Only horses are given the coup de grace
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Only horses are given the coup de grace |
| Original title | They Shoot Horses, Don't They? |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1969 |
| length | 119 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Sydney Pollack |
| script |
James Poe , Robert E. Thompson |
| production |
Robert Chartoff , Irwin Winkler |
| music |
Johnny Green , Albert Woodbury |
| camera | Philip H. Lathrop |
| cut | Fredric Steinkamp |
| occupation | |
| |
Only horses are given the coup de grace (Original title: They Shoot Horses, Don't They? ) Is an American drama film directed by Sydney Pollack from 1969 . The main role was played by Jane Fonda . The dance film won an Oscar in one category . The plot is based on the novel of the same name by Horace McCoy from 1935.
action
The young Robert is a failed director who, in his youth, witnessed an injured horse being shot at grace . 1932 - the time of the Great Depression - he is looking at a seedy dance hall, log in to the hundreds of people, including the cynical film Statistin Gloria Beatty at a dance marathon, in which 1,500 US dollars in prize money were awarded to the winners. As Gloria's dance partner fell ill shortly before the competition began, the couple was turned away. Beatty asks Robert to dance with her.
The motivation of many of the participants is the free catering during the competition. Some do not give up despite exhaustion, including the unsuccessful actress and Jean Harlow copy Alice, who hopes to be discovered in this way by an agent or director, or the young Ruby, who takes part in the event with her husband despite an advanced pregnancy. The dance marathon is moderated by show master Rocky, who sells the competition to the audience as a spectacle. Although he actively helps participants who can no longer withstand the psychological and physical pressure, he also torpedoes the efforts of other participants, for example by secretly stealing Alice's second dress and cosmetics from her suitcase. In his experience, the audience is more interested in the physical suffering of the dance couples. The marathon is made more difficult by ten-minute races in a circle, in which the last three couples are eliminated by photo-finish.
Gloria and Robert get to know each other better in the following hundreds of hours, but the two of them fall apart when the beautiful Alice starts to hang around with Robert during a break, whereupon Gloria gets involved in a shepherd's hour with Rocky. Both find other dance partners for a short time, Gloria's new partner becomes the aging Sailor. During one of the grueling ten-minute races, he dies of a circulatory collapse. Gloria refuses to admit this and drags him on her shoulders to the finish line so as not to be eliminated from the competition. Afterwards, Robert and Gloria are reunited as a dance couple and Rocky suggests to Gloria in his office to marry Robert on the floor for the show - that would pay off for her too, as she would receive wedding gifts from the show sponsors. When Gloria rejects this indignantly, Rocky reveals to her, the winner of the dance competition, the medical care, laundry, telephone calls, almost all costs of the competition are deducted from the prize money, what remains of the prize would not be worth mentioning.
Emotionally and physically at the end, Gloria is now robbed of her last hope. She wants to commit suicide with her own weapon, but cannot do it herself. So she asks Robert to shoot her, which he does not deny her. He later gave the police as a motive that horses were also given a coup de grace . Who wins the dance marathon remains open.
Reviews
Vincent Canby praised the performers in the New York Times of December 11, 1969, of whom he named Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Gig Young , Susannah York and Bonnie Bedelia . The film is "opulent", which seems "in a strange way" optimistic.
The lexicon of international films wrote that the film “relentlessly” shows the “torments” of the characters and “cleverly uses emotional effects”. He is "ambitious".
The Evangelische Film-Beobachter also gave a positive opinion : “A film about the inhumane exploitation of hardship and despair, which is remarkable in terms of theme and design. Worth seeing from 16. "
Awards
This is the most Oscar- nominated film , nine that was not nominated for Best Picture . Gig Young won the Best Supporting Actor category at the 1970 Academy Awards . The eight other nominations received: Jane Fonda for Best Actress , Susannah York for Best Supporting Actress , Sydney Pollack for Best Director , the Screenwriters for Best Adapted Screenplay , the Film Music Composers for Best Film Music , Film Editor Fredric Steinkamp for Best Editing , the Costume designer Donfeld for best costume design and production designers Harry Horner and Frank R. McKelvy for best production design .
Gig Young won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1970 . The film was named for Best Motion Picture Drama , Sydney Pollack, Jane Fonda, Red Buttons and Susannah York were nominated for a Golden Globe.
Susannah York won the UK Society of Film and Television Arts Award (later the BAFTA Award) for Best Supporting Actress in 1971 . Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Gig Young, the scriptwriters and the editor were nominated for the BAFTA Award.
Jane Fonda won the New York Film Critics Circle Award in 1969 . The film won the National Board of Review Award in 1970 . Sydney Pollack was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award in 1970. The screenwriters were nominated for the 1970 Writers Guild of America Award . Jane Fonda (best female lead) and Gig Young (best supporting male role) won the 1971 Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award . In the same year, Fonda was honored with the French Étoile de Cristal for Best Foreign Actress .
background
The shooting took place in Santa Monica .
additional
An episode of the television series Ally McBeal ( Season 2 Episode 2 ) was called, based on the original title They Eat Horses, Don't They? .
literature
- Horace McCoy : Only horses are given the coup de grace. Roman (Original title: They Shoot Horses, Don't They? ). German by Oliver Huzly. Newly translated and unabridged edition. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main and Berlin 1988, 126 pages, ISBN 3-548-10551-3
- Bob Willoughby : Only horses are given the coup de grace. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? . Film photo documents. German by Caroline Mähl. Nieswand, Kiel 1990. ISBN 3-926048-29-8
Web links
- They Shoot Horses in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- They Shoot Horses at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Critique from Vincent Canby ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Only horses are given the coup de grace. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed September 25, 2017 .
- ↑ Evangelical Press Association Munich, Review No. 381/1970
- ↑ Filming locations for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
