Emotionally disturbing images or films

[cliveh]

Are there any images or films that you found emotionally disturbing? I found the film "The Deer Hunter" disturbing.

 

[wy2l]

Images of the Internal Revenue Service are difficult for me to view.

 

[Tom1956]

Images of the Internal Revenue Service are difficult for me to view.

+1

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Films can be disturbing for very different reasons. Tetsuo the Iron Man wigs me out for very different reasons than Pink Flamingos - both are disturbing films, but at least I can laugh at Pink Flamingos at the same time I'm revolted. And Lord of the Flies is another disturbing film on yet another level, not because of anything cinematic but because of the nature of humanity that it exposes.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I thought Deer Hunter was interesting in that it dives into how damaging war can be to individuals. It is a real world problem, with lots of people who suffer psychologically and can never adjust back to normal life. They live among us and many of them fare ill and end up unable to lead a normal life again. It's particularly sensitive since the support network for these men and women is not enough to help them, and the movie at least gives people a little bit of a glimpse into what that brutal reality can be like.
Therefore I view that movie more in context of carrying social value.

Most films that disturb me are those with unnecessary violence where it's used just to impress and for effect.

 

[jwd722]

Images of the Internal Revenue Service are difficult for me to view.

...and a "certain" very high up politician

 

[Tom1956]

...and a "certain" very high up politician

+1 million

 

[gone]

Freaks. Eraserhead. The Sound of Music.

 

[WetMogwai]

After I watched A Serbian Film, I had to drink a very large glass of whiskey and watch The Muppets. Since then, I've watched several films that were supposed to be some of the most disturbing films ever made, including both Human Centipede films, Salo, and The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane. I've found none to be at all disturbing. A Serbian Film broke my fragile little mind.

 

[removed account4]

years ago i had a day in college where i had back to back to back classes dealing with genocide and death
so for hours i watched a film with survivors of the armenian genocide recounting their story ( with footage and still images )
then a 2 hour class full of matthew brady (american) civil war images of dead soldiers in the battlefield, and then ...
a 3 hour long photograph class with jeffery silverthorne who presented and passed around his series of people who died
of unknown causes / morgue portraits ... probably some of the most beautiful portraits i have ever seen ...

so while more than 5 hours of death and carnage kind of overwhelmed me ( and i have thought of that day of classes every day for nearly 30years)
joel peter witkin's work kind of disturbs me ...

oh ... lars von trier's antichrist is a pretty disturbing film

 

[doughowk]

Agree on Witkin's work.
Two somewhat recent films that I found disturbing (but very good) are
Triage
Memento

 

[Chris Lange]

Requiem For A Dream.

 

[hoffy]

Anything in a News Corp paper, or on Fox (except the Simpsons).

 

[Alan W]

Anything with Tom Hanks in it will get me every time.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Adam Sandler's slapstick comedies. All the moreso because he's brilliant when he tries to be subtle (Punch-drunk Love, Wedding Singer, Anger Management). Happy Gilmore though makes my skin crawl.

 

[winger]

Pit and the Pendulum (with Vincent Price) - the scene where he walks down the stairs calling "Elizabeth, Elizabeth". We watched it in 8th or 9th grade English class. Bugged me out for weeks (my full name is Elizabeth).

Gory films don't do it - spent too much time seeing the real thing.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Freaks. Eraserhead. The Sound of Music.

A friend used to call it The Sound of Mucus.

 

[Curt]

Yes, many.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Blue Velvet. That is one seriously twisted film.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

A photographer (actually a Ferrari-driving stockbroker) holding a Leica M9 with kid-leather gloves and telling the the breathlessly bored audience in the shop, "this camera takes the most awesome photos on the planet". <*audience leaves*>.

 

[largely]

I don't think I can ever watch the film of the Twin Towers falling again. I get get sick when I see it.

Larry

 

[Truzi]

The remakes of the Pink Panther series and Get Smart disturbed me

Seriously, though, as far as "disturbing," I can use that to describe something, but never really found any movie disturbing, including many mentioned above. Even if it is based on real events, the fact that it is staged takes the "disturbing" part away for me.
We've watched spinal surgery on TV while eating dinner; not much phases my family.

However, years ago there was some news program showing reconstructive surgery on a little girls face. They had actually detached the face to do so. When they were pulling it back up like a mask, I did find it a bit disturbing.

 

[mopar_guy]

Are there any images or films that you found emotionally disturbing? I found the film "The Deer Hunter" disturbing.

I find most of Christopher Walken's films to be disturbing.

 

[Tom1956]

I'm afraid just about any and all frightening movies or photos I've ever seen no longer phase me at all. I wish they did. The Exorcist was at one time quite horrifying, for instance. But I believe that what my Yahoo Mail news headlines page hammers me with repeatedly is the most maddening and sickening. Particularly in about the last 5 or 6 years. I do not get Fox or any other cable or satellite. My TV is practically permanently set on METV. But I do take a bit of heart that Fox hands it right back to 'em.
This photographic site and other related photographic fellowship goes a long way in allowing me to share a common interest with those from the "other side of the aisle", aside from namecalling and venom.
With that, I think the OP meant movies, and not "current events" as subject discussion.

 

[hoffy]

The one film that did disturb me the most was Natural Born Killers. The is a certain scene featuring Rodney Dangerfield, where they turn a domestic violence situation into a sitcom. Yeah, I know it was done in that way for a reason, but I still found it really confronting and distasteful.