ugh. x(

[bif]

22. "Love Liza" most depressing movie ever

I like Philip Seymour Hoffman. But I hated this movie. His wife kills herself and leaves him a note he won't read. His life spirals downward because he gets into huffing gasoline and model rocket fuel.

[Kutjara]

27. "Kanal"

It's a powerful film by Andrzej Wajda, about the suffering of resistance fighters trying to regroup during Warsaw Uprising during WWII. Let's just say it isn't your typical rom com.

[Rambis]

28. Wind that Shakes the Barley (Gutting)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460989/

[BurtWorm]

30. Night of the Living Dead

besides being completely bleak, my father was dying when I caught it on TV a few years ago, and it really got into my bones, appropriately enough.

Also The Conversation--another great movie--bummed me out rather royally.

[gvstn]

31. Long Day's Journey into Night. (1962 version)

Depressing but one of my favorites when I am in a bad mood and want to feel worse.

Get yourself a bottle of scotch and drown your sorrows along with this group of characters. :cry:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056196/plotsummary

[jobycom]

33. All Quiet on the Western Front, A Grave for Fireflies. nt

[Xipe Totec]

62. Grave of the Fireflies +1

I have never been able to watch that movie again.

Way too depressing.

Just thinking about it makes my hear sink.

[joeybee12]

34. Awakenings...they all went back to sleep...n/t

[Mad_Dem_X]

92. Yes! A great movie that I will never watch again.

[supernova]

35. The Road, Hiroshima Mon Amour, Night and Fog

Great movies, but man, bring on the depression.

:-(

[cordelia]

36. Threads

Testament

Whos' Afraid of Virginia Woolf always left me down, too.

[Forkboy]

38. Threads is hellish, and a great movie.

It makes The Day After look like a Disney film. I just rewatched it a few months back for the first time since the 80's, and it's still just as powerful and gripping.

[av8rdave]

84. I must mentioned that in another reply in this thread before I saw your post

What a haunting movie.

[Forkboy]

37. Stalingrad and a Grave of the Fireflies.

Both are pretty devastating. Grave of the Fireflies makes On The Beach seem like the feel good hit of the year....trust me on this one. Even watching the trailer is getting to me. :(

Stalingrad trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXdjg3ngvwU

Here's Roger Ebert's review of Grave....

"Grave of the Fireflies" is an emotional experience so powerful that it forces a rethinking of animation. Since the earliest days, most animated films have been "cartoons" for children and families. Recent animated features such as "The Lion King," "Princess Mononoke" and "The Iron Giant" have touched on more serious themes, and the "Toy Story" movies and classics like "Bambi" have had moments that moved some audience members to tears. But these films exist within safe confines; they inspire tears, but not grief. "Grave of the Fireflies" is a powerful dramatic film that happens to be animated, and I know what the critic Ernest Rister means when he compares it to "Schindler's List" and says, "It is the most profoundly human animated film I've ever seen.

more... http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000319/REVIEWS08/3190301/1023

[likesmountains 52]

41. Burnt by the Sun...Russia during Stalin. Excellent, but very depressing film.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

127. Oh yes, especially when they reveal what happened to the family afterward

Very much deserved its Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

[foxfeet]

42. "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"

Bleak.

[joeybee12]

44. Bleak, but a brilliant movie...yeah, that stays with you long after you're done watching...n/t

[Tikki]

43. Ya know, this movie could be considered 'depressing' but...

in context to what is going on in the movie it is sorta uplifting..will really a
downward spiral...but, I still watch it VHS at least twice a year.




Tikki

[pokerfan]

47. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Requiem For A Dream (2000)

[deutsey]

49. Happiness

This movie haunted me for a few days after watching it.

[mitchum]

72. It is a very powerful movie. I consider it to be a comedy...

and it seill haunts me after every viewing

[deutsey]

77. Worth seeing, definitely

I can see where it can be considered something of a comedy, but it's very depressing, especially that scene when the oldest son learns what his dad did.

I don't know if I want to see the sorta-sequel that came out this year.

[MilesColtrane]

113. I hated that movie.

Solondz spends time creating believable characters, gets very good actors to portray them, then simply crushes, abuses, and degrades them.

While that may be a very realistic take on the way life is at times, it's no great artistic feat, and it isn't entertaining or insightful.

[Xithras]

50. Turtles Can Fly, Requiem For A Dream, Dancer in the Dark, Lilja 4-Ever

If you're into anime, Grave of the Fireflies is another depressing one, and I'd probably add Brazil to the list just because it always gets to me.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

52. Osama. nt

[jberryhill]

55. Busty Nympho Babes Vol. XII

That series really went downhill after about seven.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

56. "Double Happiness" with Sandra Oh...

...although the ending is "glass half full, glass half empty"...up to the viewer to decide...but the ending, in its stark simplicity, is one of the most powerful I've ever seen. A real gut-wrencher.

:toast:

[underpants]

58. Monsters Ball

the worst characters ever for a major movie. Good movie but depressing.

