Could "Midnight Cowboy" possibly be the best downer depressing movie ever?

Tnx, I'll grab it the next time I see it. I can just imagine how this will look when it comes out on HD DVD!

 

I think Dan C pretty much had it right in the Midnight Cowboy may be the best combination of great film/downer moood movie ever. There have been some other great ones mentioned like Requiem for a Dream, Ordinary People, and Brazil. Personally I don't think 12 Monkeys is that much of a downer although a great film nontheless.

Not mentioned are:

Sid and Nancy: An amazing downer and the best anti-drug film I can think of.

1984: The Michael Radford version with Richard Burton and John Hurt that just came out on DVD. Its actually better than the book in that it visualizes the bleakness to perfection. A true downer.

 

As disturbing as Hitchcock's works can be, it wouldn't have occured to me to include them in a list of "downers". They're all so full of energy and irony and his obvious delight in our discomfort. While I wouldn't necessarily go along with his description of Psycho as a "fun" movie, I can certainly see in retrospect how it was "fun" for him...!

 

Yup! That'll liven things up!

And with Robert Blake's current situation--to the surprise of none, he's been bound over for trial on murder charges--life imitates art, once again, even if the art is based on a true story.

ED

 

Regarding "The Wrong Man"

OK, I just checked--it's not really an alternate ending, but it is an altered ending...as in altered from Hitch's original intentions. From the All Movie Guide:

"His only concession to Hollywood formula was the half-hearted coda, assuring us that Mrs. Balestrero eventually recovered from her mental collapse (she sure doesn't look any too healthy the last time we see her!) "

In real life, I believe she never recovered.

 

I wouldn't include PSYCHO in the *downer* category either, though it's hardly a laugh riot. VERTIGO is different, thanks to its ending and the mystery of sexual obsession and identity. THE WRONG MAN might seem borderline, but yeah, I'd put that in the downer section, because it is bleak, unrelenting and very despairing, even with the ending it has.

One film I'd add is THE BAD SEED, from '56. That's the one where a precocious youngster causes mayhem for her family and friends, until a bolt of lightning brings Divine Justice. What's really the downer, though, is the fraudulent coda WB tacked on, to lighten the dark finish, even bringing out the cast for a curtain call, most of whom look very uncomfortable for having to do so.

Another: THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, and not just for all the footage lost to history. It's truly a great film, but the downfall of the family is depressing. Yet it's filled with lavish, wonderful sets, creativity and talent in all respects.

ED

 

It's not specifically "downer" movies I like, but a lot of my favorite movies share something in common--they make me think. In Vertigo, I wonder what happens a hour, a day or a year after the ending. In "The Wrong Man", despite the ending, I wonder if that other suspect that was apprehended was yet another wrong man. (If they mistakenly identified Manny Balestrero one time, any other lookalike could face the same fate.) Star Trek II had a bleak ending...after all, they sent the pointy-eared one to rest in a photon torpedo as the bagpipes played on. That little dangling parting shot of the torpedo on the Genesis planet's surface should have been our clue of what might happen in the future.

In "Days of Wine and Roses", the ending *hurts*. Both the main characters have switched places--the original drinker is now clean, and the former abstainer is now a mess...they both reach out for each other, but won't enter each others' worlds. You wonder what happens to them after the movie's storyline ends.

 

I thought of another one: I Never Sang For My Father, with Gene Hackman and Melvyn Douglas. For anybody whose relationship with a parent or other family member isn't what it should be, this is a depressing film indeed.

 

I agree that it depends how you define 'downer' or 'depressing'. I would characterize the films of John Huston or Billy Wilder in general to be more down than any of Hitch's since they tend to have a caustic and cynical perspective on human behavior. Hitch was more about dread, anxiety, and the fear of being caught or discovered. But I would make an exception for Vertigo because he sets up hopeful expectations for the lovers that are destroyed at the end (like Twelve Monkeys; even though you know what's going to happen you can't believe there won't be a happy ending). I'll subtract my vote for Stardust Memories, it's not a great depressing movie, just a depressing one. And let me add votes for The Wages of Fear and the all time doomed relationship movie Last Tango in Paris.

