Conservative Historian Drunk Cinema: A History of Movies about Alcoholics
Aug 7, 2025
Dive into a captivating exploration of films about alcoholism, from the oppressive narratives of early classics like The Lost Weekend to the humorous redemption found in Arthur. Discover how 1970s cinema shifted towards gritty realism and challenged alcohol's portrayal. Analyze modern storytelling, where distractions shape narratives, alongside personal recovery insights from guests. Unpack the deep emotional impacts of works like Leaving Las Vegas and When a Man Loves a Woman while reflecting on how these films resonate with real-life battles.
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Three Narrative Buckets For Drinking Films
- The hosts group drinking films into three narrative buckets: comedic drinkers, redemption arcs, and spirals to destruction.
- This framing clarifies how films treat alcoholism as comedy, cure, or tragedy.
Pre-1970 Films Show Damage, Few Remedies
- Chris highlights early films like The Lost Weekend and Days of Wine and Roses that show alcohol's damage but often tidy endings.
- He points to Kurosawa's Drunken Angel as an example where drinking leads to degradation and death.
Modern Films Favor Tragic Endings
- A.D. argues modern remakes like A Star Is Born fall into the 'spiral' bucket where love fails to save the alcoholic.
- He notes Bradley Cooper's version presents addiction as a fatal arc rather than a neat redemption.
