GrimPrecise I'll tell you why so serious

ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Woodyanders The early 1930's. Various down and out contestants put themselves through sheer physical, emotional, and psychological hell while participating in a grueling dance marathon for $1,500 dollars in prize money.Director Sydney Pollack offers a vivid and convincing evocation of the Great Depression-era period setting, maintains an unsparingly harsh and downbeat tone throughout, and astutely captures an overwhelming sense of despair, futility, and utter hopelessness. The pungent script by James Poe and Robert E. Thompson not only offers a potent and provocative meditation on the desperate measures people will resort to for the sake of fame, money, success, and survival, but also makes an equally profound statement on our culture's obsession with instant celebrity and how the premise of cruelty as entertainment serves as a means of enabling miserable spectators to take their minds off their own troubles for a while.The uniformly superb acting by the terrific cast helps a whole lot: Jane Fonda delivers a bang-up performance full of rage and defiance as the bitter and broken down Gloria, Michael Sarrazin makes a fine and sympathetic impression as the gentle and sensitive Robert, Gig Young totally deserved his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his fabulously lived-in portrayal of the corrupt and cynical emcee, Susannah York likewise excels as glamorous aspiring actress Alice, Red Buttons contributes a wonderfully exuberant turn as the hearty Sailor, Bonnie Bedelia projects a sweet innocence as the pregnant Ruby, Bruce Dern does his usual ace work as Ruby's fierce ox of a husband James, and Robert Conrad and Paul Mantee are appropriately stern and steely as a pair of hard-nosed referees. Philip H. Lathrop's crisp cinematography thrusts the viewer right into the harrowing thick of the punishing ordeal. By no means a pleasant or comforting film, but nonetheless a highly effective and unforgettable one.

lasttimeisaw Sydney Pollack's pungent film adaptation of Horace McCoy's 1935 novel about a dance marathon contest during the Depression-era - the ultimate test of energy and endurance, which blurs the line between competition and reality show. The various contestants spurred by the 1500$ reward, push their strength and fortitude to the limits, little they know, they are merely dispensable pawns to attract audience, since the mass needs something they can believe in in that particular era, and clearly, watching other people in suffering and bad shapes is a massively effective way to achieve that, what a sadistic revelation! Also the film has an unflinchingly bleak ending can give a gut punch to first-time viewers who are unfamiliar with the source novel. The main players in the game are Gloria (Fonda), a cynical, embittered woman whose intention to become an actress has never materialised, randomly paired with Robert (Sarrazin), a wide-eyed (literally) young man who is aimless wandering around; Harry Kline (Buttons), a middle-aged sailor with his partner Shirli (Ann McLerie), British aspiring actress Alice (York) and her partner Joel (Fields), a young farmer James (Dern) with his pregnant wife Ruby (Bedelia), yes, no possible sick people allowed but a pregnant woman, welcome on board! The contest is hosted by a veteran emcee Rocky (Young), who represents the ruthless rules-maker and exploiter of the poor participants. Barely a dance competition, the entire extravaganza is an overlong battle against sleep deprivation, more heart-tugging scenes are deployed when a so-called derby is introduced, forces each pair to race in circles for 10 minutes non-stop and the last three pairs are automatically eliminated, how barbarian is could be? People die in progress, we are no more civilised than the ancient Romans who are hailing for gladiators' slaughtering, or worse, since hypocrisy even masks the tragic event with uplifting spirits, how messed-up and phony USA was at then? The film does bespeak Pollack's true grit in making this magnificent social critique. Thus, one can much appreciate the unexpected ending, Gloria tries very hard to comply to the rules, but the overwhelming futility of life - the overt metaphor of the marathon, waylays her with such irreconcilable disappointment, the pathos is sudden but perfectly justified at that moment when she makes that crucial decision, Fonda receives her first ever Oscar- nomination for her affecting portrayal of a woman who has nothing to live for and simultaneously is a soul full of vehemence, two-thumbs up! Gig Young won the only Oscar among the film's overall 9 nominations (it still holds the record as the most nominated one sans a BEST PICTURE nomination), a qualified win for his outward showmanship and the script doesn't forget to let slip his own monologue of what is made of his callous personality. York is also Oscar-nominated, and her final exit performance is so stunning, when she showers with her full dress on, after witnessing a sudden death, the horror finally overtakes her mentally, she is that scene alone should win her the golden statute which she deserves. Red Buttons, a showbiz triple-threat, previous Oscar-winner, also impresses with his physical endeavour in the derby races.Last but not the least, Sarrazin, with his trademark big, soulful eyes, is left unheralded, his Robert is so different from the hero image required for a leading man at that time, however his bashful, effeminate persona is so spot-on for the role, in contrast with a sharp-tongued and spitfire Fonda. He is the one granted with an opening flashback, as a young boy witnessing a horse being shot after breaking a leg (and the one who articulates the profound title in the coda) and flash-forward sequences (which viewers will only realise near the end) of being interrogated for an unspecified crime, Sarration is so unassuming and non-threatening against the whole backdrop of competition and dissatisfaction, his innocence is the last straw of hop in the story, which albeit hasn't been shown on screen, will be harshly stripped of in audience's mind picture, again, one should truly admire the courage of the filmmakers here, all the wistful tunes, big band rollicking aside, the film can blow you away for its uncompromising reprimand of what a degraded world we are living and a high point in Pollack's just burgeoning career.

