Probably the best movie about alcohol or drug addiction/love, except for maybe Leaving Las Vegas. The acting is amazing and the events are real and believable. This film is enough to make me never ever touch a drop of alcohol.
shareThis movie stayed with me for a very long time after seeing it for the first time. The greenhouse scene is one of the most memorable moments I've ever seen on film. This film is one of my top ten favorites and I try to watch it whenever it's on TV. Blake Edwards is most known for the Pink Panther films, but I think this is his greatest movie. Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick were outstanding.
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today."
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CityRocker you put Leaving Las Vegas before The Lost Weekend?
what are you, drunk?
Lemmon and Remmick were both phenomenal....I'm surprised that the blurb above calls it "dated" I don't think Leaving Las Vegas can hold a candle to it. Lost weekend was very good. I'll drink to that.
shareLeaving Las Vegas is not in the same league as Days of Wine and Roses or The Lost Weekend. Anyone who knows alcoholism--or can appreciate two truly great films--should be able to spot that without too much difficulty. Nicholas Cage used to be an actor. Now he's just a blank stare. It's a travesty that he won an Oscar for that sleepwalk.
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although the greenhouse scene was terrific and most memorable, i think the scene when Joe comes home and Kirs is trying to put the baby to sleep is the best of the film. The scene was unrelenting and completely unsimpathetic to both the characters and the audience. At first, you cringe at the seemingly deafening volume of Joe's drunken voice. As the scene goes on, you slowly begin to warm up to his pleas for drunken companionship as Kirs does. The audience is drawn into the temptations of addiction that the characters feel. It is as perfect a scene that i have ever witnessed, encompassing a range of emotions with expert balance. A career making turn by the director!
shareAgree with all that has been said regarding the greenhouse scene and the drunken/wake the baby scene...pivotal...however, the KEY scene is when Joe/Kirs are on their first date by the docks. Joe finishes the flagon of booze; "I condemn thee to the deep!" ...cue haunting music, the bottle floats on the surface.... Kirs then prophetically says; (paraphrase)"The days of wine and roses are not long, the dream opens a path, you choose, then it closes"...they look into each others eyes, you think they will kiss, have they fallen in love?? But they have chosen a path... THAT is the KEY moment in the film.
shareThose are great scenes. The third greatest scene in this film for me have to be the scene where Joe was in the hospital with the straight jacket and the doctors injected something to him and when 'they' show a close up of Joe's face and he was crying.
This is a very emotional film. I can't believe I haven't seen this before.
When two people love each other, they come together -WHAM- like two taxi on Broadway.share
I'm stuck in a glass case of emotion!
I agree the movie has a haunting quality that makes you ache for the characters. I'm glad the movie ended on a sad and distressing note showing that not all alcoholics are willing to admit they have a problem. The Greenhouse scene is very memorable but the final scene where Lemmon is looking out his apartment window and seeing his wife walk away and the BAR sign is flashing at him, almost mocking him, will stay with me forever.
This is a film that stuck in me head for a long while after I saw it. Unfortunately it has been a long while since I've seen it and although I'm wracking my brains I just can't remember the greenhouse scene.
Can somebody please put me out of my misery.
*+*+* All you base are belong to us *+*+*
The greenhouse scene is where Joe and Kirsten have gone to her dad's to sober up, which they do, but Joe had a bottle hidden in the greenhouse, in one of the flower pots. After being clean for a bit they of course get drunk again and when they run out he tries to find the bottle in the flower pot, but can't remember which pot it is. Of course he's drunk stupid and gets mad and starts wrecking the entire greenhouse, looking for his bottle. It's a terrible scene, him crawling an crying in the dirt and pot shards, because he is so desperate and full of self hate, and it's his father-in-law's greenhouse...
I agree that that is one of the best scenes I ever saw about the drama of alcohol.
Well I have a theory on the ending as well! (Got to get the Blake Edwards commentary to find out)
OK, Joe looks out having lost Kirs (again)...did she go to the BAR...probably, and it is slightly mocking him as the neon sign is prominent. Then after that POV we see him at the window and the BAR neon sign is reflecting and is REVERSED against his face, it says RAB... Does this mean he has finally reversed the effect of booze on his life?? Is he cured??? Wooohhaaa ..what an ending...even Shakespeare couldnt have written a better tragedy!!
I just saw the film for the first time today, though it has been on my list for a while now.
It is truly splendid, but what a horror to watch. I have never felt so frightened watching a film. Frightened in the sense where you can see the walls crumbling and knowing you're going to have to see it through with the characters.
I agree, the acting is realistic and excellent. Lemmon is one of my favourites, but also what a joy to see Jack Klugman (aka Quincy) as the Alcholics Anonymous guy. His acting was almost identical to his Quincy role.
