I Watched Falling Down For the First Time

[@jonbourgoin182]

Easily one of my favorite movies of all time. Its increasing relevancy in reflecting the modern world is equivalent to Idiocracy except it's not a comedy

[@atomicabe]

It's not a COMEDY-comedy, but Falling Down has elements of satire.

[@xp7575]

It's an absolutely brilliant film What happens to Douglass's character is tragic

[@BainesMkII]

Looking at the number of mass shootings at the time misses a key detail. That was the era of "going postal", where there was a seeming epidemic of US postal workers shooting their co-workers and then shooting themselves. That period redefined how people viewed both the risk and presence of shootings; they were seen as more than just random one-off events or the acts of criminals and/or gang members. This was seemingly regular 9-to-5 employees seemingly breaking out of nowhere, and killing whichever co-workers happened to be at work that day. There was worry that the postal shootings were a canary in a coal mine, with people speculating which jobs would be next. Also, the reported number of mass shootings that occurred in 1993 varies by source. The supplied chart claims two. An article on Time lists four separate events (with a total 22 dead and 34 wounded). Wikipedia lists seven separate events (with 36 dead and 37 wounded). None of these lists include the postal shootings that occurred in 1993; a separate "list of postal killings" article includes two for that year.

[@TheBadMovieBabe]

Thank you! Adding the mass shooting commentary was unnecessary in my opinion. Also, saying the character was showing "toxic masculinity" was stupid, anyone could have been that character. I think many people, no matter what the gender have felt like Michael Douglas's character in the film and comparing him to a character having a tantrum was dead wrong.

[@atomicabe]

Some good points, thanks for writing. "Going postal" was definitely a phrase at the time.

[@atomicabe]

The phrase "toxic masculinity" would not have been used in 1993, and I don't want to have too much of a present-day bias watching it now. But that's how it struck me and I said so in my reaction video. I'm glad you added your comment, even if we don't agree.

[@trinaq]

Michael Douglas was chilling in this movie. He should really play more villains in his career.

[@markdaly1648]

He played hank pym in the ant man movies. Hank pym in the comics was an abusive pos. After loosing his wife in the quantum realm he is an embittered man

[@atomicabe]

I agree, he could've played more villains. Would've been good to see.

[@rjmacready5151]

The two things that are great about this movie: One I'm surprised you missed, was Robert Duvall. Both his character & Douglas' characters feel the same pressure of the world, but whereas Douglas snaps & becomes a madman, Duvall stands up for himself in relatively reasonable ways, I think even one of the people he stands up to looks like he respects him more. The second part, Douglas is kept vague as to whether we should like or sympathize more him, up until the phone-call where he threatens Hershey. Then you get the idea this guy is really not someone a person should aspire to be.

[@atomicabe]

It's true, I didn't get into the Duvall subplot. I thought he was good and I liked the scenes with him and Rachel Ticotin. Sure, lots of information slowly being unraveled about D-FENS character, it's well structured. Also, I like your handle. We did a video about THE THING: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKiYoXh3ltOfiKc

[@evanshearin6490]

Jesus Christ, it’s over four minutes into a nine minute video when he actually starts talking about the movie.

[@timc5391]

I know....does he think we have no life?

[@SilvestriMelissa]

It's a good movie. I wouldn't want to watch it again, but I do like how Michael Douglas' character is the privileged angry white man who thinks everything is unfair, complaining about unimportant stuff, then figures out he's the bad guy when his wife and kid are trying to escape him because he's abusive and terrifying. It is a little on the nose that they put him up against a Nazi to make Douglas' character not seem so bad, because he's not far off from getting into far-right conspiracies, but I do like how the movie twists around expectations.

[@markdaly1648]

That scene in the car where Douglas is falling is the performance of his career. He is stuck in traffic is a brilliant depiction of la traffic jams in the 1990s. I was there a couple of times on holiday from Ireland. My late father's late siblings lived in la and San Diego. And other one lived in baltimore.

