Alcoholics in Movies
This list, like me, is far from perfect. It may, however, be useful. Random order.
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- DirectorGlenn Gordon CaronStarsMichael KeatonKathy BakerMorgan FreemanA hustling drug addict checks himself into rehabilitation to escape trouble with the law and realizes that it's exactly what he needs.
- DirectorMike FiggisStarsNicolas CageElisabeth ShueJulian SandsBen Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his alcoholism, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.
- DirectorBarbet SchroederStarsMickey RourkeFaye DunawayAlice KrigeBased on the life of successful poet Charles Bukowski and his exploits in Hollywood during the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsDenzel WashingtonNadine VelazquezDon CheadleTroubling questions arise after airline pilot Whip Whitaker makes a miracle landing after a mid-air catastrophe.
- DirectorSteve BuscemiStarsSteve BuscemiCarol KaneMark Boone JuniorTommy is an unemployed mechanic who spends most of his time in a bar (Trees Lounge) in a small blue collar town. He seems to always be thinking, "If only X then I could stop drinking".
- DirectorJohn DahlStarsBen KingsleyTéa LeoniLuke WilsonWhile drying out on the West Coast, an alcoholic hitman befriends a tart-tongued woman who might just come in handy when it's time for him to return to Buffalo and settle some old scores.
- DirectorSteve GordonStarsDudley MooreLiza MinnelliJohn GielgudAlcoholic billionaire playboy Arthur Bach must marry a woman he does not love, or he will be cut off from his $750,000,000 fortune. But when Arthur falls in love with a poor waitress, he must decide if he wants to choose love or money.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsRay MillandJane WymanPhillip TerryThe desperate life of a chronic alcoholic is followed through a four-day drinking bout.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsJack LemmonLee RemickCharles BickfordAn alcoholic marries a young woman and systematically addicts her to booze so that they can share his "passion" together.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsAlbert FinneyJacqueline BissetAnthony AndrewsA day in the life of a self-destructive British consul in Mexico on the eve of World War II.
- DirectorLuis MandokiStarsMeg RyanAndy GarciaEllen BurstynThe seemingly perfect relationship between a man and his wife is tested as a result of her alcoholism.
- DirectorPeter CohnStarsRichard LewisLiza HarrisLiam AhernThe lives of Jim and other alcoholics in and outside an AA meeting.
- DirectorBruce RobinsonStarsRichard E. GrantPaul McGannRichard GriffithsIn 1969, two substance-abusing, unemployed actors retreat to the countryside for a holiday that proves disastrous.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsPeter MullanLouise GoodallGary LewisTwo thirty-somethings, unemployed former alcoholic Joe and community health worker Sarah, begin a romantic relationship in one of Glasgow''s toughest neighborhoods.
- DirectorJoe LiTrentaStarsMichael NathansonCristina Marie ProctorMyla PittA day of non-coincidental coincidences and revelations in the lives of about twenty people; normal people with drug and relationship problems despite their intelligence and awareness. Today, the connections they discover in their neighborhood will help to reshape their lives for the better, however weird things may get. It's just one of those days...
- DirectorHector BabencoStarsJack NicholsonMeryl StreepCarroll BakerAn alcoholic drifter spends Halloween in his hometown of Albany, New York after returning there for the first time in decades.
- DirectorBetty ThomasStarsSandra BullockViggo MortensenDominic WestA big-city newspaper columnist is forced to enter a drug and alcohol rehab center after ruining her sister's wedding and crashing a stolen limousine.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsCharlton HestonOrson WellesJanet LeighA stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping and police corruption in a Mexican border town.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsJames WoodsJoBeth WilliamsJames GarnerThe story of Bill Wilson and the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous.
- DirectorScott CooperStarsJeff BridgesMaggie GyllenhaalColin FarrellA faded country music musician is forced to reassess his dysfunctional life during a doomed romance that also inspires him.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsPaul NewmanCharlotte RamplingJack WardenAn outcast, alcoholic Boston lawyer sees the chance to salvage his career and self-respect by taking a medical malpractice case to trial rather than settling.
