Cinemarch Madness: Coppola Division Poll
I haven’t seen a few key entries in the Coppola division, which I suspect is making my decision easier here. Not “easy,” but easier.
Based on what I have seen, I can rule out Apocalypse Now (not difficult in the sense I mean it, plus it’s overrated and Dennis Hopper is untenable); Titicut Follies (shocking and sad, but not hopeless enough); and Where The Day Takes You (seemed awfully harsh and profound 20 years ago; has not aged well and does not punch its weight here).
So that leaves Biutiful, Deliverance, and Irreversible. Biutiful is just that, as well as very long and utterly devastating. Deliverance has become something of a punchline, but it’s not just That Scene (or…that other scene with Ronny Cox, which is one of the all-time gut-punching cuts of American film). It’s the air of creeping menace that you don’t realize you’ve been bracing against until the credits roll and you feel like you pulled every muscle in your neck.
…Irreversible. I almost threw up. A near-real-time rape that’s brutally effective and almost insupportable to anyone with emotions.
But I think it’s Last King of Scotland sailing through for sure, plus probably Osama and Bully.
Vote now!
Coppola Division: Vote for the THREE (3) harshest films.
- The Last King of Scotland (16%, 122 Votes)
- The Pianist (14%, 111 Votes)
- Deliverance (13%, 104 Votes)
- Apocalypse Now (11%, 89 Votes)
- Irreversible (11%, 89 Votes)
- City of God (11%, 86 Votes)
- Biutiful (7%, 53 Votes)
- Bully (6%, 48 Votes)
- How to Survive a Plague (4%, 31 Votes)
- Osama (1%, 11 Votes)
- Titicut Follies (1%, 11 Votes)
- The Postman Always Rings Twice (1%, 10 Votes)
- Homicide (1%, 6 Votes)
- Where The Day Takes You (1%, 4 Votes)
- The Nines (0%, 3 Votes)
Total Voters: 299
Loading ...Not sure what’s going on? You’ll fit right in around here (heh) but in the meantime, the Cinemarch Madness FAQ is here, and a poll overview is here.
Tags: Apocalypse Now Biutiful Bully Cinemarch Madness Deliverance Dennis Hopper Francis Ford Coppola Irreversible Last King of Scotland movies Osama Ronny Cox Titicut Follies Where The Day Takes You
Just googled Irreversible and saw that scene. Jesus. I don’t know if I can ever scrub that from my brain.
It’s bad that I’ve never seen any of these movies, right?
Not if you like sleeping at night.
So I just realized that the Pianist is not the Piano, and that it’s not seeing Harvey Keitel naked that has everyone so traumatized.
I really didn’t think Last King would pull so far ahead. But different traumatic strokes for different whimpering folks, I guess.
I don’t know, I feel like the worst parts of Last King are less effective since they were not real. I know that it was an attempt to make the atrocities of Amin’s rule come across, but it felt manipulative to me. I feel like it took artistic license too far.
Sadly that’s one of the only films on the list that I’ve seen, so I don’t know what to pick instead.
@ferretrick: Heh. Speak for yourself, buddy.
I think maybe The Nines isn’t in the same league, at least for me. I thought it was engaging and clever. I found the ending wrenching, but I didn’t make me want to roll around on the ground and eat dirt the way some of the other entries did. Uh, do.
There’s no way I can make myself watch Irreversible even once, let alone twice. Not goin’ there. (I think that’s going to be my comment about many of these. I’m such a wimp.)
The effect of The Pianist was somewhat muted for me because when I saw it in the theatre the young woman in the seat ahead of me got the giggles every time something painful, degrading or heartbreaking happened. By the end of the movie I thought she was an irredeemable clod. I actually spoke to her after the credits about how much her behaviour had disturbed me during the movie, and she apologized (sincerely, I think). Turns out she laughed like that under stress.
Er. That should be “it didn’t make me want to,” above. It’s not like I do that to myself on purpose. (Or do I?)
Until ferretrick said it, I swear I was seeing “The Piano” on that list and not what’s really on there. Sheesh!