The ending is memorable too. I hadn't thought of the BAR-RAB reversal theory, but it makes sense. It leaves you thinking nevertheless, what will become of the three. I also thought possibly that Joe (Lemmon) could even have felt the temptation himself when looking out the window.
I just wonder how long it will be before my next drink.....
I saw this film for the first time last night, and it truly was resonant with me. Over a year ago, I too was out of control with my drinking, and to see the drunken body language and drunken rages which fall into tearful writhing self hate, it really transported back to another time in my life, and truly was cringe worthy as someone else put it. It also made me realize why I no longer do this.
I said all this to say, the movie absolutely excellent. The acting was realistic and striking. I saw myself so many times. This is a must see for anyone struggling with addiction, especially that of alcohol. And all of the lines were true to life, especially those of his friend from AA.
I must say, though, while I was completely riveted with the greenhouse scene, I loved the scene at the end where Joe is trying to convince Kirsten of the wonderful life he is now leading as a sober person. When he said "I am delighted to be this way!" I felt his happiness and mostly, his conviction. I felt like standing up and clapping in the end, and though it was bittersweet, I was glad to see at least one of the characters successfully controlling his disease. He kept relapsing, and I was starting to wonder if he would even get clean.
I was hoping for a happy ending, but it was realistic.
shareI just saw this film tonight for the first time, after falling doubly hard for Blake Edwards' films and for the incomparable Jack Lemmon. The scene at the very end that you describe is absolutely haunting. I sat with my mouth agape for minutes as the credits rolled, trying to get over the image of his eyes staring out that window, his facing being lit by the flashing neon light. Absolutely stunning. You are missed, Jack!
shareYeah, I fell so hard for Jack Lemmon, and I also watched it for the first time two nights ago when I couldn't sleep, and another time last night to listen to Blake Edwards' commentary. It has quickly secured a spot in my top 10 films list.
The one thing that seperates this addiction film from all others is the love story, the beating heart of the film. Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick (if it weren't 1962 when the film came out, they would've won Oscars) both had unbelievable chemistry. You didn't feel like they were reciting lines rather than feeding off one another. I completely bought the fact that they were in love and a married couple.
After I saw this, I compared it to Requiem for a Dream and Trainspotting, other addiction films. But in the end, Trainspotting and Requiem just didn't have that emotional core (Requiem did, but not nearly as much as Days). The element of Days that make it so heartbreaking is the fact that these two people deeply love each other but that they feel they only truly love each other with booze. Their love is so deep, in fact, that a sober Joe would get drunk just to be with her. As Blake Edwards put it, "*That's* true love. She's at her absolute lowest, and he's swooping down to have a drink with her." The most heartbreaking moment in film is the last scene. You desperately want Joe to take Kirsten back, but at the same time you don't, knowing that they'll both just get drunk again. It's the choice that Kirsten has to make: Her husband and daughter or booze, and the choice she made wasn't a happy ending. I haven't loved anyone with an addiction problem, but I really *felt* Joe's yearning, as well as Kirsten's in that scene. Screw Romeo and Juliet; *This* is by far the most hearbreaking romance in film.
Current Favorite Song: "Once I Was"--Tim Buckley
Jack Lemmon's character you call a "horrible person" - were you drunk when you put your blurb together?
He got off alcohol, and thus he had to end his relationship with his wife, who would not admit she was an alcoholic herself.
Yes, it was a depressing ending, but such is life.
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GET OVER IT - IT IS ONLY A MOVIE!
SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAD ZILCH OF ANY KIND OF RELATIONSHIPS BECAUSE OF A BAD ATTITUDE PROBLEM.
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One Bad Apple:
Why is it that nice message boards like these have to be spoiled by people sounding like you.
More Than Enough Said on this issue - just had to make my last reply to you, without sounding as nasty as you did.
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You are so right. You never have anything intelligent to say and you don't let it bother you at all. What a guy.
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This is one movie that had a impact on me. I saw it when I was a kid and vowed never to let something like that happen to me.
This is to the person who mentioned that the husband made her a drunk and then he dumps her. No way did he make her a alchoholic. Even the Jack Klugman character said that she probably had the proclivity to be one. I know plenty of people who drink more then they should, I don't drink like them because I know when to stop. The problem with alchoholics is they can't stop. It is not something a person makes you into, you are always one, but never know until you take your first drink. What good would it be for him to stick with her if she was not ready to get better? He knew if he did he would end back where he was. Who was going to take care of the child? So I guess he should of stuck with her no matter what even though it would make him go back to drinking too. That's crazy.
