User reviews

During the Depression, many had nothing... and the few that did were almost equally as miserable. This movie displays a dance marathon, held for the entertainment of the latter, and the expense of the former. The contestants dance for daily meals and a place to sleep, and the weak hope of a prize, if they are the last couple standing. The rules are cruel, and whilst the many dancers fight to remain standing, the audience is served snacks and fast-food. The film shows how callous people can be, sometimes. The plot is magnificent, the story-telling excellent. Acting(Sarrazin can exude an extraordinary amount of emotion through his eyes), casting, editing(with extremely few slightly weak moments), pacing, direction, cinematography, lighting, music, production design, everything, it's all amazing. This is a very difficult film to watch(which is by no means to say that I regret doing so). It is not entertainment, nor is it something to escape one's everyday life with. It is brutal and uncompromising, a window into an era and an event, both of which show humanity at its worst. A masterpiece. I intend to look for other films by Pollack, there is no doubt about that... fortunately, my fiancée has told me that he has done lighter fare(I would prefer watching something less bleak than this for the next of his movies I view). This is a very important movie, particularly in today's world, where reality shows are all over TV. I recommend this to anyone certain that they can sit through it. 8/10

A brutally bleak screen adaptation of the pulpy Horace McCoy novella, about a Depression-era dance marathon where down-and-outers drive themselves to the brink of exhaustion to win the cash prize.

This film has become relevant again today in the age of reality T.V., where people tune in to watch strangers be humiliated, rejected and made fun of. Meanness and suffering sells today, and apparently it sold back then as well. The M.C. of the dance marathon, played wonderfully by Gig Young in one of his last (if not the last) film performances before the troubled actor murdered his wife and then killed himself, creates little narratives and dramas around each of the dancers, so that the audience can have their favorites to root for. Every once in a while, someone will show off a special talent, singing a song or hoofing a little dance number, and the audience will throw change at them, which the performer then frantically scrabbles up like a desperate pigeon. The cast of dancers is led by Jane Fonda, in a break-out role as Gloria, the jaded woman-of-the-world who's seen it all and doesn't want to see anymore; Susannah York, as a pretentious wannabe actress, who acts up a storm during a mesmerizing breakdown scene; Red Buttons, as an aging ex-serviceman who struggles to keep up with the young kids around him; and Bruce Dern and Bonnie Bedelia, as a sweet couple of country bumpkins who are desperate to win the cash for their unborn baby. And yes, that is Al Lewis (aka Grandpa Munster) lurking around in the background as one of the dance marathon officials.

Director Sydney Pollack vastly improves on the source material, making something much richer and deeper out of McCoy's lurid novella. He uses an edgy, jarring style that's suited perfectly to the material, and which he would never again display.

"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" holds a sort of grisly fascination over its audience. Bleak as it is, it's also entertaining in a rather morbid way, making us feel like we're members of the audience watching this sick spectacle and making it that much harder for us to condemn the film audience without labeling ourselves as hypocrites.

Grade: A

THEY SHOOT HORSES DON'T THEY? This movie stays in the memory, partly because it stands out from other mainstream Hollywood products of its time in subject matter (the dance marathons of the 20s and 30s) and tone (pitilessly and harshly negative; even the humor is bleak). The message: life (the marathon) is a desperate rat race with a rigged outcome.

How certain actors end up with certain roles depends on the crazy complicated game known as Hollywood casting, but sometimes even a miscast performer will bring an unexpected something to the table and triumph. Such was the case with Bette Davis in ALL ABOUT EVE (written with Claudette Colbert or Gertrude Lawrence in mind) and such is the case with Jane Fonda in a role that would have been better suited to someone like Stella Stevens. Fonda overcomes the odds as Gloria, the morbidly cynical and impoverished young woman whose brief life has been a series of abuses, disappointments and defeats. Even though the actress looks and speaks like a patrician, her defiant, angry, controlled desperation burns through the superficialities. Her performance culminates in an emotional meltdown which she handles with skill. It was her great breakthrough as a screen actress.

Another career peak is reached by Gig Young who, as the master of ceremonies, personifies all the dishonesty, cruelty and pathos of the marathon itself. Bonnie Bedelia and Susannah York also score as different kinds of vulnerable innocents. Michael Sarrazin as Fonda's dance partner serves as the passive instrument that allows Fonda to play out her tortured personal drama. His unchanging wounded puppy dog expression speaks for itself.

