You wanna see two POWERFULL films about alcoholism?
THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES (1962)
(this one blew my mind - they even go into AA and recovery)
THE LOST WEEKEND (1945)
(VERY good as well - though not as good as the above film in my opinion)
I'm telling you, if you can relate to the disease, these are MUST SEE films!!! If AA showed films, these would be in the regular rotation...
-Anonymous Alcoholic
I'd like to add two additional movies to that list. Both of these movies are of more recent vintage, but still portray alcoholism. "Drunks" and "When a Man Loves a Woman". Both of these movies address the problem from different perspectives, and both are quite effective. When a Man Loves a Woman deals much more with the acts that get us into the rooms, and Drunks shows up a very vivid, very accurate representation as to what can happen when someone goes back out.
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Lesser-known flick: early 50s "Come Fill the Cup," with Jas. Cagney & Gig Young. Great tagline: "Don't you see? I am home."
51depasser
Lesser-known flick: early 50s "Come Fill the Cup," with Jas. Cagney & Gig Young. Great tagline: "Don't you see? I am home."
51depasser
I agree with you regarding the power of these two films. I also agree with you that DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES is the superior film. LOST WEEKEND tends to wander into the area of melodrama a bit too much. DAYS is a raw and uncomprising look at what the disease can do to a person, solidly directed by Blake Edwards with devastating lead performances from Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick.
shareTry Nil By Mouth, for a totally uncompromising view of alcoholism, as well as a look at other addictions....
shareI remember seeing a film while in rehab that I thought was called "I'll Quit Tomorrow," or some such title. Although I don't remember specifics, I do remember it made an impression on me. It portrayed a drunk in the bad times before recovery, and it was from this film that I realized that some of the stuff I remembered hadn't actually happened. I didn't know that we actually can manufacture memories! Anyway, I'd like to find that film. Does it sound familiar to anyone?
shareI think the film you might be referring to is the 1955 film I'LL CRY TOMORROW, which starred Susan Hayward as nightclub singer Lillian Roth, who went through a serious bout of alcoholism (according to this film anyway). Hayward received a Best Actress nomination for the film; however, she lost the award to Anna Magnani for THE ROSE TATTOO.
shareSusan Hayward was nominated for an Acadamy Award in 1948 (Smashup) 1950 (My Foolish Heart) 1953 (With A Song In My Heart) 1956 (I'LL Cry Tomorrow) 1959 (I Want To Live) for which she finally won. In the last two she played an Alcoholic; Lillian Roth who found Alcoholics Anonymous and Barbara Graham who was executed for murder. These two roles were not the only addicts she played in her long career but they were devastating to watch. It was I'll Cry Tomorrow that led me to A.A. The scene where she was hustling sailors for a drink in a dingy bar broke all of my pretenses. I saw not how my life was, but how my life would be if I did not quit drinking. Much later I actually met Lillian Roth who told me that she could not watch the movie because Susan made it too real and raw.
As for "The Lost Weekend", you should ignore the movie and read the book. Charles Jackson was an alcoholic who never was able to maintain sobriety and his book is an alcholic nightmare. Anyone who has ever suffered alcoholism will recognize themself. The Hollywood happy ending ruins the story.
"My Name is Bill" was as good as it was because James Wood spent a great deal of time with Lois Wilson who showed him pictures and played tapes and movies so he could hear and see Bill and learn who he was. I knew Bill and Lois and I was very impressed with the manner in which Mr. Wood played the role. He had Bill's mannerisms and accent down pat. Gary Sinese did a good job playing Ebby but his best role as an alcoholic was as Lt. Dan in "Forrest Gump".
Of all of them, "Days of Wine and Roses" is probably the most true and Lee Remick was the most real of all. I don't know where she got it but she seemed to know what an alcoholic feels and suffers and how hard it is to stay quit. I have a hard time watching that movie.
Great post. Very informative and insightful stuff. Thank you for sharing this.
shareA film I noticed hasn't been mentioned is "Come Back Little Sheba". Shows how much we have to work on besides just putting a cork in the bottle.
Waffles Anyone
rstory-3
http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
Thank you for those recommendations, I also would recommend checking out My name is Bill W since its coming out on DVD, the picture/audio will never have been as clean as it will be on dvd so it's worth a second look.
shareYou all recommend great movies on recovery! At times though they can be pretty heavy handed. The movie that got me started on the path of happy destiny is called "The Pilot" starring Cliff Robertson (1981 - Paragon Video Productions). Robertson is the best pilot drunk or sober but he realizes that alcohol is hiding the truth that he has to discover and deal with. It hasn't come out on DVD but I got my copy of the VHS on eBay.
shareWhat was that one where the guy was standing on a highway drunk and he starts hallucinating elephants and lions?
shareHow 'bout Leaving Las Vegas?
They had us watch Leaving Las Vegas in rehab. A powerful film that realistically portrays endstage alcoholism. Movie doesn't have a feel good ending though, so that might turn some administrators at centers off to the idea.
"Maybe this world is another planet's Hell." - Aldous Huxley
I am always looking for some little known substance abuse films to show my groups and the two that stand out are Tender Mercies and Radio Flyer. Both are great films.
shareStewart Saves His Family is a hilarious and touching film starring Al Franken about alcoholism, compulsive overeating, 12-step addiction and recovery. Watch it!
shareBad santa...Any degenerate drunk like myself loves that film
shareAlso"Voice in the Mirror" fictionalized story about the founding of a recovery group resembling A.A. Starred Richard Egan and Julie London. Very hard to find. Also the original Playhouse 90 version of "Days of wine and Roses" starring Cliff Robertson and Piper Laurie, very good version. I wish they would make Jack London's "John Barlycorn" into a film or miniseries.
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