My list of favorite death-related movies includes both popular and obscure titles.
Movies: Top Gun
Most people think of Top Gun as a feel-good military movie about the triumph of the US Military. It is full of action scenes, the testosterone of fighter pilots. However, the emotional heart of the movie lies in the aftermath of Goose’s death. For those who need a refresher, Goose (Anthony Edwards) is Maverick’s (Tom…
Movies: Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown is a romantic comedy centered around a death and a funeral. The movie opens on the worst day of Drew’s life. He is a shoe designer and his latest shoe design is a colossal failure that is going to cost his company almost $1 billion. He goes home, rigs up a suicide machine, and…
Movies: The Bucket List
Carter Chambers, a blue collar mechanic who gave up his dreams of being a history professor, and Edward Cole, a four-times divorced billionaire, are an unlikely pair, except for one commonality: terminal cancer. They meet because Edward Cole, who owns the hospital they are both seeking treatment in, has decreed that there will be two…
Movie: Taking Chance
When a member of the US military dies in battle, their remains are transferred home for burial through a process called a dignified transfer. The body is placed in a metal casket surrounded by ice packs in the theater of battle and the military member’s peers cover the casket with a US flag, salute the…
Movie: My Sister’s Keeper
Anna Fitzgerald’s parents had her in order to save her older sister, Kate, who was dying of cancer. Kate’s cancer impacted the entire family as their world revolved around keeping her alive. Howev er, when Anna was 11 and Kate 14 or 15, Kate relapsed and needed a kidney transplant. Their mother assumed that Anna…
Documentaries: How to Die in Oregon
How to Die in Oregon opens in Roger Sagner’s living room. He is surrounded by family and friends as he prepares to down the lethal drink that will end his life. Thanks to Oregon’s death with dignity law, Roger and other terminally ill patients can choose when to die. Ironically, enough being able to choose…
Movies: Wit
WIT is a movie that tells the story of Vivian, a brilliant professor who is diagnosed with cancer. Throughout the movie we see how her life has been lonely as her constant companion is only literature. Her only visitor is her old mentor, who finds out by accident she is in the hospital and sits…
Movie Review: Terms of Endearment
Terms of Endearment begins with a mother’s fear that her daughter has died and ends with the reality of her daughter’s death. Love and grief are intertwined in this story that tells the story of the complicated relationship between Emma and her mother Aurora. Wikipedia does a good job explaining the story, but doesn’t recap…
Movie Review: Steel Magnolias
Mom’s trying to manage the caterers, the florists, and all the other hustle and bustle that comes with a wedding reception. Dad’s shooting blanks at the birds to make them vacate the premises. Jackson, the groom, is sneaking into Shelby’s room to tell her how much he loves her. However, amidst the laughter, beauty, and…
Documentary Review: The Secret Life of Death
Walter Carter Funeral Home is a 130-year-old business in Sydney Australia that is facing the economic reality of consolidation in the funeral home business. In order to stay alive, Walter Carter joins forces with another family owned funeral home, which means that the company will survive, but it also means the close-knit team is torn…