Ironically, the musical arrangements by John Green, a brilliant and very active composer of early 30's popular songs (including "Body and Soul"), sound more like Lawrence Welk than a real third-rate dance band of the early Depression era. As musical supervisor of this film I wonder if it was Green who anachronistically included songs that hadn't even been written when the story takes place, including "I Cover the Waterfront" (1933) and "Easy Come, Easy Go" (1934), both of which Green composed himself.

For some reason the scriptwriter chose to move the story to 1932 from its original placement in 1934 by author Horace McCoy in the novel on which this film is based. At one point an old lady tells Fonda and Sarrazin that they are her favorite dance couple because they're wearing the number "67" which is the year she was born (1867). Later Fonda calculates her age: "Sixty-five." Which enables us to figure out that the action is taking place in 1932. In another scene Fonda, referring to Bonnie Bedelia, quips, "If she's not pregnant, then I'm Nelson Eddy." Eddy didn't become a nationally known name until 1935 when he teamed with Jeanette MacDonald. He didn't even appear in a major motion picture until 1933 (DANCING LADY, MGM). A woman of 1932 would have been more likely to say "Bing Crosby" or "Rudy Vallee" or even "Russ Columbo." So one can't help wondering why the screenwriter bothered to move the action backwards by two years.

Exhausted couples staggering around a dance floor under a shining, spinning ball composed of mirror fragments that reflect off the ceiling, walls and floor - a symbol of Earth and the cosmos around it and oppressed humanity on the bottom grimly pressing on. That's the film in a nutshell.

"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" is such a fascinating film that it made worthwhile a little research into the dance marathon craze of the 1920s and early 1930s. According to the DVD extra, the set was modeled on the old Aragon Ballroom, built in the 1920s on the Lick Pier at Santa Monica, California. The once-elegant ballroom had grown seedy by the early 1950s, at which time it enjoyed a brief revival as the location of early Lawrence Welk show broadcasts. In the 1960s, the Aragon was again revamped under a different name as a short-lived rock concert venue - with appearances by Alice Cooper (is his pre-Cooper days) and Jim Morrison of the Doors. It was destroyed by fire shortly afterward.

Marathon dancing was, according to most historians, as brutal and exploitive as it is depicted in "Horses." It was for that reason that this early 20th century variety of Roman coliseum culture was banned in much of the country by the late 1930s.

This movie uses fictitious characters to tell a story that appears to be remarkably accurate from a historical point of view. Jane Fonda's ultra-cynical, sharp-tongued character, Gloria, along with ruthless manager/promoter Rocky (played by Gig Young), contrast perfectly with the eerily-resigned and unpretentious Robert (Michael Serrazin). The casting and dialogue are brilliant. The visual effects are haunting.

This film is not for everyone. But for those interested in the social pathology that allows human suffering to become a form of amusement, the malicious ill-treatment of the poor, or the harsh realities of the depression era, this is multifaceted cinema that can be watched again and again, each time yielding new subtleties. It is a morbidly fascinating character study that reflects a truly desperate time.

For those watching on DVD, it is advisable to see the short background feature before the movie in order to fully appreciate its context. The movie is unforgettable, a true classic.

There's a bushel of fine performances to be found on the pier dance hall floor in this grim depression era story about marathon dancers. A popular entertainment in its day the competition would go on round the clock for days with contestants working themselves into a state of exhaustion and collapse in the hope of winning a meager prize. With massive unemployment across the country there was no shortage of contestants and Horses is filled with hard luck cases.

Director Sidney Pollack keeps the pace brisk by inter-cutting scenes between his large cast then amps things up further with dizzying elimination races. Hard luck hoofers Michael Sarrizin, Sussanah York, Red Buttons, Bruce Dern and Bonnie Bedelia all contribute powerful performances while Jane Fonda with hard edged cynicism delivers arguably the best acting job of her career. It is Gig Young as the emcee however that steals the film. A light comedy actor in most films Young's jaded good looks and forced optimism ("Yowsa, yowsa") to rouse the audience into thinking the torture on the floor is wholesome entertainment is an incredible portrait of calibrated hypocrisy and exploitation.