[@shadycnetwork]

​@@markdaly1648ironically enough the scene with the Nazi currently would be the far left guy because it's the far left that doesn't like freedom of speech.

[@xp7575]

Lmfao, that's not what happened at all, and calling him privileged is the most ridiculous thing you said, it's clear that you're just a racist and learned NOTHING from this film

[@ericgaskins571]

The fast food scene was to die for. Makes me wanna do that like every other time i but fast food

[@AOCITYBOY]

Falling Down is one of my Favorite movies, it truly speaks volume...

[@tawnyh8878]

This movie was the best movie ever I remember when I first thought back in the 90s it was dope loved it it’s based on a real event.

[@eeduranti]

This movie is a great example of how every villain is the hero of their own story.

[@LowQualityCheese]

Nothing Lasts Forever. It's tragic that movie wasn't officially released. It's original. Creative. A loving throwback to 30s/40s. Full of recognizable actors. It would be an 80s classic today. Well, cult classic.

[@markdaly1648]

It was destroyed at the time by us critics who thought the film had a racist screenplay. The scene in the burger bat was and is one michael Douglas finest moments as an actor. The first hour is a phenomenal piece of acting from him. You see a man who has all his office stuff just dumped at the road. Get into his car. The camera all the time is on michael Douglas. Unbelievable performance and then it goes to the Koreans in socal. The movie falls apart somewhat.

[@atomicabe]

I had a bootleg VHS of Nothing Last Forever. And later saw the film screened by Tom Schiller. It was a different edit of the film with a few different jokes. Regardless, I'm glad I got to see it. I hope it gets a release of some kind.

[@LowQualityCheese]

@@atomicabe Must be a music rights issue. I doubt it being "unmarketable" would be a problem now. I'm surprised it was shown on TCM. Glad I have a bootleg DVD of it and it's on the internet ... somewhere.

[@moonprincesst.s.h.4ever115]

WOW! Your eyes are really beautifully blue!

[@failing_safely]

I guess I will have to watch it. But I just want to give props to "Harold and Maude".

[@alancrisp1582]

👍 Absolute classic, worth watching at least once in your lifetime !...

[@atomicabe]

It's so good!

[@atomicabe]

Yes, I watched it when I was a teenager. And then watched it recently with my teenage son. The movie is so powerful. And funny!

[@SmartCookie2022]

Challenge accepted. Now I'll have to check out _Rhinoceros_ (1974). A movie that's somehow stayed off my radar until now.

[@atomicabe]

Rhinoceros was doomed from the start. It's a metaphysical stage play that relies upon the suspension of disbelief. It wouldn't work as a film. The 1974 movie was filmed as a TV movie then released theatrically. It bombed hard. But it's a failure I somehow enjoy, maybe because Gene Wilder is playing a different kind of role. And you can categorize the film as an end-of-the-world movie where humans are losing their role as the dominant species (like in I AM LEGEND or INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS or even PLANET OF THE APES.)

[@BainesMkII]

You don't have to worry about putting in work to catch up in the Resident Evil movies; the creative teams didn't put any work into making them either. (Yeah, they are a bit of a guilty pleasure, even if the plotting, writing, editing, and everything else ranges from mediocre to terrible.)

[@atomicabe]

I have a hard time keeping track of which Resident Evil movies I have and haven't seen. They kind of blur and -- maybe to the series credit -- it seems like you can watch them in any order and still follow the story.

[@yungwellbutrin]

This movie is a vivid masterpiece on sparse decay.of elitism and traditionalist ethics. It is a benchmark.Broken, tattered, and violent like the current Amrican dream itself.Repoman, though FTW, though 110%

[@atomicabe]

Very glad to report that REPO MAN holds up.

[@yungwellbutrin]

It always will!@@atomicabe

[@lychgator]

Insightful and measured review!

[@markdaly1648]

Joel Schumacher was a great indie filmmaker. There were certain texan online film critics who helped destroy his career. Cough cough harry knowles.

[@atomicabe]

I had no idea. Was it over the Batman movies or something else?

