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Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Gig Young, Red Buttons ... see more see more... , Bonnie Bedelia , Bruce Dern , Robert Fields , Allyn Ann McLerie , Michael Conrad , Al Lewis , Severn Darden , Jacquelyn Hyde , Felice Orlandi , Art Metrano , Gail Billings , Maxine Greene , Mary Gregory , Robert Dunlap , Paul Mantee , Tim Herbert , Tom McFadden , Noble "Kid" Chissell , Teddy Buckner , Joseph Harris , Marilyn Hassett , Bobby Hutcherson , Chaing I , Madge Kennedy , Philo McCullough , Kid Chissell

A total of nine Academy Award nominations went to this wildly acclaimed, allegorical drama set amongst the contestants in a marathon dance contest during the Great Depression. Gig Young stars as Rocky... read more read more..., the obnoxious emcee for a dance marathon that offers prize money of $1,500, a small fortune during hard economic times that brings out the worst in several participants. Among them are Gloria Beatty (Jane Fonda), a malcontent who's partnered with a drifter, Robert Syverton (Michael Sarrazin); a pregnant farm girl (Bonnie Bedelia) and her husband (Bruce Dern); a sailor (Red Buttons); and an aspiring actress (Susannah York). As the marathon winds into a staggering second month, suspicion, doubt and insecurity rages among the competitors and even the decaying and increasingly manipulative Rocky, leading to a shocking crime. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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87% liked it

5,115 ratings

Critics

83% liked it

24 critics

PG, 2 hr. 1 min.

Directed by: Sydney Pollack

Release Date: December 10, 1969

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DVD Release Date: March 13, 2001

Stats: 354 reviews

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Jane Fonda in They Shoot Horses, Don't They Susanna York in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Jane Fonda in They Shoot Horses, Don't They Susannah York & Jane Fonda in The Shoot Horses, Don't They They Shoot Horses, Don't They? They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Gig Young in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Gig Young in They Shoot Horses, Don't They Jane Fonda in They Shoot Horses, Don't They Gig Young in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Gig Young in They Shoot Horses, Don't They Jane Fonda in They Shoot Horses, Don't They They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
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Flixster Reviews (354)

  • fb619846742
    July 29, 2010
    fb619846742
    A mostly competently made, fascinatingly bleak tale concerning a dance marathon and how some very different characters are affected by its rigorous rules. This movie came so close to being a great, uncompromisingly grim look on the state of show-business, but it makes a deadly mi... read morestake at its conclusion, going a step over-the-top and opting to be poetic not naturally, but just for the sake of being so. Still, despite it taking a while to get into it, once you get adjusted to the pace it becomes enamoring. Jane Fonda couldn't be better, and she gets solid support from Michael Sarrazin as her on-again, off-again dance partner, Red Buttons as a likable sailor, and Susannah York who is a nervous breakdown waiting to happen. Sydney Pollack creates a dark atmosphere for his depressing picture, but doesn't quite bring it into classic/greatness territory, as evidenced by its melodramatic finale.
  • mjgildea
    October 17, 2009
    mjgildea
    They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is one of those movies where you recognize its greatness as you watch it, but at the same time you know you're watching a really well-orchestrated gruesome car crash that you probably don't ever, ever need to see again. Jane Fonda radiates brassy bi... read moretchiness to the point of arousal (for me at least), Gig Young glistens with sliminess and Sydney Pollack's direction is superb. Especially during the jarring race sequences. I knew there'd be a certain level of bleakness involved with a movie about horrifically desperate people in an almost sadistic marathon dance contest, but enduring the movie seemed nearly as painful as being in the contest. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is a fantastic movie even if it floundered a little bit toward the middle. But that last 10 minutes made the movie in spades...
  • tsigur
    August 13, 2009
    tsigur
    This movie was not what I expected at all. I was floored by how good it was. The entire film is a brilliant satire of the American way through the eyes of these participants in this Depression era dance contest. The lengths and the degradation that these people go through for mon... read moreey is still as effective today. Makes me think that this film was probably ahead of it's time, but it was on the cusp of that golden age of the seventies and introduced the world to Sydney Pollack (also gave me a lot of respect for him), so it was fascinating to watch. Jane Fonda is gorgeous and Red Buttons is brilliant, but my favorite couple was Bonnie Bedelia (Holly McClane) and Bruce Dern. There was a couple of problems I had with a couple of things and the ending some might think is over the top, but I thought it was great. Nice Surprise.
  • pier007
    June 24, 2009
    pier007
    It is not only a story about poor people struggling to win an anguishing dance contest in the eve of the 1930s great depression; It is a cruel but honest allegory that mirrors the state apparatus and the thinly disguised form of slavery imposed to all its citizens. The damned, wh... read moreo are blinded by empty promises and guided to a cliff when they can not benefit the big evil machinery.
    They can't have enough with condemning us to oblivion, but they indistinctly also shoot down our dreams, those galloping gallant horses we once visualized, who now are laying, rotting somewhere in our conscience.

