Comments on: Easy Riders… : They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)

By: rot

rot — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:29:57 +0000

don’t get me wrong there is something sublime about death in Wit, and Donne goes a long way to emphasize that, but what hurts me in the story is how the character’s confidence is undone, its an uncomfortable sadness because you know what she lost to get there, and even though there is something greater than the biological happening in the event, I feel the human component over the metaphysical abstractness. Were I mystic, maybe the metaphysical would overpower me, but I am a realist, and what I like most of all about Wit is how it unflinchingly captures the hubris of academia, of living to classify knowledge rather than embody it, and the stakes become your life.

By: Jandy Stone

Jandy Stone — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:56:06 +0000

No, I didn’t. Maybe it’s because I happened to be studying John Donne at the same time I watched the film, and I’m a Christian. Wit is a very real, and in many ways devastating, look at dying, but with the poetry of Donne underneath it, there was always hope to me. Donne has some incredibly sobering poetry – he certainly had his share of physical and emotional trauma and doubt, but it was always tempered with hope of something better after death. Now, maybe the character in Wit didn’t have the same hope, but with how prominent “Death Be Not Proud” was in the film, I couldn’t help but feel it myself.

By: rot

rot — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:17:50 +0000

Jandy, you didn’t find Wit depressing? How is that even possible? To me it is probably the most depressing film I have ever seen, and here’s why: it tricks you into it, it gives you a false sense of irony, a buffer from the pain, but in the end that pretense is taken from you, and you are left with the real of the experience, the real of dying. But even more than simply dying, its about wasting the life you had while you had it, making death all the more horrible. Now it doesn’t make me depressed about my life, maybe that is how you are interpreting ‘depressing’, but I feel incredibly sad about the character in the film.

By: Bob Turnbull

Bob Turnbull — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:38:37 +0000

Just watched this last night…

Boy, the desperation is palpable isn’t it? Those flash forward scenes with Sarazin are great too – very surreal in the minimal surroundings and lighting.

Gig Young was indeed pretty great. “Yowza, Yowza, Yowza!”

By: Kurt

Kurt — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:26:50 +0000

The twitch list is me

I agree that Hapiness is funny, but it is also very sad. I find that particular balance in Solondz’s work fascinating. There are points in Happiness that push well past jet-black. Particularly the scenes with both Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Dylan Baker.

By: David Brook

David Brook — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:02:42 +0000

I’d disagree with Happiness on the Twitch list, as it’s really a jet black comedy for me. Fucked up yes, but still that vein of humor stops it from being truly depressing. Also the Total Film list’s films aren’t all that depressing as you say. Good call on Kes though, that always get me.

By: Jandy

Jandy — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:21:54 +0000

Timely list from Total Film, considering this conversation: 14 Most Depressing Movies Ever. Kind of a bland list, but that's not unexpected for Total Film. I was a little impressed that they had one as old as 1946. In general, though, I don't find most of those films that depressing - maybe Million Dollar Baby. rot, I don't think Wit was depressing, either.

By: Andrew James

Andrew James — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:30:49 +0000

Favorite depressing movie is still Leaving Las Vegas.

By: rot

rot — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:33:48 +0000

oh and of course, Naked. That final shot is incredibly bleak, you don’t leave that film feeling good about anything.

By: rot

rot — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:17:46 +0000

Right, I forgot about The War Zone, thats great too. Always get it confused with Nil by Mouth for some reason.

By: Kurt Halfyard

Kurt Halfyard — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:56:30 +0000

Unabashed fan of All or Nothing!

(and Rot, while I check out Bloody Sunday (thanks!) you should check out Tim Roth’s THE WAR ZONE, as bleak and depressing a film as anything…)

For further reference: http://twitchfilm.net/featured/2008/02/twitch-o-meter-five-films-to-cry-with.php

By: rot

rot — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:56:33 +0000

favorite depressing films:

Bicycle Thief
Wit
Nil by Mouth
All or Nothing
Dear Zachary
Bloody Sunday
Hiroshima Mon Amour

I haven’t seen Precious but I get the feeling it is a feel-good movie posing as truly depressing.

By: Jandy

Jandy — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:49:18 +0000

You’ll love this then, rot. Heh. I seriously almost couldn’t sleep after I finished watching it. Images of the despair kept bouncing through my head and keeping me from being able to rest.

And yeah, I remember it being on the Dirty Thirties list, too – it fit in well with that marathon, too. Pity none of us got to it.

James, yeah – at least the reality shows generally have doctors that force people out before they, like, die. But in terms of the lengths people will go to for a prize, and the kinds of things producers come up with to put them through… And yet, people watch. I’ll admit to watching a few myself.

By: rot

rot — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:37:59 +0000

depressing, I love depressing. Remind me next time it shows up on TMC. I meant to see this for the Dirty Thirties Marathon.

By: James McNally

James McNally — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:59:45 +0000

I’m also a “fan” of this film, despite its relentless despair. I was amazed to discover that these sort of marathons actually took place. I guess they were sort of like our modern-day television reality shows.

By: Marc Saint-Cyr

Marc Saint-Cyr — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:59:45 +0000

Great review, Jandy! I saw this a few years back – a very good movie, but pretty damned depressing.

Random trivia: Paul Thomas Anderson includes a little reference to this flick in his music video for Michael Penn’s “Try,” which itself is pretty great.