Horses oozes cynicism from start to finish with no let up. There is not an ounce of comedy relief and the few scenes that take place outside the dark stifling dance hall in the welcome sun serves only the despair back inside where a sentimental audience tosses coins to a pregnant Bonnie Bedelia warbling "The best things in life are free." Without any upbeat distractions the film can become an endurance of melancholy for the viewer but Pollack and company keep things highly absorbing most of the way in what might be termed a dark piece of historical nostalgia .

Viewing "They Shoot Horses, Don't They" is like rubbernecking a horrific traffic accident, or watching a train wreck. The images, no matter how painful, are too disturbing to turn away. This movie documents the depression era pathos by showing us a glimse of a group of dance-marathon contestants battling it out for a winner-take-all purse. Their lives become symbolic of their efforts in the marathon: inexorable pain, constant cramping, and a constant questioning of just "why live in all this misery?" Eventually, the lead performances, especially those of Susanna York and Jane Fonda, show at once characters strong-willed but overcome by simple animal survival. The rest of the stellar cast captures this bleakness as well (watch a young Bonnie Bedelia sing for thrown pennies!!!). Eventually the movie painfully climaxes to let one realize the issues raised by the movie title. The film is stunning in capturing the simple struggle of humanity; it's a must-see, but only once!!!

When I saw this movie in the theater over 35 years ago, I found it very interesting and one of those movies you don't forget about an hour after you leave the theater. This was a haunting type of story, especially when my folks, who went with me, informed me that these marathon type of dance contests really did happen. The characters might have been fictional, but not story of these awful contests.

Jane Fonda plays the central character, "Gloria Beatty," an angry-at-the-world and profane woman who certainly has a cynical attitude. It almost echoed her real-life persona at the time, but I won't go there. I was more fascinated with Gig Young's performance in this film as the ruthless dance promoter - emcee "Rocky." To me - and Academy Award voters - his performance stands out among all the others, even though everyone does an outstanding job. That includes director Sydney Pollack, who had only made a few movies until this one.

The deep cast in this film did not include big-name stars but they were known celebrities: actors like Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Red Buttons, Bonnie Bedalia, Bruce Dern and Al Lewis.

This is a sad tale of desperate people in desperate times trying to make a few extra bucks during the Great Depression years. Dancing in pairs, they literally risked their health by trying to stay on their feet by dancing longer than every other couple. One became mentally exhausted just watching these poor people on screen trying to survive these "marathons."

Like a lot of movies which deal with unpleasant topics, this is a haunting film that will leave you thinking about it for a long time afterward. I can't say I enjoyed watching it the second time around, on VHS - Fonda's nastiness too much to take - but I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from watching this movie. It's a story about an unique event in American history guaranteed to be one you won't forget.

1932 , Great Depression . A group of hopeless and unfortunate people participate at a dance marathon contest on the Santa Monica Pier in California . Among them is the disillusioned and frustrated Gloria (Jane Fonda , formerly Julie Christie and Barbra Streisand turned down this character) . While recovering from a suicide attempt, she gets the idea from a movie magazine to head for Hollywood to make it as a player and subsequently to take part at the marathon . Later on , Robert (Michael Sarrazin) is suddenly involved into the dance marathon , but never doubting he'll make it . Robert and Gloria meet and decide to enter the dance marathon , one of the crazes of the 1930's. Reckless contestants enter a dance marathon in the hopes of winning a cash price , not realizing that they will be driven to exhaustion . How long will they last ? . The grueling dancing takes its toll on Gloria's already weakened spirit, and she tells Robert that she'd be better off dead, that her life is hopeless and all the while acting cruelly and bitterly . People are the ultimate spectacle . After all, they shoot horses, don't they?

