23 LISTS Sad Movies to Bum You OutLists of the best movies to watch when all you want to do is wrap yourself in a blanket burrito, flop over sideways, and feel terrible about the world and everything in it.
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The Most Utterly Depressing Movies Ever Made
Ranker Film
41.2k votes 7.3k voters 158.4k views 145 items
List Rules Vote up the greatest films that are relentlessly bleak and depressing, with characters struck down by beat after soul-crushing beat of nonstop psychological torment.
These films are depressing, but they're also remarkable. After all, what's better than depressing movies when you need to sit down and have a solid cry? The best utterly depressing movies are about heartbreaking tragedies in every form. This is a list of the most depressing movies of all time including everything from The Hours to Blue is the Warmest Colour to The Lovely Bones.
What films will you find on this list of good movies that are utterly depressing? Requiem for a Dream follows a group of friends who will stop at nothing to fulfill their dangerous drug addictions. Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, and Ellen Burstyn all gave devastatingly real performances in this Darren Aronofsky film. 12 Years a Slave is one of the most depressing movies ever made since it focuses on the real-life horrors of slavery in America. Melancholia is unique in its examination of depression as the world comes to an end. Other good depressing movies featured on this list include Room, Revolutionary Road, and Manchester by the Sea.
Do you have a favorite depressing film? Give the best movies a thumbs up and please add any crushing classics that are missing.
Requiem for a Dream Jennifer Connelly, Jared Leto, Ellen Burstyn
Requiem for a Dream is a 2000 American psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, and Marlon Wayans. The film is based on ...more
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#40 of 257 The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time #140 of 291 The Top Tearjerker Movies That Make Men Crylisted on Movies Set in Brooklyn
Greg Kootstra added Schindler's List Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley
Schindler's List is a 1993 American epic historical period drama, directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg and scripted by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the novel Schindler's Ark by Thomas ...more
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#8 of 382 The Best War Movies Ever #57 of 336 'Old' Movies Every Young Person Needs To Watch In Their Lifetimelisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever
Lenie Ekamper added The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, Vera Farmiga
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (released as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas) is a 2008 British historical-drama film directed by Mark Heyman, based on the novel by John Boyne. During World War ...more
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Siersha 2 added The Green Mile Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Sam Rockwell
The Green Mile is a 1999 American fantasy drama film directed by Frank Darabont and adapted from the 1996 Stephen King novel of the same name. The film is told in a flashback format and stars ...more
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#27 of 336 'Old' Movies Every Young Person Needs To Watch In Their Lifetime #530 of 769 The Best Horror Movies of All Time #48 of 1,699 The Most Rewatchable Movies
Dorsett Scott Peake added Grave of the Fireflies Yoshiko Shinohara, Akemi Yamaguchi, Ayano Shiraishi
Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 Japanese animated drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata and animated by Studio Ghibli. It is based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical novel Grave of ...more
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#118 of 600 The Best Animated Films Ever #213 of 382 The Best War Movies Ever #287 of 336 'Old' Movies Every Young Person Needs To Watch In Their Lifetime
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Paula Patton
Precious is a 2009 American drama film, directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels. Precious is an adaptation by Geoffrey S. Fletcher of the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire. The film stars Gabourey ...more
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#62 of 719 The Best Black Movies Ever Made, Ranked #14 of 157 The Best Movies You Never Want to Watch Againlisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever
The Road Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Viggo Mortensen
The Road is a 2009 American post-apocalyptic drama film directed by John Hillcoat from a screenplay written by Joe Penhall, which is in return based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 2006 novel of ...more
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#12 of 157 The Best Movies You Never Want to Watch Again #245 of 347 The Best Movies Based On Books #397 of 601 The Greatest Epic Movies Ever Made
Rex Botengan added Million Dollar Baby Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Hilary Swank
Million Dollar Baby is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood, and starring Eastwood, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman. This film is about an ...more
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#34 of 93 The Very Best Oscar-Winning Movies #1,080 of 1,699 The Most Rewatchable Movieslisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever
JamesGirl_21 added The Color Purple Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Laurence Fishburne
The Color Purple is a 1985 American period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It was Spielberg's eighth film as ...more
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#150 of 336 'Old' Movies Every Young Person Needs To Watch In Their Lifetime #6 of 719 The Best Black Movies Ever Made, Ranked #123 of 710 The Best Movies Roger Ebert Gave Four Stars
Tamm Walters added Boys Don't Cry Hilary Swank, Chloë Sevigny, Natalie Zea
Boys Don't Cry is a 1999 American independent romantic drama film directed by Kimberly Peirce and co-written by Andy Bienen. The film is a dramatization of the real-life story of Brandon Teena, ...more
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#144 of 257 The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time #13 of 157 The Best Movies You Never Want to Watch Againlisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever
What Dreams May Come Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Max von Sydow
What Dreams May Come is a 1998 American fantasy drama film, starring Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Annabella Sciorra and Max von Sydow. The film is based on the 1978 novel of the same name ...more
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#186 of 257 The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time #243 of 336 'Old' Movies Every Young Person Needs To Watch In Their Lifetimelisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever
