ROCKSTAR

Do you like watching movies you know are going to break your heart? Wether the story is true life or not?

Sometimes I do. Take for example Carlito's Way. Al Pacino narrating Carlito's thoughts at the beginning and at the end of the movie are so moving, SO moving. You know from the get go it's going to end badly, but you still have hope that he'll do okay, that he'll get his dream.

Why? There are a lot of reasons.

Titanic is another one. You know how it'll end and you probably knew Jack would not make it out of the ship with Rose but yet somehow you had the hope that he would. That they could be together on dry land. You knew the Titanic was going to sink, but yet there was a sense of anticipation for the characters involved...because they didn't know.

Tragic movies have a different dynamic from other types of movies, including lighter dramas. Question is, do you like them?

shrrshrr

Actually, no - I don't - but I know a lot of people here do, and that's cool.

Just not my bag - I think life is tragic enough that I don't want to see it in film, but I think it's a really interesting thread topic - for that very reason, you know?

UnsilentMajorty

It all depends on how well it is executed in my opinion.

This goes for all stories, but specifically tragedy and its subgenres like heroic tragedy; romantic tragedy; etc.

For example, Spider Man and a lot of the super hero movies are stories about the tragic hero where the hero is doomed to the life of their calling (fighting evil) because he/she is afraid of what will happen to their loved ones if they are brought into that world by revealing their secret tothem.

Spider Man really executes this story better than any super hero movie thus far and is probably why it has such a universal appeal beyond just comic book fans.

Romantic tragedies tend to be more emotionally manipulative and generally disliked because they are cliche ala films like Dying Young and Sweet November.

So, again, for me, it is all about the execution because like the saying goes...

Certain stories should have inevitable endings, but the journey to get to the ending should not be predictable.

Quarterley

Tragic/dramatic/emotional is okay. Just so it's convincing and not forced. I don't like movies where they do it overboard and tries to hard to be tearjerkers....I don't like being manipulated like that.

I didn't really get watery-eyed watching Titanic and Sweet November even though it was sad.....trying to think of a movie that's very heartbreaking for me.....hmmm

Princess Bing

It really depends, I guess. Some movies just end tragic to have more impact. Ugh. So many movies that I love are actually tragedies, though. My favorite movie ever is a tragedy. Das Boot.

Galaxia21

I do, sometimes. But sometimes, especially if I've seen a lot of them in one day or something.. I just feel like smashing my tv in.

Blah.

So what are some people's opinions of tragic movies? Like which ones do you consider tragic?

ROCKSTAR

For me tragic is the movie that has doomed characters from the get go.

You know it's going to end badly but yet you watch it, and still sometime during the run of the movie think the characters will actually overcome all the adversities, etc, etc. Yet, they never were going to make it and you knew it from the beginning.

shrrshrr

Well, the few that I'll watch start off that way from the beginning so you know that it'll never work out and you're fairly prepared for the trauma that's coming.

One such film that I actaully liked was The Field - I highly recommend it, but don't expect a happy ending. Besides, half-way through you realize that there's no possible way everything can come out okay no matter what happens.

On the other hand, there are also horrible films that don't play this out well, and try for a "fake" ending to get the mood back up. One such film (and one that I despise) is Pennies From Heaven, with Steve Martin. *shudders*

So I guess it depends...

Captivating

I consider sad movies tragic, so I'd say Beaches & Steel Magnolias. I have a full out sob fest when I watch these two movies!

roswellcharmed_2000

some tragic are really good though like apollo 13 or titanic. you know the whole time something horrible is going to happen but you get so wrapped up in the story that you hope it somehow turns out okay in the end.

artist

Exactly.

uriah

I think titanic has to be the biggest cliche formulaic movie of all time (that's prolly why I like it so much ha ha!) and so it didn't really affect me as a tragic sort of film...

Life as a House is a tragic film that was awesome! I mean everything was tragic from Kevin Kleins disaffeted character (resulting from some pretty harsh treatment from his dad alluded to in the movie) to Hayden Christensen's rebellious son character...

Even Kristen Scott Thomas's forgotten wife character pulls at the heart strings.

I thought a well acted well out together movie that takes a closer look at the effects of a broken family that did not just start from when the parents divorce but deeper than that...

Captivating

Pearl Harbor & In The Bedroom are both very tramatic movies.

lost lullaby

I don't like watching tragic movies all the time, because they leave me crying forever. Seriously, I just think of a scene from the movie and I tear up. But, it turns out that a lot of tragic movies are my favourites.

Some movies that broke my heart are Swing Kids, Hero (the ending's just filled with so much! I cried.) and just recently, The Phantom of the Opera.

Kiss_Me_Kate323

It really depends on the movie. I gagged when I watched "Love Story", but I was truly touched when I watched "Charlie". Alot aren't worth my money, and alot are, and are also worth my tears.