    I don't know if my notions are mistaken, if it sounds just like cheap demagoguery. All I know is that everything I said is what I felt when I watched Sidney Pollack's masterpiece for the first time. One of those late 60s-early 70s landmark films that held such powerful grudge against the system, and an extremely dim prospect of our existence.
  • jjnxn
    March 29, 2007
    jjnxn
    extremely well acted but profoundly depressing
  • crazydannielle16
    November 15, 2010
    crazydannielle16
    Set in 1932, hundreds of desperate people sign up for a dance marathon for the prize of 1,500 silver dollars which even today is worth a lot of money. This movie shows the depravity of man and the challenging, humiliating, and exhausting lengths to which people will go for money.... read more

    The message was presented well... I heard it loud and clear... but the road to get there was long, tiring, and depressing.

    Jane Fonda plays Gloria, a hostile, rude, and pessimistic feminist. You can't help feeling sorry for her but at the same time, you want to punch her in the face. Her dance parter Robert (played by Sarrazin) plays the perfect patsy.

    I still give it one star because it bored me to death. The acting was great (especially by Red Buttons) but the film was just awfully depressing.

    I don't understand why so many people rave about how this is one of the greatest American films ever.
  • adfill7
    April 24, 2010
    adfill7
    An interesting look at Depression-era America, with the wonderful Jane Fonda.
  • lesleyanorton
    May 8, 2009
    lesleyanorton
    Economic depression is bad.
  • Dracula787
    January 6, 2010
    Dracula787
    For the last heretofore unseen film I?ve watched in 2009, I chose this New Hollywood tinged film about an endurance dance-contest in depression era Chicago. The whole contest quickly turns into a sadistic and dehumanizing hell being looked upon like the Romans would have looked ... read moreupon gladiatorial death matches. The basic concept is a pretty original one. The whole thing conveys the desperation in the air and the set-up is a pretty interesting way to depict human suffering. The film also has some really good acting from Jane Fonda and Gil Young and the film is a great directorial debut by Sydney Pollack. That said, I think the movie works better as a concept than on an individual character level. I?m still really glad I saw though because I?d been hearing my uncle talk at length about this being the last film he saw (on a double bill with Patton) before going off to Vietnam, he remembers being baffled by the ending.
  • codyfranklin2
    October 18, 2009
    codyfranklin2
    Easily the darkest film Pollack ever made. It's funny how he started off with a dark film and the rest of his career is good,but full of fluff films. Great performances all around with perfect casting.Every actor is realistic and their is not one person who feels out of place or ... read moregives anything but their best effort.Gig Young won a much deserved Oscar as the MC and he does stand out,but he does get a lot of help. Great story about endurance and desperation during a marathon dance contest during the Great Depression. The only flaw of the film is the flash forwards throughout the entire movie that just give away too much information.Strange and surprising ending that leaves the viewer exhausted and never wanting to enter a dance contest.

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Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr
May 26, 2008
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). Full Review

Variety Staff
May 26, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

A sordid spectacle of hard times, a kind of existentialist allegory of life. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

The movie is by far the best thing that Pollack has ever directed (with the possible exception of The Scalphunters). Full Review

Wesley Lovell
August 15, 2011
Wesley Lovell, Oscar Guy

There has never been a film quite so original as this, featuring a wealth of noted actors fighting for their lives in a dance competition taking place during the Great Depression. Full Review

May 26, 2008
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An allegorical, socially conscious response to the injustices of the Depression era. Full Review

May 26, 2008
Film4

Pollack's adaptation of Horace McCoy's depression era novel has not dated well. Full Review

Steve Crum
February 17, 2008
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Grim but compelling tale set in a Depression era dance marathon. Gig Young deservedly copped the Oscar.

Emanuel Levy
January 4, 2007
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Sydney Pollack's screen version of the powerful Depression-era dance marathon is extremely well acted, particularly by Jane Fonda as the suicidal actress, her first great performance. Full Review

June 24, 2006
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 prete... Full Review

Eric Lurio
December 21, 2004
Eric Lurio, Greenwich Village Gazette

Overblown, but good anyway.

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    • Rocky: I may not know a winner when I see one, but I sure as hell can spot a loser.
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They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Trivia

  • Which actor won an Oscar for their performance in "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"  Answer »
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  • Who is the lead actress in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)  Answer »
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