Sydney Pollack's rendition of Horace McCoy's prestigious novel about the competitive dance marathon of the Depression Era , including overblown and and impressive interpretations . We are given a depressing view of ruthless humanity , but it results to be riveting . This a thought-provoking , brooding and powerful period piece depicting the tumultuous lives of a misfit group of contestants , dealing with the desperation of the Depression years , while the dancers intertwine in an inhumanely grueling dance marathon , adding some frightening and frantically derby sequences , in which participants donning roller skates . The implication around the competitors' situation turns out to be a motley microcosm of a wider-reaching American malaise . Although being rather pretentious and safely distanced by the Depression period and the continuous flashback and flash-forward narrative . Settings are pretty well designed to show the environment and period piece , though it seems to be some claustrophobic , at times . And decent language written by the notorious screenwriter James Poe attempting to capture the intricate sense of the original dialogue written by Horace McCoy . Jane Fonda gives a good acting as the bitter Gloria , a young woman of the Depression who has aged beyond her years and feels her life is hopeless , having been cheated and betrayed many times in her past , alienating those around her, trying to convince to shoot and put out of her misery. Acceptable Michael Sararrazin as a desperate Hollywood citizen attempting to be a director and he suddenly becomes involved in a grueling dancing . Jane Fonda was the main favorite to win the Best Actress Oscar for her acting in this film, so it came as a surprise when she lost to Maggie Smith for The prime of Miss Brodie (1969) . Exceptional , though strident acting from Gig Young who got his Academy Award for performing the promotor of this thirties dance marathon . Support cast is frankly extraordinary , such as : Susannah York , Red Buttons , Bonnie Bedelia , Michael Conrad , Bruce Dern , Art Metrano , Severn Darden , Jacquelyn Hyde , Madge Kennedy , Al Lewis and many others . It was enthusiastically received when first realesed and had a string of Academy Award nominations , several of them for its performances . This is a multi-awarded movie for its cast , and sensational costumes , production design , musical score by Johnny Green and photography by Philip H. Lathrop .

The motion picture well produced by two great producers : Irwin Winkler/Robert Chartoff from Rocky saga , and was competently directed by Sydney Pollack , though using a peculiar narration , plenty of flash-back and forth images . The film had a great number of prizes and nominations , such as : Oscar 69 : support cast , actor Gig Young , though it holds the record for the movie with the most Academy Award nominations without a nomination for Best Picture: Nine ; Golden Globes : support actor Gig Young ; N.Y Film Critics : Actress : Jane Fonda ; British Academy Support actress : Susannah York . Sydney Pollack was a magnificent director , producer and secondary actor with several hits on all kind of genres , such as : ¨This property is condemned¨, ¨The way we were¨, ¨Absence of malice¨, ¨ 3 days of the Condor¨, ¨The scalphunters¨, ¨Jeremiah Johnson¨, ¨Bobby Deerfield¨, ¨The electric horsememan¨, ¨The firm¨ , ¨Out of Africa¨ , ¨Tootsie¨, ¨Yakuza¨ , ¨Sabrina¨, ¨Havana¨, ¨Random hearts¨, and his last movie , the documentary : ¨Sketches of Frank Gehry¨, among others . The flick will appeal to Jane Fonda fans and drama enthusiasts.

This is the movie that "The Day of the Locust" might have aspired to be. It captures the tone of desperation and helplessness of Depression-era characters (would-bes, wanna-bes, and fade-outs) like few films I've seen. It's a fascinating downer, ripe with interesting losers and gritty drama. Jane Fonda's performance as a marathon-entry at the end of her rope ranks with her very best work, and Oscar-winner Gig Young is smashing as the M.C. Also superb: Susannah York as a glamor girl who gets her clothes (and sanity) dirty, and Red Buttons as an over-the-hill sailor. There's not a happy or hopeful moment in sight, but for gripping human drama you could do no better. James Poe and Robert E. Thompson adapted their screenplay from Horace McCoy's novel; Sydney Pollack directed, impeccably. ***1/2 from ****

This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Set in the 1930s, it revoleved around a group of people entering/running a depression dance marathon. The group entering the contest(The principle characters being Fonda, Sarrazin, York, Buttons, Bedilia, Fields)Can't pass up the seven meals a day, or the top prize of 1500 dollars, no matter how grueling the dance will be. Fonda, is a drifter looking for money, Sarrazin wanders into the contest by accident, York and Fields are an actor and actress hoping to be "Discovered", and Buttons is also looking for money. The management of the contest is represented by Young, Lewis, and (To a lesser extent)Conrad. While this is not a "Pick me up" movie, it is definitely worth seeing. The cast is excellent, and the movie moves along well. Director Sydney Pollack filmed the movie in sequence, which helps to show the fatigue that the characters are feeling. They Shoot horses was nominated for nine academy awards, inglinging Best actress(Fonda), Best Supporting Actress(York) and Best Director(Pollack).

