Falling Down (1993)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106856/



I found myself thinking about this film again, mostly because it reminded me so much of the ending in the Gran Torino spoiler story.

SPOILER

The narrative itself is quite straightforward, really. It explores what happens when a man finds himself stripped of everything he owns and decides he simply has to take matters into his own hands because there isn't any other path left to him. When Douglas is killed at the end, I couldn't help but feel a profound sense of dissatisfaction, mainly because his entire goal was nothing more ambitious than making it to his little girl's birthday party. There is such an excellent blend of heavy drama and that strangely absurd humor, particularly during that scene at McDonald's. It features several truly iconic moments, like the confrontation with the neo-Nazi, walking into a shop with a baseball bat to demand prices from 1967, the road construction scenes, and the way he offers genuine reasons for working...

TRAILER
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM1qhqXoTzc

And that legendary ending http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6Os9tF_wbU 🙏

Absolute masterpiece
Taxi Driver from the nineties 😁

A total masterpiece of a movie

Honestly, if you guys want to talk about movies like this, wouldn't it be way better if we just stuck to a dedicated thread? Seriously, let's keep things organized! movie day Look, I honestly only started this thread for one specific reason—I wanted to stop people from constantly cluttering up the boards with endless new topics about those old classics like Terminator, Rocky, Rocky II, Rambo, or Predator, you know?

cosmiclynx57 said:Honestly, you guys should probably just move stuff like this to its own thread... it would make way more sense... movie day I actually started this thread for that exact reason—just so people would stop cluttering up the boards with dedicated topics for those old classics like Terminator, Rocky, Rocky II, Rambo, and Predator...

Subtle advertising... yeah, real subtle.

...first time I saw this flick was back in '93 at some theater in Chicago...think it was over by the old AMC...it was killer...man, I can't even tell you how many times I ended up borrowing the tape from the local Blockbuster after that...

A top-tier film. Someone put it perfectly—it’s basically the Taxi Driver of the nineties.
D-FENS !!

I can't say I know; back then, I found > rather underwhelming, even though I revisited it a few times while my roommate and his friends were absolutely obsessed with it.

Perhaps I ought to give it another viewing, as it struck me at the time as being somewhat banal—I’d likely just label it with that tired old critique of being "too Hollywood."

And as for calling it the > of the nineties? That seems a bit bold, if you ask me, since in my humble opinion, those two films aren't even in the same league.

Still, you've piqued my curiosity, so I suppose I might find myself watching it again sometime soon.

frozenskipper12 said:I really ought to give it another watch; I found it a bit banal when I first saw it. I’d probably just dismiss it with that tired old critique of being "too Hollywood."

But that’s precisely the thing—the movie has to feel "too Hollywood" when you hold it up against something like >. The protagonist undergoes this total, visceral revolt within the span of a single day, leaving the director absolutely no room for any sort of artistic meandering.
Personally, I actually find it superior to >; its directness is unavoidable because it simply doesn't have any other choice.

Honestly, I felt the impact of this one way more directly than I did with Taxi Driver. To me, that movie feels like it spends more time philosophizing instead of just landing a solid punch to the gut. But let's be real—the message here is exactly the kind of thing that needs to hit you right in the solar plexus. It absolutely floored me, and man, it’s stayed stuck in my head all these years.

I actually first heard about that movie through this song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9YOr...feature=fvwrel

Total classic, honestly.

Absolute masterpiece! I remember renting this on VHS at some local video store back in the mid-90s just because the cover looked so cool😁 —and honestly, I’ve probably watched it at least ten more times since. Michael Douglas is just incredible in this—before this, the only thing I really remembered him for was his role in Wall Street! It’s easily sitting in my top 25 movies of all time🙏

I gave it another watch, and it remains a decent enough film.

I still can't quite wrap my head around those comparisons to Taxi Driver; they just don't sit right with me.