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She was a grown woman. It is not up to anyone but her to say no. When she saw she drank too much and he wanted to help, she did nothing but berate him. How long is a person suppose to hang around? She was not ready to get help. They had a child in which you seem to have forgotten about. Was he suppose to stick around her being abusive to the detriment of his own recovery and where was the daughter suppose to stay? At her elderly grandfathers? How long is a acceptable time to you? Until she sees the light? Well that might be never. We know he tried to get her help, we know he even started to drink again BECAUSE she hated him if he didn't. So how long? He was not a trained counselor, and if he was you never work with family. Was the daughter suppose to stay with the grandfather until he died? Then what, go live with a abusive mother, because that is what people under the influence do, abuse.
It was time for him to step up to the plate and act like a adult and get help and take care of his child. But I guess you advocate him sticking with a grown woman who decided that her need to drink was more important then her need for her child. Please.
We are not talking about a teenager, or some man who abandons his family, it was she who abandoned them. Geez what you are advocating is enabling, not support or responsibility.
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I have come to the conclusion that you are either very young or you are joking. Because you seem to dismiss that the Lee Remick character is responsible for anything what so ever simply because Jack Lemmon was the man making him responsible for everything. That is very insulting to woman. Which makes it seem like you have a very Chuavinist way of thinking.
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Its crazy to get someone started on alcohol and then cut and run when things get rough.
Sure, she MAY have been an alcoholic, we don't know that, but when he started her drinking binges, HE has to do what he can to try and stop it. You can't just do that to the person you supposedly love, and then say, "Oh well, she is getting mean and doesn't want to quit. I guess I better leave." That is a horrible, disgusting way to think. People need to be responsible for themselves as well as to those they've affected. Especially if they love them.
No, this movie was a good example of how NOT to react to tough situations.
Do you even remember a scene from the movie? Because if you did, you'd remember that Joe did try to get Kirsten to go to an AA meeting, but she refused to admit that she was an alcoholic, the first step to getting better. Plus, *she* was the one who left him, and *he* was the one who sunk down so low just to be with her, albeit drunk. When she finally came back home, he had seen so much and knew how she was when she was drunk that he knew she wasn't stable enough to reconcile. Because he was sober and had relapsed, he knew the excuses and knew how hard it was to admit to being an alcoholic, but he insisted it was worth it in the end. You have to remember that they also had a young daughter; judging from Kirsten's behavior when she set the apartment on fire, she wasn't a good mother when she was drunk, and he had to look out for his daughter. Plus, you make it sound like Joe just dumped her like trash because she wasn't sober. I'm sure that he would've helped her through the AA meetings, etc., but she *had* to admit that she was an alcoholic and that was something she couldn't condescend to.
And if you're going to snap back that I was drunk while I was writing this or watching the movie, I want to mention that the only thing I was drinking was water. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it! And stop accusing people who don't share your opinion of being drunk!
Current Favorite Song: "Isis"--Bob Dylan
Ruby, you are missing the point. She would have gotten him drunk before he got her sober. It had happened once before. He simply could not be around drinking without being in danger of relapsing himself. Until an alcoholic hits bottom she won't seek help because she doesn't yet want it. Kirs has apparently not had enough yet.
Recovery from alcoholism is a serious business. You do what you have to do. Kirstie made her own choice to keep drinking for all those years. At this point all she would do is drag him and their child down.
"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"
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I believe it should be shown to high school students. To show what alcohol really does to people, its so real that it might teach kids something. What do you think about that?!
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Although it has been a while since I've seen this movie, I don't remember Jack Lemmon's character "giving up" on his wife "when things got rough"; on the contrary. He pleaded with her to take it "one day at a time" with sobriety and that he would help her, but he knew the survival of the marriage and their child's welfare depended upon her giving up the bottle. He wanted her back but laid out the ground rules, and she apparently rejected them. Yes, he got her to take the first drink which led to her addiction to alcohol, but he also was there at the last to help her and take her back with boundaries. I feel he would have got her involved in AA, therapy, counseling, anything to help her remain sober, but he knew her continuing to drink would ruin everything he had worked so hard to overcome. In fact she is the one who gave up on her loved one's by not "trying" to give up the booze and returning to her family to help raise the daughter. She chose the bottle over her family!
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I agreed that it was not his fault and she was a grown woman. I could not believe that anyone who saw this movie would believe the Jack Lemmon character was a bad guy who gave up on his wife. They had a child what was he suppose to do? She didn't seem to care about her. I was always clear about that from the very begining. I saw that movie when I was a kid when it first came out. I do not know why my parents took me and my sister to see it but I will tell you this it had a impact on me that exist to this day. Someone said teenagers should see this movie I say before they are teenagers. Because today teenage drinking is a problem so they need to see this flick before they start drinking.
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I feel sorry for you girl.
This film was about a drunk fool who left his wife when she needed him the most.
His attempt at getting her to quit what HE started was pathetic.
She may be a grown woman, but alcohol can affect your abilities to reason. And if she was that sick with the booze, than he should have understood and tried that much harder.
Chicken Lickin's lickin chicken!
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