Are there any great films that you'd never watch again because of how depressing/intense they are?

"The Last American Virgin". I saw it in 1983 and haven't been able to watch it again, the ending really disturbed me.

 

American Me. As far as I can recall, not 1 single damn uplifting scene or event...
(Totally the opposite of 'Up In Smoke' which was filmed in many the same neighborhoods.)

 

The Killing Fields
Schindler's List

 

Yah...though the discussion kinda makes me want to watch it again. It is an AMAZING story. As for The Killing Fields, I just never wanted to see it in the first place.

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say I'd never watch Cool Hand Luke again, but I have to be in a certain frame of mind to get into it. Watch it once every few years or so.

 

Requiem For A Dream was bleak, bleak.
Seven was extremely well made and acted, but nihilistic to the extreme.

 

Clockwork Orange.

Saw it around 30 years ago and was sure I never would again.

 

Maybe 'A Handful Of Dust' (1988)

 

The Oscar-winning film "Misery".

We were fortunate to be invited to opening night, and walked the red carpet...but way too intense.

 

Agreed about Goodfellas. DeNiro has the best lines in Raging Bull.

 

The Revenant wasn’t exactly a lighthearted moviegoing experience.

 

That was tough to watch one time. Very well-done technically.

I have this problem with quite a few of David Fincher's movies as well. I really enjoyed Se7en, but man, once it starts spiraling down, it's very rough to watch. I can take a gut-wrenching ending, but I'm really bothered by films or TV series where essentially good people are punished and put through hell without any real justice for the villain.

 

The Sweet Hereafter. Well made, well acted, and I still love the songs that Sarah Polley sang in the film, especially the cover of the Tragically Hip song, "Courage." But when I watched it a little over 20 years ago on DVD, it was around the time a friend was diagnosed with cancer. As the credits rolled I was sobbing. Real life is hard enough sometimes.

 

"Night And Fog", Alain Resnais's half-hour long 1956 documentary account of the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. Not exploitative in any way, I can't think of any film I've ever seen that's more emotionally devastating. I'm glad I saw it - indeed, I think this important film should be required viewing for anyone with a heart and soul - but I can't imagine ever wanting to revisit it.

Aaron

 

I'll never watch a double bill of 'Schindler's List' and 'Reservoir Dogs' again. Madness.

 

Crash, Precious, Amour

 

Heaven's Gate
Schindler's List
Happiness
Life is beautiful
Au revoir, les enfants
What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

 

I knew I couldn't be the only one who made this observation! Man, the feeling of being left alone in a cold world full of cold people, with nothing peaceful to grab hold on made me very confused but also extremely fascinated with the movie. Couldn't have found a better way to end this film than by Bowie's "The Hearts Filthy Lesson".

 

Spoiler: What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Nice to see What's Eating Gilbert Grape being mentioned. One of the finest performances by DiCaprio in my opinion. Had I not known who he was I would have assumed that he was actually mentally disabled. The most disturbing scene for me was when they lit the entire house on fire with their mom's corpse inside and DiCaprio just watches it burn with an innocent smile on his face.

 

Totally! I think I remember reading people were really surprised at the time that DiCaprio acted it out all along and was not mentally ill at all. Shows the great actor he is, his scenes in Gilbert Grape are very memorable and deeply moving.

 

I get why you'd pick Cool Hand Luke but I'd rather watch that than Papillon starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Now that's one prison film that I don't think I'll be in the mood for in a very long time.

 

What disturbs me the most about The Killing Fields is the fact that Pol Pot never faced any sort of punishment for the horrific crimes that he was responsible for. He committed suicide like a coward the day before he was supposed to be turned over to an international tribunal at the age of 72.

 

“The Onion Field”

 

Paths of Glory and Todd Solondz's Happiness fit the bill for me.

 

Isn’t this essentially the same as this still-live thread?:

Films You Could Never Watch Again Because ...

My answer remains the same: Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salò.