While there might be some thematic overlap, from a purely qualitative standpoint, they aren't even in the same league.😕

Personally, I find this movie far superior to Taxi Driver, which I’ve always felt was somewhat overrated, though that is merely my own subjective take and most people seem to adore it. 🙂

To be honest, Taxi Driver failed to stir any real emotion in me, nor did it provide that sense of shock everyone talks about; I even found De Niro's performance to be a bit overhyped. I first watched it on DVD and thought it was just okay, then decided to give it another shot when it aired on a new network a few months back, but the result was the same 🤷

In my estimation, Falling Down surpasses it in every way, from the psychological depth to the more striking performance by Michael Douglas, and most importantly, it offers significantly more memorable scenes. I suppose I just never quite understood all the hype surrounding Taxi Driver, but again, that's just my opinion. 😉

Filmcina, I am telling you right now, those years between '93 and '94 were absolutely the greatest era in the entire history of cinema!

D-Fens is easily one of the most powerful cinematic characters ever created. 🙏 🙏 🙏

Absolutely brilliant cinema!

http://youtu.be/UX4b_rhT0nU
http://youtu.be/mA0nM8l8onE
http://youtu.be/-eREiQhBDIk

Just finished watching it. 👍(Feels like my first time seeing it, honestly)

Great movie. Truly. I knew it was one of Douglas' top films alongside Wall Street...
It’s easy to identify with the main "hero." 😬 That's the scary point of the film...
(Even though it's clear the whole time that the guy is just a crazy villain despite everything...)

Btw... the reaction from D-Fens to that Nazi in the attic was great. 🤣
This creep gets all worked up over white-power bullshit and nonsense about being "brothers" or threatened white supremacists, and this guy just looks at him with pure disgust, telling him he's just a normal American who wants to get home to his daughter, not some deranged neo-Nazi. 😁
(The most suppressed "subculture" is the cohort of everyday guys, and the film draws that brilliantly for anyone struggling to perceive the everyday crap people encounter.)

Only one thing is a bit blurry to me. The premise is that D-Fens is your typical everyday urban guy who is forced to swallow a certain amount of shit (which causes him to snap).
But at the same time, looking at that family VHS he's watching at home, we see he was actually a hysterical maniac even during "happy times," screaming at his wife and kid. He's clearly a special case, not exactly the quintessential John Doe. 🤷
Doesn't matter though... whatever... the movie is great, smart, and entertaining. You don't see many high-quality crime dramas like this anymore that are actually fun to watch.

Actually, if anyone has recommendations for this type of film from the last 20 years, let me know. If I missed something high-quality in this vein, it's easy enough to track down.

For instance, three films come to mind that fit this exact mold—top-tier cinema.
Aside from Taxi Driver, the third is Straw Dogs Sam Peckinpah, which is a cinematic masterpiece in its own right.
All three are about broken guys who lose their minds. 😁

There are plenty of movies covering the dark, bizarre, and heavy side of everyday America.
And I know quite a few... I've seen them, and I've even picked up a few I haven't watched yet. 😁

P.S.

One more thing...
It's charming how the film carries this early 90s vibe. Every atom of the movie exudes the style and feeling of that era—the ideas, the city situations, the objects... everything.
You watch it and need a moment to realize those cinematic years with that unique atmosphere are gone, and you're stuck in the 2010s... 🙂 which feel totally weird and artificially perfectionist when viewed through the lens of the early 90s.

For example... the cinematic language used in The Social Network and the era it covers feels cheap compared to those relaxed cop vs. vigilante vibes found in big US cities during the 80s and 90s.

Henry Mitchell29 said:Honestly, if anyone actually has some decent recommendations for movies in this specific genre from the last twenty years or so, I would truly appreciate it if you'd share them..

edmond

Look at something like Edmond, for instance, where the lead character just makes incredibly stupid decisions constantly. 🤷

A truly magnificent film... D-Fens stands out as one of the most compelling cinematic antiheroes ever put to screen.
I have revisited this piece several times now... and I honestly feel like I could watch it again right this second.