However, only Gig Young walked away with the statuette(For best Supporting Actor) and he deserved every inch of it. Playing against typecasting, he knew he was getting the role of a lifetime and he gives one of the best performance of his career. I actually liked Rocky, with his White Tux and his "Yowza!Yowza!Yowza!" I don't know if I would have liked the character if Gig Young had not been in the role.

Overall, this movie is definitely worth seeing. If you have a chance, give it a look.

10/10 ***** out of *****

There's a dance that takes a while to complete, where desperate couples on the edge seek to compete, a depression era show, through the day and night they go, if you're not beat, can get some sleep, you'll find there's plenty food to eat. This marathon can take some time to dance, you'd be amazed at just how long you have to prance, we're talking months not weeks or days, sends your mind into a haze, and boils for your toils will have to lance.

I've lost track how many times I've watched this, Jane Fonda, Susannah York, in fact the whole cast is outstanding, while the story of the lengths people will go to during hard times is beyond belief, as is the pleasure the crowd gets from it.

In a competition-based social order, such as ours, more should ask why the impoverished never seem to improve their living conditions. But there are people who are successful! Could it be that they always have been? That they stay that way by keeping everyone else fighting, distrusting, conniving, with the idea of attaining the prize of wealth, which is already systematically divvied up amongst an elite handful and protected as such? This disturbing mood picture boils down to the impending existentially compassionate act of a human being, which he cannot help but associate with an act of the same kind that had a profound effect on him in his youth. The act from his past is socially accepted, the one in his future a capital crime. Both extinguish the misery of a life beyond its own control, no matter how much it strives to express its freedom. Reflecting upon this momentous instant of his past, he happens upon an event that, in a time of depression, promises financial security, thus a fierce swarm of competition. He becomes involved due to the reluctant necessity of another human being with similar needs.

This young man defined by his book-ending experiences had big dreams that were crushed. He finds himself now competing with others of big aspirations, young, old, impoverished, pregnant, all encouraged, indeed compelled, to pair with the opposite sex, more for the sake of spectators whose values must be reflected in the competition's spectacle. The weaker pairs are swiftly eradicated, exploited for the spectators' amusement. Already desperate circumstances are worsened by unresolved crime, leading to deepened internal strife, intensified competition. Job offers for some cause rejection by others, realignment, taking sides.

The competition lasts insufferably long, and spikes in its amusement value are needed by the powers-that-be to distract the spectators from its obvious misery. So sport is staged using the contestants, masqueraded in cheerful spirit wear. Injuries, even fatal ones, are no matter. It continues. These burdens are loaded from one contestant to another, nervous breakdowns causing further realignments. The powers-that-be remain unaffected.

Ultimately, it's the sacred institution of marriage that the powers-that-be utilize for the climactic publicity stunt, promising rewards, honors. The human with broken dreams and his chance counterpart cannot bring themselves to pretend the necessary emotion for the purely profit-driven ritual, and reveal the entire epic contest to be nothing of what it appears to be. When they can no longer maintain their integrity by being involved, they're left with nothing. Not even hope. What's one to do? When one's in such misery, and the other's willing to do anything to extinguish it, what does the law become? A mere protector of the very sham set of values engendered by the shamelessly exploitative competition? With this key American film, Sydney Pollack conveyed early signs that he could bring together and harness an ensemble cast effectively. It reaches moments of hypnotic artistry in its New Wave-inspired cutting that adds more internal psychology to the male lead, quiet character moments and energetic dance sequences. This is head and shoulders above any other film to the late director's name, as it lacks the sugar-coated worthiness hampering his serious attempts to tackle important themes in his later, mostly formulaic work, though work which comprises some classic, star-studded Hollywood thrillers, romances and comedies.

But one of the highest achievements of his work here, I feel, is rooted in my notion that the film heroes who involve me most aren't romantic icons, they don't epitomize masculinity or necessarily get the girl. They have not offensive linemen or Medal of Freedom recipients. They're common people who are confronted with a necessity and face their predicament. The vast American majority was starving, careers were without hope, the public was unable to comprehend what had occurred. Most of them had been raised to trust that if you worked hard and persisted, and otherwise behaved yourself, prosperity would befall you. But during the Depression, catastrophe, poverty and loss befell multitudes. This grim spectacle of hardship is more than a suggestion of that era. It's a glass-half-empty microcosm of capitalism.