 

Let me reiterate: They may indeed be "downers" to everybody else, it just wouldn't have occured to ME. Part of the reason The Wrong Man didn't leave me particularly depressed was that its half-hearted attempts to lighten the resolution seemed to undercut the power of the film as a whole (as in Ambersons, infamously). The stark, documentary-style feel (that worked so well in parts of Psycho; sorry to bring that one up again) backfired this time for me, cutting me off emotionally. And, I admit it (going back to my original post), since I knew it was going to be another Hitchcock story of an innocent man wrongly accused, I went in forewarned and forearmed. In all, I'd say I went away more "dissatisfied" than "depressed".

But even though a strong stylistic hand like Hitchcock's (and I'd also include Welles) can keep me at an emotional arm's length from an otherwise unhappy ending, I'll admit to being more affected by some of Kubrick's work like Barry Lyndon and Paths of Glory. So this is certainly subjective, and not a hard and fast rule for me.

And, as much as I love Vertigo, wouldn't you call that ending more of a "groaner"?

 

Taxi Driver - seamless, tone-perfect; looking from the inside out of a psycho's mind, yet his vision is the only honest and sane one to be found in society. A downer that completely justifies 'downness.'

 

These kinds of films must be my favorites, because I own about 75% of them and count many among my favorites. Some I would like to repeat: Requiem for a Dream and Hud (maybe my favorite film ever). Some I'd like to add: Kids, Easy Rider, Ruby in Paradise, and one I saw on HBO recently, but can't remember the name. It starred Uma Thurman and Juliette Lewis. The bar scene in that one was tough to watch. But my all time best and most depressing movie of all time would have to be Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.

 

Another excellent choice. How odd it is that such a wrenching film wound up being the basis for a cheesy sitcom starring Linda Lavin.

Speaking of Sissy Spacek movies, how about 'Night, Mother with her and Anne Bancroft? Great film about a woman who's planning to commit suicide and her mom trying to talk her out of it.

And speaking of Anne Bancroft movies, the second half of The Graduate is pretty damned downbeat.

 

The movie your talking about was called Hysterical Blindness...looked great in HD too. Really nice performance from Gena Rowlands who doesn't act nearly enough.

 

Ahh..one of my favorite flicks of all time Ken, the Vanishing that is, what a stunning ending. Definitely not happy.

 

Yes! Hysterical Blindness. Thanks, NoTinEar. I just watched that one totally by chance as I had never heard of it. I knew the mom was excellent as well, but her name escaped me at the time. The three main characters all turned in great performances. You watch this entire film feeling bad for all three main characters and no matter how much you hope, it just never works out for any of them. I'd like to watch this one again. At night, though, so it doesn't become a downer for the rest of the day.

 

"Kids" totally depressed me, and gave me a stomach ache.

 

Good thread. Lots of good recommendations here that I haven't seen and it's nice to see there are others who enjoy these films just because they offer a change from the typical Hollywood ending. I actually came across this thread while searching for the 'depressing music' thread. (Even though I'm not depressed, I enjoy depressing music and films -- go figure.)

Narc is kind of bleak. I'm still waiting to see Rush.

Memento is kind of downbeat too; my wife refused to watch the whole thing.

I can't decide if Days of Heaven was downbeat or uplifting, maybe both. Certainly one of the most beautifully shot films ever.

 

Another good "downer" film is "Beloved." Jonathan Demme elicited great performances from everyone involved, particularly Oprah Winfrey.

I'm not sure why this film wasn't more of a success, though the rawness of the subject matter and highly non-linear narrative probably contributed to it. I would recommend that anyone interested in watching the dvd read Toni Morrison's novel first or be prepared to watch the dvd twice, the first time to let it wash over you and the second to understand what's happening.

 

Downer movies.....
I could only get through the first half of "Leaving Las Vegas", it was too much like watching a non-stop car wreck. The same for "Withnal And I" -- even though it's a comedy.

 

I'll disagree about Down By Law. It has a strong positive element to it. Much of it is from Begnini's character, who always chooses to be upbeat and optimistic, but the ending is hopeful and, all in all, the characters too likeable to depress me.
Good flick, though.

I'll add In the Bedroom into the mix. A bold, honest look at loss.

And anything about the holocaust or slavery does it to me.

 

Some great movies in here, about the only one I can think of that hasn't been mentioned yet is Dancer in the Dark.
Just about left me catatonic.