[DevonRex]

130. +1. Hands down the most depressing movie ever.

And I didn't think it was that good, either.

[darkstar3]

59. In no particular order...

Pan's Labyrinth. (Yes, that one.)
Schindler's List.
UP (Yes, fuckin' UP. The whole "Ellie" thing had me down for days afterward.)
American Beauty
Failsafe (obviously)
Crash (2004)

[GoCubsGo]

61. Along with many of those mentioned already...

Bless the Beasts and Children
Ulee's Gold
Kramer vs. Kramer

[MiddleFingerMom]

63. I went to a double-feature at our campus video theatre (just a big screen TV)...

.
.
.
.
.
.
...of "Frances" followed by "The Wall".
.
.
.
.
.
.
I'm surprised whoever set THAT up didn't pass out razor blades at the door.
.
.

[Release The Hounds]

64. Legends of the Fall

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

65. The Pawnbroker, Cries and Whispers, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

[JTG of the PRB]

66. The Mist and Glory.

The Mist had an INCREDIBLY depressing ending, and Glory didn't end on a very happy note, either.

But Glory is a great damned movie.

[RiffRandell]

67. 21 Grams n/t

[jotsy]

68. Most of my list is about our current military exploits.

The biggie, The Valley of Elah. I spent the remainder of that day drying my eyes and was preoccupied with the story until I saw Stop Loss, and Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs.

Movies that bothered me that weren't about armed forces are Arlington Road with Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins, the ending pisses me off to this day and I saw it the year it came out. Reservation Road with River Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo, terribly unfortunate from the word go and stays dark.

Gone, Baby, Gone, for me is about what a lonely place true integrity can be.

[Lifelong Protester]

69. "Up In the Air" I mean, the guy makes a living firing people

and spends all his time in an airport. Then he decides to pursue a woman who is married! Jeez. Most depressing.

[Steely_Dan]

70. Gee, Where Do I Begin?

Elephant Man
There Will Be Blood
On The Beach
Francis
Taxi Driver
Lonely Are The Brave

None of these are feel good movies of the summer.

Oh Yes..."They Shoot Horses, Don't They? This is probably the most depressing movie ever made. However, the acting is so good that the movie stays with you for a long time. Jane Fonda and Red Buttons did an excellent job.

[Submariner]

71. Looking for Mr. Goodbar

I was so totally trashed out by the murder of Diane Keaton at the end of the movie, that I have never been able to handle another movie scene showing a woman being beaten or murdered.

That was the 1970s and it affects me to this day. Can't watch movies where women get whacked, quick to the remote.

[mitchum]

74. "The Woodman" starring Kevin Bacon

[av8rdave]

85. I only saw it once, when it was released

Have never been able to forget it.

[deutsey]

88. I had a hard time sleeping the night I saw that movie on TV

That was a truly horrifying scene.

[Ilsa]

118. Yeah, that was painfully memorable. nt

[Manifestor_of_Light]

75. The Dark Knight.

Depressing, pointless.

Frighteningly soulless--what passes for great art these days.

Sadistic, violent, gory and gross (two face).

Nothing but people threatening and killing each other and blowing stuff up.

The two women are killed off quickly before any emotional interaction develops for you to care about the characters. If the women are killed off, there goes the identification of half your audience with your characters (I'm assuming the audience is one half female).

The only people with any redeeming features that survived were Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine as minor assistants. That was not enough humanity to make the movie worth watching. I really don't care that it cost a lot of money and was technically flawless. That did not matter at all to me. Did not help me a bit.

And the other people who saw it just couldn't understand why I thought it was a stupid, depressing waste of my time. I'm sorry I thought I would get any lesson or see any kind human interaction in it. I saw no kindness or compassion in it anywhere.

Just saw the lesson that rich white men, like Bruce Wayne, are all that matter. Their actions, gestures, dress and situation in life is of great importance. The rest of us are disposable.


A waste of film of man's inhumanity to man, even if it is all made up comic book characters.

That's just the way blockbuster overhyped movies are made now, I guess.

This is why I refuse to go see movies that are horror movies, blood and guts, or violent, especially portraying violence against women. Sometimes I will see something historical about war, such as Schindler's List, that is factually true.


I sure miss the campy Batman TV show of my childhood. That was fun stuff.

[Mad_Dem_X]

93. Maybe...but, come on, Heath Ledger was brilliant.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

104. So? I know enough narcissistic psychopaths in real life.

They've driven me crazy in real life, and given me nightmares in my dreams.

So why should I put myself through that kind of depressing portrayal, brilliant though it may be?

[ChoralScholar]

76. Boogie Nights

It was hard to watch all the characters spiral down through the movie.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

78. The Mist.

Good lord, that ending depressed me for days. What's worse was that it was already spoiled for me when I saw it, and it still depressed me.

[bif]

79. Just saw "Eternity and a Day". That's pretty depressing.

[JCMach1]

80. what no 'Hotel Rwanda'?

