Ryan McNeil
Today is the third day of the 1001 Movies posts for November. Thing is though, I wasn’t watching the third film for all the spuds in Idaho. The third film up is REQUIEM FOR A DREAM. I’ve seen it before…..and I never need to see it again.
For those who’ve never seen it, let me say this: It’s brilliant. It certainly is an essential film, but for me it was just too damned disturbing. Its final act is a sequence of unmerciful editing that will knock your teeth out, kick you in the balls, and push you into the gutter. Don’t believe me? OK – watch for yourself, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!
The funny thing is that there are very few films that shake me up this much. I mean, I’m the guy who can put on SILENCE OF THE LAMBS to help me fall asleep. I even thought about building a top five around my feeling for REQUIEM, but couldn’t even think of four other films that mess me up that much!
So instead today I’ll ask for two things. For starters, do take a look over at 1001 to see what my fellow bloggers are writing about this tale of disturbia. Secondly, leave a comment…I’d love to know what films you respect, but can’t handle seeing anymore.
Now I see the purpose of that e-mail yesterday. And after reading the plot synopsis of Requiem…, I think I'll pass. It's the Yule season, and I need uplifting stuff, like Scrooged and A Christmas Story.
Anyway, for posterity, I'll copy and paste my e-mail reply of movies I find hard to revisit:
"Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, and Black Hawk Down. I've watched them all more than once, but not much further than thrice. They're excellent movies, among my all-time favourites, but they're so hard-hitting that it's an effort to get into the head space to watch them. None of them leave you feeling particularly good about, well, much. You're glad you're alive, appreciative of what people have endured at the hands of others, and thankful that you'll probably never live through that yourself. But you still feel like you need a stiff drink when the credits start rolling."
My sentiments exactly, man. Hands DOWN the darkest, most depressing movie I've ever seen in my life, even though I've seen it twice, which is one time too many. Gotta review this one of these days, but in short, phenomenally crafted, but good lord, that last montage…
They should show this shit in the D.A.R.E. program, kids wouldn't go fucking NEAR drugs for the rest of their lives.
TARNATION. I thought it was a brilliant film, but I was so uncomfortable watching it and was left with such a sick feeling I never need to see it again.
Mrs. Hatter.
Brilliant film! Though I agree it is extremely tough to watch. It took me a long time before I could see Connelly in other roles without picturing her in this film.
Another film that is great but hard to watch is Irréversible.
@ Sean… Yup, it was indeed an email with intent. I love the three films you mention, but totally get how they can shake someone out of never wanting to watch them again.
@ Aiden… Good luck reviewing it. If you manage to watch it again and write about it, feel free to tease me because I couldn't find the stones to do it.
@ Mrs… TARNATION…good God. I'd almost forgotten about that one. That was actually the closest I've ever come to walking out of a theatre.
Now get back to work.
@ CS… Yeah, IRREVERSIBLE came to mind when I started writing about this. What's worse is that all the brutality is in the opening twenty minutes, so it feels like it was designed for us to not finish it. A pity, since the end gets so very beautiful.
Great film. I have a strange relationship with it. I never want to watch it because I think its going to be a real downer, but every time I see it I really like it.
Also an interesting image you chose for it. I read this on IMDB months ago:
In three of her movies (Dark City (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), and House of Sand and Fog (2003)), she appears standing at the end of a pier in a striking image. All three directors created the shots for different reasons, and they are not an homage or reference to each other, just an unlikely coincidence.
And immediately drafted a blog about it. I found the image you have used above and one on dark city but haven’t come up with a decent usable one for House of Sand and Fog yet.
"Wild At Heart" so unraveled my nerves that I swore I would never watch it again — and I have not. I admired what David Lynch was trying to do, I admired the creativity and the screw-convention attitude, but I will never watch it again.
"Requiem," however, I pull out once every couple of years. It's a fantastic film, but it's so darn bleak that I need a whole day to recover.
I agree with you. I watch Se7en as a relaxing enjoyable film. The first time I watched it, it was so insane I had to see it again, but the feeling of revulsion was gone. I've watched Requiem twice completely through, and was more disturbed the second time around. I've seen various parts at various times since and can't commit to any of the talent or brilliant story telling being displayed. It is a terrifying movie psychologically, but one movie goers should all see.
Aiden, another disturbing one for the D.A.R.E crowd would be KIDS. A very revolting movie in it's own right.
Hands down for me it would go to Once Were Warriors. Brilliant, but so brutal I never want to see it again.
@ fandango… I think Ebert talked about that in his answer man section once. That is such an odd co-incidence!
As for getting the SAND & FOG image, I'd suggest just renting the dvd and doing a screen cap. That's want I do for 90% of my "Today, I Feel Like This"
@ M.Carter… Been so long since I've seen WILD AT HEART. I might have to re-watch that. I will admit though, that after I wrote this post today, I got a grin at noticing that the spine of the REQUIEM dvd is in your banner. What can I say – you're a trooper!
@ Heather… Yeah, SE7EN is pretty darned grim…but somehow it's a grimmness I can handle. Hell – it's one of my favorites!
@ Shannon… Never even heard of that one – what's it about?
Once Were Warriors is a New Zealand film about a Maori family living through trying times and with a very violent father. The performances are astonishing and the film is gorgeous but oh my goodness, it's very harsh.
It has a fair amount of familiar faces including Temuera Morrison (Jango Fett from Star Wars prequels) and Cliff Curtis.
“Screen cap” you are confusing me with someone who knows what they are doing. I wear a wind up watch and have only owned an Ipod for the last six months! I did wonder where you got some of those great images from.
