They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Dan S

  
  A mostly competently made, fascinatingly bleak tale concerning a dance marathon and how some very different characters are affected by its rigorous rules. This movie came so close to being a great, uncompromisingly grim look on the state of show-business, but it makes a deadly mistake… More
  A mostly competently made, fascinatingly bleak tale concerning a dance marathon and how some very different characters are affected by its rigorous rules. This movie came so close to being a great, uncompromisingly grim look on the state of show-business, but it makes a deadly mistake at its conclusion, going a step over-the-top and opting to be poetic not naturally, but just for the sake of being so. Still, despite it taking a while to get into it, once you get adjusted to the pace it becomes enamoring. Jane Fonda couldn't be better, and she gets solid support from Michael Sarrazin as her on-again, off-again dance partner, Red Buttons as a likable sailor, and Susannah York who is a nervous breakdown waiting to happen. Sydney Pollack creates a dark atmosphere for his depressing picture, but doesn't quite bring it into classic/greatness territory, as evidenced by its melodramatic finale.

• Michael G

  
  They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is one of those movies where you recognize its greatness as you watch it, but at the same time you know you're watching a really well-orchestrated gruesome car crash that you probably don't ever, ever need to see again. Jane Fonda radiates… More
  They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is one of those movies where you recognize its greatness as you watch it, but at the same time you know you're watching a really well-orchestrated gruesome car crash that you probably don't ever, ever need to see again. Jane Fonda radiates brassy bitchiness to the point of arousal (for me at least), Gig Young glistens with sliminess and Sydney Pollack's direction is superb. Especially during the jarring race sequences. I knew there'd be a certain level of bleakness involved with a movie about horrifically desperate people in an almost sadistic marathon dance contest, but enduring the movie seemed nearly as painful as being in the contest. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is a fantastic movie even if it floundered a little bit toward the middle. But that last 10 minutes made the movie in spades...

• Tim S

  
  This movie was not what I expected at all. I was floored by how good it was. The entire film is a brilliant satire of the American way through the eyes of these participants in this Depression era dance contest. The lengths and the degradation that these people go through for money is… More
  This movie was not what I expected at all. I was floored by how good it was. The entire film is a brilliant satire of the American way through the eyes of these participants in this Depression era dance contest. The lengths and the degradation that these people go through for money is still as effective today. Makes me think that this film was probably ahead of it's time, but it was on the cusp of that golden age of the seventies and introduced the world to Sydney Pollack (also gave me a lot of respect for him), so it was fascinating to watch. Jane Fonda is gorgeous and Red Buttons is brilliant, but my favorite couple was Bonnie Bedelia (Holly McClane) and Bruce Dern. There was a couple of problems I had with a couple of things and the ending some might think is over the top, but I thought it was great. Nice Surprise.

• Pierluigi P

  
  It is not only a story about poor people struggling to win an anguishing dance contest in the eve of the 1930s great depression; It is a cruel but honest allegory that mirrors the state apparatus and the thinly disguised form of slavery imposed to all its citizens. The damned, who are… More
  It is not only a story about poor people struggling to win an anguishing dance contest in the eve of the 1930s great depression; It is a cruel but honest allegory that mirrors the state apparatus and the thinly disguised form of slavery imposed to all its citizens. The damned, who are blinded by empty promises and guided to a cliff when they can not benefit the big evil machinery. They can't have enough with condemning us to oblivion, but they indistinctly also shoot down our dreams, those galloping gallant horses we once visualized, who now are laying, rotting somewhere in our conscience. I don't know if my notions are mistaken, if it sounds just like cheap demagoguery. All I know is that everything I said is what I felt when I watched Sidney Pollack's masterpiece for the first time. One of those late 60s-early 70s landmark films that held such powerful grudge against the system, and an extremely dim prospect of our existence.

