While The Lost Weekend (1945) may focus on alcoholism, it still holds the #1 spot in my book for the most horrifying on screen withdrawal depiction and is a great movie to boot. Not to get in to a pissing contest, but while you're not trying H, add not becoming dependent on alcohol or other GABA-centric drugs, including benzodiazepines, as that kick has been described as having a full-blown panic attack for days on end, seizures, and can end in an unpleasant death.
I've lost more than one friend to opiate addiction, but this one story told to me by one heard from another has probably done more to scare me from that crap than anything [poop grossness warning]:
Opiates IIRC draw water away from your large intestine/colon, resulting in constipation from too dry compacted stool. This addict guy hadn't pooped in days and finally had to go bad. After a long and very painful struggle, which required him to actually shoot up while on the john to dull the pain, the log that finally appeared was as big around as a 12 oz. soda can. It gets worse. The log kept coming, eventually hitting the bottom of the toilet bowl and would not even bend, so he actually had to lift himself off the seat as it still emerged, due to the pain. It still wouldn't bend, break or stop, so he called out to his gf to bring him a knife to cut the log so he could sit back down and finish the job. That knife remained in the bathroom and was dubbed "the poop knife" and was used more than once. He continued to do opiates despite this.
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letess (1021)
2 years ago
Great movie for its time and Ray Milland did an excellent job. He could probably draw from his own experiences. Similarly, Days of Wine and Roses.
But there is nothing like Leaving Las Vegas to show the depths of alcoholism and the willing and wanting to die rather than stop drinking.
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Nanook (1449)
2 years ago
Dang, nice one. LLV is certainly a gut-wrenching depiction of alcoholism/addiction, well-deserving a top spot of films depicting such, not to mention a reminder of what Nic Cage is capable of as an actor. I just can't recall a particularly harrowing detoxing scene being in it, though I just saw it the one time close to its first release.
Also, DoWaR is another top notch film depicting addiction that doesn't shy away from some of the good times that get people started on the wrong path. Jack Lemmon is outstanding as always, not to be redundant. I recall the greenhouse scene as especially heartbreaking.
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letess (1021)
2 years ago
There is for sure no detox in LLV. It was his last chapter. Yes, it was an all time best performance by Cage. I will have to watch Lost Weekend again as I don’t recall detox scene. There are a list of addiction movies but I don’t recall the detox scenes. The op mentions French Connection - actually it is FCII where Popeye is held prisoner and made to be a heroin addict. But he goes cold turkey and then he doesn’t go back to it so it seems problem solved- but as far as I can remember, there was nothing like Panic in Needle Park with Pacino and Kitty Winn (her performance was one the best I have ever seen) with regard to heroin addiction and LLV for alcoholism. I loved the movie Drug Store Cowboy as a movie. What a depressing topic - I just noticed the original posting was 15 years ago. Does anybody actually decide not to try drugs or not to become an addict because of a movie.
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ccr1633 (1429)
2 years ago
Does anybody actually decide not to try drugs or not to become an addict because of a movie.
I decided not to nearly kill myself repeatedly to get a glimpse of the afterlife after watching Flatliners.
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