[PenultimateManStanding]

Just got through watching The Deer Hunter. Christopher Walken blows his brains out in Russian Roulette. The whole movie is a kind of dire metaphor. Walken's name in the movie was Russian. He was asked, "are you Russian?" He said "no. I'm American." Viet Nam drives him insane. America, having the most lethal arsenal on Earth, facing an energy death, well, what do you think? You think we'll step ginger around guerrilla warfare?

[hironegro]

I think a lot of those movies from around the time were interesting. Those filmmakers at time were really trying to explore our existential dilemma via cinema. I think the movie trys to show the affects violence/war can have on small ethnic communities.

[Pops]

Good question P.

The Unforgiven?

Taxi Driver?

Flesh and Bone?


Good question.

[SpringCreekFarm]

Old Yeller

[Micki]

Perhaps not the same style movie (although it is about trauma and mental suffering) and not from the same era, but for those who haven't seen Fisher King yet (with Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams), I strongly recommend this. I saw it back in the mid 90's and loved it and now saw it again a couple of weeks ago and I thought it was emotinally as strong as frst time I saw it.
It is a Terry Gilliam movie so a lot of quirkiness and humor but not as weird as Brazil.

[Pops]

Old Yeller makes me think of Shane.

Our personal saddest is Steel Magnolias.

My ancestors' tale could be told with Far and Away and Grapes of Wrath.

[PenultimateManStanding]

Well, Requiem For a Dream was pretty damn sad.

[SpringCreekFarm]

The Grapes of Wrath was one of my favorite movies as a kid. That whole bit about granny dying on the way was very sad. Very inspiring in a homesteader way in that it represents real homesteading and survival skills and puts our "lets play farm" into perspective.

[BigTex]

Boyz n The Hood

My Life

Schindler's List

Philadelphia

Unforgiven ("we all got it comin' kid")

[Micki]

If any kind of sad movie goes I definetly like to throw in Awakenings.
Particularly upsetting that it was based on real events.

[dinopello]

Well, Requiem For a Dream was pretty damn sad.

Pretty trippy too. I just finished watching No Country for Old Men. Not too happy, I'd say.

[mercurygirl]

Well, Requiem For a Dream was pretty damn sad.

OMG. Several years ago, my DH was out of town and I came down with shingles. Very painful, so I got some good pain meds. Spent a week on the couch and watched that movie 2.5 times. It was so perfect. But god, if I hear that music again...

[Volcanic21]

Yeah, Requiem for a Dream is an amazing movie, but I find it more numbing than sad. In that, after it's over, I don't cry, but I do sit in the dark staring into space for at least five minutes. The first time I saw it, everyone in the theater did that, it was pretty surreal.

I don't know if anyone's ever seen "American Movie," but it's tied for my favorite movie of all time. It's a documentary about the American Dream, kind of. Sometimes when I watch it, it makes me happy, because there is a lot of real beauty in the people and the relationships in it, and it's also hysterically funny, but most of the time it just crushes me, seeing how futile and wasted this guy's life is. Either way, it's an incredible film, and I recommend it to anyone and everyone, as most people have never seen it, much less heard of it. Real quick, some kick-ass quotes from the movie:

"Kick fuckin' ass, I got a Mastercard!"

"Last night, man, I was so drunk, I was calling Morocco, man. Calling, trying to get to the Hotel Hilton at Tangiers in Casablanca, man. That's, I mean, that's, that's pathetic, man! Is that what you wanna do with your life? Suck down peppermint schnapps and try to call Morocco at two in the morning? That's senseless! But that's what happens, man."

"I was called to the bathroom at the cemetery to take care of something. I walked in the bathroom, and in the middle toilet right there... somebody didn't shit in the toilet, somebody shat on the toilet. They shat on the wall, they shat on the floor. I had to clean it up, man, but before that, for about 10 to 15 seconds man, I just stared at somebody's shit, man. To be totally honest with you, man, it was a really, really profound moment. Cuz I was thinkin', "I'm 30 years old, and in about 10 seconds I gotta start cleaning up somebody else's shit, man.""

My other favorite movie, which is super sad every time I watch it, is "Koyaanisqatsi." For those who haven't seen it, it's basically an hour and a half long instrumental music video that goes through the entire history of the Earth, with a strong focus on man's impact on it. The music is by Philip Glass, and is pretty sweet, and the cinematography is outta control. I have watched this movie so many times, and every time it makes me think and feel different things. As for the sadness aspect, there are two scenes that really break the heart. One is where you see this trembling, withered human hand rise out of a row of hospital beds. There's something about it that tears me up, it's one of the most powerful images I've ever seen. The other is the final shot of the movie, which is a rocket blasting off into space, then exploding and slowly falling, on fire, down to earth. I look at that scene through the lens of peak oil, as a metaphor for man's meteoric rise to our current petroleum-based heights and our subsequent fiery crash back down to whatever comes next, if anything. The overall feeling of the movie, though, is very sad for me, as it shows how unsustainable, empty, impersonal, absurd, and ugly civilization has become.

Anyways, those are two movies that to a Peak Oil person should be very sad, at least they are to me, and I can't recommend them enough, as they are both phenomenal films.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

My other favorite movie, which is super sad every time I watch it, is "Koyaanisqatsi." For those who haven't seen it, it's basically an hour and a half long instrumental music video that goes through the entire history of the Earth, with a strong focus on man's impact on it. The music is by Philip Glass, and is pretty sweet, and the cinematography is outta control. I have watched this movie so many times, and every time it makes me think and feel different things. As for the sadness aspect, there are two scenes that really break the heart. One is where you see this trembling, withered human hand rise out of a row of hospital beds. There's something about it that tears me up, it's one of the most powerful images I've ever seen. The other is the final shot of the movie, which is a rocket blasting off into space, then exploding and slowly falling, on fire, down to earth. I look at that scene through the lens of peak oil, as a metaphor for man's meteoric rise to our current petroleum-based heights and our subsequent fiery crash back down to whatever comes next, if anything. The overall feeling of the movie, though, is very sad for me, as it shows how unsustainable, empty, impersonal, absurd, and ugly civilization has become.

Hey, great call!

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=I6nViyb8UN4

[Hagakure_Leofman]

American History X

A brutal Neo Nazi skinhead named Derek Vinyard is tried and sent to prison for three years for the murder of two black guys who tried to steal his truck. When he returns from prison reformed, his younger brother Daniel Vinyard who idolizes him is on the brink of becoming a Neo Nazi himself. Derek must save his younger brother from a similar fate.

[MrBill]

The Deer Hunter was a great movie (exept for the retarded Meryl Streep). I like that Fatboy Slim video with Christopher Walken called Weapon of Choice. John Savage went on to do another good film called The Onion Field with James Wood a year later. And, of course, Apocalypse Now the same year 1979. So, ya, some pretty good films were made then. Although since then Robert De Niro has been less than selective of what movies he now stars in. All sort of dark movies, but with strong characters like Blade Runners with Harrison Ford that was also in Apocalypse Now.

[Pops]

Yea, the Onion Field and Apocalypse Now were both great.

It dawns on me that in the PO sense American Graffiti might be the saddest - especially since I grew up cruising in the town it was based on, albeit a bit later.

[Aaron]

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