Kaitlyn Kristina Arnould added Sophie's Choice Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol
Sophie's Choice is a 1982 American drama film directed by Alan J. Pakula, who adapted William Styron's novel of the same name. Meryl Streep stars as Sophie, a Polish immigrant who shares a ...more
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#251 of 336 'Old' Movies Every Young Person Needs To Watch In Their Lifetime #36 of 157 The Best Movies You Never Want to Watch Againlisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever
The Lovely Bones Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon
The Lovely Bones is a 2009 supernatural drama film directed by Peter Jackson and stars Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli, and Saoirse Ronan. A film ...more
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Jon DeSpirito added What's Eating Gilbert Grape Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis
What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a 1993 American drama film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Darlene Cates, and Leonardo DiCaprio. Peter Hedges wrote the ...more
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#84 of 630 The Greatest Guilty Pleasure Movies #279 of 1,699 The Most Rewatchable Movies #122 of 291 The Top Tearjerker Movies That Make Men Cry
Elisabeth Gade Kjelmann added My Sister's Keeper Cameron Diaz, Alec Baldwin, Emily Deschanel
My Sisters's Keeper is a 2009 American drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes and starring Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Sofia Vassilieva, and Alec Baldwin. Based on Jodi Picoult's novel of the ...more
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#60 of 291 The Top Tearjerker Movies That Make Men Cry #167 of 231 The Best Movies for Women #5 of 60 The Best Movies for Heartbreak
Siersha 2 added Hotel Rwanda Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Don Cheadle
Hotel Rwanda is a 2004 American historical drama film directed by Terry George. It was adapted from a screenplay written by both George and Keir Pearson. It stars Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo ...more
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#94 of 382 The Best War Movies Ever #18 of 719 The Best Black Movies Ever Made, Ranked #125 of 291 The Top Tearjerker Movies That Make Men Cry
Xavier Indeglia added The Elephant Man Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft
The Elephant Man is a 1980 American-British biographical film about Joseph Merrick, a severely deformed man in 19th century London. The film was directed by David Lynch and stars John Hurt, ...more
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#222 of 336 'Old' Movies Every Young Person Needs To Watch In Their Lifetime #91 of 291 The Top Tearjerker Movies That Make Men Cry #23 of 157 The Best Movies You Never Want to Watch Again
12 Years a Slave Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch
12 Years a Slave is a 2013 period drama film directed by Steve McQueen, based on the 1853 memoir by Solomon Northup In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free ...more
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#78 of 719 The Best Black Movies Ever Made, Ranked #32 of 93 The Very Best Oscar-Winning Movieslisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever
Benjamin Scott McNair added The Mist Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden
The Mist is a 2007 American science fiction horror film based on the 1980 novella of the same name by Stephen King. The film was written and directed by Frank Darabont, who had previously ...more
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#65 of 769 The Best Horror Movies of All Time #51 of 157 The Best Movies You Never Want to Watch Again #240 of 347 The Best Movies Based On Books
Siersha 2 added Atonement Keira Knightley, Benedict Cumberbatch, Saoirse Ronan
Atonement is a 2007 British romantic drama film directed by Joe Wright and based on Ian McEwan's 2001 novel of the same name. The film stars James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Romola ...more
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#171 of 220 The Greatest World War II Movies of All Time #116 of 291 The Top Tearjerker Movies That Make Men Crylisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever
Siersha 2 added Leaving Las Vegas Nicolas Cage, Mariska Hargitay, Elisabeth Shue
Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis and based on a semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage, who has ended his ...more
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#25 of 157 The Best Movies You Never Want to Watch Again #312 of 710 The Best Movies Roger Ebert Gave Four Starslisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever
Heather Robison Hillman added Life Is Beautiful Roberto Benigni, Horst Buchholz, Richard Sammel
Life Is Beautiful is a 1997 Italian tragicomedy comedy-drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian book shop owner, who must employ his ...more
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#252 of 336 'Old' Movies Every Young Person Needs To Watch In Their Lifetime #68 of 220 The Greatest World War II Movies of All Timelisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever
Heather Robison Hillman added The Deer Hunter Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken
The Deer Hunter is a 1978 American epic drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Russian American steelworkers and their service in Vietnam. The film stars Robert De ...more
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#35 of 382 The Best War Movies Everfeaturing Unbelievable Stories From Behind The Scenes Of 'The Deer Hunter'listed on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever
Rick LeRoy added Mystic River Emmy Rossum, Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon
Mystic River is a 2003 American mystery drama film directed and scored by Clint Eastwood. It stars Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, and Laura Linney. ...more
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#25 of 257 The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time #158 of 710 The Best Movies Roger Ebert Gave Four Starslisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever
Siersha 2 added The Pianist Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Emilia Fox
The Pianist is a 2002 historical drama film co-produced and directed by Roman Polanski, scripted by Ronald Harwood, and starring Adrien Brody. It is based on the autobiographical book The ...more
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#81 of 382 The Best War Movies Ever #37 of 220 The Greatest World War II Movies of All Timelisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever
not on the list? add item #146
List Rules: Vote up the greatest films that are relentlessly bleak and depressing, with characters struck down by beat after soul-crushing beat of nonstop psychological torment.
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