[@miless.9429]

Oh please. Across his career he made a few good movies and a whole lot of terrible ones. Blaming critics for giving bad movies bad reviews being the reason Joel Schumacher isn’t revered is incredibly silly.

[@quackhell303]

Enjoyed hearing your take on Falling Down, but my real question now is...in that 93 picture, are you wearing a Night After Night with Allan Havey t-shirt?

[@atomicabe]

I sure am! A friend of mine was the audience of one and I got to be his plus-one. (Off-camera, of course.) The guest that episode was Lita Ford. But it was still an amazing experience.

[@quackhell303]

That is awesome, count me jealous of that experience. I loved the early days of the Comedy Channel/Central and that logo just jumped right out at me.

[@seanj6310]

MY cat's name is Peepers! 😅😅

[@QuasarSniffer]

Very glad you liked the film! I think it's very worthwhile. It's always a risk watching a movie because other people tell you that you "have" to see it. It sets up a lot of expectations, both positive and negative, that have nothing to do with the film itself. I definitely agree that Falling Down is in line with other 90s satires that people take in the opposite way it was intended. I would probably put it with Fight Club, because both films comment on toxic masculinity and white rage (though I think Fight Club does that more successfully). The degree of misinterpretation speaks to how unfortunately relevant those problems continue to be: white men are so solipsistic that they think any story that is about them casts them as the hero.

[@KevinGeeksOut]

How could I forget FIGHT CLUB?! Yes, that's probably the closest comparison. Speaking of audience misinterpreting the intent -- did I ever tell you about that time I saw Queensrÿche and in the preface to an Operation: Mindcrime song the crowd starting chanting "U-S-A!" ?

[@QuasarSniffer]

@@KevinGeeksOut Ooph. Never underestimate an American crowd's ability to satirize themselves and totally miss the point. A real heavy metal version of the "Born in the USA" phenomenon.

[@GohTakeshita]

One of the potential dangers with this type of film is casting a well known charismatic actor in the lead whom audiences might inadvertently sympathize with and showing many of the events from his character's point of view. Maybe this film might have worked better if D-Fens was played by a relatively unknown actor and the story was told more from the perspective of the police detectives and bystanders?

[@QuasarSniffer]

@@GohTakeshita Yeah, Douglas did specialize in playing despicable but charismatic scumbags (Wall Street, Basic Instinct), so he inevitably brought some of that to this role. So maybe if it was a character actor who was more willing to jettison their charisma to make the film work better as a whole, Falling Down would have been improved (even if I still like it). People like John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, or Brad Dourif would have been the right age and all could have pulled off the rage the character needed.

[@franksmith8298]

If you look at Queensryche's song "Empire" it seems to straight up call for police militarization in the war on drugs, so their politics are an interesting relic of the late 80s to say the least.

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

I only saw it once, when it came out, and regretted watching it, as I didn't like how much it seemed to use the lead character's violent rants as crowd-pleasing "fuck yeah" moments for Dittoheads. You kept talking about Joel Schumacher's intentions, which presses my know-it-all buttons as an auteur theory skeptic, given it was written by someone else, Ebbe Roe Smith, who is mainly an actor. I looked up his credits, and am intrigued that he co-wrote a TV movie called "Partners" with Peter Weller that Weller also directed. I'd like to check that one out. Anyhoo, thank you for the video and sorry for my annoying comments.

[@atomicabe]

Not annoying at all, these are great comments. I haven't heard the term "dittoheads" in a while, but that seems accurate for 1993. I'm not a fan of auteur theory, you're right I paid too much attention to the director's role in the film. His vision, someone else's script. (And even though someone else directed CAR WASH, I call it a Joel Schumacher movie.) I have never seen PARTNERS. Let me know how it is, please. Thanks!

[@Sweetestsadist]

Car Wash is dank.

[@atomicabe]

CAR WASH is such a satisfying day in the life film.

[@lissadawes4243]

I sympathized with Douglas’s character so much I have a hard time seeing him as the bad guy. I still don’t.