I have been told that the pier in house of sand and fog was shot at Paradise Cove in Malibu, I haven’t been able to confirm it. I wish I had been told earlier, I would have paid more attention whist I was there last year! I will checkout what Ebert had to say about it.
Back to the film in hand, the for me the reason Requiem for a Dream is so disturbing is it is so realistic. You can put a certain amount of Se7en and Silence of the Lambs down to fantasy. Ellen Burstyn is amazing in it as well, the way they juxtapose her characters addiction with her sons is brilliant.
By the as you mentioned Silence of the Lambs, I have to say I prefer Manhunter. I can’t make my mind up if it is actually a better film or if I just prefer it because I saw it first.
I don't see how anyone can disagree with you in terms of the closing sequences. Those shots are engraved in my mind and will never leave.
@ Shannon… Sounds intriguing! Perhaps I'll rent it one day when I'm feeling gutsy.
@ fandango… Were you to put a dvd into your computer's player, and pause it at the appropriate moment, you could press 'ctrl' and 'print screen' at the same time. This will cut and copy everything on your screen in one go. If you then open any imaging application (like Photoshop or Paint) and select "paste". Voila! Crop a little here and there and you've made yourself a jpg of the movie moment you desire!
Funny you mention the realism of REQUIEM. Kinda hard to stay grounded in a movie with a talking fridge.
PS – I like both SILENCE and MANHUNTER…but Hopkins makes a better Lecter.
@ Danny… You and me both buddy! I'm hoping one day to forget them.
Requiem is actually one of my favorite films. I've seen it maybe 6-8 times.
I do, however, have a thing for movies that end… badly.
@ Shannon, you've just convinced me to put Once Were Warriors on my TBV list. Thanks!
@ Mad Hatter, I'm suprised you had such a visceral reaction to the film, as it seems we have similar tastes in films. That in and of itself though, is a fine example of the power of this film.
Fandangs.. 'you are confusing me with someone who knows what they are doing'
I never do.
daily jibes at Fandango aside, Hatter you should really turn this into a post, would like to read your top five or ten, and i reckon all the folks commenting would to – and so would their friends, and their friends, and their friends, and so on, and so on…
Requiem for a Dream i have not seen the whole way through – i caught the end of it once, that was enough. like someone else said, Se7en (man, does anyone else hate writing in that stupid '7' every time? fincher.. a bit of a genius, but obviously a bit of a dick as well) is a film i could watch every month to cheer me up.
heres some i never want to see again:
1. Firefox
i am haunted by this Clint Eastwood movie, where he flies a plane, or something. the reason? when i was a kid i wanted to tape the Smurfs Movie which was on tv, but my older brother wanted to tape Firefox, which was on at the same time. unfortunately, for both of us, the recording got messed up and neither of us got what we wanted. to this day, i cannot watch Firefox.
2. The Smurfs Movie
(see above)
Thanks Hatter I will give that a go. I didn’t have a clue how you did it!
“Kinda hard to stay grounded in a movie with a talking fridge” But it is always portrayed in a way that it is in her head, it is not as if we are expected to believe the fridge is actually talking. Having said that it is one scary fridge!
I have to disagree about Hopkins making the better Lecter, Brian Cox is the man!
Thanks for the kind words Ross. As a fan of Clint Eastwood I can honestly say Firefox is a really bad film, you are not missing anything.
@ Blake… Not so much visceral as deeply affected. To be honest it takes a lot for a movie to do that to me, so it's not something that happens often.
As I say though – it's a brilliant film, and definitely should be seen.
@ Ross… Funny you mention a five or ten. I came into this post wanting it to be a five ("Five Amazing Films I Never Want o See Again"?)…however I actually couldn't even think of five instances where I felt that way! I got to three and tapped out.
For what it's worth, IRREVERSIBLE, which CS mentioned was one I thought of. Likewise TARNATION, which my wife mentioned, is another.
Thus – audience participation was invoked.
@ Fandango… Lookin' forward to your zillions of posts worth of screen grabs.
As for Lecter, I thought Hopkins nailed his ferocity a bit more. Cox's version was just a tad too cold for me.
Fandango may always be wrong but he is right about one thing: Brian Cox.
that man should be in every film.
oh, hang on: he is.
@ Ross… Thanks for the daily smile.
You complete me.
A little late to the party on this one, I know. I mentioned Hard Candy, Requiem, and Boys Don't Cry to you as films that were so hard to watch the first time, I didn't think I would ever watch them again.
But this morning, I was reminded of another.
The Woodsman, starring Kevin Bacon as a convicted and conflicted pedofile trying to make a life for himself despite his illness. So. Powerfully. Done. I saw it at TIFF one year and there was a very courageous Q&A after a very tense and uncomfortable screening. It was a brilliant piece of work…brilliant cast, brilliant direction, and imagery that will not soon be forgotten.
Unlike the others that I thought were brilliant but that I won't watch again, though, I actually OWN this one. Figure THAT mess out.
Another uncomfortable movie that was really well done (and I just thought of now) was Happiness. I wouldn't say I'd never see it again, though. I put it into a category like, say, Pulp Fiction, for me. I have to be in a certain mood for some flicks.
Some, like the ones mentioned, though, I just won't watch again, no matter how incredible I think they were. And, apparently, no matter how long they sit in my collection…
– Suzie McQZie
@ McQzie… I find myself conflicted. On the one hand, I've never seen THE WOODSMAN so I want to borrow…but on the other hand, given how dark you say it is…
Oh it's absolutely worth watching…just really uncomfortable subject matter. When you have moments where you find yourself rooting for the dude, you start wondering what kind of person you think you are, too. I'll try to remember to bring it in tomorrow.
Maybe I will even take you up on your shuffle offer…we can do a temp trade sort of thing! 🙂
– McQZie