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      They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

      PG Released Dec 10, 1969 2 hr. 1 min. Drama List
      82% 34 Reviews Tomatometer 89% 5,000+ Ratings Audience Score In the midst of the Great Depression, manipulative emcee Rocky (Gig Young) enlists contestants for a dance marathon offering a $1,500 cash prize. Among them are a failed actress (Jane Fonda), a middle-aged sailor (Red Buttons), a delusional blonde (Susannah York) and a pregnant girl (Bonnie Bedelia). Days turn into weeks as the competition drags on and people either drop out or expire. Rocky, however, will do anything for publicity and initiates a series of grueling derbies. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (322) audience reviews
      Blu B A Classic Drama. The acting is amazing and just gets better and better as the madness ramps up and the cracks show in everyones mental psyche. Everything else is really well done with my only complaint being it is a bit slow and probably could've sped things up to build tension a bit more franticly more consistently. IT's a very memorable setting and one of the most original ideas I've seen. The competition builds the tension slowly but this really isn't about that in a literal sense and much more of a character study on pride, fame, and ones own dignity and self respect and at what cost we are willing to degrade ourselves to acheive money and fame. This never really feels jumpy either going between all the different characters which is very impressive also. I will say as good as this is this isn't for everyone. Anyone who is a fan of Pollack, any actors in this, or Dark Dramas will like this a lot. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/08/24 Full Review Vrstar V Surviving the 1933 crisis by joining an austere dance contest. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/05/24 Full Review Jack V Timeless classic. The movie perfectly accomplishes what it set out to do. It's incredibly depressing, even nihilistic though. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/02/24 Full Review Kent C In my top 10 since 1969.... Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/25/23 Full Review Richard F What a depressing film!!!! I can only wonder if Jane Fonda insisted on playing heavy which she supercedes in the story. I think if I had known more about the movie, I wouldn't have watched it. It certainly unscores the desperation of the depression. Ugh! It was extremely well made, but the repeative dance scenes ulttimately became tedious. Dark as the ending is, it is very clever and surpising. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 10/31/22 Full Review Shioka O Depressing to watch. Performance is excellent. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 10/06/22 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

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      Critics Reviews

      View All (34) Critics Reviews
      Dave Kehr Chicago Reader The material is simple and irresistible, and Sydney Pollack stages it well (though without transcending the essential superficiality of his talent). May 26, 2008 Full Review Variety Staff Variety A sordid spectacle of hard times, a kind of existentialist allegory of life. May 26, 2008 Full Review Time Out The acting is strident and overblown, the narrative technique gimmicky and obvious, and the implication that the competitors' situation is a microcosm of a wider-reaching American malaise rather pretentious. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review Elizabeth Hardwick Vogue In They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, agony, pain, endurance are not in the bodies of the actors nor somehow mysteriously evoked by their images. Instead, they remain locked in the camera, mechanical, the product not of human knowledge but of technology. Jun 20, 2023 Full Review Ernesto Diezmartinez Cine Vértigo What has happened to Hollywood cinema that it seems impossible that a movie like this could be produced today? Spoiler: Hollywood infantilism. Rated: 3.5/4 Nov 10, 2021 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy To this day, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? holds the record for the most Oscar nominations (9) received by one film without Best Picture being among them. Rated: 3.5/4 Sep 22, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis In the midst of the Great Depression, manipulative emcee Rocky (Gig Young) enlists contestants for a dance marathon offering a $1,500 cash prize. Among them are a failed actress (Jane Fonda), a middle-aged sailor (Red Buttons), a delusional blonde (Susannah York) and a pregnant girl (Bonnie Bedelia). Days turn into weeks as the competition drags on and people either drop out or expire. Rocky, however, will do anything for publicity and initiates a series of grueling derbies.
      Director
      Sydney Pollack
      Distributor
      Cinema Releasing Corporation
      Production Co
      Palomar Pictures, American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
      Rating
      PG
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Dec 10, 1969, Limited
      Release Date (DVD)
      Oct 19, 2004