[bif]

81. At least it had a happy ending

[uncommon]

82. God what a sad, sad movie that was.

[laundry_queen]

107. That would have been my pick

Had I seen this thread earlier. I remember being absolutely depressed about the whole world for weeks after seeing it. I cannot remember the ending - I only remember how horrifying the whole movie was.

[Bzzzz]

87. War of the Roses n/t

[lillypaddle]

96. yeah, that one was a bummer

I kept waiting for the punch line. There wasn't one.

[appal_jack]

89. Requiem for a Dream

Excellently filmed. Incredibly depressing.

-app

[chrisa]

90. Any Michael Moore movie.

But depressed in a good way, in the sense that you know change is possible and needs to be... *ramble ramble*

Probably "The Lovely Bones."

[Mike 03]

95. In recent memory: THE HOURS, HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG,

the documentary THE COVE (about dolphin slaughter), and for reasons I cannot explain, the remake of SOLARIS and SHUTTER ISLAND.

[lillypaddle]

97. The Tenant (Roman Polanski)

What a freaking downer, but I actually liked it. And "Blind Date" (the Stanley Tucci one); Buddy Boy (1999), and last but not least for sheer depresion "Gummo". Danm, I need to start watching some upbeat shit!

[Mike 03]

98. The Tenant!

I read the novelization when I was a child, but my parents would not allow me to see that film, and every few mnonths I check on Amazon to see if it is available in the U.S., and to date I have not seen it.

I have wanted to see this film literally for decades.

[lillypaddle]

99. Amazon has it used

http://www.amazon.com/Tenant-Roman-Polanski/dp/B000069I09/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1280360384&sr=1-1

Like 30 copies starting at $7.90. Worth it.

[Mike 03]

100. Thank you for the info and the link. I have been fascinated to see this film since I was a kid NT

[mitchum]

132. There are bits and pieces currently posted on youtube

[kentauros]

101. Another one: 1984 (with John Hurt)

~~~***~~~

My, aren't we a depressing or depressed bunch.
I never expected this thread to take off like this

[Rabrrrrrr]

102. Grave of the Fireflies. Grave of the Fireflies. Grave of the Fireflies.

And Return of the Jedi.

So sad when the rebel scum murder the Emperor and tear down his Empire of Peace and Order!!

:cry:

[tigereye]

105. well, the book is quite depressing too

[kentauros]

111. Do you mean for "On the Beach" ?

I haven't read it and it makes me wonder why some authors feel they have to write such depressing things, just to make a point. Then again, I remember reading Steinbeck in school and thinking the same thing ;)

[tigereye]

131. yup. Well, it got the point across, anyway...

read it in high school or college.

[Petrushka]

106. Ironweed --- starring Jack Nickolson & Meryl Streep

trailer ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_0TJ6GtaLM
part 1 of 14 ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5H1zEmSwrU

[begin_within]

122. You're right.

"Ironweed" was a total bummer. I was disappointed in it.

I don't like seeing people put whole movies on Youtube, though, unless they are the copyright owner of the movie. That kind of distresses me.

[cherokeeprogressive]

108. Taking Chance

I cried like a baby at the care displayed by those tasked with preparing our dead servicemembers for burial.

[Roon]

109. Pink Floyd the Wall

That movie warped me for months after I saw it.

[mentalsolstice]

112. Children of Men, Requiem for a Dream, House of Sand & Fog, nt

[valerief]

114. Gasland. nt

[Ilsa]

115. The Jacket is the most recent movie that I found depressing.

Goya's Ghosts depressed me also.

[Mike 03]

116. Shame on me for forgetting my two favorite David Lynch movies:

Mulholland Drive
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

The third acts of these films, but that of Mulholland Drive in particular, were so emotional to me that I had trouble driving home from the theaters.

[annabanana]

117. Sophie's Choice. .

epic downer

[Ilsa]

119. Totally. I have to agree. Worse than anything else on this list that I've seen.

I thought House of Mirth was depressing, but the performances were so good. Gillian Anderson, Dan Ackroyd, Eric Stolz, so many others.

[mokawanis]

120. That's the one that came to my mind right away

Great acting, riveting story, and depressing as hell.

[nytemare]

121. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

This film was just totally devastating. Utterly tragic. But, this is one of those films that must be seen.

[midnight armadillo]

123. Ran, the King Lear adaptation

The ending scene of the blind guy waiting for his sister to return not knowing she'd been killed...makes me tear up thinking about it.

[FedUpWithIt All]

124. Jude. n/t

[WinkyDink]

125. "Breaker Morant." "In Cold Blood." "A Place in the Sun."

[TZ]

128. No one has mentioned Mystic River?

Thats an excellent but such a black movie. Sean Penn and Tim Robbins at their best....

[mcollins]

129. Recently saw 'Repo Men'.

Without spoiling it, it ranked top as the most depressing movie I've seen.

[hippywife]

133. Syriana.

I cried in the car when we left the theater...for the world.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

135. Vera Drake.

Imelda Staunton as an illegal abortionist in 1950 Britain.

Goes to jail.