• jay n

  
  extremely well acted but profoundly depressing

• Dannielle A

  
  Set in 1932, hundreds of desperate people sign up for a dance marathon for the prize of 1,500 silver dollars which even today is worth a lot of money. This movie shows the depravity of man and the challenging, humiliating, and exhausting lengths to which people will go for money.… More
  Set in 1932, hundreds of desperate people sign up for a dance marathon for the prize of 1,500 silver dollars which even today is worth a lot of money. This movie shows the depravity of man and the challenging, humiliating, and exhausting lengths to which people will go for money. The message was presented well... I heard it loud and clear... but the road to get there was long, tiring, and depressing. Jane Fonda plays Gloria, a hostile, rude, and pessimistic feminist. You can't help feeling sorry for her but at the same time, you want to punch her in the face. Her dance parter Robert (played by Sarrazin) plays the perfect patsy. I still give it one star because it bored me to death. The acting was great (especially by Red Buttons) but the film was just awfully depressing. I don't understand why so many people rave about how this is one of the greatest American films ever.

• Andrew F

  
  An interesting look at Depression-era America, with the wonderful Jane Fonda.

• Lesley N

  
  Economic depression is bad.

• MJS M

  
  For the last heretofore unseen film I?ve watched in 2009, I chose this New Hollywood tinged film about an endurance dance-contest in depression era Chicago. The whole contest quickly turns into a sadistic and dehumanizing hell being looked upon like the Romans would have looked upon… More
  For the last heretofore unseen film I?ve watched in 2009, I chose this New Hollywood tinged film about an endurance dance-contest in depression era Chicago. The whole contest quickly turns into a sadistic and dehumanizing hell being looked upon like the Romans would have looked upon gladiatorial death matches. The basic concept is a pretty original one. The whole thing conveys the desperation in the air and the set-up is a pretty interesting way to depict human suffering. The film also has some really good acting from Jane Fonda and Gil Young and the film is a great directorial debut by Sydney Pollack. That said, I think the movie works better as a concept than on an individual character level. I?m still really glad I saw though because I?d been hearing my uncle talk at length about this being the last film he saw (on a double bill with Patton) before going off to Vietnam, he remembers being baffled by the ending.

• cody f

  
  Easily the darkest film Pollack ever made. It's funny how he started off with a dark film and the rest of his career is good,but full of fluff films. Great performances all around with perfect casting.Every actor is realistic and their is not one person who feels out of place or… More
  Easily the darkest film Pollack ever made. It's funny how he started off with a dark film and the rest of his career is good,but full of fluff films. Great performances all around with perfect casting.Every actor is realistic and their is not one person who feels out of place or gives anything but their best effort.Gig Young won a much deserved Oscar as the MC and he does stand out,but he does get a lot of help. Great story about endurance and desperation during a marathon dance contest during the Great Depression. The only flaw of the film is the flash forwards throughout the entire movie that just give away too much information.Strange and surprising ending that leaves the viewer exhausted and never wanting to enter a dance contest.

• Audrey L

  
  Pollack's masterpiece,in my humble opinion... This is a difficult film to watch and is impossible to forget.Based on the novel by the same name,They Shoot Horses Don't They, is set in 1930's depression era USA, when dance marathons provided a means by which to earn… More
  Pollack's masterpiece,in my humble opinion... This is a difficult film to watch and is impossible to forget.Based on the novel by the same name,They Shoot Horses Don't They, is set in 1930's depression era USA, when dance marathons provided a means by which to earn small amounts of money by sheer endurance and desperation. Dancers were provided with food and water to compete for several days,sometimes weeks.People regularly dropped to the floor with exhaustion,amidst an audience which paid admission to watch the horrific events, and cheer on their favorites. These events were not unlike the entertainment at the Roman Collloseum,only the ravages were psychological and not always lethal... The film is shocking in the display of human desperation,fatigue and existential pointlessness. The cost of this most inhumane and socially cannibalistic "entertainment,can be symbolically related to much of the human condition as well today as when it was first filmed.A must see for any serious film lover.

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