What's the most depressing film you've ever watched?

[Morningside]

Philosophy of a Knife - Four hours of grim torture (literally) and interviews of the men that carried it out.
I managed it in small sections as I found it impossible to watch it in all one sitting.

[davegreg]

Snowtown..... is definitely the most depressing film I've seen.

Happiness.....very depressing.

Tyranasaur....bleak, but in the context of the film, I personally thought the ending was quite a happy one.

Threads.....very depressing.

Nil By Mouth....well, depressing.

[CR6ZZ]

Once Were Warriors. Perhaps more harrowing than depressing.

[Pudsey964]

Last exit to Brooklyn

[bexVN]

Black Beauty

I agree with the OP film choices aswell.

[Veeayt]

Agree with many on here, would add 'Biutiful' to the list

[mgreenwood]

Schindler's List for me

[PH5121]

The kids film Up is hardly a barrel of laughs, (mine were upset at the start) but it gets happier as it progresses.

[TheChampers]

I'll add my votes for Grave Of The Fireflies and The Offence, both already mentioned here.

I would also add Smithereens which I found compelling and soul-destroying in equal measure.

[bstw]

I'd forgotten about Biutiful, that was tough going. I'm pretty sure i watched it after a recommendation on here.

I'd nominate Alpha Dog, and not just because Justin Timberlake's in it. I caught it on TV late one night and didn't know anything about it so was enjoying it until the final 10 minutes or so.

[marcosgt]

Mr Beaumont said:

12 Years a Slave, would be one for me. Especially at the end of the film when you discover that it's not actually known what happened to him, but one of the main theories is that he ended up again in slavery. Never known a cinema be so quiet as people left.

The film really didn't work for me.

There was no sense of time passing, it felt more like "What I did on my slave summer camp" than 12 Years.

Some excellent performances, no doubt, but for all the praise heaped on McQueen, he bears the blame for me.

I read the book later, infinitely better (I know it's often true, but this was night and day...).


M.

Edited by marcosgt on Wednesday 9th December 20:57

[frit]

Patrick Bateman said:

Dear Zachary

God yes. Made worse by the fact that it's a documentary film and therefore completely true.

[northwest monkey]

A bit odd, but Toy Story 3 - the bit at the end when Andy has one last play with all his toys before leaving his childhood behind and heading off for a life of mortgages, deadlines, KPI reports, paying tax etc.

I can't be the only person here who wanted to shout "don't do it - stay & play" as he's heading to his car

[PlayersNo6]

All you fans of On the Beach (both versions), Threads, TDA & The Road should also check out Testament :

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086429/?ref_=fn_al_tt...

Like the other movies, very depressing.

[slybynight]

Just read through all this thread because i cant believe its not been mentioned.

Open Water

f*** me. I dont know why i havent binned that dvd years ago. I can be 100% certain that i will go to my grave never watching that again.

[maxxy5]

I remembered a couple:

Elephant, by Gus Van Sant I think, about a Columbine-style school shooting.

And one which caused a fuss when it was released but isn't spoken of much now - Kids, by Larry Clarke. I found that v.depressing at the time.

Also, Time of the Wolf, by Michael Haneke, director of Funny Games, Hidden/Cache and The White Ribbon, all of which are pretty depressing!

[Ali_T]

RobDickinson said:

First one that popped into my head. Utter depressing garbage, pointless

The pointlessness of existence after the apocalypse is the whole point. The book got that across far better.

Also, Betty Blue. Not just depressing, utterly ste as well.

[type-r]

Votes for: Grave of the Fireflys and another for Requiem for a Dream. The score by Clint Mansell made this film, combined with rhe imagery.

Has Martyrs been mentioned?

[Hudson]

HewManHeMan said:

Under the Skin left me feeling not entirely right.

That's called an erection.


Another vote for Threads for me. Terminator Genest was also depressing for me to see just how crap it was.

[type-r]

Manos: The Hands of Fate.

So depressingly bad.