- DirectorJames PonsoldtStarsMary Elizabeth WinsteadAaron PaulNick OffermanA married couple whose bond is built on a mutual love of alcohol gets their relationship put to the test when the wife decides to get sober.
- DirectorDaniel MannStarsSusan HaywardRichard ConteEddie AlbertSusan Hayward stars as singer-actress Lillian Roth, whose rise to stardom was nearly destroyed by alcoholism.
- DirectorBent HamerStarsMatt DillonLili TaylorMarisa TomeiThis drama centers on Hank Chinaski, the fictional alter-ego of "Factotum" author Charles Bukowski, who wanders around Los Angeles, CA trying to live off jobs which don't interfere with his primary interest, which is writing. Along the way, he fends off the distractions offered by women, drinking and gambling.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJack NicholsonShelley DuvallDanny LloydA family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
- DirectorRichard BenjaminStarsPeter O'TooleMark Linn-BakerJessica HarperAn aging, dissolute matinee idol is slated to appear on a live TV variety show in 1954, and a young comedy writer is tasked with the thankless job of keeping him ready and sober for the broadcast.
- DirectorDan CarracinoKevin HanlonStarsBill WilsonDr. BobBlake J. EvansA documentary about Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsPaul GiamattiThomas Haden ChurchVirginia MadsenTwo men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsElizabeth TaylorRichard BurtonGeorge SegalA bitter, aging couple, with the help of alcohol, use their young houseguests to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other over the course of a distressing night.
- DirectorEd HarrisStarsEd HarrisMarcia Gay HardenRobert KnottA film about the life and career of the American painter, Jackson Pollock.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampJohnny DeppRobert EnglundTeenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsAileen QuinnAlbert FinneyCarol BurnettA spunky young orphan is taken in by a rich eccentric, much to the chagrin of the cantankerous woman who runs the orphanage.
- DirectorEdgar WrightStarsSimon PeggNick FrostMartin FreemanFive friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from twenty years earlier unwittingly become humanity's only hope for survival.
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsBilly Bob ThorntonBernie MacLauren GrahamA miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsRobert DuvallTess HarperBetty BuckleyA broken-down, middle-aged country singer gets a new wife, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and tries to put his troubled life back together.
- DirectorDavid AnspaughStarsGene HackmanBarbara HersheyDennis HopperA coach with a checkered past and a local drunk train a small-town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the state championship in 1950s Indiana.
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsNick NolteSissy SpacekJames CoburnA deeply troubled small-town cop investigates a suspicious hunting death while other events jeopardize his sanity.
- DirectorErick ZoncaStarsTilda SwintonSaul RubinekKate del CastilloA woman tries to extort money, using a young boy as bait.
- DirectorKatt SheaStarsDrew BarrymoreSara GilbertTom SkerrittA seductive teen befriends an introverted high school student and schemes her way into the lives of her wealthy family.
- DirectorKen OlinStarsJames SikkingBibi BeschWilliam McNamaraA young college student, his family's "golden child," brings his fiancee home to meet them.
- DirectorBarbet SchroederStarsDavid CarusoSamuel L. JacksonNicolas CageA reformed convict goes undercover with the help of an angry detective to ensnare a psychotic mobster.
- DirectorRobert GreenwaldStarsMartin SheenMelinda DillonMatthew LabyorteauxWhen his drinking problem takes control of his life, a father tries to leave the bottle behind while putting his and his family's lives back together.
- DirectorJames PonsoldtStarsNick NolteTrevor MorganTimothy HuttonAn aging, disillusioned alcoholic (Nolte) gets a younger friend (Morgan) and wants him to pose as his son at a school reunion.
- DirectorDavid Hugh JonesStarsRobert De NiroKathy BakerEd HarrisTwo Vietnam vets search for the strength to face up to their horrific war experiences, but their friendship begins to splinter when one becomes romantically involved with the other's sister.
- DirectorMimi LederStarsKevin SpaceyHaley Joel OsmentHelen HuntA young boy attempts to make the world a better place after his teacher gives him that chance.