[@Rkatondonegal]

I haven’t seen “Falling down.” I have been wanting to and I think I will watch it now

[@atomicabe]

Let me know what you think!

[@Rkatondonegal]

@@atomicabe I definitely will!

[@Rkatondonegal]

@@atomicabe So, I watched “Falling Down” and I have to say, it’s a triggered related movie. I bet there are those who are dealing with something in their lives. I don’t think they should do what Michael Douglas did in the movie, but to handle their own Mental Health.

[@chanceotter8121]

I have been wanting to see Milos Forman’s “Taking Off” for 40 years!! I preferred “Liquid Sky” to “Repo Man”during my hipster cinephile youth. And for the record, I thought “Falling Down” was contrived and condescending , a waste of Tuesday Weld, and that pic of Michael Douglas with the “Straw Dogs”glasses breaks a simple rule: Don’t remind me of a better movie and performance while advertising your movie. And the McDonald’s massacre in San Ysidro was in 1984. The movie was well aware of the iconography they were using, and I think for trivial effect. Yes, “Car Wash” is a great Altman-esque 70s film, directed by Michael Schultz from Schumacher script. Joel’s attempt to recreate in his director debut “DC Cab” not so much.

[@atomicabe]

Yes to ALL of this. (Though I did not know about San Ysidro). If you can track down a copy of TAKING OFF, I definitely recommend it. The filmmaker and actors seem genuinely curious about the characters, it's not a harsh judgement. I can see the appeal of "I prefer LIQUID SKY to REPO MAN" as a badge of honor.

[@projectprojector1230]

I just watched Rebecca for the first time and it really sneaks up on you, towards the end. Highly recommend!

[@atomicabe]

I need to see it. I will!

[@maxblackcat]

I enjoyed the video and channel until you threw in the buzzwords and made the movie about "white rage". Not a great way to grow your fledging channel. Just good reviews without biosies would do you wonders.

[@z0m813]

No way this was your first time

[@atomicabe]

It was. That's not so hard to believe is it?

[@z0m813]

@@atomicabe for me yes lol this was on rotation in my house growing up on weekends me and my brother on weekends would just watch movies all day.

[@brutalboy1000]

I own a copy of Truck Turner

[@atomicabe]

I bought a blu-ray of Truck Turner, it was a low-price. Then I watched it and it was in Spanish. (I was able to switch the language settings, but for a minute I thought "Oh, that's why it was such a bargain.")

[@NostalgiNorden]

Falling down is ok. Nothing more.

[@lucasparrish7967]

I have seen blood creek.and Michael fassbender kicks ass

[@atomicabe]

oh good, it's not just me

[@amcaesar]

Barry Lyndon!

[@atomicabe]

One of these days.

[@V-wo8np]

Clay wasn't satire, unfortunately.

[@ReeReeDaLovely]

Review the movie Arnold starring Roddy McDowell

[@alancrisp1582]

🤔 Never heard of this movie before ?. Will Google it to see if these is such a film !..

[@atomicabe]

Thanks - I just watched the trailer. What a cast! It reminds me a little of "Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You In the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad!" One of those zany late 60s/early 70s black comedies. (I feel like THE LOVED ONE made it a trend and subgenre.)

[@atomicabe]

I just watched the trailer. ARNOLD exists. I'd never heard of it. I wondered if it was a film of the play "Crawling Arnold" but it's something else entirely.

[@NostalgiNorden]

3 minutes in and he is still fucking talking about Rhinasarus.....

[@atomicabe]

Enjoy the ride.

[@dannyd464]

You need to stop drinking soy milk 🥛...... god help you when Trump wins again.....🤣

[@xp7575]

You live in a bizarre alternate reality, good luck getting sober and back to actual reality

[@hanniffydinn6019]

Back then, good writing was taken for granted! Hollywood is so woke / DEI now, a great written film like falling down is truly impossible now! The best written tv & film now is from South Korea and Japanese now!!!! 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️