The film's loaded with strong acting, from Red Buttons whose career as a comedian somehow deepens the desperation his character suffers, Susannah York who captures the tragedy of a woman with no insight into her loss of touch with reality, a stunningly innocent Bonnie Bedelia before she was Mrs. McClaine, from Michael Sarrazin as young man whose blow of mercy presages and caps his life, which is ultimately as insignificant as everyone else's in this society where all are subjugated, a life perhaps only significant to Gloria. Gloria, a contagion of existential desolation, is the petrified and petrifying chance counterpart of the man with broken dreams, as well as a great tragic heroine. Not like this is anything unusual, but Jane Fonda gives a dramatic performance that endows the film with personal spotlight and emotionally spellbinding might more effectively even than the film's brilliant, abstract use of flashes forward in sudden, subconscious, highly stylized cuts. Swollen-eyed, unkempt, stinking of must and smoke, Gig Young is inspired, a pointed change from his customary gourmet roles, as the powers that be, a man arguably as cynical and misanthropic as his desperate contestants.

The film's awash with rather stunning period strokes, the songs, settings, costumes language, all so unsettling in such imperative ways. While the cameras remain, as if they had been condemned to do so, in the ballroom, capturing the fine points of the rising hopelessness of the dancers, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? becomes a marathon of collapse and futility. The circular arrangements of the dancers, the movement that heads nowhere, are the allegories of this existentialist metaphor for life.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They (1969)

This is almost a mainstream experimental film, coming out of the New Hollywood transformation, and it has a huge reputation. It centers around the basically true events of a typical late-1920s dance marathon, with contestants dancing (and resting at times) for weeks straight (four or five weeks wasn't unusual). Naturally, contestants freak out and get obsessive and generally push their limits, and that ultimately is what the movie portrays.

I found it a bore. I like Sydney Pollack's approach to movies, in general, and he's directed some real gems. I can tolerate Jane Fonda, too, and she is an irritable, pushy young woman in this one, pretty convincing. There are other characters with similar selfish, and increasingly tired, attitudes, and by half way through you realize that it's a downer movie with nearly everyone snarly and mean and deceptive. By the end, with the great climax hinted at a couple times along the way, you expect and get the culmination of all that.

But it's a pretty linear experience, almost entirely shot in the gymnasium serving as a dance hall. The spectators are barely mentioned (and there are generally very few). The bands providing the dance music are dull (and maybe incorrect for the times--not only is there an all-Black group, which might have been included, but one of them is a mixed race group, and this isn't a barrier crossed until the late 1930s, a decade later). People's attitudes struck me as more 1960s than 1920s, with women openly crude and aggressive, and maybe this is my own shortcoming (I see the aggressive, successful women in Reds as more accurate, for whatever reason).

Mostly there is nothing much happening except a kind of petty competition between two women, and with two men half caring and just tagging along. And everyone getting weary. It's a spectacle, for sure, but imagine watching it for a month? And then squeezing that boredom into a two hour movie, narrative one liner with a strained script. Loaded with awards and praise, but not here.

This beguiling and mesmerizing piece of cinematic poetry is a melancholy masterpiece, a great companion piece to the more sinister and despairing DAY OF THE LOCUST. Both films detail the depression era sadness and desperation of wannabees and losers rendered prickly and desperate by poverty and Hollywood imagery. THEY SHOOT HORSES is a really great and bitter film, a superbly realized reality check in its anti musical point of view on life in the early 30s. Perhaps CABARET can be added to make a trilogy of deluded people and their astonishing disillusionment...... Today in 2009 I realize I am 40 years beyond the film's production which was 40 years beyond the time it is set.... and we are in another financial depression. The irony! With simply terrific emotional performances by a truly gorgeous post-Bonnie Jane Fonda and the mysteriously now AWOL Michael Sarrazin with sub leads creepy Bruce Dern and gasping Red Buttons and a fragile Harlow-like Susannah York... all in a grinding music stew of financial nervousness. Gig Young as an oily MC was a clear front-runner before Joel Grey trumped him in the Oscar stakes for such a similar role. Other films like QUEEN OF THE STARDUST BALLROOM, or the incredible ruined ballroom scene from THE WRESTLER only add to the admiration of this film when each seen in quick succession as I did. THEY SHOOT HORSES is a major piece of genuinely epic suspenseful sadness. Just great. The human spectacle as a carnival race of ordinary people's small lives.