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

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by acemachine26, Jan 10, 2018.

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  1. Jim B.

    Jim B. Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    It makes me cry but at the same time I don't think it's a 'one-view' film - it's a fantastic piece of art in it's own right and great to watch from a direction/acting point of view and at the same time a great thriller in some respects (I hope that's not in bad taste). And for me I think it's good to remind yourself of these things and the message it sends on a regular basis, especially in these dark times. If it's on TV I'll watch it.

    Totally respect your opinion of course.
     
  2. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    I saw that film when I was 16. It just made me very, very angry.
     
  3. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    Rainer Werner Fassbinder owns this thread:

    The Merchant Of Four Seasons: utterly bleak, borderline nihilistic. That doesn't stop it from being a brilliant film, but again? No.
    Fox & His Friends: as above.
    Martha: the most horrifying film I've ever seen and it's not even a conventional 'horror' film. Don't think I could take a second look.

    Ingmar Bergman's reputation precedes him, but I think there are only two of his I'd shy off a second view:

    Shame: intense nihilism, makes you wonder what's the point?
    From The Life Of Marionettes: ditto.

    One film I've shyed off watching because I fear I'll find it depressing, despite its reputation:

    Au Hasard Du Balthasar.
     
  4. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    I've watched Schindler's List several times. I find it too glossily made to be genuinely upsetting/disturbing.

    Hst, I made the mistake of watching it once with someone the day before we were due to fly out to Berlin. Having watched it, she said she couldn't go, so I flew alone.
     
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  5. This is why I wouldn't be too keen to see Paths of Glory again. It just makes me want to hop on a plane and go shoot some French army officers. :)
     
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  6. Barnabas Collins

    Barnabas Collins Senior Member

    Location:
    NH
    If it's a great movie, I can't think of a single one I'd never watch again because of the bleak subject matter. Ingmar Bergman's "Cries and Whispers" is one of the most difficult films to watch I've ever seen, but I revisit it every few years.
     
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  7. Solaris

    Solaris a bullet in flight

    Location:
    New Orleans, LA
    And my comments there were the same as my comments here :)
     
  8. Ken_McAlinden

    Ken_McAlinden MichiGort Staff

    Location:
    Livonia, MI
    I was not commenting on that aspect of the post so much as the "...Ignoring the fact that being even disturbed by a film at all -- something that isn't even real to begin with -- seems laughable to me in the first place."

    I figure with the large discretionary amount of time and income folks here dedicate to music, not everyone is going to have a similar immersion in the world of cinema (even in the Visual Arts sub-forum) :)
     
  9. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Agree. It's a disturbing story but Spielberg tells it in such a superficial way that it doesn't hit home nearly as much as it should:

    Schindler's List (1993)
     
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  10. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Wait - so you never feel so emotionally engaged by a movie that it upsets you in any way? You've never felt disturbed by a film? Seriously???
     
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  11. Leepal

    Leepal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Swindon, UK
    God yeah. I was going to mention that as one film (which is a quality production) that I honestly could not watch again.

    The other film I couldn't watch again is "Martyrs".

    After that and Anti-Christ I just wanted to watch a load of heart warming Disney movies to cleanse my mind of it all.
     
    Jim B. likes this.
  12. Cheepnik

    Cheepnik Overfed long-haired leaping gnome

    Lars von Trier is the poster boy for this thread IMO. The guy's skill cannot be overstated, and even the movies of his that left me feeling creepy-crawly were so eloquently executed that I had to tip my hat from the standpoint of technique and aesthetics. But see (most of) them again? Ugh, no thanks.
     
    Andrew J likes this.
  13. Jerry Horne

    Jerry Horne WYWH (1975-2025)

    Location:
    NW
    Bambi.
     
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  14. PonceDeLeroy

    PonceDeLeroy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maryland
    I watched part of the testimony of Abraham Bomba again on a YouTube video. When they found him in Bronx NY. Barbering.
     
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  15. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    I've seen thousands and thousands of films in my lifetime, and re-watched hundreds of them, multiple times each, because I enjoyed them so much.... but have I ever been upset or disturbed any of them?

    Nope. Never. Not once.

    :shrug:
     
  16. frimleygreener

    frimleygreener "It 'a'int why...it just is"

    Location:
    united kingdom
    There is of course the caveat of what constitutes "a great movie",as it is subjective...but if we substitute "well known" for "great" I would nominate the uncut version of "Straw Dogs"....having spent a lot of time in places in the U.K that time seems to have forgotten, the impending doom and menace depicted in the film is uncomfortably close to reality. Perhaps Albion's equivalent of "Deliverance"?.
     
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  17. qm1ceveb

    qm1ceveb Forum fanatic

    Location:
    Fort lauderdale
    I would always watch a great movie, no matter how depressing.
     
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  18. Witchy Woman

    Witchy Woman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Third Coast, USA
    Platoon. I saw this with some friends shortly after it was released. Afterwards
    we walked home to our dormitory in silence, it was that intense. I couldn’t ever watch it again.

    Another one is Schindler’s List.
     
  19. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    The real story is worth telling, but it wasn't told very well. The problem is that Schindler's List is the holocaust movie most people have seen if they have seen one, and it isn't the movie they should be watching.

    "Shoah" and "Night and Fog" are the films people should be watching.
     
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  20. acemachine26

    acemachine26 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Bangalore, IN
    Im surprised no one has mentioned Martyrs yet. Its the first film where I actually felt guilty after watching it almost like I was watching something illegal.
     
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  21. PonceDeLeroy

    PonceDeLeroy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maryland
    Ha ha about Wise Blood! I should not have called it a great movie. Interesting, but I cannot watch it again for the lye!
    The 91 Cape Fear creeps me out too much with the rape scene and the chain beating. I like the earlier version better. Polly Bergen!!
    Wish I could stomach Taxi Driver again. Maybe I could. Disturbed me at the time it came out. Lots of bridge under the water since then. Maybe I could take it now.

    Gangs of NY I don't want to see again! YMMV.
     
    Lightworker likes this.
  22. geoffr

    geoffr Lifeguard in a carwash

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Barfly
     
  23. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    +1 on The Elephant Man
     
  24. WillieDaPimp

    WillieDaPimp Good bad, not evil

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    Requiem was the first movie that popped into my head.
     
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  25. Leepal

    Leepal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Swindon, UK

    I mentioned it earlier today. It's a film I never want to see again while recognising it's of decent quality.
     
    acemachine26 likes this.
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