The_Film_Cricket Sydney Pollack's They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, is a very strange experience, a dark-hearted adaptation of Horace McCoy's novel about several people involved in a nightmarish dance marathon. I am at an impass here because I am choosing to reward Fonda's performance for a movie I didn't like very much. What is special is that Fonda here is that she shows a side of her talent that I never knew existed. She had been known personally as Henry's daughter and professionally as the star of featherweight pictures like Barefoot in the Park, Cat Ballou and the awful Barbarella. Yet, it was her role in Pollack's film that would show what she could really do as an actress.They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (a comical title but a deadly serious picture) takes place in 1932 in a shabby ballroom in Santa Monica, California. Fonda plays Gloria Beatty, an angry, embittered woman trying to enter a dance marathon with her partner who is disqualified because of a noisy cough. At the last minute, she picks Robert Syverton (Michael Sarrazin), a tall kid who is standing alone out of line. They enter a dance marathon in which a hundred couples have to keep dancing until they drop to their knees and are disqualified. Last couple standing gets 1,500 silver dollars. These contests were common in the 1930s and this one apparently goes on for weeks, with periodic rest breaks. The contest is merciless; it goes on and on and on while the sadistic MC Rocky (Supporting Actor winner Gig Young) scans the contestants to spot their weaknesses and exploit them in an effort to keep up the audience enthusiasm. He keeps raising the stakes, adding frequent heel-toe derbies in which the contestants have to heel-toe around a track for 10 agonizing minutes, with the last three couples to cross the finish line eliminated. As the dance goes on, it begins having horrifying effects on the dancers, who begin to crack under the pressure.The contestants circling around Robert and Gloria are an assorted cast of characters, all of whom are dancing as fast as they can for various reasons. There's the sailor and his wife, who are former dance marathon winners. There's the farm couple (Bruce Dern and Bonnie Bedilia) who need the money because she is pregnant. There are a couple of wannabe actors (Suzanna York and Robert Fields) who are in the contest hoping to be spotted by talent scouts. Each one has a reason for being there and each one is desperate to win for one reason or another. They are willing to kill themselves for the money and the MC, in an effort to keep the crowd entertained, is all too happy to oblige.This is the angriest character that Fonda has ever played. Gloria exhibits not one moment of happiness and never smiles. She has eyes that betray a life spent in misery and pain. What is most troubling is that she is still young, still beautiful and her disillusionment in life has come to her while her age is still fresh enough to offer possibilities. Yet, there's something else going on, something hidden. We learn very little about Gloria's past and that leaves us to fill in the blanks. We do know that she wanted to become an actress but failed, and we sense that her pathway to that dream perhaps led her to the casting couch. There's a perfect moment in which Rocky gives her a suggestive look and she defiantly tells him "no." We also sense that she has entered this contest as a means of last resort. When her dance partner is disqualified during the sign-up process, there is a panic in her eyes and she chooses Robert, the only man who doesn't seem partnered up. We expect that something will crack, that her personality is a facade that will begin to fade once they fall in love, but no romance blooms – Robert is just a means to an end. She is a woman hanging onto life by her fingernails and, late in the film, when she discovers that most of the prize money will be used to pay for contest expenses, it becomes clear that all the hours and days and weeks of continuous dancing are all for nothing, she has lost all reason to live. In this torturous rat race that "just goes on and on and on and on," she opts out, the hard way.This is a very effective performance by Jane Fonda. It explored a darkness that she never explored before or after. It was the beginning of a brilliant dramatic career that would make her one of the best actresses of her generation – she would play strong women, professional women, passionate women, but she would never show this dark heart again.

gsygsy Outstanding movie that packs a very powerful punch. When it was made, a new energy was firing American cinema - EASY RIDER came out the same year, FIVE EASY PIECES the year after. As the war with Vietnam dragged on, old values were being fearlessly re-examined. The dance hall of Horace McCoy's Depression era novel here becomes the stage on which the more questionable of those values are acted out.For all the characters, what the marathon is and what it means depends on what they need to get out of it. For James and Ruby (Dern and Bedilia) it's food for themselves and the baby that's on the way; for Alice and Joel (York and Fields) it's the chance of being seen by someone influential from the movie industry; for Gloria (Fonda), and for the Sailor and Shirl (Buttons and McLerie) it's to earn some money; and, as succinctly expressed in a scene between Robert (Sarrazin) and Rocky (Young), for the former the marathon is a competition, whilst for the latter, it's a show. As the marathon proceeds, the physical reality of it takes its mental toll, and its true meaning becomes clear. Rocky turns out to be right: it's an entertainment for those without much, so that they can feel better about themselves by watching the suffering of those with less. I write this nearly 80 years after McCoy's book was first published, nearly 45 years since the movie was released: regrettably, not much has changed.I saw the movie when I was a teenager, when it first came out. I retained some images from it, but I don't think it could have struck me then as it did last night when I watched it again, this time on DVD. It's an immense work by Sydney Pollack and his collaborators - particularly his screenwriters James Poe and Robert E. Thompson, his DOP Philip Lathrop, and his editor Frederic Steinkamp. The derby sequences in particular are tremendous - the camera gets amongst the competitors, forcing you to really feel what they're going through. It's as discomforting as it should be.The performances are all superb. Although Susannah York was apparently dismissive of her contribution, it is probably the best work she did on film. Similarly, Gig Young, who is extraordinarily good. Jane Fonda, Allyn Ann McLerie, Red Buttons, Bruce Dern, Bonnie Bedelia, Robert Fields, Madge Kennedy, Al Lewis and the wonderful Michael Sarrazin - all terrific.I write this early on Christmas Day. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE will be on TV at some point. Quite right, too, it's a great movie. But in my heart I feel that its seasonal message of hope should be balanced by a recognition that there are many - too many - in whose lives there is no hope. An annual peak-time showing of THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY? as a companion piece to the Capra would act as the necessary bracing reminder.