Bliss

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Bliss

R

1985

1h 51m

Drama

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Life is going great for Harry Joy (Barry Otto) -- until he dies. After a startling near-death experience, the advertising exec awakens to a world that is not as he remembered it. The products he advertises cause cancer. His son (Miles Buchanan) and his daughter (Gia Carides) are doing drugs and sleeping together. His wife (Lynette Curran) is cheating on him with a business partner. To escape this possibly literal hell, Harry sets himself on an uncertain course: living a moral life.

Luke Buckmaster

Guardian

A droll, dry and mordantly amusing comedy-drama that exists in a Twilight Zone-esque world impossible to gauge or define.

Jul 25, 2015

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Michael Lasky

Bay Area Reporter

Bliss left me in unmitigated bliss.

Apr 30, 2020

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jun 28, 2005

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Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Viciously funny, scathing in its satire and damning in its inescapable truths...offering one of the most tender and moving climaxes I've ever seen.

Rated: 5/5

Jun 16, 2003

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Andrew Howe

Film Written Magazine

A stunning tale of alienation, madness and redemption.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jun 20, 2001

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Strange M

One of the best films ever made is almost impossible to find. Go figure.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/29/23

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Audience Member

My most favorite movie. You have to watch it several times to really figure out what is going on.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

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Audience Member

Without fail the closing moments of this film have me in tears every time I watch it. I have loved this film since I first saw it in the late 80s. Whilst definitely dated in so many ways it is still clear it was way ahead of its time and the environmental and ethical issues it covers are even more pertinent today than ever they were back then... Watch it if you can get hold of it. Cinema Paradiso lends it out on DVD...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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Audience Member

I say I want to see this...again. It's very hard to find. One oc the most charming "(magical)" stories I've seen.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Audience Member

Lawrence attempts to adapt a literary novel and fails, as all filmmakers are inevitably doomed to do, but in so doing creates a fascinating, beautiful, ridiculous mess of a movie. There's too much shoved in here (too many tones, ideas, plots) so that by the halfway point it felt like I'd eaten too much and it started to drag. Regardless, the first half is a pretty thrilling cinematic freak show so it's definitely worth experiencing. Too bad the R4 DVD has the picture quality of a VHS tape of a TV broadcast. Desperately needs a Blu-ray re-master.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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Audience Member

An obscure Australian film whose weirdness and oddity is boldly presented. 25 years after its release, Bliss is still a fascinatingly bizarre experience as its caustic flavor still bites through its comic delirium.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Ray Lawrence

Director

Barry Otto

Harry Joy

Lynette Curran

Bettina Joy

Helen Jones

Honey Barbara

Miles Buchanan

David Joy

Gia Carides

Lucy Joy

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Synopsis

Life is going great for Harry Joy (Barry Otto) -- until he dies. After a startling near-death experience, the advertising exec awakens to a world that is not as he remembered it. The products he advertises cause cancer. His son (Miles Buchanan) and his daughter (Gia Carides) are doing drugs and sleeping together. His wife (Lynette Curran) is cheating on him with a business partner. To escape this possibly literal hell, Harry sets himself on an uncertain course: living a moral life.

Director: Ray Lawrence
Producer: Anthony Buckley
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 51m