They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.0

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 31, 2017

In the long and distinguished career of director Sydney Pollack, a few classics emerged. Think “Three Days of the Condor,” “Tootsie,” and “Jeremiah Johnson.” Perhaps his most interesting effort is 1969’s “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”, which immerses viewers into the world of a marathon dance contest during the Great Depression, delivering a vivid depiction of personal need and exhaustion as a simple game for a cash prize turns into a gladiatorial battle among desperate people. An adaptation of Horace McCoy’s 1935 novel, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” is a commanding, harrowing movie, showcasing Pollack’s gifts with actors and his ability to visually communicate the physical toil of the contest, which carries on for months, and the helmer is prepared to make the audience feel every single hour of every single day, generating a frightfully precise viewing experience.

Looking to attract attention and make some money during the pain of the Great Depression, MC Rocky (Gig Young) establishes a dance marathon for able couples at the La Monica Ballroom in Los Angeles. A cash prize goes to the pair able to remain on their shuffling feet for the longest amount of time, and 100 contestants are willing to vie for an instant fortune. In the mix are WWI vet Harry (Red Buttons), aspiring actress Alice (Susannah York), farm worker James (Bruce Dern) and his pregnant wife Ruby (Bonnie Bedelia), and Gloria (Jane Fonda), a troubled young woman who finds a partner in Robert (Michael Sarrazin), a young man who wanders into the ballroom out of curiosity. Once the contest begins, the dancers are tasked with staying awake for days, which turns into weeks, which turns into months, learning to tolerate one another as contentious rest breaks and Rocky’s race challenges thin the heard, pushing Gloria, already at her breaking point, to the edge of sanity.

“They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” never quite feels like a drama, especially during its opening act. Pollack works so well with period details, the feature almost achieves a documentary atmosphere, taking time to meet a few of the contestants and understand the rules and demands of the contest, watching Rocky weed out sickly types, trying to keep the dance floor healthy enough to preserve a lengthy show for paying audiences. It’s a vivid collection of personalities, with primary focus placed on Gloria, a bitter, depressed woman who’s been unable to find a career in the movie business, turning to marathon dancing for a monetary miracle. She’s confrontational but drawn to Robert’s soft demeanor, requiring his presence to participate, but bonding with the young man, sharing disillusionment with Hollywood.

Supporting players are equally prized by the production, getting to know neuroses and personal history, with combativeness often disrupting the slog of the dance. Gloria can’t keep away from Ruby, challenging her choice to not only participate in the marathon while pregnant, but to have the baby at all during such bleak times, putting thoughts into her head that rile up James. Alice is hoping for a boost in publicity from a contest win, but her need to remain glamorous is abruptly blocked by the physical pain of dancing and its excruciating psychological demands. And there’s Harry, who’s far too old to be participating in such an endurance tests, but he’s determined to join the race, struggling to keep up with others as time passes.

Pollack carefully weaves spectacle with intimacy, also preserving Rocky’s presence in the story, with the ringmaster knowing far more about the marathon details than he lets on to the contestants, while exercising his showman skills, trying to keep audiences entertained with emotional manipulations. In a way, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” is chilling precursor to the reality show generation, highlighting interest from the common man to pay money and watch the misery of others, while a backstage element secretly pulls the strings. It’s fascinating to watch the feature today and pick out its parallels to contemporary entertainment, but “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” also works wonderfully as a look back at a difficult time in history, when poverty ruled the land, inspiring insane ideas to help attract money.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation is not refreshed for the feature's Blu-ray debut. It's an older scan, doing little to bring out fine details with a movie that's all about subtle shifts in physical health. Clarity is only passable, and while the effort is shot softly, textures fight to be seen, making the strongest impression with facial close-ups and some costuming. Distances are adequate, capturing a feel of the ballroom and the people gathered inside. Color is also missing snap, remaining bloodless as Pollack contrasts drab, worn characters with the bright circus that surrounds them. Intent is understood, but vibrancy is missing. Skintones are also on the flat side. Delineation struggles with solidification. Grain is inconsistent, becoming problematic during the film's conclusion, which has difficulty managing fog, turning into mild pixelation. Source isn't plagued with overt points of damage.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is also restrained by age, coming across abnormally quiet, requiring a boost in volume to achieve proper presence. Dialogue exchanges are easy to follow, with accents and performance choices tracking normally, but not dynamically, with hiss present throughout the listening experience. Music makes a more defined impression, but it lacks precise instrumentation, served best when it's allowed to carry scenes and fill up the ballroom. Sound effects are blunt.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary #1 features director Sydney Pollack.

• Commentary #2 features producers Irwin Winkler and Martin Baum, hair stylist Sydney Guilaroff, and actors Jane Fonda, Bonnie Bedelia, Michael Sarrazin, and Red Buttons.

• "The Moonmakers" (6:29, SD) is original making-of from the movie's theatrical release, and while it's short, it does manage to capture the bigness of the shoot, highlighting Pollack's high-energy direction as he attempts to organize chaos with extras and the actors. The featurette explores the history of the Depression and the rise of gimmick like marathon dancing, even interviewing a past world-record holder who appears in the movie. There's a generous amount of BTS footage to enjoy, including musical rehearsals, where Pollack and Sarrazin joined the band between takes.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (3:05, SD) is included.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

With a title like "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?", there's a certain promise of bleakness, and Pollack preserves ugliness throughout. The marathon softens resolve and makes the contestants desperate to survive, allowing people like Rocky to manipulate with ease, while Gloria, who's dealt with depression, comes into contact with the idea of finality, giving the material a strange sense of poetry, even as grim as the movie grows. Pollack is firing on all cylinders here (there's compelling use of flash-forward editing to expand on Robert's post-dance experience), and his cast is exceptional, working with finger-snap dialogue (from James Poe and Robert E. Thompson) and a constant movement to embody confused characters. Fonda is especially striking as Gloria, expertly balancing the woman's hard edges and her growing awareness of the situation she's put herself in. "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" is strong stuff throughout, evocative and punishing, ultimately broadcasting a surge of fury and focus from Pollack he never quite revisited for the rest of his career.